The UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine said on Wednesday that she was “shocked and appalled by the horrifying reports” of civilians, including small children, being killed and injured by Russian strikes.
The UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine said on Wednesday that she was “shocked and appalled by the horrifying reports” of civilians, including small children, being killed and injured by Russian strikes.
A former UN staff member who worked for a decade in Sudan’s Darfur region for the African Union-United Nations mission, UNAMID, has told UN News how she had to “avoid stepping on the bodies in the streets” as she fled for her life to neighbouring Chad.
Insecurity in the volatile eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has worsened since the end of recent elections, UN Special Representative Bintou Keita told the Security Council on Wednesday.
Intense hostilities in Gaza continued on Tuesday between Hamas fighters and Israeli forces with a “double-digit number of children killed overnight” and ongoing aid delivery obstacles that are responsible for near-famine conditions, UN humanitarians said.
The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) issued a new report on Tuesday, revealing a surge in credible allegations of torture and executions of captured Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) at the hands of Russian forces.
When a group linked to the ISIL terror organization claimed responsibility for the deadly attack on a Moscow concert hall on 22 March, one of the pretexts reportedly given for the killings was Russia’s engagement in the Syrian civil war, which has turned into a proxy war involving several foreign powers.
An alarming surge in armed violence in areas of Haiti is heightening the risk of a malnutrition crisis in the country, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Tuesday.
The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process on Tuesday issued a fervent plea for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and release of all hostages, amid “cataclysmic” suffering in the Gaza Strip and continuing violence in the occupied West Bank.
When a group linked to the ISIL terror organization claimed responsibility for the deadly attack on a Moscow concert hall on 22 March, one of the pretexts reportedly given for the killings was Russia’s engagement in the Syrian civil war, which has turned into a proxy war involving several foreign powers.
With “starvation bearing down” on Gaza, UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday repeated his call for a sustainable end to the conflict and the release of all remaining hostages amid “unprecedented and ongoing devastation” in the occupied enclave.
The UN Security Council on Monday adopted a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in war-ravaged Gaza during Ramadan and calling for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.
Conflict in Yemen entered its 10th year on Monday, as UN humanitarians issued a warning that over half the country’s populations are in desperate need of aid.
The UN Security Council on Monday passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan, the immediate and unconditional release of hostages and "the urgent need to expand the flow" of aid into Gaza. There were 14 votes in favour with the United States abstaining.
With “starvation bearing down” on Gaza, UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday repeated his call for a sustainable end to the conflict and the release of all remaining hostages amid “unprecedented and ongoing devastation” in the occupied enclave.
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Top UN officials and agencies on the ground in Ukraine on Friday condemned overnight large-scale coordinated Russian strikes on energy plants across the country that killed at least five people and left 1.5 million without electricity.
Independent UN human rights experts on Friday expressed alarm over increased reports of sexual slavery and trafficking in Sudan, especially of women and girls.
Haiti is in the grip of widespread gang violence, the country’s institutions are on the verge of collapse and its citizens are facing a daily fight for survival. Yet, in the midst of this catastrophic security and humanitarian crisis, the UN continues to provide critical assistance to the beleaguered population.
Amid reports of ongoing bombardment across Gaza on Friday, UN humanitarians highlighted “shocking levels of disease and hunger” after visiting an overwhelmed hospital in the north of the enclave.
A draft resolution tabled by the United States was vetoed in the UN Security Council on Friday by China and Russia.
The UN chief condemned in the strongest possible terms Friday’s deadly terrorist attack at a concert hall outside Moscow.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres doubled down on his call for a ceasefire in Gaza and peace in Ukraine on Thursday, taking aim at the “chaotic” global outlook and any country or armed group that thinks “it can do whatever it wants because there is no accountability”.
Large parts of Burkina Faso are being terrorized by armed groups and the rampant insecurity is “beyond alarming”, said the UN human rights chief on Thursday following a brief visit to the country.
Less than half of the UN aid convoys planned for Gaza’s hunger-ravaged north have made it so far this month, despite repeated appeals from the international community to ramp up relief to more than one million people on the brink of starvation, UN humanitarians said on Wednesday.
