The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence on 1000 days since Russian Federation launched full-scale attack on Ukraine
“Over the past two days, at least 30 civilians have reportedly been killed in a series of deadly strikes in residential areas in Sumy City, Odesa and Hlukhiv. In the very latest attack in Hlukhiv, which occurred late last night, nine civilians, including a child, were reportedly killed, and 11, including two children, injured. Search and rescue operations are ongoing,” he said.
“On Monday, the Head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, Danielle Bell, visited several locations in Zaporizhzhia that had recently been struck by Russian glide bombs. These weapons carry large amounts of explosive material which – when deployed in cities and other populated areas – cause extensive civilian casualties and damage to civilian property,” Laurence added.
“Among the sites visited was an oncology centre hit by a glide bomb on 7 November at 2:30 PM, where cancer patients were undergoing chemotherapy at the time of the attack. The medical centre sustained severe damage and is now undergoing repairs,” Laurence stated.
Bell also visited the site of an apartment building where half of the structure was destroyed by another glide bomb, also on 7 November. In this incident, 10 people lost their lives.
“Colleagues in our Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine later spoke with a man whose home had been destroyed after two vehicles, thrown through the air by the blast wave on the same day, struck his house. Next door, a family suffered a devastating loss: their 20-year-old son was killed in the attack. His mother, who was severely injured, remains hospitalized. The family’s two-storey home, the largest in the neighborhood, was almost completely levelled by the glide bomb’s direct impact,” he said.
“As the High Commissioner has said, it has been 1,000 days too many of senseless pain and suffering. Violations of human rights have become the order of the day, both in the conduct of hostilities and in areas under occupation,” Laurence stated
“We call on all parties to ensure the safety and protection of civilians. Effective measures must also be taken to fully and impartially investigate where there are credible allegations of violations. The violence must stop – for the sake of the people of Ukraine, the people of Russia, and the world,” he said.
“The High Commissioner repeats his call on the Russian Federation to cease immediately its armed attack and to withdraw all of its military forces from Ukraine. Russia must meet its international obligations under the UN Charter, the order of the International Court of Justice and other applicable law,” Laurence stated
ENDS
For more information and media requests, please contact
In Geneva:
Liz Throssell + 41 22 917 9296 / elizabeth.throssell@un.org
Jeremy Laurence - + 41 22 917 9383 / jeremy.laurence@un.org
Tag and share - Twitter: @UNHumanRights and Facebook: unitednationshumanrights
STORY: UN Human Rights Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence on 1000 days since the Russian Federation launched its full-scale armed attack on Ukraine
TRT: 04:13
SOURCE: UNOG / OHCHR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: English/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 19 November 2024 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior shot:
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Jeremy Laurence, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “ Today marks the grim milestone of 1,000 days since the Russian Federation launched its full-scale armed attack on Ukraine. Our Office has verified that at least 12,162 civilians have been killed since 24 February 2022, among them 659 children. At least another 26,919 civilians have been injured.”
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Jeremy Laurence, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “ Over the past two days, at least 30 civilians have reportedly been killed in a series of deadly strikes in residential areas in Sumy City, Odesa and Hlukhiv. In the very latest attack in Hlukhiv, which occurred late last night, nine civilians, including a child, were reportedly killed, and 11, including two children, injured. Search and rescue operations are ongoing.”
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Jeremy Laurence, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “On Monday, the Head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, Danielle Bell, visited several locations in Zaporizhzhia that had recently been struck by Russian glide bombs. These weapons carry large amounts of explosive material which – when deployed in cities and other populated areas – cause extensive civilian casualties and damage to civilian property .”
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Jeremy Laurence, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “Among the sites visited was an oncology centre hit by a glide bomb on 7 November at 2:30 PM, where cancer patients were undergoing chemotherapy at the time of the attack. The medical centre sustained severe damage and is now undergoing repairs .”
