The Security Council discussed the transfer of arms supplies to Ukraine today, with some members voicing concern over potential unwarranted diversion of weaponry and calling for effective measures to prevent this, while speakers also said that the meeting’s call was a distraction from the Russian Federation’s own procurement of weapons from other countries.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that from Saturday through Tuesday 62 trucks travelled through the Rafah crossing from Egypt into Gaza, carrying water, food and medical supplies. Most of this aid has already reached hospitals, ambulances and internally displaced people.
The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Chad, Violette Kakyomya, today warned that the country, now host to nearly 490,000 refugees from neighbouring Sudan and suffering from record levels of rain last year, is facing multiple humanitarian crises. She called for urgent support for 7 million of the country’s 18 million people.
The issue of arms supplies to Ukraine was taken up again at the Security Council, putting on display divisions among briefers and Council members, with some contending that the unchecked flow of weapons dragged out the conflict, and many others defending Kyiv’s legitimate right to defend itself against the Russian Federation’s ongoing war of aggression.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) reported that 220,000 internally displaced people are sheltering in 88 UNRWA schools across the Gaza Strip, also noting that numerous personnel, teachers and students have been killed. Agency staff are working around the clock, caring for the people in the shelters.
The World Food Programme (WFP) has begun rolling out food distributions to nearly 900,000 refugees in Ethiopia following a full revamp of the safeguards and controls at its refugee operations, with refugee camps across five regions receiving food parcels for the first time since WFP paused food distributions in June.
Member States must demonstrate in their actions, not just in words, their commitment to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, particularly the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all States, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today as she detailed last week’s attacks on the Ukrainian village of Hroza and the city centre of Kharkiv.
The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, Denise Brown, visited Hroza today, less than 24 hours after an attack that killed dozens of civilians — calling it a barbaric consequence of the war that 20 per cent of a community can be wiped out in mere seconds. The UN is mobilizing humanitarian aid to civilians in the area.
In Armenia, the UN, led by acting Resident Coordinator Natia Natsvlishvili, is boosting support to national authorities to address the needs of over 100,000 refugees, who recently arrived. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) continues to distribute locally procured core relief items requested by local municipalities.
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:
