The United Nations and the conflict in Ukraine
The United Nations Headquarters in New York,  viewed from Long Island City across the East river  (Photo by Francis Quamina Farrier)
The United Nations Headquarters in New York,  viewed from Long Island City across the East river  (Photo by Francis Quamina Farrier)

By Francis Quamina Farrier

RECENTLY, when I was asked, “What is the United Nations doing about the conflict in Ukraine?”, it proved to be the catalyst for this feature article, which comes just a few days after another ‘birthday’ of that international organisation. The United Nations is 66 years in existence and has held its mandate of maintaining and resuscitating peace in several countries around the world, which experienced, or are experiencing, times of both internal and external conflict.

Guyana became a member of the United Nations on September 20, 1966, just four months after gaining its independence on May 26, 1966. The brilliant barrister-at-Law, Sir John Carter, who is a native of Cane Grove on the East Coast of Demerara, was appointed Guyana’s first ambassador to the United Nations, with Headquarters in New York City, New York. Meanwhile, a United Nations Office was established here in Georgetown almost immediately. Over the decades, the UN and Guyana have maintained close bilateral activities for their mutual benefits.

The United Nations, through its right-arm Division – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)- which is established in over 170 countries and territories around the world, focuses mainly on helping to eradicate poverty and reduce inequalities and exclusion. Its role is also to decrease inequalities within countries, develop policies, leadership skills, partnering abilities, institutional capabilities, and build resilience to sustain development results.

The United Nations has been involved in many projects in Guyana, both on the coastland and in the hinterland with much success. Its current work in far-away, war-ravished Ukraine, is however, very different. With the principal objective of its efforts at this time of supporting the suffering Ukraine civilian population – especially women and children – to get to safe locations in neighbouring friendly countries, the UN is demonstrating the way it can reduce human suffering in times of armed conflicts between countries, and also within countries.

Doing all within its power at this time to have the war in Ukraine come to an end as soon as possible, is one of the current projects of the United Nations, which is working relentlessly behind the scenes, as the rest of the world hopes for an early end to the war in which Russia is the clear aggressor. Guyana is located far away from the war between Russia and Ukraine. Nonetheless, because of that war,  this country is adversely affected by the price of commodities that it imports from Ukraine, such as iron, steel, fertilisers, mineral fuels, oils and distillation products, among others.

There is that saying, “No man is an island” and while there are many island nations, including the nation continent of Australia, there is that connecting link of the United Nations, which is a forum at which disagreements between member states are ironed out for mutual satisfaction. There have already been over 29,300 Ukrainians killed in the war with Russia so far.

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently advanced his opinion that “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will accelerate the inauguration of a new world order based on law and order, in which economic and political gains will justify the losses sustained so far with the ongoing war.” That, of course, begs the question of whether that is a justification for a war in which so many innocent people are being killed and so much human suffering is being visited upon a relatively peaceful nation.

Meanwhile, as the war continues and more and more lives are taken daily, countries in the European Union and others are also making similar diplomatic efforts to have the war come to an end, which at this time has been going on for over 250 days. The objective of the United Nations is to save as many innocent lives as possible in Ukraine. Reports are that many Ukraine civilians are being killed in what is now described as “A senseless war” in Ukraine.

In an official report on October 23, 2022, The office of the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights (OHCHR), verified that 6,374 civilians had been killed in the conflict. That included 402 children, to whom Santa Claus will not have the opportunity to take gifts this coming Christmas.

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