Igor Klymenko: Joint projects with the UN are a priority of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, because they concern the organization of the peaceful life of our country
This was stated by the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Igor Klymenko during a meeting with UN representatives.
The event was attended by UN System Coordinator in Ukraine, Humanitarian Coordinator Denise Brown, Head of the Programme Office of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime Harshet Virk, UN UN National Programme Officer Denis Kadenko and Deputy Minister of the Interior Kateryna Pavlichenko.
At the beginning, UN representatives handed over 30 sets of information and technical equipment to help keep records of firearms in Ukraine. The head of the department noted that this equipment will be sent to the region for the needs of the National Police of Ukraine.
“We face a lot of challenges, and the projects that we implement with the United Nations, they are also a priority, because they concern the organization of the peaceful life of our country and the launch of security measures after the war,” said the Head of the Department Igor Klymenko.
Also, Igor Klymenko told UN representatives that soon Ukraine will have a single register of weapons, which will regulate the process of its distribution.
“We share the concerns of the world community about the proliferation of weapons during and after the war. And our units will be engaged in the control and accounting of weapons on the territory of our state. Already in June we start the work of the Unified Register of Weapons. And we are carrying out a set of measures in order to make it impossible to distribute weapons in our country while the war continues,” said the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Igor Klymenko.
In addition, the Minister spoke about the situation with the demining of Ukraine, which remains one of the most mined countries in the world. According to Igor Klymenko, Ukraine will soon expect extensive demining — operational and humanitarian, in which Ukraine needs help from international partners.
Also, the Head of the Department Igor Klymenko told the representatives of the United Nations about the safety of Ukrainian children during the war. In particular, in the context of the mine threat. That is why the Minister of Internal Affairs Igor Klymenko appealed to UN representatives with a request to help Ukraine in building and opening security classes in order to protect Ukrainian children from threats related to mine hazards.
“480 Ukrainian children were killed by bullets or missiles of the Russian invaders. According to a recent survey, 59% of children do not feel safe. They cannot go to school normally, they have lost touch with their relatives and friends. Also, some of the children are very close to the zones where the fighting takes place. We are trying to evacuate them, but some families refuse,” said Igor Klymenko.
According to him, police together with local authorities have to infiltrate basements to evacuate people to safe areas:
“One of the latest cases occurred in Avdiivka, Donetsk region. The day before the bombing, we tried to take a family out with a small child. But they refused to leave. The next day there was shelling and a young child was killed. After that, a decision was made to forcibly evacuate from such areas where hostilities are taking place.”
In turn, the coordinator of the UN system Denise Brown noted that effective cooperation has been established between the organization and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in particular in the issue of the safety of Ukrainian children affected by the Russian invasion.
“I myself go twice a month to settlements that are close to the combat zone. The issue of child safety is very important to us. We will provide you with full support for evacuated children for as long as you need it. We also support the initiative on security classes in Ukraine,” said Denise Brown.
UN system coordinator Denise Brown said that the organization understands that with the beginning of a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the functionality of the Ministry of Internal Affairs has expanded significantly. That is why, for greater efficiency, the UN will increase its support.
“I support the idea of creating a joint action plan because it will help us collaborate more effectively.For this plan, we can involve UNICEF, WHO and the UN. We also support you in the issue of demining Ukraine”, — summed up Denise Brown.
Department of Communications of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine
