Category: Europe

Viktoriya Hrubas is a Public Information Officer with the UN humanitarian coordination office, OCHA, and she’s been giving her firsthand account of what it has been like to serve, and suffer, alongside her fellow Ukrainians. © UNOCHA/Matteo Minasi “Nobody is prepared to go through war”, she admits, despite her wide experience as a humanitarian providing emergency aid to those in… Read More

Russian missiles and drones have rained down on several cities, including the capital, Kyiv, she reported, destroying or damaging homes and severely disrupting critical services.  “I must say it again: attacks targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure are prohibited under international humanitarian law,” she stressed.  ‘No end in sight’  Meanwhile, military dynamics on the ground continue to evolve.   Ms. DiCarlo… Read More

Matilda 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 where they were being held.… Read More

Aid workers brought food, water, hygiene kits, shelter materials and critical household items, such as bedding, thermal blankets and solar lamps, to more than 6,000 people in the city, which returned to Ukrainian control last Friday after Russian troops withdrew. Russian forces have occupied Kherson since March, capturing the city in the first weeks of the war. So far, it… Read More

Nearly 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 abstained.  The vote took place… Read More

“Since February, aid workers have provided critical aid and protection services to some 13.5 million people across all regions of Ukraine”, Associate Spokesperson Stéphanie Tremblay told journalists at a regular briefing in New York. She added that more than 4.2 million people have received cash assistance over the past eight months and that markets are reopening, as the Government works… Read More

“We have documented many cases where counter-terrorism legislation and other criminal provisions have been used to harass, arrest, detain and convict civil society actors in Türkiye, including Dr. Fincancı, on spurious grounds”, the experts said in a statement. Blurred charges On 26 October, Ms. Fincancı, who helped develop UN reference standards on the investigation and documentation of torture cases, known… Read More

While visiting the country from 31 October to 4 November, the members of the International Expert Mechanism gathered information on the existing legislative and regulatory measures for tackling racial discrimination. “The collection, publication and analysis of data disaggregated by race or ethnic origin in all aspects of life, especially regarding interactions with law enforcement and the criminal justice system, is… Read More

The State of the Climate in Europe report, produced jointly with the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, focused on 2021. It provides information on rising temperatures, land and marine heatwaves, extreme weather, changing precipitation patterns, and retreating ice and snow. Glacier melt The report says that between 1991 and 2021, temperatures in Europe warmed significantly, at an average rate… Read More

On Sunday, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said, in a statement for the Secretary-General, that Mr. Guterres has decided to delay his departure for the Arab League Summit in Algiers by a day to focus on the issue. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February 2022, mountains of grains built up in silos, with ships unable to secure safe passage… Read More