Destruction in Borodyanka, Ukraine. Top news of the day | Tuesday: Ukraine, Gaza, sexual violence, UK UN
The main news of the day in the UN and in the world: shelling of the territory of Ukraine, mass graves of Palestinians in Gaza, an increase in the number of cases of sexual violence in conflict, the expulsion of asylum seekers from the UK to Rwanda.
Victims in Ukraine
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that as a result of another strike on Odessa last night, civilians, including children, were injured and houses were seriously damaged. Humanitarian organizations provide emergency assistance to the population. A day earlier, in the Kharkov region, according to local authorities, civilians were killed and injured as a result of attacks. In addition, on Tuesday afternoon in the Dnepropetrovsk region, several people were reportedly killed in shelling. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has confirmed almost 100 attacks on medical facilities in Ukraine this year.
Burials in Gaza
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has received information about the discovery of mass graves in the Gaza Strip. The slain Palestinians were reportedly found stripped naked and with their hands tied, raising fears that war crimes had been committed. According to the agency, hundreds of bodies discovered over the weekend were “buried deep in the ground and covered with debris” at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis and Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
Sexual violence
Last year, the UN recorded 3,688 confirmed cases of sexual violence in conflict, indicating a sharp 50 percent increase in the number of such incidents compared to the previous year. Pramila Patten, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, announced this when speaking at a meeting of the Security Council. In particular, she said, two years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, thousands of displaced and refugee women and girls are at increased risk of becoming victims of human traffickers.
Asylum seekers in Britain
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi and UN High Commissioner Human Rights Representative Volker Türk expressed alarm at the adoption by the British Parliament of the Rwanda Security Bill. The implementation of this legislation could negatively affect the situation with human rights and the protection of refugees, they say. Human rights activists have called on the British government to reconsider its plan to expel asylum seekers to Rwanda and instead take action to address illegal migration through international cooperation and respect for human rights.