STATEMENT BY
THE HONOURABLE MR. ANIFAH AMAN
MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF MALAYSIA
AT THE UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL MEETING
ON UKRAINE
19 SEPTEMBER 2014, NEW YORK
Madame President,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you for convening this meeting and for this opportunity to address the Council. I wish to convey my appreciation to Undersecretary General Mr. Jeffrey Feltman for his briefing on the latest developments in Ukraine.
{C}2. {C}I recognise my colleagues, Her Excellency Julie Bishop of Australia, His Excellency Jean Asselborn of Luxembourg and His Excellency Frans Timmerman of the Netherlands.
{C}3. {C}I wish to thank Her Excellency Julie Bishop for her tireless efforts in seeking justice for the victims and closure for their families. I wish to also thank His Excellency Frans Timmerman for the comprehensive briefing and for the Netherlands’ leadership in the international investigation.
{C}4. {C}Over the past few months we, and our governments, have worked very closely in various areas including on the recovery and repatriation of the remains of victims as well as the ongoing investigation on the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.
{C}5. {C}Indeed, I hope that over the coming days we would continue such cooperation with a view to ultimately bring closure to this tragic incident.
{C}6. {C}I wish to take this opportunity to convey my deepest and heartfelt sympathy and condolences to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives on board that ill-fated flight.
Madame President,
Excellencies,
{C}7. {C}The downing of MH17 starkly highlights the tragic consequences when a situation deteriorates into armed conflict.
{C}8. {C}In this connection, Malaysia welcomes the announcement of the ceasefire agreement between the concerned parties on 5 September 2014 including those in Eastern Ukraine where flight MH17 was downed and where its wreckage still lies, more than two months later.
{C}9. {C}As highlighted in USG Feltman’s briefing earlier, the situation on the ground remains fragile. In this regard, Malaysia urges all parties to exercise maximum restraint to prevent further escalation of the conflict.
{C}10. {C}Malaysia also reiterates the call on all parties to respect the ceasefire agreement and spare no effort to work towards a sustainable peace.
{C}11. {C}In Malaysia’s view, a sustained ceasefire, particularly in Eastern Ukraine is crucial so as to enable a full, thorough and independent international investigation into the incident as demanded by Council resolution 2166.
Madame President,
{C}12. {C}In the immediate aftermath of the downing of MH17, Malaysia was very clear on its priorities. Primarily, these were to secure assurances on (i) recovery of the remains of the victims; (ii) recovery of the flight data and cockpit voice recorders; and (iii) to secure guarantees for the safe access of international investigators to the crash site.
{C}13. {C}In seeking to achieve those objectives, Malaysia had reached out to all concerned parties. For Malaysia, the humanitarian and human element was of first and foremost concern. Consequently, an understanding was reached on the three aforementioned priorities.
{C}14. {C}Thus far, the first two assurances have been implemented. Unfortunately, coordinated and unfettered access to the crash site by the international team of air safety investigators has not yet been possible, due to the on-going fighting in and around the crash site.
{C}15. {C}With regard to ongoing efforts to identify the remains of the victims, as stated by the Netherlands Foreign Minister earlier, to date 225 out of a total of 298 victims have been identified. Of the 43 Malaysian victims, 40 had been identified and 35 of them have been repatriated to Malaysia.
{C}16. {C}On this note, I wish to extend the heartfelt appreciation of the people and the Government of Malaysia to the Dutch authorities for making this possible.
{C}17. {C}As we speak, forensic experts are relentlessly undertaking the painstaking work of identifying the remaining victims with a view to reuniting them with their loved ones as soon as possible.
Madame President,
{C}18. {C}Malaysia welcomes the preliminary report of the independent international investigation team led by the Dutch Safety Board which was released just last week.
{C}19. {C}Among others, the report confirmed that the aircraft was flying in unrestricted airspace, was following the route and was flying at the altitude as prescribed by Air Traffic Control authorities.
{C}20. {C}The report also confirms that aircraft was in an airworthy condition at departure. There was no indication of any technical problems or actions by the crew that could have contributed to the crash.
{C}21. {C}The report also concluded that the aircraft was hit by a large number of high-energy objects that pierced the aircraft from the outside, causing the aircraft to disintegrate in the air.
Madame President,
{C}22. {C}Findings of the report notwithstanding, crucial questions remain unanswered including; who was responsible for downing the aircraft? What exactly happened when communication between MH17 and ATC stopped abruptly at 13.20 hours on 17 July 2014?
{C}23. {C}In light of such lingering questions, Malaysia despatched a high level delegation led by the Defence Minister to Ukraine, Russia and the Netherlands last week to further explore the possibility of affording the international investigation team safe and unfettered access to the crash site.
{C}24. {C}Malaysia wishes to inform the Council that it has secured renewed commitment and assurances from the governments of Ukraine and Russia to assist in facilitating safe passage to the wreckage area. We hope that such assurances could be translated into concrete action as soon as possible.
Madame President,
{C}25. {C}Time is of the essence. The approaching winter could severely hamper recovery and investigation efforts.
{C}26. {C}Malaysia will not rest until justice is done. It would be totally unacceptable for the families and loved ones of the victims to experience the unimaginable pain of losing their loved ones, only to learn that the perpetrators might not be held to account, due to our inaction.
{C}27. {C}The international community owes it to the victims’ families and loved ones to ensure that those responsible for this heinous crime be swiftly brought to justice.
{C}28. {C}We need to cooperate fully to establish accountability for the perpetrators of this crime.
{C}29. {C}I strongly reiterate the importance of transparency, impartiality and thoroughness in the conduct of the investigation to ensure that the truth will prevail.
I thank you Madame President.