Ukraine

The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) has launched an investigation following reports that civilians were killed during clashes last week between the national armed forces and militants in Mourrah, about 400 kilometres north-east of Bamako, the capital.

The following statement by UN Secretary-General António Guterres was issued today:

Some 10,000 people have sought refuge in Uganda’s Kisoro district, following violent clashes that began on Monday in the Rutshuru territory.  The United Nations Refugee Agency is working with the Government of Uganda and humanitarian partners to provide assistance.

As Ramadan begins, the soaring cost of food staples in import-dependent Middle Eastern and North African countries is creating ever greater challenges for millions of families already struggling to keep hunger at bay, the World Food Programme said, warning that millions will struggle to buy even basic foods.

Nearly half of all pregnancies worldwide, about 121 million a year, are unintended, a report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) says, warning the Ukraine and other conflicts are expected to drive an increase through disruption of access to contraception and growing sexual violence.

The United Nations remains concerned about reports of continued tensions in and around Nagorno-Karabakh.  All efforts must be made to ensure full respect for the ceasefire and full implementation of agreed commitments.

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has created not only an immediate humanitarian crisis, but also a threat to future global food security in the form of rising prices and decreased production capabilities, speakers told the Security Council today, underscoring the need to urgently address these issues against the backdrop of Russian and Ukrainian delegations meeting for negotiations in Istanbul.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees today said the number of Nicaraguan refugees and asylum seekers in Costa Rica has doubled in the last eight months, reaching more than 150,000 people.  This represents 3 per cent of Costa Rica’s total population of 5 million.

Continuing its emergency special session today, the General Assembly adopted a resolution recognizing that the Russian Federation’s military offensive inside Ukraine — and its humanitarian consequences — are on a scale that the international community has not seen in Europe in many decades.