Geneva: UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet said on Wednesday that credible reports indicate that Russian armed forces have used cluster munitions in populated areas of Ukraine on at least 24 occasions since the start of the invasion last month.
“For more than one month now, the entire population of Ukraine has been enduring a living nightmare,” she was quoted as saying by UN News. “The lives of millions of people are in upheaval as they are forced to flee their homes or hide in basements and bomb shelters as their cities are pummelled and destroyed.”
More than a month into the conflict, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said that it has provided emergency assistance to one million people inside Ukraine – no small achievement, considering that the agency had no presence inside the country until a month ago – “no staff, no network of suppliers or partners”.
The WFP said that it has also established logistics hubs across the country to provide support to deliver food “at scale” to communities in need. “Trucks, trains and minivans are today delivering food supplies to the most vulnerable people across the country and more convoys are expected in coming days,” WFP said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights also told the Human Rights Council, that her Office had verified 77 incidents in which medical facilities have been damaged, including 50 hospitals.
Echoing calls from the UN Secretary-General for an end to the fighting, Bachelet insisted that “the hostilities must stop, without delay”.
The UN Human Rights Council today announced the names of the three investigators who are to carry out the work of the Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, which the forum voted to establish on March 4.
The panel’s mandate includes investigating all alleged rights violations and abuses committed during Russia’s military attack on Ukraine, along with related crimes.
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