Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the world to unite and end the war in Ukraine on Thursday, calling it senseless, ruthless and “limitless in its potential for global harm.” The top UN human rights official said even a one-day ceasefire would prevent dozens of civilian deaths and injuries and allow several thousand others to flee Russian attacks.
High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law keep increasing every day. Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, she said, 6,731 civilian deaths and injuries have been recorded and “the real figures are considerably higher.”
“As of May 4, my office has documented 180 such cases, of which five victims were eventually found dead,” Bachelet said, adding that her staff has also heard about cases of women raped by Russian armed forces in areas under their control, and other allegations of sexual violence by both Russians and Ukrainians.
The UN will also keep pushing for more civilians to leave Mariupol and the Azovstal plant, and explore “all options to reach more people in places where needs are the greatest, in other parts of Ukraine where civilians are so deeply impacted by fighting,” he said.