Ukraine: attacks against civilians and diplomatic efforts - UN Security Council briefing | UN

UN chief of political affairs Rosemary DiCarlo condemned “all attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, wherever they occur,” reiterating that “direct attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure is prohibited under international humanitarian law and must cease immediately.” The Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs told the Council that today’s meeting is taking place at a potential inflection point in the three-year war in Ukraine. She noted the intensified efforts to bring the parties to negotiations, which offer a glimmer of hope for progress towards a ceasefire and an eventual peaceful settlement. But at the same time, the world continues to witness relentless attacks on Ukrainian cities and towns. As of 24 April, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) had verified 151 civilians killed and 697 injured in April. With verification ongoing, this figure is expected to surpass the March figures, which were already 50 percent higher than in February, DiCarlo told the Council. Since February 2022, OHCHR has verified 13,015 civilians, including 699 children, killed, and 31,628 more civilians, including 2,016 children, injured, in Ukraine. She also noted recent media reports quoting local Russian authorities that indicate civilian casualties in the Kursk, Bryansk and Belgorod regions of the Russian Federation. The UN top political affairs official echoed the Secretary-General’s repeated calls for de-escalation and a durable ceasefire in Ukraine, and is encouraged by the diplomatic efforts underway. DiCarlo reiterated, “The UN remains engaged, particularly on the safety of navigation in the Black Sea to support global food security and maintain vital supply chains strained by the war.” She continued, “The continued exchange of prisoners of war between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, including the largest to date on 20 April involving 500 prisoners, shows that with political will, diplomacy can yield tangible results even in the most difficult circumstances.” As the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War approaches, the UN official reminded the Council – with even greater urgency – of the centrality of the Charter of the United Nations and international law in safeguarding peace and security. She said, “The Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine stands as an egregious challenge to these fundamental principles, jeopardizing stability in Europe and threatening the broader international order.” “The war in Ukraine is a war of choice,” DiCarlo stressed, adding that “what is needed now is a full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire as a critical first step towards ending the violence and creating the conditions for a just, comprehensive and sustainable peace.” For her part, senior OCHA official Joyce Msuya said that as the war continues, millions of lives are impacted daily, essential services are disrupted and humanitarian needs deepened. She highlighted, “Attacks on healthcare services and health facilities are crippling access to maternal care,” highlighting that pregnant women are now giving birth amid blackouts, medicine shortages and under attack, with a 12 per cent rise in birth complications reported by health workers. “For many expectant mothers, basic, life-saving care is simply no longer available,” Msuya said. The Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator emphasized once again, “Under international humanitarian law, civilians and civilian objects must be protected.” “This means that indiscriminate attacks are strictly prohibited. It also means that parties must take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian harm, whether they are launching attacks or defending against them,” Msuya stressed. The Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator also noted that underfunding is forcing critical programmes to scale down, even as the operational environment becomes more complex and dangerous. “Additional resources are needed now to save lives and sustain assistance,” she concluded.


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