Speaking from the Kyiv capital which was shaken by some of the deadliest attacks in the war last week – and after a visit to the Sumy first line region – United NationsThe representative of Ukraine Sabine Freizer Gunes described to UN news Nathalie Minard both emotional exhaustion and resilience which she had witnessed.

The interview was published for more clarity.

UN News: The situation of civilians in cities is drastic, with bombings and aerial sirens that sound for days and nights at the same time. Could you describe your personal experience of living in a war area?

Sabine Freizer GUNES, representative of UK Women in Ukraine: Living in an area of ​​war like Ukraine is, on the one hand, quite difficult, because as a UN manager, we are not allowed to bring our families here. So a difficulty is to live far from your family.

Usually, in terms of war situation and attacks, they tend to occur at night. One of the clear challenges is to be able to spend your week, when you woke up several times overnight. Sometimes there are attacks on Kyiv several days in a row. Sometimes it’s calm for a week or 10 days.

Not knowing when you are going to sleep, if you will be able to sleep on a full night, or if you should wake up three or four times, if you were to go to the refuge, if you have to check the news – I would say that mentally, it is the most difficult thing. It’s not so much fear, he doesn’t know what your night will look like.

UN news: you were recently in Sumy, very close to the eastern front line. Many people have left it for safer places, but others have chosen to stay. How do women and partners of the UN and the UN help them?

Sabine Freizer Gunes: It is quite extraordinary that many Ukrainians remain in their front -line communities. And some of these places have been attacked since 2014. What we see is that people continue to live their lives.

I have just returned from Sumy, which is 20 kilometers from the Russian border, and the city is still completely dynamic. Companies continue, cafes, restaurants and stores are still open. People always walk in the street.

This is the situation in Ukraine: from one moment to another, the tragedy can strike.

Life seems quite normal for many hours of the day, but there is always something hidden beyond. For example, with some of our colleagues, their husbands can fight on the front line, their fathers or their brothers may have disappeared.

There is always this element which is not visible but which is behind the reality of the working people.

UN women work in close collaboration through local women’s rights organizations. When we have an attack, we ask them what type of assistance we can provide.

Very often, they will be specifically assembled to meet the needs of women, especially elderly women. These are elderly women who are usually the last to leave their homes.

They insist on staying in their house, in their little lessons, because they believe that it is a much better result than to live in a collective center.

What we are trying to do then is to provide them with basic items so that they can stay at home.

One thing I saw yesterday in Sumy, I saw that women’s rights organizations were doing very different activities. They do cultural activities, activities to support young people, they provide legal advice or psychosocial advice. They help women acquire new skills to start their own business.

On the one hand, there is a humanitarian crisis and we must provide vital support, but on the other hand, in the same city, we also discuss recovery and development.

UN news: Can you share the story of a woman who particularly moved you?

Sabine Freizer Gunes: One thing that really emotional was recently was to speak to six women who each represented a different NGO.

We were talking about our cooperation and we asked them, “How have we helped you in recent months?” And they said that a thing they really enjoyed was a retirement we organized. I thought they were going to say that they benefited from material things that we gave them.

Instead, they said that what they enjoyed was a retirement, which was organized in western Ukraine, which is generally more peaceful. And we gave them five days to be in a calm space where they could know each other, share experiences and where they could sleep. One of them said, “It is the first time in three years that I have a decent night”.

It was very powerful to hear, that giving space, a feeling of normality to our partners can be incredibly powerful.

Listen to the full interview:

UN news: He has been three and a half years since the large -scale invasion of Ukraine Russia. What are the most common impacts on the mental health of women you have encountered?

Sabine Freizer Gunes: Almost all those who have lived in Ukraine and who have lived in Ukraine for three and a half years have a mental health problem. There is a clear effect of war on the mental health of everyone. No matter who we work with UN women, we always include a mental health component.

For example, we are currently forming women to be bus drivers, to take care of positions that were held by men, but now with men at the front, women are necessary to occupy these jobs.

UN news: Do you see an increase in sexist violence (GBV)? What are the specific challenges of mental health facing surviving women of sexual violence linked to conflicts; And how do you approach them?

Sabine Freizer Gunes: Conflict -related sexual violence is a real challenge in Ukraine. But very often in conflict situations, sexual violence linked to conflicts (CRSV) is something that is hidden under the carpet.

Here in Ukraine, the government itself has spoken of sexual violence linked to conflicts and has really encouraged those who are surviving to talk about it openly and to ask for remedies and repairs.

In Ukraine, the office of the High Human Rights Commissioner documented 484 cases.

But it is expected that it is only the tip of the iceberg, that there are many cases that are not known because they occur today in occupied territories, in the territories occupied by the Russian Federation, but also people do not yet feel ready to speak about it.

For the CRSV in Ukraine, what is interesting is that there are also many cases against men. So, out of these 484 cases, 350 cases are men and 119 cases are women.

Indeed, a large majority of these cases are cases that occur in detention. Survivors of sexual violence linked to conflicts need extensive psychological support.

UN news: What urgent shortcomings exist to provide support for women in Ukraine today? How do financing cuts affect your activities?

Sabine Freizer Gunes: Financing cuts have a massive effect on the ability to provide support and services to Ukrainian women and girls. What we find to be most worrying is the effect of cuts on Ukrainian women’s rights organizations.

UN women carried out a study in March, about a month after the United States declared its cups. We have surveyed 100 different women’s rights organizations.

