Edem Wosornu (OCHA) on maintenance of peace and…

"Madam President, Excellencies, Building on the briefing from my colleague from the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, let me turn to the humanitarian situation in Ukraine. Since we last briefed this Council two weeks ago, civilian harm and suffering have deepened. More families have been forced to endure the all-too-familiar pattern of this war: attacks, destruction, loss, another night without safety. On June 15th, strikes on Kyiv and Kharkiv damaged homes and critical infrastructure, leaving well over 100,000 households without power. In Kyiv, the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage site at the heart of Ukraine's religious and cultural life, was struck and damaged. This site carries centuries of cultural heritage – history and identity – that must be protected. In Kharkiv, rescuers responding to an earlier strike were themselves hit when a second one followed. This fits a documented pattern. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has found repeated strikes on ambulances, rescue teams and aid workers – in some cases hit twice, as they returned to help. Civilians have also been struck when simply going about daily life: in cars, on buses, in their gardens. The Mission records that more civilians were killed and injured by short-range drones in May than in any month since February 2022. Technological advances in warfare are expanding the zone of danger for civilians, which is no longer confined by the reach of artillery. Cheap "first-person-view" drones are causing widespread civilian harm along the front-line. They are equipped with cameras that let operators see exactly what they are striking.

Madam President, We are also concerned by reports of harm to civilians, damage to infrastructure and associated environmental risks in the Russian Federation, now extending to Moscow itself. The absence of a United Nations monitoring presence does not diminish the seriousness of these reports. Let me reiterate that international humanitarian law binds all parties to this armed conflict equally, wherever they carry out military operations. This includes an unequivocal obligation to comply with the rules of distinction, proportionality, and precautions throughout this conflict.

Madam President, Humanitarian partners supported first responders in Kyiv and Kharkiv after the strikes of June 15th with emergency repairs and psychosocial support. We continue to support voluntary civilian evacuations and bring assistance to front-line communities in need wherever access allows. But that space is narrowing. Evacuation teams report being tracked and followed by first-person-view drones as they try to reach people near the front-line, putting civilians aiming to leave the front-line and humanitarian workers at risk of harm. Every attack on an ambulance or an aid convoy deprives everyone it would otherwise have helped.

Madam President, My two asks are not new, but they are even more urgent given what we continue to see. First, use your influence to ensure all parties comply with international humanitarian law, wherever they take the fight. This means ensuring the protection of civilians and civilian objects, including critical infrastructure and cultural property everywhere. Civilians wanting to evacuate front-line areas must be allowed to do so in a safe and dignified manner, and humanitarian workers must be protected as they carry out their mission. It also means pressing for safe, rapid, and unimpeded humanitarian access to civilians in need. Second, provide timely, flexible funding. Without it, the consequences fall first on the most vulnerable and least able to move out of harm's way. These resources allow humanitarians to stay and deliver, even as the operating environment becomes more dangerous. For millions of people suffering through these hostilities, what this Council does next matters. The choices made here can mean the difference between civilians protected or civilians harmed; aid delivered or aid denied; lives saved or lives lost. Thank you".