Urgent steps needed towards full respect for ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, says OSCE Chairmanship Special Representative and Chief Monitor

VIENNA, 28 July 2016 – Urgent steps are needed by the sides in eastern Ukraine to ensure full respect for the ceasefire and reduce the impact of the violence on civilians, said the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group Martin Sajdik and the Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) Ertugrul Apakan in their addresses to the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna today.

Sajdik expressed his concern about the constant rise of ceasefire violations and a possible steep increase in the number of victims in the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine. In light of such dangerous tendencies Sajdik urged “all parties to the conflict to not revert to large-scale military operations again.”

While stating that results in addressing the most urgent needs in the humanitarian and economic fields could be ensured, Sajdik deplored that the destruction and misery of the population, caused by the conflict, remain widespread.

In order not to tackle certain problems isolated from others and to increase the chances for substantial progress in peace efforts, Sajdik highlighted his support for a ‘package’ approach that should include the issue of the resumption of Ukrainian government’s control along the whole the state border with Russia.

Sajdik concluded that the Minsk process is dependent on the political will, repeatedly declared and reaffirmed, of all sides to the conflict to live up to their engagements and obligations. “So far, the situation is bleak especially in this regard,” he said.

Apakan noted the sides’ failure to cease fire, saying this was evidenced by the continued presence and use of proscribed large-calibre weapons in the proposed ‘security zone’. He said that the proportion of weapons that the SMM had been able to verify as withdrawn had decreased since mid-April – on both sides – to less than 13 percent of all weapons declared or subsequently identified.

The SMM’s ability to monitor and verify, the Chief Monitor said, was compromised because of freedom-of-movement restrictions and other impediments to fulfilment of its mandate. The SMM must be able to do its job, as agreed in the Minsk documents. Access to all areas is essential if the Mission to monitor and report in a balanced and comprehensive manner. More than two thirds of these violations, he said, were committed by armed individuals in areas outside government control. He also noted that these violations include interference with – and even the destruction of – the SMM’s unmanned aerial vehicles.

He was particularly concerned by the increased casualty rates among civilians, noting that civilians were “paying the price for the failure of the forces and formations to adhere to their commitment to cease fire.” The forces and formations since May had killed or injured more than twice as many civilians as in the previous reporting period from April to June 2016 – and more in the last month than in any month since August 2015, the Chief Monitor said.

To conclude, he highlighted the need to look forward. In addition to fulfilling commitments made in Minsk, Apakan said the sides in particular needed to move on concrete disengagement proposals.  “It is high time they moved from discussion to action,” he said.