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By J. Tuyet Nguyen

New York, March 24 – The United Nations General Assembly voted 140 against five to demand an immediate end of hostilities by Russian military forces in Ukraine, in particular against civilians and call for full protection of humanitarian and health personnel, journalists and persons in vulnerable situations, including women and children.

The five countries voting against are: Russia, Belarus, Syria, North Korea and Eritrea. A total of 38 countries abstained

The resolution adopted by the assembly demanded that “all parties” protect civilians fleeing the war and allow them unhindered access to humanitarian aid and personnel. It condemned all violations against international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights and called on “all parties to the armed conflict to strictly respect international humanitarian law.”

The resolution called upon member states to fully fund the UN flash appeal for humanitarian response in Ukraine and the regional response to refugees.

The Russian military invasion of Ukraine, which started on February 24, has forced millions of people out of their homes including more than 3.5 million have taken refuge in neighboring countries, hundreds of deaths and vast destructions of properties.

The vote took place during a resumed special emergency session of the 193-nation assembly at the request of 22 countries to discuss the resolution entitled “Humanitarian consequences of the aggression against Ukraine.” The document called for an immediate cease-fire and urgent humanitarian aid to help desperate civilians caught under heavy bombardments and dire conditions that UN Secretary-General Antonio described as “appalling human suffering and destruction in cities, towns and villages. “

The UN chief said in an address to the UN Security Council on Ukraine March 22: “The terrorizing of civilians through systematic bombardments, the shelling of hospitals, schools, apartment buildings and shelters… all of it is intensifying — getting more destructive and more unpredictable by the hour.  Ten million Ukrainians have been forced from their homes and are on the move. “

“But the war is going nowhere, fast,” he said. “The only outcome to all this is more suffering, more destruction, and more horror as far as the eye can see.  The Ukrainian people are enduring a living hell – and the reverberations are being felt worldwide with skyrocketing food, energy and fertilizer prices threatening to spiral into a global hunger crisis.”

Guterres called for a cease-fire: “There is enough on the table to cease hostilities – now … and seriously negotiate — now.  This war is unwinnable.  Sooner or later, it will have to move from the battlefield to the peace table. This is inevitable.”

The UN General Assembly condemned Russian invasion in previous emergency session

The assembly held the first emergency session on February 28-March 2 and adopted a resolution condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A total of 145 countries voted in favor of the condemnation resolution, five countries voted against (Russia, Belarus, Syria, North Korea and Eritrea) while 35 countries abstained.

The resolution adopted by the assembly condemned Russia’s “special military operation” against Ukraine and “deplored in the strongest terms the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine” in violation of the UN Charter. The resolution called for an immediate and complete cease-fire and for the immediate withdrawal of Russian military forces from Ukraine.

The resolution also condemned all violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights, and it called on all parties to strictly respect relevant provisions of international humanitarian law.

More than 3.5 million refugees

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said more than 3.5 million people have fled Ukraine to take refuge in neighboring and other countries, including about 2 million in Poland, since the Russian invasion started on February 24. It said the high number of refugees demanded massive needs in order to survive.

“This is really another tragic milestone for the people of Ukraine and it’s been achieved in just under one month,” said Matthew Saltmarsh, spokesperson for UNHCR.

The International Office for Migration said an estimated 6.5 million men, women and children are forced out of their homes inside Ukraine because of the war in addition to those who became refugees.  The office said many of those internally displaced people are particularly vulnerable, pregnant and breastfeeding women, elderly persons, those with disabilities, chronic illnesses and people directly affected by violence.

“The scale of human suffering and forced displacement due to the war far exceeds any worst-case scenario planning,” IOM Director General António Vitorinosaid.

The World Health Organization said the refugees need urgent assistance for chronic health and mental trauma.

“As you can imagine access to health care in Ukraine is very restricted,” Dr Paloma Cuchi said. “And on top of that, refugees are coming from a long, difficult and dangerous journey, you know, until they arrive at the border of Poland. Children are travelling for days without proper food, without the proper water. They are tired, they are worried.”

“There is a tremendous number of senior refugees…that have been without their medications for days, they come with decompensated diabetes, with blood pressure with other health problems, and of course, we have pregnant women, who are without prenatal care.”

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By J. Tuyet Nguyen

New York, March 23 – The UN Security Council turned down a Russian-backed resolution calling for humanitarian aid and protection of health workers in Ukraine after 13 council members abstained and only Russia and China voted in favor.  The resolution called for respect of international humanitarian and human rights law and for an end of hostilities without mentioning Russia’s military operations in Ukraine.

It was the first time that China voted in favor of a UN resolution on the war in Ukraine.

