UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk. Top news of the day | Thursday: Ukraine, Russia, Gaza, measles UN
The main news of the day in the UN and in the world: an address by the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the second anniversary of the Russian invasion, a statement by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Russian Federation, the UN Special Coordinator on the situation in the Middle East, WHO calls for mass vaccination against measles.
The UN’s chief human rights activist speaks about the war in Ukraine
In its latest report, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) confirmed that since 24 February 2022, the conflict has claimed 10,582 civilian lives and injured 19,875, with the real figures likely to be significantly higher. This was announced by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, in his address dedicated to the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He called on Russia to immediately stop the war and warned that its consequences would be felt in Ukraine for generations.
UN Special Rapporteur on repression in Russia
Marking the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, UN Special Rapporteur on the Russian Federation Mariana Katsarova called for bringing those responsible to justice and showing solidarity with all victims of the war, including Russian anti-war activists. She stressed that the invasion demonstrated a clear connection between external aggression and internal repression. According to the expert, the war unleashed against the people of neighboring Ukraine turned into a war against its own people. “There is no longer room for safe civilian activity and political opposition in Russia,” Katsarova emphasized.
Security Council on the situation in the Middle East
On Thursday, at a meeting of the UN Security Council, they discussed the situation in the Gaza Strip and the growing tension throughout the region. The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Thor Wennesland, told Security Council members that there is no end in sight to the war, and human suffering and chaos continue. This week he visited the Gaza Strip, where he said there was a desperate humanitarian situation. Warning that it could get completely out of control, Wennesland called for a collective effort to prevent this from happening. He also called on the international community to help restart the political process for the future of Palestinians and Israelis.
Measles in the WHO European Region
According to the European Office of the World Health Organization, more than 2.5 million children were vaccinated in Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Romania and Tajikistan in 2023, which helped curb the spread of measles in these countries. WHO also calls on other countries in the region to increase the scale of measles vaccination, especially among vulnerable groups of the population. Last year, more than 58,000 people in 41 of 53 countries in Europe and Central Asia were infected with measles, leading to thousands of hospitalizations and dozens of deaths, WHO experts say.