UN Website, 20 July 2014 – The Secretary-General strongly condemns the downing of a Malaysia Airlines aircraft in eastern Ukraine on 17 July, killing nearly 300 people, including 80 children. This horrifying incident must at the very least prompt a serious and sustained effort to end the fighting in Ukraine.
The Secretary-General calls for a full and transparent international investigation into the incident and offers the full cooperation of the United Nations in such an inquiry. There must be accountability for this tragedy: anyone found to be responsible must be brought to justice. The United Nations is in touch with the International Civil Aviation Organization, which has offered Ukraine its investigative capacity in order to put together an international team. The Secretary-General echoes calls for all parties to grant immediate and unfettered access by investigators to the crash site.
The Secretary-General conveys his deepest condolences to the families of all victims and to the governments and peoples of their countries of origin.
Further on Ukraine, the Security Council held an open meeting on Ukraine this morning.
The Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Jeffrey Feltman, told Council members that nearly 300 innocent people from many countries were killed, including a World Health Organization (WHO) staff member.
Mr. Feltman said that we face a rapidly deteriorating crisis in Ukraine that bears consequences far beyond the country’s borders. He said that we deeply regret that the glimpse of hope following the announcement of President Poroshenko’s peace plan has quickly dissipated.
He said that the United Nations will continue to do its part, with the Secretary-General being in close contact with world leaders. Mr. Feltman said that the Secretary-General has asked him to return to Kyiv and Moscow in the coming days in the spirit of his good offices.
He expressed hope that the shock of the downing of the civilian passenger jet on Thursday will prompt a serious and sustained effort to end the fighting and concentrate positively on Ukraine’s future.
For its part, UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, today expressed its deep sadness over the loss of life of those aboard the flight. It is believed that many of the passengers were on their way to take part in the International AIDS Conference in Melbourne, Australia. UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé said that the deaths of so many committed people working against HIV will be a great loss for the AIDS response.
In response to further questions, the Spokesman noted that the Secretary-General intended to speak to President Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine today.