UK Ambassador Barbara Woodward said the Russian resolution was “a cynical effort by Russia to exploit the crisis which they have caused. Their resolution called for respect for international humanitarian law, but overlooked the fact that they are committing war crimes. Their resolution called for the protection of women and children, but overlooked the fact that they had bombed the hospital in Mariupol and the theatre in Mariupol. Their resolution called for a ceasefire – although we know that the last time they called for a ceasefire, Russia breached it within hours. Their resolution did not call for the one thing that would work, which is that Russia needs to stop its invasion of Ukraine. Thank you.”

Council members who abstained are: the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Albania, Brazil, Gabon, Ghana, India, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico, Norway and United Arab Emirates.

It takes nine votes to pass a resolution in the 15-nation UN Security Council but the vote is blocked if one of the five permanent members vote against, which constitutes a veto. The five members are the US, the UK, Russia, France and China.

The failed Russian resolution included the following demands: It “stressed the need to ensure humane treatment of detainees in accordance with international humanitarian law;” “demanded that civilians, including humanitarian personnel and persons in vulnerable situations, including women and children are fully protected.”

It demanded “from all parties concerned full respect for provisions of international humanitarian law in connection with objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population and civilian infrastructure that is critical to enable the delivery of essential services in armed conflict, and to refrain from deliberately placing military objects and equipment in the vicinity of such objects or in the midst of densely populated areas, as well as not to use civilian objects for military purposes;”

It called “upon all parties concerned to allow safe and unhindered passage to destinations outside of Ukraine, including to foreign nationals without discrimination, and facilitate safe and unhindered access of humanitarian assistance to those in need in and around Ukraine, taking into account the particular needs of women, girls, men and boys, older persons and persons with disabilities;”

It “condemned all violations of international humanitarian law and violations of human rights, and calls upon all parties to respect strictly the relevant provisions of international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and Additional Protocol I thereto, of 1977 and to respect international human rights law, as applicable;”and “called upon Member States to fund the flash appeal launched by the United Nations for the humanitarian response in Ukraine, as well as the regional refugee response plan for Ukraine.”

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New York, March 10 – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres denounced Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a violation of international law and the war will deplete humanitarian funds needed in vulnerable countries, increase global hunger and contribute to the climate crisis.

“We have been brought back to the foundational promise of the United Nations Charter, to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war. Many people around the world are asking how this could happen in the 21st century,” Guterres said in an address to the UN General Assembly which convened to discuss implementation of Our Common Agenda, a blueprint for multilateralism and collective action on development.

He said, “How are we still staring into the nuclear abyss, as millions of people flee across borders and the most fundamental tenets of international law are trampled?”

The war will “stretch humanitarian funding even thinner, increasing the suffering of many of the most vulnerable,” and “could indirectly increase global hunger. Ukraine is one of the world’s biggest sources of grain, the Russian Federation is second, and the conflict could cause prices to spike,” he said.

 “This conflict is deeply linked with the climate crisis, demonstrating how our continued reliance on fossil fuels puts the global economy and energy security at the mercy of geopolitical shocks.”

Reminding the 193-nation assembly that it was meeting amid the war in Ukraine, he said, “Peace is the most important global public good and the United Nations was created to deliver it. War brings death, human suffering and unimaginable destruction, at a time when we cannot afford to add to the major global challenges we face.”

“This conflict also calls on us to come together in cooperation and solidarity to support everyone affected, and to overcome this violation of international law,” he said, adding that if the international organization wants to bequeath “a world free from want and fear, and full of opportunities to fulfil their potential, we must urgently focus on building and strengthening the foundations of the multilateral system.”

Active UN humanitarian work underway in Ukraine

Stéphane Dujarric, the spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, said as of March 10 there were an estimated 1.9 million internally displaced Ukrainians and the UN refugee agency reported that more than 2.3 million others have now crossed the country’s western border in search of safety in neighboring countries, UN News reported.

“Three things are critical in the short term, as Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths has stressed: civilians, whether they stay or leave, must be respected and protected; safe passage is needed for humanitarian supplies; and we need a system of constant communications with parties to the conflict”, Dujarric said.

“In terms of response, humanitarian organizations are deploying additional staff across the country and are working to move supplies to warehouses in different hubs within Ukraine and outside.

Other humanitarian activities underway or under planning include those of the World Food Program which was planning to assist up to 3.1 million people inside Ukraine with bulk food, bread and food rations, the spokesman said.

“With consignments of food assistance arriving every day, WFP is in a race against time to pre-position food in areas where fighting is expected to flare”, he said.

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said more than one million children have now fled Ukraine and it has sent close to 70 tons of supplies that include food, personal protection equipment and medical gears.

“Working with its partners, UNICEF teams in Ukraine will be delivering medical supplies to 22 hospitals in five different conflict-affected areas in the country, to benefit 20,000 children and mothers,” Dujarric said.

