Secretary-General/Trip to Moscow, Ukraine & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (22 April 2022)

The United Nations of Earth reporting on this issue: "Secretary-General/Trip to Moscow, Ukraine & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (22 April 2022)"
The topics: Noon briefing by Eri Kaneko, Associate Spokesperson for the Secretary-General. Highlights: - Trip Announcement - Ukraine/Humanitarian - Ukraine/Human Rights - Afghanistan - Somalia - International Mother Earth Day - Viet Nam - Philippines - International Days - Financial Contribution - Press Briefings on Monday TRIP ANNOUNCEMENT The Secretary-General will visit Moscow, in the Russian Federation, on April 26th. He will have a working meeting and lunch with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The Secretary-General will be received by President Vladimir Putin. UKRAINE/HUMANITARIAN In Ukraine, new information that has emerged over the last few days reportedly confirms the massive destruction of civilian infrastructure in areas around the capital Kyiv. According to satellite imagery collected by the UN Satellite Centre (UNOSAT) at the end of March, around 77 per cent of Horenka, 71 per cent of Irpin, and 58 per cent of Hostomel city areas, all in Kyivska oblast, would have suffered damage and destruction. Humanitarians on the ground continue to raise alarms that escalating fighting in multiple locations of Government and non-Government-controlled areas of Donetska, Luhanska and Kharkivska oblasts are causing civilian casualties, damaging civilian infrastructure and creating obstacles for the safe evacuation of people who are trying to find security far from the areas of conflict. Despite tremendous challenges we, along with our humanitarian partners in Ukraine, continue to extend the response to the areas that we can safely reach to make sure people impacted by escalating and intense hostilities receive the support they need. Since 24 February, more than 3.4 million people received humanitarian assistance and protection services across the country, nearly one million more than what we reported a week ago This support means that 3.2 million people could put food on the table for their families; about 1 million people were treated or received critical health care support across the country; 225,000 could access clean water and hygiene products, and 221,000 people uprooted by the war received emergency shelter or critical household items. Education services are now reaching 88,000 children who fled their homes and schools. We will keep up our extensive efforts and ongoing engagement with the parties to the conflict to make sure humanitarian assistance will reach people who need it the most. And on the funding, we have received an additional $20 million for the humanitarian response over the last couple of days, bringing the total made available for relief operations in Ukraine to over $802 million. That is around 70 per cent of the $1.1 billion requested in the current Humanitarian Flash Appeal. UKRAINE/HUMAN RIGHTS The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, said that the Russian invasion nearly two months ago has plunged Ukraine into a human rights and humanitarian crisis that has devastated the lives of civilians throughout the country and beyond. She called for all parties to respect international human rights law and international humanitarian law, in particular the rules governing the conduct of hostilities. The UN Human Rights Office noted that Russian armed forces have indiscriminately shelled and bombed populated areas, killing civilians and wrecking hospitals, schools and other civilian infrastructure, actions that may amount to war crimes. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has also documented what appears to be the use of weapons with indiscriminate effects, causing civilian casualties and damage to civilian objects, by Ukrainian armed forces in the east of the country. Ms. Bachelet said that the Human Rights Office work to date has detailed a horror story of violations perpetrated against civilians. She emphasized that, first and foremost, this senseless war must stop. Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=22%20April%202022


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