Destroyed school in Ukraine. Top news of the day | Monday: Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Gaza, Afghanistan UN
The main news of the day in the UN and in the world: shelling of the front-line areas of Ukraine, the official visit of the UN Secretary General to Uzbekistan, tens of thousands of people forced to flee the city of Gaza, the rights of Afghan women in the spotlight of the participants of the meeting in Doha.
Victims in Ukraine
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that more than 100 people have been killed in shelling that began last Friday and continued over the weekend in front-line areas of Ukraine. According to local authorities, in total, more than 120 civilians have been injured in recent days, including about 40 killed. There was also significant damage to civilian infrastructure. Humanitarian organizations, together with emergency response services and municipal institutions, are providing medical and psychological support to the victims, as well as providing them with food, repair materials and temporary housing.
UN Head in Uzbekistan
During his official visit to Uzbekistan, the UN Secretary-General met with the president of this country. Antonio Guterres and Shavkat Mirziyoyev discussed the prospects for cooperation between the UN and the Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as issues related to regional stability and development in Central Asia. The UN Secretary-General expressed his gratitude to Mirziyoyev for his role in developing regional cooperation in Central Asia, as well as for aligning Uzbekistan’s national development plan with the 2030 Development Agenda. Currently, the head of the UN is on a tour of the countries of Central Asia – in addition to Uzbekistan, he will visit Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
Escalation in Gaza
Fierce fighting in northern Gaza forced some 84,000 people to flee to the eastern part of the enclave and resulted in the loss of access to a key aid distribution center. UN humanitarian agencies announced this on Monday. According to the OCHA report, access restrictions, insecurity and ongoing fighting continue to significantly hinder the delivery of needed aid and services throughout Gaza. OCHA noted that Israeli authorities facilitated less than half of the more than 100 humanitarian missions planned for the month to the north of the enclave. The rest had to be canceled for various reasons.
Afghanistan Meeting
Even though Afghan women and civil communities were not invited to the negotiating table with the de facto authorities, their voices were heard. This was stated on Monday by UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo at a press conference held on the sidelines of the meeting of special envoys for Afghanistan in Doha. According to her, a common thread throughout all discussions was international concern about serious restrictions on the rights of women and girls. On Tuesday, as the Deputy Secretary General said, discussions will take place with representatives of Afghan women and civil society.