The Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom, Canada and the
Netherlands make a joint statement on the Russian invasion of
Ukraine.
We, the leaders of the United Kingdom, Canada and the
Netherlands are appalled by Putin’s unprovoked and brutal
invasion of Ukraine. This is a horrific attack on a democratic,
sovereign European nation, as well as a clear violation of
Russia’s obligations under international law, including the
United Nations Charter.
We call on Russia to uphold its obligation to fully respect
international humanitarian law and human rights law, and to
implement an immediate ceasefire that allows civilians safe
passage, food and medical supplies.
We have seen extensive and indiscriminate use of force
against civilians. This is prohibited by international
humanitarian law. We will not spare any effort to ensure that
violations of international law in Ukraine are investigated, that
evidence is gathered and that the perpetrators are held
accountable.
That is why the UK, Canada and the Netherlands joined the
largest referral to the International Criminal Court in history
to expedite an investigation. That is also why we welcome the
urgent establishment by the UN Human Rights Council of a
Commission of Inquiry with a strong investigative mandate. We
stand ready to provide the necessary cooperation and assistance
to support the ICC Prosecutor in its work.
We also condemn in the strongest possible terms Russia’s use
of force in the direct vicinity of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants
and other nuclear facilities and call on Russia to immediately
cease these hostilities.
We will continue to stand strong in supporting Ukraine and
applaud the heroism and strength of Ukraine’s resistance led by
President Zelenskyy. Together we have committed significant
economic and humanitarian assistance.
The UK, Canada and the Netherlands are close defence
partners, both bilaterally and within NATO. In past weeks, our
three countries have played a crucial role in strengthening the
global response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and have each
committed to deploy additional forces to bolster NATO’s
deterrence and defence posture in Eastern Europe in response to
Russian aggression.
We have consistently underlined Ukraine’s right to defend
itself against this unlawful aggression and have responded to
requests by Ukraine for the provision of defensive military
equipment. We call on the international community to stand by
Ukraine’s right to self-defence and to respond to calls by
Ukraine to strengthen its capabilities to defend itself. We will
continue to do so and are bringing in further packages of defence
support to Ukraine.
We have also worked with partners to bring in an
unprecedented package of purposeful and punitive sanctions to
isolate Russia’s economy and will continue to impose severe costs
on Russia given this unconscionable attack. While the
humanitarian situation in Ukraine continues to deteriorate, we
reiterate the call for Russia urgently to de-escalate and to
prioritise the protection of civilians. Ukrainian, UN and other
humanitarian agencies, medical personnel, and non-governmental
assistance providers must be given safe, rapid and unimpeded
access. We have already committed substantially to the common
humanitarian efforts of the UN, Red Cross and coordinating
humanitarian aid organisations. The breakdown in the Mariupol
ceasefire is a major concern. The lesson from history is that for
such ceasefires to work they need to be as concrete, actionable
and specific as possible.
In particular, we wish to highlight the plight of women,
children, the elderly and other vulnerable groups fleeing the
violence in Ukraine. We underscore the importance of addressing
their specific protection needs, from family separation to
psychosocial stress and trauma, to exploitation and all forms of
violence. Our collective efforts to address the crisis in Ukraine
must continue to address the needs of the most vulnerable.
The breadth of support across the international community for
defending the principles of democracy and freedom has been
unprecedented. This was demonstrated by the UN General Assembly
when the international community unequivocally condemned Russian
aggression, and committed to upholding the rules based
international order with 141 member states voting in favour of
the resolution entitled ‘Aggression against Ukraine’.
Today we invite Ukraine’s friends to unite in support of a
shared commitment to sustain and coordinate the political,
humanitarian, economic and defence support that is so vital for a
free and independent Ukraine, and to continue to hold Russia to
account for its invasion.
