United Nations published this video item, entitled “Ukraine: UN Chief calls for a four-day Holy Week humanitarian pause -Media Stakeout | United Nations” – below is their description.
The United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, António Guterres, called on Russia and Ukraine for a four-day Holy Week humanitarian pause to allow for the opening of a series of humanitarian corridors.
Speaking to journalists at the UN headquarters in New York on Tuesday (April 19), the UN chief said that “the intense concentration of forces and firepower makes this battle inevitably more violent, bloody and destructive.”
“The onslaught and terrible toll on civilians we have seen so far could pale in comparison to the horror that lies ahead. This cannot be allowed to happen. Hundreds of thousands of lives hang in the balance,” said Guterres.
The Secretary-General also noted that “many good-faith efforts by many parties to reach a ceasefire in Ukraine have failed.”
According to him, the four-day humanitarian pause during the Holy Week for Orthodox Christians, beginning on Holy Thursday and running through Easter Sunday, April 24th, would provide the necessary conditions to meet two crucial imperatives.
First, safe passage of all civilians willing to leave the areas of current and expected confrontation, in coordination with the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Second, beyond humanitarian operations already taking place, a pause will allow for the safe delivery of lifesaving humanitarian aid to people in the hardest-hit areas such as Mariupol, Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk.
Describing the humanitarian needs as “dire”, Guterres said the UN anticipates the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance to increase to 15.7 million, about 40 percent of all Ukrainians still left in the country.
“For all these reasons, I call on Russians and Ukrainians to silence the guns and forge a path to safety for so many at immediate risk. The four-day Easter period should be a moment to unite around saving lives and furthering dialogue to end the suffering in Ukraine,” said Guterres.
The UN chief concluded with a call to “all champions of peace around the world” to join his Easter appeal, in order to save lives, stop the bloodshed and destruction, open a window for dialogue and peace, and “keep faith with the meaning and the message of Easter.”
Photo Credit: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
United Nations YouTube Channel
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