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Jeremy Laurence, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “Colleagues in our Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine later spoke with a man whose home had been destroyed after two vehicles, thrown through the air by the blast wave on the same day, struck his house. Next door, a family suffered a devastating loss: their 20-year-old son was killed in the attack. His mother, who was severely injured, remains hospitalized. The family’s two-storey home, the largest in the neighborhood, was almost completely levelled by the glide bomb’s direct impact .”
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Jeremy Laurence, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “As the High Commissioner has said, it has been 1,000 days too many of senseless pain and suffering. Violations of human rights have become the order of the day, both in the conduct of hostilities and in areas under occupation .”
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Jeremy Laurence, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “We call on all parties to ensure the safety and protection of civilians. Effective measures must also be taken to fully and impartially investigate where there are credible allegations of violations. The violence must stop – for the sake of the people of Ukraine, the people of Russia, and the world .”
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Jeremy Laurence, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “The High Commissioner repeats his call on the Russian Federation to cease immediately its armed attack and to withdraw all of its military forces from Ukraine. Russia must meet its international obligations under the UN Charter, the order of the International Court of Justice and other applicable law .”
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office today published a report detailing how death, injury and lasting family separation are among the traumatic events that have upended the lives of Ukraine’s children in the three years since the Russian Federation launched its full-scale invasion.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA , UNICEF , IFRC
Israel’s renewed bombing campaign and intensifying ground operation in Gaza are reversing gains achieved during the brief ceasefire, UN humanitarians said on Friday from inside the devastated enclave.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | HRC
The Human Rights Council on Wednesday heard gruesome testimony of torture, rape and execution of Ukrainian detainees and soldiers by Russian forces, as a high-level independent probe delivered its latest mandated report in Geneva.
2
23
1
1
Edited News , Press Conferences | UNITED NATIONS
Cyprus talks result in trust-building measures, show ‘new atmosphere’ among divided island’s leaders, says UN’s Guterres
UN-led efforts to kick-start talks on the divided Mediterranean island of Cyprus have resulted in agreements on new trust-building measures and also underscored the positive “new atmosphere” surrounding the discussions, Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday.
1
62
1
2
Edited News , Images | UNITED NATIONS , UNOG
Fresh talks over the future of Cyprus continued on Tuesday as representatives of the divided Mediterranean island gathered at the UN in Geneva along with guarantors Greece, Türkiye and the United Kingdom at the request of UN chief António Guterres.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG , WFP
The Government of Israel has ramped up settlement of the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, transferring its own population into the territory and unlawfully demolishing Palestinian homes. At the same time settler violence has increased with continued impunity, the UN Human Rights Office said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Following last night’s Israeli strikes in Gaza, Thameen Al-Kheetan, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, made the following comment at the bi-weekly news briefing in Geneva: “Weare horrified by last night’s Israeli airstrikes and shelling in Gaza, which killed hundreds, according to the Ministry of Health in the strip. This will add tragedy onto tragedy.”
1
9
1
1
Edited News | WMO
Glaciers in many regions will not survive the 21st century if they keep melting at the current rate, potentially jeopardizing hundreds of millions of people living downstream, UN climate experts said on Friday, the first World Day for Glaciers.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | HRC , OHCHR
The Iranian Government has continued to ramp up efforts to restrict the rights of civilians including young children as part of a concerted effort to crush dissent, investigators mandated by the Human Rights Council insisted on Friday.
2
1
1
Press Conferences , Edited News | HRC
Senior human rights investigators reporting to the Human Rights Council alleged on Thursday that sexual and gender-based violence by Israeli security forces against Palestinian men, women and children have been increasingly used “as a method of war” following the 7 October 2023 attacks that sparked the Gaza war.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF
Bangladesh: Humanitarians describe ‘extreme desperation’ as aid cuts deepen Rohingya children’s suffering
In Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar refugee settlements, child malnutrition has surged and cuts in aid funding risk creating a humanitarian “catastrophe”, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office on Tuesday gave an update on the situation in Syria’s coastal region as reports continue to emerge of the distressing scale of violence there since 6 March.