Looking back on two of the most difficult periods since the plant opened in 1977, Chernobyl employees shared their personal stories with UN News on the International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day. Ground zero Evgeny Yashin was a 40-year-old chemist at the Chernobyl plant when the nuclear power reactor accident unfolded in April 1986, resulting in
Read MoreIn a statement, the dozen experts said representatives from the Russian-owned mercenary outfit had been “offering pardons for criminal sentences to prisoners who join the group and take part in the war in Ukraine, as well as a monthly payment to their relatives”. The experts – members of the Working Group on the use of Mercenaries, the Working Group
Read MoreMatilda Bogner, Head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU), told journalists in Geneva that the civilian death toll in the southern city of Mariupol – besieged and bombarded by Russian missiles – had been particularly high. “My colleagues interviewed a former prisoner of war, and he was from Mariupol and he
Read MoreAgainst the backdrop of the ongoing and deadly Russian invasion of Ukraine, the experts urged the IOC to adopt a decision in that direction, and to go further. Level playing field needed Alexandra Xanthaki, Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights and Ashwini K.P., Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia
Read MoreMs. DiCarlo referred to the latest wave of Russian missile and drone strikes in Ukraine which, she said, terrorized the citizens of several cities (Kyiv, Odesa, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia). With winter approaching, the attacks, she said, “renew fears that this winter will be catastrophic for millions of Ukrainians, who face the prospect of
Read MoreMatilda Bogner, Head of the UN’s human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine, said that, over the past few months, her team had interviewed 159 prisoners of war – or POWs – both men and women, held by Russia, and 175 male prisoners of war held by Ukraine. Ukraine gave the mission access to Russian POWs
Read MoreNearly 50 nations co-sponsored the resolution on establishing an international mechanism for compensation for damage, loss and injury, as well as a register to document evidence and claims. The General Assembly is the UN’s most representative body, comprising all 193 Member States. Ninety-four countries voted in favour of the resolution, and 14 against, while 73
Read MoreThe strikes which have reportedly caused widespread damage to civilian areas and led to dozens of deaths and injuries, showed that “as always”, civilians were paying the highest price for Russia’s invasion of 24 February, the statement released by the UN Spokesperson added. Speaking earlier in the day in Geneva, UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi reported that Kyiv,
Read MoreMore than 73,000 people in Kharkiv oblast have now received food assistance, which is nearly half of the population in the retaken areas. Villages and settlements across the oblast that are back under Ukrainian Government control are unable to meet even their most basic needs, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Read More“As in other conflicts, we currently witness the unfolding of suffering in Ukraine that does not seem to end and we cannot stop,” said Alexandra Xanthaki, Special Rapporteur on cultural rights. “The questioning and denial of the Ukrainian identity and history as a justification for war, is a violation of the Ukrainians’ right to self-determination
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