UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he had proposed that a UN-Russia-Ukraine contact group be set up to address humanitarian matters in Ukraine.
There is need for safe and effective humanitarian corridors to be honored by everyone and to ensure the evacuation of civilians and the delivery of aid, Guterres said at a press conference, following negotiations with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Guterres said he had therefore proposed the establishment of a UN-Russia-Ukraine humanitarian contact group to search for opportunities and to open safe corridors the efficiency of which would be ensured by local ceasefires.
CONTACT GROUP, HUMANITARIAN MATTERS, UN SECRETARY-GENERAL, UN-RUSSIA-UKRAINE
UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for a pause in hostilities in Ukraine to ensure the safe passage of civilians from Mariupol, Kharkiv and Sumy, as well as all other places covered by the conflict.
In Twitter on Sunday, he said that such a pause would also ensure the delivery of vital humanitarian supplies for those who remain.
According to the UN, civilian casualties from February 24, when Russia launched a war against Ukraine, to March 5 inclusive amounted to 1,123 civilians, including 364 dead, including 25 children.
“It is absolutely essential to establish a pause in the fighting in Ukraine to allow for the safe passage of civilians from Mariupol, Kharkiv and Sumy, as well as all other places caught in conflict, and to ensure life-saving humanitarian supplies can move in for those who remain,” the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said.
In addition, the war started by Russia has led to the fact that the number of refugees from Ukraine has exceeded 1.5 million people, the UN said on Sunday.
