Contents tagged with UN

  • UN: Minsk agreements should not include amnesty for those found guilty of murder and crimes against humanity

    The Minsk negotiation process should not result in amnesty for those who are guilty of premeditated murders or crimes against humanity during the armed conflict in Ukraine, according to the head of the UN Human Rights monitoring mission, Fiona Frazer.

    While in Kiev, Frazer conducted a presentation of the report of the Office of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, which was titled “Responsibility for the killings in Ukraine from January 2014 to May 2016”.

    “In the context of the current …

  • UN: Number of civilian victims of the war in the Donbas is the highest since August 2015

    The number of civilian victims in the Donbas has reached its highest point since August 2015, as stated in the latest report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs which was made public on Friday, 8 July. According to the UN, in June, clashes continued in the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine.  Just this month 12 people were killed and another 57 were injured in the Donbas.

    As noted in the report, most victims were injured by artillery shells, as attacks were carried out …

  • Yelchenko: Punishment for MH17 perpetrators will be considered at upcoming UN General Assembly meeting

    The issue of holding those accountable who are responsible for the MH17 crash will be put on the agenda on the second anniversary of the tragedy, and at the next session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in September.

    According to UNIAN, this was announced by the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN, Volodymyr Yelchenko, during an interview with LB.ua.

    “I think that all of the reports that were promised will be published during autumn. We will then again sit in New York and …

  • UN urges Russia to amend 'law on foreign agents'

    Russia needs to amend its "law on foreign agents", according to the High Commissioner of the World Organization for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein. He said this during the opening of the 32nd session of the UN Council on Human Rights in Geneva, TASS reported on Monday, June 13, 2016.

    "This week a number of amendments to Russian laws on "foreign agents" have come into force. More than 90 non-governmental organizations are now listed as "foreign agents." This definition implies that their …

  • Ukraine wants UN response to calls for peacekeepers in the Donbas

    The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Kislitsa, stated during his speech on the 10th of June at the UN Security Council that Ukraine holds the United Nations accountable for ignoring the direct request for the deployment of a peacekeeping mission in the Donbas, Ukrinform reported.

    “It is difficult to explain the lack of response by the Council to the direct request concerning a United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Donbas, whose presence in the field would ensure the additional …

  • The United Nations believes that conflict in the Donbas was called an anti-terrorist operation in vain

    The United Nations believes that the interpretation of the conflict in the Donbas as an anti-terrorist operation has resulted in considerable confusion, as mentioned in the report of the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary and Arbitrary Executions, Christophe Hynes, following his official visit to Ukraine in September 2015.

    According to UNIAN, the report was submitted by the UN General Assembly Secretariat to the UN Human Rights Council. The 32nd session of the UN Human Rights Council …

  • The UN says it has reliable information about Russian troop movements in the Donbas

    The UN Representative for Human Rights, Ravina Shamdasani, stated that the organization has reliable information about Russian troop movements in Ukraine, The Voice of America reports.

    “We have received credible reports of Russia’s military personnel movements across the border both to and from Ukraine. It contains heavy weapons as well. And the information is reliable,” the UN representative stated.

    Moreover, the UN report regarding the human rights situation in the Donbas states that about 2 …

  • Ukrainian representative in the UN accused Russia of supporting terrorism

    The Russian Federation has been conducting subversive activities against Ukraine for more than two years, according to the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations (UN), Volodymyr Yelchenko. He said this on Wednesday during a meeting of the UN Security Council.

    “For more than two years, Ukraine has been a victim of aggression by its neighbor, the Russian Federation. Russia has occupied, and  illegally annexed, the Ukrainian territories of Crimea and Sevastopol. It continues …

  • Media: Russia blocked the UN's condemnation of nuclear testing by North Korea

    Reuters reported that Russia has amended the statement of the U.N. Security Council condemning the nuclear tests of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), effectively blocking the adoption of the document. Last week, Pyongyang tested two ballistic missiles, which prompted British Deputy U.N. Ambassador Peter Wilson to say “The Security Council should respond quickly. We don’t understand why Russia has blocked the statement but the other members of the Security Council must accept …

  • UN: 1.5 million Ukrainians are on the brink of starvation

    The conflict that has been ongoing in eastern Ukraine for two years has led to the near-starvation of 1.5 million citizens. This was a major reporting point in the UN’s World Food Program on April 4th. According to its experts, approximately 300 thousand people are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

    “Two years of violence, shelling and living in fear have left an indelible mark in the lives of thousands of people in eastern Ukraine. We called on all parties to the conflict to ensure …