As prepared Please check against delivery Original in English Statement by the Delegation of Ukraine at the UNGA plenary meeting «Oceans and the law of the sea, including sustainable fisheries» (Agenda items 76 (a) and (b)) Mr. President, The Delegation of Ukraine aligns itself with the statement delivered by the Delegation of the European Union and would like to make a few remarks in its national capacity. Ukraine is pleased to join many others in co-sponsoring draft resolutions entitled «Oceans and the law of the sea» and «Sustainable fisheries, including through the 1995 Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, and related instruments». We would like to express our appreciation for the excellent stewardship demonstrated by both facilitators of the two resolutions. Mr. President, This year is unprecedented, COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected and hindered the progress in achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including goal 14, some targets of which we expected to achieve in 2020. The recovery from the pandemic is a complex process, which requires actions in many areas from health system to climate change. We should not forget about the role of seas and oceans while searching for solutions to the current crisis. The reduced human activities had positive impacts on certain marine species and ecosystems, however the health of the oceans, resilience and productivity continue to deteriorate. Thus, it is of paramount importance to pay more attention to these problems and take concrete steps to address them. We would like to emphasize that the international cooperation and coordination is crucial for success in addressing the challenges facing the oceans. We acknowledge the need for enhancing ocean governance as a cornerstone for preserving and protecting the marine environment and biodiversity, as well as ensuring peaceful relations between States. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea establishes the overarching legal framework within which all activities in oceans and seas must be carried out. By setting out a legal order for seas and oceans, the Convention continues to contribute to the 2 peace and security, cooperation and friendly relations among all nations as well as to sustainable development. The Convention requires States parties to settle any dispute between them concerning the interpretation or application of the Convention by peaceful means. Consistent with Article 33 of UN Charter and Article 279 of UNCLOS, Ukraine has striven to peacefully resolve its dispute with the Russian Federation. Since early 2014, Russia has engaged in numerous blatant violations of Ukraine’s rights under the UNCLOS and other relevant rules and principles of international law: unlawfully excluded Ukraine from exercising its maritime rights in the Black Sea, Sea of Azov, and Kerch Strait; exploited Ukraine’s sovereign resources in those waters for its own ends; and has usurped Ukraine’s right to regulate within its own maritime areas in those waters. Through these violations of international law, Russia is, among other things, stealing Ukraine’s offshore hydrocarbons and fisheries resources, harming the livelihoods of Ukrainian fishermen, and interfering with navigation, including the navigation of vessels heading through the international Kerch Strait and toward Ukraine’s Sea of Azov ports. On 16 September 2016, Ukraine filed to the Russian Federation a Notification and Statement of Claim under Annex VII to the UNCLOS and initiated a dispute concerning coastal state rights in the Black Sea, Sea of Azov, and Kerch Strait. On 19 February 2018, Ukraine filed its Memorial to the Tribunal establishing that Russia has violated Ukraine’s sovereign rights in the Black Sea, Sea of Azov, and Kerch Strait. On 21 February this year, the Tribunal rejected Russia’s preliminary objections that it lacks jurisdiction over Ukraine’s case and determined that it would hear significant aspects of Ukraine’s claims, including those related to Russia’s violations of UNCLOS in the Kerch Strait and Sea of Azov. Mr. President, Moreover, on 25 November 2018 Russia engaged in a wave of violation of the UNCLOS by detaining Ukrainian military vessels and personnel on board in the Black Sea and near the Kerch Strait. Such actions constitute grave violation of UNCLOS on the immunity of warships. On 1 April 2019, the Ukraine, in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, notified the Russian Federation about a dispute concerning the immunity of three naval vessels and 24 servicemen on board. According to the Order of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea of 25 May 2019, Russia was obliged to immediately return these vessels and 24 servicemen to the custody of Ukraine. It took Russians almost half a year for such a return. Today Russia continues to violate UNCLOS denying the immunity of the military vessels and continues to prosecute servicemen. In this context let me remind that a renewed resolution “Problem of the militarization of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine, as well as parts of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov” was adopted yesterday. 3 The General Assembly again called upon the Russian Federation inter alia to refrain from impeding the lawful exercise of navigational rights and freedoms, exercised in accordance with applicable international law, including provisions of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. That include but not limited to closure of sea areas under the pretext of military exercises, in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait. The Russian Federation also called upon to return to Ukraine unconditionally and without delay all equipment and weapons seized from the vessels Berdyansk, Nikopol and the tugboat Yani Kapu during the unjustified use of force by the Russian Federation on 25 November 2018. Mr. President, Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic we have to redouble our efforts to achieve the targets of Sustainable Development Goal 14, including through enhanced international cooperation and coordination, and increased capacity-building, and transfer of technology to developing States and that, in order to be cohesive, effective and longlasting such efforts must be undertaken within the context of the legal framework set out by the UNCLOS. In conclusion, we would like to express our gratitude to the Secretariat and to the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea for their work and constant support during the year. I thank you. .