Catherine Russell, head of UN child rights agency, UNICEF, appealed for greater protection efforts by both the international community and the parties to the conflict, and a political solution to end the war. “Children are depending on this Council to provide solutions. We cannot and we must not let them down,” she said. Young lives
Read MoreThe legitimate protests were dispersed using disproportionate and, in some cases, unnecessary force by the police in the capital, Tbilisi, according to the statement from High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk. Dozens of protesters and media workers were reportedly injured during the demonstrations sparked by a prime ministerial announcement postponing negotiations on joining the
Read MoreSpokesperson Jeremy Laurence said massive missile and drone attacks on the power network this week have heightened serious concerns about the plight of civilians facing a winter of hardship and misery. Russia launched missile and long-range drone strikes on Thursday, which reportedly caused damage in at least 13 regions, in addition to the capital city,
Read More“The latest developments follow the already disturbing reports of troops from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) being deployed to the conflict zone,” Miroslav Jenča, Assistant Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, told ambassadors. He said the Ukrainian city of Dnipro was hit by a ballistic intermediate-range Russian missile on 21 November which reportedly
Read MoreTheir warning comes amid growing international concern about the vulnerability of Ukraine’s nuclear facilities which rely on a stable power grid to maintain critical safety systems. “The latest large-scale Russian missile attack on Ukraine’s electricity system has led to further significant damage to electric substations that are essential to the operation of Ukraine’s nuclear power
Read MoreThe “grim milestone” fell as Ukraine fired long-range American-made missiles into Russia for the first time, according to media reports. ‘Not just numbers’ Conflict erupted in Ukraine over a decade ago following Russia’s occupation of Crimea in the east and escalated on 24 February 2022 with the full-scale assault on the country. The UN Resident
Read MoreDr. Nadezhda Buyanova was sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison for allegedly making anti-war remarks concerning Russian troops fighting in Ukraine, during a private medical consultation. “It is appalling to sentence a doctor for unproven private comment in the course of her professional duties,” said Mariana Katzarova, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human
Read MoreThe large-scale strikes occurred overnight and reportedly caused severe damage, power outages and civilian casualties. “Attacks on energy infrastructure will only increase the suffering of civilians with the looming winter weather,” UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said in a note to journalists. “Directing attacks against civilians and civilian objects is prohibited by international humanitarian law. Any
Read MoreSpeaking in Geneva, Matthias Schmale described the anguish felt by Ukrainians as the war grinds on: “As we are not only approaching winter but also the sad 1,000-day mark since the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion in 2022, we are of course thinking of the more than 12,000 people who have been killed.” “To date, civilian
Read MoreRecent attacks on energy infrastructure have decimated 65 percent of Ukraine’s energy generation capacity, severely disrupting electricity, heating and water supplies across the country. “The deepening emotional toll on innocent people became clear during my visit to the country last week,” Kelly Clements, UN Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees reported, noting that, “the intense attacks
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