Topic: Situation in Ukraine
Country: Chad
Delegate Name: Henry Atkins
School: Grand Rapids City High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Chad position papers GLIMUN 2014 committees
The present situation in Ukraine is disturbing and cannot continue. At this point, over 4,000 people have died in the crisis, and Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk has stated that the cost of rebuilding his country could total as high as $8 billion. Over one million Ukrainians have become refugees since the conflict. On September 2 of this year, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres warned that “If the crisis is not quickly stopped, it will have not only devastating humanitarian consequences, but it also has the potential to destabilize the whole region.” More disturbingly, it appears that much of the violence in Ukraine is the direct result of one member state attempting to destabilize another: the Russian Federation appears to be providing assistance to Ukrainian rebels in Eastern Ukraine. Russian soldiers have been captured inside of Ukraine; Russian trucks carrying bodies have been seen crossing the border into Ukraine; Russian tanks, artillery, and personnel have time and again been spotted entering Ukraine. This behavior is unacceptable. Now more than ever it is clear that the United Nations must take action to improve the situation of Ukrainians suffering in this conflict as well as uphold international law.
The United Nations has followed the developing situation in Ukraine with great concern, and has met to discuss the issue many times. Already the United Nations General Assembly has adopted the resolution “Territorial Integrity of Ukraine,” which declared the results of the Crimean referendum null and void in the eyes of one hundred countries, including the Republic of Chad. A similar referendum would have been approved by the Security Council on March 15, had Russia not vetoed it. There have been numerous previous meetings of the United Nations Security Council on the issue–as a matter of fact, there have been no less than 26 emergency meetings regarding the Ukrainian Civil War. However, all have failed to find a lasting solution to the issues in Ukraine. At the United Nations General Assembly meeting in September, numerous leaders noted concern regarding the situation in Ukraine.
The Republic of Chad stands in strong solidarity with the people of Ukraine. Having suffered a brutal war against rebels that were supported by the neighboring state of Sudan, this nation understands firsthand the difficulty of defending a country from rebels backed by a powerful neighbor. This nation further understands the malicious motives behind such backing, which is purely aimed at destabilizing another sovereign country without an open declaration of war. Today, as before, the Republic of Chad hopes for a resolution that will truly aid Ukraine, one which sees peacekeepers deployed to prevent violence, economic assistance to the Ukrainian government, humanitarian aid directly provided to the Ukrainian people, and military assistance through training and arming the Ukrainian military.
There should be little opposition to the idea of helping a democratically elected government fight off rebels that threaten its very survival as a nation-state. Were a more prominent United Nations member, such as the United States, to experience a similar problem, there would surely be immediate support from its allies both inside and outside of the United Nations. However, the Republic of Chad acknowledges that there are likely to be some nations present who are unwilling to support the Ukrainian government because doing so threatens their ambitions, such as Russia and her allies. To these nations, the Republic of Chad pleads that delegates realize the severity of this conflict, put aside economic and territorial designs and simply recognize the horror that Ukrainians must experience on a daily basis. However, the Republic of Chad is ready and willing to compromise on this issue in order to protect the people of Ukraine. If the Security Council is even willing to go so far as provide Ukrainians with humanitarian aid, the Republic will accept the decision. While countries may disagree on the geopolitical situation, the Republic of Chad hopes that they will come together to make sure that those who suffer the most–those in the middle of this terrible and needless conflict–are protected.