Eleven months of brutal fighting is driving a hunger crisis in Sudan, with some areas likely to experience catastrophic levels of food insecurity by the lean season in May, the UN Security Council heard on Wednesday.
UN humanitarians reiterated their resolve on Tuesday to help the people of Gaza where increasing numbers of children are on “the brink of death” from acute hunger, caused by five months of intense Israeli bombardment and constant aid access denials.
Humanitarians continue to deliver aid in Haiti, where the situation in the capital, Port-au-Prince, remains tense and volatile in the face of escalating gang violence and political instability.
Aid workers continue to deliver assistance to people in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, amid ongoing tension and volatility, the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, said on Monday.
As the war in Sudan enters its second year next month, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) on Monday warned of a staggering toll of the crisis on children, with an estimated 24 million teetering on the brink of a “generational catastrophe”.
Almost 80 years after the incineration of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nuclear weapons still represent a clear and present danger to global peace and security, UN Secretary-General António Guterres told the Security Council on Monday.
Amid reports that the Israeli military stormed Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on Monday in search of Hamas fighters, UN humanitarians warned that new food insecurity data indicates that famine could happen “anytime”.
The UN chief on Saturday condemned an attack which saw eight peacekeepers from the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or DRC, wounded during clashes between the powerful M23 rebel movement and Government troops.
The Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, held meetings with senior American officials in Washington DC today to discuss recent developments and explore ways to facilitate progress towards resuming an inclusive Yemeni-led political process under UN auspices and a lasting resolution of the conflict.
Grundberg met with Richard R. Verma, the Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, Ambassador Michele J. Sison, Assistant Secretary...
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Mr. President,
The principle of respect for territorial integrity and the political independence of States is the cornerstone of our collective security.
Any annexation of a State’s territory by another State resulting from the threat or use of force is a violation of the principles of the United Nations Charter and international law.
Yet that is what the Russian Federation has attempted in Ukraine, causing, in the process, unspeakable suffering and destruction.
This bears repeating as tomorrow will mark 10 years since the unlawful attempt by the Russian Federation to annex the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol through a so-called “referendum”.
The position of the United Nations on the status of Crimea is guided by General Assembly resolution on the Territorial Integrity of Ukraine of 27 March 2014.
This resolution states that Russia’s attempted illegal annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and City of Sevastopol, Ukraine, is invalid and unrecognized by the international community.
Also, it has also been more than a year since the Russian Federation’s equally unlawful effort to annex the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine in September 2022.
Just days later, on 12 October 2022, the General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted the resolution entitled “Territorial Integrity of Ukraine: defending the principles of the Charter of the United Nations”.
The resolution unequivocally condemns Russia’s organization of illegal referenda within Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders and its attempted annexation of these regions of Ukraine.
It also declared that these actions “have no validity under international law and do not form the basis for any alteration of the status of these regions of Ukraine”.
In this context, Russia’s intention to conduct presidential elections from today 15 March until 17 March in areas of Ukraine under its control is unacceptable.
The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has documented that past so-called referenda and local elections have been conducted in a coercive environment.
Under international humanitarian law, the occupying power – in this case, the Russian Federation – is obligated to uphold the laws of Ukraine in the occupied territories.
Mr. President,
International humanitarian law also prohibits indiscriminate attacks, and attacks targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure.
But since February 2022, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has verified 10,703 civilians, including 594 children killed. 20,146 more civilians, including 1,316 children, have been injured. The actual toll is very likely much higher.
Since our last briefing to this Council only a week ago, Russian strikes on civilians and civilian infrastructure have continued unabated.
On 12 March, five people were reportedly killed, and nearly 50 injured, including several children, in a Russian missile strike in Kryvyi Rih in the Dnipropetrovsk region of Ukraine.
In Odesa, Russian drone and missile strikes have continued.
This morning, 20 people were reportedly killed, and 73 injured, in a Russian missile strike in the city. Two of the killed were first responders who died after a second strike hit the location where they had rushed to help the victims.
