Category: Europe

According to humanitarian workers, at least six people were killed on Tuesday after Russian missiles struck a busy street in the city of Kherson. Most of the victims were standing at a bus stop, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told journalists in New York that day.   Identities and shelters targeted  The UN-appointed independent rights experts also expressed concern at the… Read More

“We are not here to set up a trial in the Security Council”, Russian ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said during discussions. He said Moscow was presenting a request for an independent investigation in light of doubts about the integrity and transparency of Denmark, Germany and Sweden in their ongoing inquiries.  Instead, he said, the UN Secretary-General “is someone we trust” to… Read More

Describing the new laws as a “fundamental feminist achievement”, they said the move was part of an ambitious agenda for social progress. The legislation guarantees and facilitates access to sexual and reproductive rights in the country.  New menstrual leave, abortion laws  The new overarching measures ensure safe and accessible abortions provided by national health agencies. They also eliminate “reflection processes”… Read More

Johannes Fromholt is currently near the frontline in Donetsk Oblast and has been describing the support the UN is providing. “I am currently in Kurakhove, which is close to the frontline. We see heavy fighting, which has intensified even in the past week. We came here as part of a UN interagency humanitarian convoy, to provide communities with humanitarian assistance.… Read More

“Peace is not just about signing an agreement,” said Miroslav Jenča, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and Americas, who briefed members during a meeting requested by the Russian Federation – as the one-year mark nears, since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Mr. Jenča stressed that turning words on paper into action on the ground is particularly… Read More

“More people in distress will be made to suffer and more lives risk being lost because timely help is not available, if this law is passed,” he said in a statement.  Mr. Türk expressed his serious concerns a day after the Italian Parliament approved legislation that imposes stricter requirements on humanitarian ships which are attempting to save migrant lives on… Read More

The situation for many in Ukraine remains desperate, amid “relentless” shelling of civilian targets and infrastructure, the UN’s Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, told journalists in Geneva. Humanitarian funding is needed to continue supporting lifesaving aid convoy deliveries to communities on the front line, “into areas of great danger and difficulty and priority needs”, said Mr. Griffiths, who heads the… Read More

While European prisons managed adequate COVID-19 pandemic responses for inmates, concerns remain about poor mental health services, overcrowding and suicide rates, the report stated. “Prisons are embedded in communities and investments made in the health of people in prison becomes a community dividend,” said Dr. Hans Henri P. Kluge, regional director of the WHO regional office for Europe. “Incarceration should… Read More

The development would represent a key measure to tackle past injustices and create a more inclusive society, said UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, José Francisco Cali Tzay, in a statement at the end of a 10-day visit to the two countries.  Inuit people comprise nearly 90 per cent of the population of Greenland, an autonomous dependent… Read More

Preliminary criminal proceedings opened last May in Sicily against 21 people charged with aiding and abetting illegal immigration in connection with several search-and-rescue missions conducted between 2016 and 2017.  Those accused include four crew members of the Iuventa, a former fishing trawler credited with saving some 14,000 migrant lives in the Mediterranean Sea, and human rights activists from other civilian… Read More