Foreign Minister condemned the Russian offensive against Ukraine and demanded an immediate ceasefire

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, César Landa Arroyo, participated this Monday in the United Nations Conference on Disarmament, held in Geneva (Switzerland) to condemn Russia’s massive military offensive against Ukraine. There Landa pointed out that Peru rejects the use of force, demanding an immediate ceasefire.

“As legal chancellor I cannot be indifferent to the use of weapons and its consequences for the lives of millions of people. Peru condemns the massive military offensive against Ukraine, which constitutes an act of action and aggression in accordance with resolution 3314 of the United Nations Assembly and which violates its integrity and national sovereignty”, noted during his speech.

Likewise, Landa lamented the veto that occurred within the Security Council of a draft resolution that precisely ordered the cessation of the aggression and the withdrawal of the military forces.

“Peru expresses its solidarity with the affected civilian population and demands that the parties involved respect international humanitarian law and human rights; including the protection of the personnel of the humanitarian agencies that have been acting at this time guided by the principles of neutrality, impartiality, humanity and independence”he continued.

Questions “new arms race”

What ChancellorLanda also pointed out that Peru views with alarm the absurd levels of military spending that exceed millions of dollars, the new ballistic missile launch tests and the development of nuclear programs for weapons purposes. “which make up a new arms race motivated by geopolitical calculations and issues related to security perceptions.”

In addition to taking a stand against the equipment of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, the minister referred to the regulation of conventional weapons to quote what was said by the Secretary General Anthony Guterres of the United Nations, who stated that the weapons system that operate without human interruption are “politically inadmissible, morally reprehensible and should be prohibited by international law”.

“The use of explosive weapons in urban areas has devastating consequences on the civilian population, for this reason Peru supports the motion for an international political commitment that helps reverse this unfortunate military situation in general and in Ukraine in particular”he pointed.

Landa ended his presentation by reaffirming Peru’s historic commitment to multilateralism to respond to major global challenges within a framework of the primacy of law and justice and emphasized “the priority with which we must face disarmament actions, since a climate of peace and international security is the only guarantee to bet on the effective achievement of the sustainable development goals and the 2030 agenda″.

“Peru calls on state actors to lay down geopolitical considerations and find solutions to their disputes at a dialogue and negotiation table with unrestricted adherence to respect for international law and the principles of territorial integrity, national sovereignty, and independence of states.” , remarked.

Pandemic Exhortation

On the other hand, during his presentation, Landa referred to the high economic and humanitarian costs that the pandemic of the COVID-19 and pointed out that the strengthening of multilateralism is essential to face these challenges.

“The health crisis of recent years has left millions of homes in mourning, brought with it serious economic consequences and made it clear that global challenges have to be faced by the international community in solidarity”, Indian.

“Peru is convinced that strengthening multilateralism based on rules is essential to face these challenges, which call into question the protection of human rights, sustainable development and the maintenance of bases and security”ended.