Attacks have also continued to damage civilian infrastructure in Odesa, with 25 drones reportedly targeting the city in just one overnight attack on Monday.
Less visible is the traumatizing effect of living in constant fear of sudden violent death, injury or loss. The mental scars left by such dread on countless Ukrainians may take generations to heal.
The war in Ukraine has awakened another kind of fear, one that haunts us all. The International Atomic Energy Agency continues to report explosions and other indications of military activity near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
We again stress the imperative of ensuring the integrity, safety and security of all nuclear sites.
In this context, we reiterate that there is no excuse for irresponsible and inflammatory nuclear rhetoric that fans the risk of further escalation.
Mr. President,
As highlighted last week by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the humanitarian situation in Ukraine remains dire amid the intensification of aerial assaults by Russian forces.
The most vulnerable, including internally displaced persons and those residing in frontline communities, are in urgent need of assistance.
Sustaining the donor support to the UN Humanitarian Response Plan is imperative to alleviate the suffering of those affected by the conflict.
Despite our persistent efforts, humanitarian access to the Russian-occupied territories remains restricted, raising grave concerns for the wellbeing of civilians residing in these areas.
Mr. President,
The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has been on the ground for 10 years to monitor and report on human rights violations, including in occupied Crimea.
In Crimea, OHCHR has consistently reported on the unlawful imposition of Russian citizenship and laws, intimidation and pressure to participate in illegal electoral processes, suppression of freedom of expression and religion, and other human rights violations.
Similar patterns of violations are emerging in the occupied regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.
Since December 2023, our human rights colleagues have recorded a disturbing increase in reports of allegations of extrajudicial executions of prisoners of war by Russian forces.
As of today, OHCHR has verified three cases of execution of seven Ukrainian POWs, while an additional nine cases of alleged executions involving at least 25 Ukrainian POWs are still being verified.
OHCHR has also documented a pattern of arbitrary detentions and possible enforced disappearance of local officials, journalists, civil society activists and other civilians at the hands of Russian armed forces in occupied areas of Ukraine.
A new report by the Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, published today, provides additional information on the Commission’s previous findings that torture against civilians by Russian authorities in Ukraine and in the Russian Federation has been widespread and systematic.
Victims’ accounts disclose relentless, brutal treatment inflicting severe pain and suffering during prolonged detention, with blatant disregard for human dignity. This has led to long-lasting physical and mental trauma.
All perpetrators of such egregious violations must be held accountable. We will support efforts to this end by continuing to record these cases, and to implore the Russian Federation to facilitate access to all detainees.
Mr. President,
As this war is now in its third year, peace continues to elude us.
The rising toll of the war on the people of Ukraine is undeniable. Furthermore, as reiterated during the ongoing 68th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women, conflicts worldwide, including in Ukraine, have an acute impact on the lives of women.
Women constitute the vast majority of the 6.2 million people forced to flee their homes during the war, which jeopardizes the strides made toward gender equality and exacerbates existing inequalities.
Despite immense obstacle, Ukrainian women have been at the forefront of humanitarian initiatives. Women-led civil society groups were among the earliest responders to the full-scale invasion.
It is crucial to recognize the essential role Ukrainian women must assume in the long process to recovery and peaceful future of Ukraine.
The pursuit of peace must be our foremost priority, guided by the UN Charter, international law and General Assembly resolutions.
The Secretary-General’s remarks to this Council on 23 February aptly underscored the imperative of recommitting to these fundamental principles to achieve just, lasting and comprehensive peace.
Thank you.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Friday expressed outrage at the recent abductions by gunmen of hundreds of people in Nigeria.
The war in Gaza has left a staggering almost 23 millions tonnes of rubble and unexploded weapons scattered across the enclave, UN humanitarians said on Friday.
Fresh evidence of “horrific…widespread and systematic” abuse and likely war crimes committed by Russian forces against civilians and military detainees in Ukraine emerged on Friday, in a new report by UN-appointed independent rights investigators.