(United Nations) Deaths, destruction, sexual violence, displacement, “enforced disappearances”… The UN Secretary General deplored on Friday the suffering of the Ukrainian people for a year, summing it up in a few words: their “life is a real hell “.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a year ago to the day “caused death, destruction and large-scale displacement”, causing “untold suffering”, Antonio Guterres told the Council of security gathered to mark this anniversary.
“Life is a real hell for the Ukrainian people”, he stressed, before describing in detail the burden weighing on the Ukrainian population.
Thus, some 17.6 million people, or almost 40% of the population, “are in need of humanitarian assistance and protection”, the secretary-general said, noting that 40% of the inhabitants do not have enough to eat. .
“The war has triggered a migration crisis in Europe unprecedented for decades”, with more than eight million refugees across Europe and more than five million displaced within the country.
PHOTO YUKI IWAMURA, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres
“More than half of Ukrainian children have been forced to leave their homes”, he added, stressing the risks of “violence, abuse and exploitation” of some of these children separated from their families.
The UN Human Rights Commissioner has also documented “dozens of cases of conflict-related sexual violence against men, women and girls”, not to mention “hundreds of cases of enforced disappearances and detentions arbitraries of civilians”.
“Infrastructure is being damaged: the water, energy and heating systems have been destroyed, in the middle of a freezing winter”, further noted Antonio Guterres.
So “we need peace, a peace in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations”, he repeated, stressing that this charter was not only “words on paper” but “the heart of this that we are “.
“It’s the guns that speak today but, in the end, we all know that diplomacy and accountability is the path to a just and lasting peace.”
On Thursday, the UN General Assembly adopted by an overwhelming majority a resolution calling for this “just and lasting” peace, demanding with this in mind the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine.
The Security Council, where Russia has the right of veto, has not taken any decision on this subject despite more than 40 meetings in one year.