UN headquarters building in New York. Top news of the day | Friday: Ukraine, Security Council on Gaza, Secretary General in Egypt, Turkmenistan UN
The main news of the day in the UN and in the world: the UN is outraged by the scale of Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, in the UN Security Council Russia and China vetoed the US draft resolution, the UN Secretary-General arrives on Saturday in Cairo, the General Assembly declared 2025 the “International Year of Peace and Trust.”
Strikes on Ukraine
The UN Secretary General condemned in the strongest possible terms the new shelling of Ukraine. Earlier on Friday, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine Denise Brown expressed her outrage at the scale of today’s Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure. More than 1.5 million people were left without electricity in Kharkov, Dnipro, Zaporozhye, Poltava, Odessa, Donetsk, Sumy and Kirovograd, and water supply was also disrupted in some areas. The impact of attacks on critical infrastructure is exacerbating an already dire humanitarian situation for millions of people in Ukraine, Brown said. She recalled the need to respect international humanitarian law.
Veto of China and Russia
On Friday at the UN Security Council Russia and China vetoed a US draft resolution that stated the “imperative” of an immediate and stable ceasefire in Gaza “to protect civilians,” facilitate the delivery of needed aid and support ongoing negotiations between Israel and Hamas. 11 out of 15 Security Council members voted for the resolution, three – Russia, China and Algeria – spoke out against it, and Guyana abstained. The US ambassador said Russia and China were not doing anything meaningful to promote peace, and Russian and Chinese representatives said the resolution should have called for an immediate ceasefire.
The UN chief went to Egypt and Jordan
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres arrives in Cairo on Saturday. During the annual Ramadan solidarity trip, the UN chief is expected to travel to northern Sinai and visit Rafah on the Egyptian side, where he will meet UN aid workers. In Cairo, the Secretary-General will meet with Egyptian officials and attend an iftar, or breaking of the fast, meal with Sudanese refugees who have fled their country due to ongoing fighting. Guterres will repeat his calls for an end to fighting in Sudan and Gaza. After Egypt, the Secretary-General will travel to Jordan.
International Year of Peace and Trust
The UN General Assembly by consensus adopted a resolution proposed by Turkmenistan declaring 2025 the “International Year of peace and trust.” The document was co-authored by 86 states. As Permanent Representative of Turkmenistan to the UN Aksoltan Atayeva said, the document reflects the fundamental goals and principles of the UN Charter, primarily the obligations to resolve disputes by peaceful means and methods. The resolution also provides a mechanism for attracting voluntary contributions to the Trust Fund for the International Year, and organizational matters are entrusted to UNESCO and the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs.