I have the honour to speak on behalf of the EUMS and Albania, Andorra, Australia, Georgia, Iceland, Republic of Moldova, Principality of Monaco, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, San Marino, Turkey, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The EU and its Member States’ express full solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. The EU condemns in the strongest possible terms Russia's unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine with the complicity of Belarusian authorities, which grossly violates international law, the UN Charter and Article 1 of the UNESCO Constitution, undermining the international security and stability. The EU demands that Russia immediately cease its military actions, withdraw all its troops from the entire territory of Ukraine and fully respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence within its internationally recognised borders.

Madame Chair, let us be clear – the gravity of the Russian invasion in Ukraine has moved us way beyond the flagrant violations of the rights to education, information, and freedom of expression. It violates the fundamental rights of civilian populations. In Ukraine, civilians, including women and children, journalists, teachers, and artists are suffering from lethal attacks denying them their foremost right to life. In Russia, civilians are persecuted and repressed for speaking out for peace and bravely contesting this illegal war.

En tout circonstance, la Russie doit respecter ses obligations en matière de droit humanitaire international et de droits de l’homme. La Russie doit aussi s’assurer que le patrimoine culturel Ukrainien ne subisse pas de nouvelles destructions ou dommages en respectant pleinement la Convention de la Haye de 1954 et ses deux protocoles, ainsi que la Convention du patrimoine mondial. La Russie doit respecter les résolutions 2222 (2015), 2061 (2021) et 2347 (2017) du CSNU. Nous exigeons que la Russie cesse immédiatement sa campagne de désinformation et ses cyberattaques.

Nous demandons à la Directrice Générale de prendre des mesures concrètes dans le cadre de son mandat, afin de mettre en œuvre des actions adéquates et de faciliter toute assistance nécessaire à l’Ukraine.

L’UE soutient ainsi le projet de décision proposé afin de défendre les valeurs fondamentales de l’UNESCO.