Ukraine/Humanitarian Situation, Yemen & other topics – Daily Press Briefing (14 March 2022)

United Nations published this video item, entitled “Ukraine/Humanitarian Situation, Yemen & other topics – Daily Press Briefing (14 March 2022)” – below is their description.

Noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Highlights:

– Ukraine

– Security Council

– Ukraine/Humanitarian Situation

– Ukraine/Attacks On Health Care

– Commission on the Status of Women

– Deputy Secretary-General

– Yemen

– Syria

– South Sudan

UKRAINE

The Secretary-General spoke to you just now, and he said that Ukraine is on fire, with the country being decimated before the eyes of the world.

With millions of people in Ukraine facing hunger and dwindling supplies of water and medicine, he announced that the United Nations will allocate a further $40 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to ramp up vital assistance to reach the most vulnerable.

The Secretary-General also announced today the establishment of a Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy and Finance in the UN Secretariat to deal with the larger implications of the conflict on the wider world. The Deputy Secretary-General will lead an inter-agency steering committee with partners to oversee this effort.

SECURITY COUNCIL

This morning, the Security Council held an open meeting and heard a briefing by Zbigniew Rau, the Chairperson-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, or OSCE.

Also addressing Council members was Rosemary DiCarlo, the Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs.

She stressed the tragic conflict in Ukraine, which over the weekend has further worsened, vividly illustrates the importance of mechanisms to maintain and strengthen European and international peace and security.

Ms. DiCarlo said that the war in Ukraine is the most severe test the OSCE and related regional frameworks have faced since their creation, with the Russian invasion having shaken the foundations of the European security architecture to its core.

She stressed that we must not allow any questioning of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, as such questioning would be inconsistent with the UN Charter and relevant Security Council and General Assembly resolutions.

The United Nations, she said, continues to scale up not only its humanitarian support to the people of Ukraine, but also its engagement with key partners like the OSCE in support of an immediate ceasefire and a lasting diplomatic solution.

UKRAINE/HUMANITARIAN SITUATION

On the humanitarian side, the situation in Ukraine continues to deteriorate rapidly. Today, the UN Refugee Agency said that more than 2.8 million people have crossed international borders out of Ukraine.

Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that in Mariupol, trapped civilians face life-threatening shortages of food, water, medicine and other basic necessities. They warn that the use of explosive weapons in urban areas, particularly those with wide-area effects, carries a high risk of indiscriminate impact. They stress that parties to the conflict must abide by international law and the core principles that protect human life and dignity.

We, along with our humanitarian partners, continue to scale up life-saving response across the country and we have reached 600,000 people with some form of humanitarian assistance in Ukraine. It is expected that many more people will be reached in the coming days, given the scope and scale of the humanitarian operation being deployed by humanitarian organizations and partners. The main humanitarian challenge remains securing safe access in areas with ongoing fighting.

On funding, the Ukraine Flash Appeal for 2022 has received $219 million so far, which represents 19 per cent. As you recall, last Friday, this value was $129 million. We thank the donors who released the pledged amounts and encourage others to release the money quickly and report their contribution to OCHA’s Financial Tracking Service.

UKRAINE/ATTACKS ON HEALTH CARE

Yesterday, in a statement, the UN Children’s Fund Executive Director, Catherine Russell; the UN Population Fund Executive Director, Natalia Kanem, and the World Health Organization’s Executive Director, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, called for an immediate cessation of all attacks on health care in Ukraine. They warned that these horrific attacks are killing and causing serious injuries to patients and health workers, destroying vital health infrastructure and forcing thousands to forgo accessing health services despite catastrophic needs.

WHO’s Surveillance System for Attacks on Health Care documented 31 attacks on health care in Ukraine since the start of the war. WHO is verifying further reports, as attacks continue to be reported despite the calls for protection of health care.

Full highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=14%20March%202022

United Nations YouTube Channel

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The United Nations (UN) was established after World War II with the aim of preventing future wars. The organization is financed by assessed and voluntary contributions from its member states.

The UN’s chief administrative officer is the Secretary-General, currently Portuguese politician and diplomat António Guterres, who began his five year-term on 1 January 2017.

 

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