The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Over the past 11 months, 30 United Nations inter-agency convoys have delivered crucial aid supply to the most vulnerable people in acute need across Ukraine. While several trucks reached areas close to the frontlines, the lack of safe access to Russian-held zones in Ukraine has prevented aid deliveries to the population there.
“A six-truck convoy reached the Donetsk region with water, medicine, emergency shelter material and other supplies to the town of Toretsk which is approximately 10 kilometres from the front line there”, said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). “The convoy also delivered trauma and emergency surgery supplies”, said Mr. Laerke while referring to the delivery on 31 January.
Approximately 15,0000 people out of the 75,000 residents who lived there before the war are still in that town and nearby communities.
The planning of the convoys, so OCHA, is a constant process, which is conditioned by the security on the ground which may allow or not a humanitarian aid delivery. Via a notification system the parties to the conflict are informed where the convoy intends to go and what material will be transported so that the fighting parties will adhere to their obligation under International Humanitarian Law so that humanitarian assisstance can reach those in need.
So far, the lack of safe access to Russian-held zones in Ukraine has prevented aid deliveries in these areas.
“A number of notifications, as I have mentioned before, has gone out to reach areas under the current control of the military of the Russian Federation”, said Mr. Laerke. “Up until today, none has been provided in the sense that we have not been given the adequate assurances of security to go to these areas”.
On 2 February (yesterday), five inter-agency trucks delivered medications, materials for emergency shelter repairs, tool kits and hygiene items to the Zaporizhzhia region in the south-east of the country. The tools for emergency repairs are urgently needed for the damaged homes to survive the harsh winter.
“Yesterday’s supplies are intended for people in the Huliaipole community, where around 3,000 people remain close to the front line”, OCHA’s spokesperson said. “They are exposed to regular shelling, and their access to basic services is disrupted. Since March last year, the residents here have had no electricity as the facilities were damaged by fighting and they cannot be repaired because the fighting continues”.
Mr. Laerke added that “yesterday, the convoy delivered medicines, including a pneumonia kit and hygiene items and that is particularly to support the most vulnerable people and that, when we speak about vulnerable people here, it is the elderly people with limited mobility and families with children”.
The supplies are provided by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), UNICEF, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Representatives from local communities and volunteers help distributing directly to the people in need.
-ends-
- Wide shot, UN Geneva flag alley.
- Wide shot, press room with spokespersons and journalists in the room.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – Jens Laerke, Spokesperson for OCHA: “A six-truck convoy reached the Donetsk region with water, medicine, emergency shelter material and other supplies to the town of Toretsk which is approximately 10 kilometres from the front line there. The convoy also delivered trauma and emergency surgery supplies”.
- Medium shot, spokespersons on the podium and screens on the sides
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) - Jens Laerke, Spokesperson for OCHA: “Yesterday’s supplies are intended for people in the Huliaipole community, where around 3,000 people remain close to the front line. They are exposed to regular shelling, and their access to basic services is disrupted. Since March last year, the residents here have had no electricity as the facilities were damaged by fighting and they cannot be repaired because the fighting continues”.
- Close up, Jens Laerke on laptop screen
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) - Jens Laerke, Spokesperson for OCHA: “A number of notifications as I have mentioned before, has gone out to reach areas under the current control of the military of the Russian Federation. Up until today, none has been provided in the sense that we have not been given the adequate assurances of security to go to these areas”.
- Wide shot, press briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) - Jens Laerke, Spokesperson for OCHA: “Also yesterday the convoy delivered medicines, including a pneumonia kit and hygiene items and that is particularly to support the most vulnerable people and that, when we speak about vulnerable people here, it is the elderly people with limited mobility and families with children”.
- Wide shot, camera tripods with spokespersons in background
- Medium shot, journalists getting filmed by camerawoman
- Close-up, journalist
- Medium shot, camera people behind cameras
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM
Well over 1.3 million people have fled Sudan’s ongoing war for South Sudan, the UN migration agency, IOM, reported on Friday, amid rising violence and a massive humanitarian emergency linked to the country’s political crisis.
2
1
2
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday presented to the UN Human Rights Council a new report on the human rights situation in occupied Palestinian territory.
2
1
2
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday briefed the Human Rights Council in Geneva on the human rights situation in Sudan: “Nearly three years of brutal conflict have almost turned Sudan into a land of despair. The report I am presenting today is yet another chapter in the chronicle of cruelty. It outlines clear, ongoing patterns of violence against civilians, including killings, rape, and torture. As the fighting has intensified, violations of international law by all parties to the conflict have surged, while accountability has remained practically absent,” he said.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday told the Human Rights Council in Geneva today: “Afghanistan is a graveyard for human rights. The cascade of edicts and laws announced by the de facto authorities since coming to power in 2021 is having a crushing impact on the Afghan people, particularly women and girls.”
3
1
Edited News | UNITED NATIONS , OCHA , UNHCR
Ukraine enters fifth year of war: Attacks and displacement deepen human suffering amid mounting recovery challenges
On the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, UN officials took stock of the immense human and economic toll of the conflict while appealing to the world to “never get used to war.”
2
27
2
2
Edited News , Press Conferences , Images | General Assembly , UNITED NATIONS
The full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops on 24 February 2022 shattered the peaceful aspirations of an entire continent, but war must never be the new normal, UN General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock said on Tuesday.
1
48
1
1
Edited News | UNOG
A ceremony marking the completion of the construction of the Portail des Nations, a soon-to-open visitors centre for the UN in Geneva, was held today for diplomats from around the world who have gathered in the Swiss city for the opening session of the Human Rights Council.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Monday delivered his opening remarks to the 61str session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
1
10
1
1
Edited News | HRC , SG
In Geneva, delegates from more than 120 countries gathered on Monday to mark 20 years of the UN Human Rights Council and a shared commitment to international law, amid runaway global instability and conflict, amid runaway global instability and conflict.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office has published a report on the grave human rights abuses suffered by the hundreds of thousands of people trafficked into scam operations mostly in southeast Asia.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Marta Hurtado briefed journalists on a UN report detailing child trafficking by gangs and how it is putting Haiti’s future at risk.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , IFRC , UN WOMEN
Ukraine’s women at breaking point after four years of war as attacks on energy, healthcare continue – UN humanitarians
Four years into Russia’s full-scale invasion, millions in Ukraine struggle to keep the lights on and heat their homes, with the crisis taking a particular toll on women, humanitarians warned on Friday.