Rescue operation off the coast of Libya. (archive) Top news of the day | Tuesday: Ukraine, Libya, Gaza UN
The main news of the day in the UN and in the world: emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Ukraine, the desperate situation of migrants in Libya, a report on human rights in Ukraine, evacuation in the Gaza Strip.
Security Council on Ukraine
Acting UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Joyce Msuya briefed members of the Security Council on the consequences of yesterday’s series of Russian missile attacks on cities in Ukraine. She provided an update on the impact of the rocket hitting the hospital building: 27 civilians, including four children, were killed and 117 people, including seven children, were injured. Msuya reminded the Security Council that hospitals enjoy special protection under international humanitarian law. She said that the World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed data on 1,878 attacks on medical facilities, personnel, transport and patients in Ukraine since February 2022.
Migrants in Libya
The desperate situation of migrants and refugees in Libya was discussed at the Human Rights Council on Tuesday. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has called for a review of the EU-Libya agreement on intercepting migrants in the Mediterranean. In the 12 months from April 2023, more than 2,400 people died or went missing trying to cross the central Mediterranean, of whom more than 1,300 fled Libya, Turk noted. Calling on Libyan authorities to investigate crimes against the many thousands of people fleeing their homes, the High Commissioner drew attention to mass graves discovered in March in the southwest of the country containing the bodies of 65 suspected migrants.
The situation in Ukraine
Volker Türk also presented the report of the UN Monitoring Mission on human rights in Ukraine for the spring of this year and the interim report of the Secretary-General on human rights in the temporarily occupied territories. May saw the highest monthly number of confirmed civilian casualties in nearly a year, with 174 civilians killed and 690 injured in Ukraine, according to the Monitoring Mission. A total of 436 civilian deaths and 1,760 injuries were recorded between March and May. The actual numbers are probably higher.
Gaza Evacuation
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is “shocked” that Israeli military commanders are again ordering residents of Gaza City, many of whom have been subjected to repeated forced displacement, to evacuate to areas where fighting continues operations and where civilian deaths continue to occur. OHCHR also expressed deep concern at the rapid deterioration of civil order in the Gaza Strip. The head of WHO, in turn, said that evacuation orders would make it even more difficult to provide humanitarian assistance to local residents.