“Across the border, three trucks were sent from Copenhagen – which is UNICEF’s warehouse in Europe and the largest humanitarian hub in the world – and those trucks were carrying essential supplies, such as early childhood development, recreational and hygiene kits. These supplies have now arrived in Poland.”

Dujarric said the World Health Organization (WHO) has delivered 81 metric tons of supplies and is establishing a pipeline of supplies for health facilities across Ukraine. WHO has also released $10.2 million from its Contingency Fund and deployed staff to provide more essential care to exhausted and devastated refugees fleeing their homeland.

UN News also reported that the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned that the coming weeks will be critical, as farmers will need to prepare land for sowing vegetables in the middle of March. Ukraine is one of the world’s biggest suppliers of grain for export.

Between February and May, Ukrainian farmers would normally be preparing land for planting wheat, barley, maize, and sunflowers. FAO is stressing that all efforts should be made to protect harvests and livestock, during the intense and growing conflict.

The Ukraine Flash Appeal 2022 has received $109 million so far, which represents 9.6 per cent of what is needed. The appeal which was launched by the Secretary-General on 1 March, requires $1.1 billion for a three-month period for humanitarian response inside Ukraine.

“As we have said we encourage the donors who made generous pledges to release the money quickly and report their contribution to OCHA’s Financial Tracking Service,” Dujarric said.

Read more News here

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Geneva/New York, March 7 – The Russian military operations in Ukraine have shattered millions of lives, made 1.7 million refugees and killed 406 people among more than 1,200 civilian casualties in 11 days of violence but “the real figure could be considerably higher,” the UN humanitarian relief coordinator told the UN Security Council.

Martin Griffiths, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said the relief works involved many UN agencies and non-governmental organizations and his office in Geneva began sending surge staff days before the Russian invasion started on February 24.

“People are watching as this unnecessary conflict engulfs cities and civilians with an extra sense of dread over the impact it will have on the wider world. I include myself in this category,” Griffiths said as he and UN staff and volunteers have been working non-stop without any sleep since the Russian invasion.

He described the war’s impacts on civilians in Ukraine as follow: “People cannot stay home with shops shut, power and water cut, shells falling and phones switched off.  They can’t find what they need even if they have money to pay for it. As we have seen even as the TV cameras roll, many can’t even flee in safety either. “
 

The UN refugee agency said more than 1.7 million refugees escaped violence, fear and pain and constituted the largest surge of refugees since World War II. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights reported at least 1,207 civilian casualties, including at least 406 dead. “The real figure could be considerably higher,”  Griffiths said.

He said humanitarian assistance has continued in all areas in Ukraine where security, including in  cities such as Mariupol, Kharkiv, and Kherson, and relief response is also being scaled up from hubs in Vinnutsya, Uzhorod and Lviv. 

“The UN and our partners have already provided food to hundreds of thousands of people. The World Food Program is setting up supply chain operations to deliver immediate food and cash assistance to 3-5 million people inside Ukraine, “Griffiths said.

The UN humanitarian office appealed for $1.7 billion days after Russian military forces began their operations in Ukraine. Griffiths said donors have generously met the request.

 He saidthe World Health Organization has shipped trauma care, emergency surgery equipment and other supplies that will help thousands of people and more supplies are on their way. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees is providing assistance through a network of shops in Mariupol, in collaboration with NGOs. It’s bringing in thousands of blankets, mattresses and other relief items from Poland and shipping them to transit centers. In addition, the Ukrainian Red Cross has distributed humanitarian assistance to thousands via its emergency stockpiles.

“I especially salute the more than 4,000 Red Cross volunteers, the community workers of local NGOs, the truck drivers carrying basic necessities into volatile areas,” he said.

Griffiths said his office has requested Moscow (1) to take constant care to spare civilians and civilian homes and infrastructure in their military operations; (2) create safe passage for humanitarian supplies into areas of active hostilities. Civilians in places like Mariupol, Kharkiv, Melitopol, and elsewhere desperately need aid, especially life-saving medical supplies and (3) the UN urgently needs a system of constant communication with parties to the conflict and assurances to enable the delivery of humanitarian aid.

Griffiths said the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which he called an “unnecessary conflict” happened while populations in other countries badly need humanitarian assistance.

“I am deeply worried about the consequences on vulnerable people living half a world away. 

Food prices are spiking and supplies uncertain. We didn’t need that either. People in the Sahel, Yemen, the Horn of Africa, Afghanistan, Madagascar, and beyond already face profound food insecurity.

Record-level fuel prices mean life becomes harder still in places like Lebanon, where generators keep hospitals open and water treatment plants working. 

We simply cannot afford to have political attention and donor funding diluted, diverted from other pressing humanitarian crises. This may be the latest war, but not the only one.” 

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