Six months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the General secretary The UN Secretary of State expressed his deep concern on Wednesday about the violations and abuses of human rights and international humanitarian law related to this armed conflict and the fact that the hostilities between Russia and Ukraine show no signs of ending.
In a session of Security Council dedicated to maintaining peace and security in Ukraine, which coincided with the 31st anniversary of that country’s independence and was attended by its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, via videoconference, António Guterres recalled that during the last half year they have died and injured thousands of civilians.
These figures were later detailed by the UN Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs, Rosemary Dicarlo, when she estimated the verified civilian victims at 5,614 dead and 7,946 injured, according to records compiled by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
“The world has witnessed serious violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law committed with hardly any accountability. Millions of Ukrainians have lost their homes and material possessions, becoming internally displaced or refugees,” Guterres said.
New foci of combat and protection of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant
Despite progress on the humanitarian front, the UN chief declared that the fighting in Ukraine “shows no signs of ending”, and that new potential areas of dangerous escalation continue to appear.
He stressed that “two places have always been present in my mind – and in my conversations in Ukraine – Zaporizhia and Olenivka” and expressed concern about the situation of the nuclear power plant in the first enclave.
“The alarm lights are on. Any action that could endanger the physical integrity, safety or security of the nuclear power plant is simply unacceptable. Any escalation of the situation could lead to self-destruction. We must guarantee the security of the plant and restore it as a purely civilian infrastructure”, he reiterated.
For his part, the director general of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, announced on Twitter that this Wednesday he met in Istanbul with senior Russian officials to discuss an “imminent mission” to the Ukrainian nuclear plant.
Roman Shalamov/ Source of Revival NGO
Heavily damaged housing in the Kharkiv region.
The arrival of winter and the humanitarian challenges it poses
The Secretary-General added that the approaching winter in the northern hemisphere will increase the humanitarian needs for millions of people who will require assistance and protection.
“As those needs soar, it is imperative that humanitarian actors in Ukraine have safe and unhindered access to all persons requiring assistanceno matter where they live.”
In this section, Dicarlo explained that humanitarian needs continue to increase rapidly and that at least 17.7 million people, 40% of the Ukrainian population, need humanitarian assistance and protection, including 3.3 million children.
“Humanitarian access is very worrying. The roads are heavily contaminated with explosive devices, which endangers civilians and prevents humanitarian convoys from arriving,” said the senior official.
© UNOCHA
The first shipment of more than 26,000 tons of Ukrainian food under a Black Sea export deal has been cleared to go to its final destination in Lebanon.
More food and fertilizer at reasonable costs will calm the markets
Regarding his recent visit to Ukraine and his supervision of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, an agreement reached between that country and Russia, under the auspices of the United Nations, Guterres explained that there are dozens of ships entering and leaving the ports. Ukrainians, loaded so far with more than 720,000 metric tons of grain and other food products.
A difficult image to imagine a few weeks ago and which the Secretary General described as “powerful demonstration of what can be achievedeven in the most devastating contexts, when we put people first”.
He then requested the cooperation of all governments and the private sector to allow unhindered access to world markets for Russian food and fertilizers, which are not subject to sanctions.
“In 2022, there is enough food in the world; the problem is its unequal distribution. But if we don’t stabilize the fertilizer market in 2022, there simply won’t be enough food in 2023,” she warned.
He called it “essential” to get much more food and fertilizer out of Ukraine and Russia at reasonable costs, a move that would serve “to further calm commodity markets and reduce prices for consumers.”
Dicarlo stressed that the war has severely affected agriculture in Ukraine, leaving thousands of farmers without income, destroying grain storage facilities and exacerbating food insecurity among vulnerable groups.
“According to him World Food Program 20% of the population of Ukraine do not have enough food. According to World Food Program estimates, 345 million people will be acutely food insecure or at high risk of food insecurity in 82 countries with an operational WFP presence. This represents an increase of 47 million people with acute hunger due to the effects of the war in Ukraine”, highlighted.
UNHCR/Anastasia Vlasova
A woman in eastern Ukraine lights a fire
Zelenskyy fears a “radiological catastrophe”
President Zelenskyy addressed the Council, despite Russia’s objection that he should participate in person and not virtually.
Zelenskyy warned that “Russia has put the world on the brink of a radiological catastrophe,” referring to the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
“The IAEA mission must take permanent control of the situation at the Zaporizhzhia NPP as soon as possible, and Russia must unconditionally stop nuclear blackmail and fully withdraw from the plant,” he said, speaking through an interpreter.
Although the deal to resume Ukrainian grain exports has eased some of the tensions in world food markets, Zelenskyy said that only the full recovery of all agricultural exports will ensure that millions of people around the world have something to eat.
The president stated that Russia must be held accountable for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, adding that a resolution on the matter will be tabled for consideration during the next session of the UN General Assembly.
“We must all confirm and force Russia to recognize that the inviolability of borders and peace are unconditional values for all nations,” he said.
Russia, denounces the “support” of the West
For the Russian ambassador, the meeting was not related to events on the ground, but rather “to demonstrate the unfailing support of Western delegations for any action by the kyiv regime.”
“Unsurprisingly, the Council has heard a lot about Russian aggression,” Nebenzya said, stating that “in the last 200 years, no other explanation for European security issues has emerged in the West other than reference to Russian actions.
Nebenzya said that although no one disputes that today it is “difficult” for Ukrainians, “responsibility for this lies with the Kyiv regime, which came to power in 2014 as a result of an unconstitutional coup carried out with the help of a number of Western states.”
When the alternative is to buy medicine or fuel before winter
Among the multiple reactions six months after the start of the war, the head of the UN Human Rights Observation Mission in Ukraine, Matilda Bogner, highlighted that since February 24 there have been 327 cases of arbitrary arrests and disappearances (279 men, 47 women and 1 child) in the territory controlled by the Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups.
On the part of the Ukrainian security forces, it documented 39 arbitrary arrests (35 men and four women) in which the procedural and judicial guarantees of the right to liberty were allegedly violated, and another 28 cases (24 men and four women) that may amount to to an enforced disappearance.
“Many of these victims, from both sides, have faced torture. Human beings, whoever they are, must be treated with dignity,” he warned.
Bognes stressed that the escalation of the conflict has also affected the most vulnerable groups in society.
“We meet elderly people, people with disabilities, whose houses have been damaged or destroyed, who cannot afford to rent housing in safe areas, or repair roofs, walls and windows with their small pensions. They have to choose between buying essential medicines or hard fuels to store for the coming winter.”, he alerted.
The latest findings on the impact of the attack will be presented in the Mission’s next report to be published in September.
© UNICEF
In a hospital in western Ukraine, doctors managed to remove a four-centimeter-long shrapnel fragment and save the life of a 13-year-old boy who was seriously injured by shelling in the east of the country.
Other support for humanitarian efforts in Ukraine
For its part, the World Food Program delivered more than 200 million dollars to internally displaced Ukrainians, distributed more than 64,000 metric tons of food to the population and delivered cash to 11,000 families in Moldova who host Ukrainian refugees.
“Six months of war have had a devastating impact on the health and lives of Ukrainians, but despite many challenges, the health system has managed to survive and deliver care where and when it is most needed,” said Director General of the World Health Organization.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus explained that the agency assisted in the delivery of more than 1,300 metric tons of critical medical supplies in coordination with the Ministry of Health and its partners.
So far this year, the Organization has helped train more than 9,000 health workers in areas such as trauma operations, chemical exposure, epidemiology, and laboratory diagnostics.
Training is also provided on stress management for health workers and how to safeguard the mental health of the population.
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