Sixty-three percent have declared already significant disruptions to their operations due to the cuts. Thirty-two percent expected that they could suspend their operations in the next 6 months. Sixty-seven percent have already been forced to dismiss staff. And 50% expected other layoffs.

More worrying, 60% of women’s rights organizations were forced to reduce or suspend their gender -based violence services.

This directly affects the lives of women and girls. You imagine that if you were a woman who lived an abusive relationship, you know that there is a shelter on the road, and suddenly you say, okay, that’s too much. You go to the refuge, you hit the door and no one responds because there is no more funding to keep this shelter open.

In a press release published by his spokesperson, the UN chief noted that the disaster trained by serious monsoon conditions had been exacerbated by climate change, which has an impact on approximately 1.5 million people.

Hundreds of thousands of people need humanitarian aid while more than 3,000 homes, more than 400 schools and around forty health establishments have undergone a certain level of damage.

Solidarity with the people

“The secretary general congratulates the Pakistani authorities for having moved more than a million people in Punjab. He expresses his solidarity with the government and the people of Pakistan, prolongs his sincere condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives and wish a rapid recovery to those who have been injured. “

The UN and other humanitarian organizations work in close collaboration with the Pakistani authorities to assess the full impact of floods on communities, identify other needs and also meet all gaps in the response.

The United Nations Emergency Rescue Coordinator Tom Fletcher published $ 600,000 in the regional fund organized for rescue and recovery efforts, and discussions are underway with the government on a specific response plan.

Dozens of countries are lagging behind climate reports, warns the UN climate chief

The UN Executive Secretary of Climate Change Simon Siell warned that 37 countries have not yet submitted one or more compulsory reports under the Paris AgreementThe transparency framework is, stressing that “no country can be left behind”.

Speaking to the Global Transparency Forum in Songdo, in the Republic of Korea, the UNCCCC The chief said that the improved transparency frame (ETF) is not only technical accounting, but “a vital activation tool” for stronger climate action.

It helps governments attracting investments, conceiving more ambitious policies and accelerating progress on clean energy and resilience, he added.

“Intelligent investment”

To date, more than 100 nations have submitted their first biennial transparency reports (BTR), that Mr. Stiell qualified an “intelligent investment” providing economic and social advantages.

More than 10,000 experts from 140 developing countries have received training on the FNB, with 1,200 certified examiners and 1,400 civil servants now using its tools.

The first global BTRS synthesis will be published before COP30 CLIMATE CHANGE CHANGE in BrazilOffering an early overview of progress on mitigation, adaptation and support. Stiell said the results would guide the next world stock.

“What is measured can be acted. What is reported helps strengthen confidence. And what is shared becomes a force of change, “he said.

Lebanon: The UN expresses serious concern about Israeli attacks on peace soldiers

The UN seriously expressed a concern in the face of an Israeli attack on peace soldiers by compensating for the roadblocks in southern Lebanon on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, journalists in New York, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, said that Israeli military drones had abandoned grenades near complainants in service in the United Nations mission, Unifil“Who was doing compulsory tasks in support of the implementation of Security advice Resolution 1701. “”

It is the resolution that authorizes the peacekeepers to monitor the agreement to cease hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006 and support the Lebanese armed forces while Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon. Unifil patrols the blue separation line.

In a declaration on social networks, Unifil described the attack on drone as one of the most serious of his staff since the agreement to cease hostilities between the two parties last November. The mission stressed that the Israeli forces had been informed before the customs clearance work.

Drones crossed in Israel

“A grenade had an impact in the 20 meters and three to about 100 meters from the United Nations staff and vehicles,” said UN spokesperson.

“The drones were then observed returning to the south of the blue line. Fortunately, none of our colleagues was injured. ”

The Secretary General stresses that all the acts that endanger the life of peacekeepers are “completely unacceptable,” continued Mr. Dujarric.

The UN chief António Guterres also requires that the parties support their responsibilities “to ensure the security and security of peacekeepers and the inviolability of the UN premises”.

The financing cuts hamper the work of the Human Rights Council, explains the president

THE Human Rights Council should meet on Monday in Geneva – an opportunity for UN member states to discuss action to combat conflicts around the world, as well as other questions of global importance, from climate change to the rights of disability.

As this work is important, it feared that cost reduction measures that already affect the United Nations agencies and that organizations and councils can limit its scope, said President Jürg Lauber on Wednesday.

This includes independent investigators in matters of known rights under the name of special rapporteurs, he said: “When the council decides to have a survey mechanism or a special report or a problem, they need resources,” he said.

Research, touched trips

“They need them to get the support of the secretariat to do research, to write reports. They must go to a country to see the situation. There is also less money available, which means that they do not necessarily get all the research and assistance they need to do their job, “he continued.

Mr. Lauber said it was “very clear” that the reduction in financial resources has an impact on meetings during the council sessions and the basic implementation of the investigation mandates.

He added that financing reductions could also prevent people or groups from countries to share their testimonies with investigators.

And he noted that a reduction in financing could also limit the amount of technical support and the councils that the Council is able to give to governments seeking to promote and protect human rights.

This is essential to dismantle systemic racism which is rooted in the inheritances of slavery and colonialism, he said.

Actions include official apology, the search for truth, commemoration and education measures, medical and psychosocial support, as well as remuneration.

Past and present linked

For the most part, the report revealed that in the midst of a certain decline in commitments to racial justice, the measures taken by states, businesses, religious groups, universities, museums and others remain limited.

“” To do the justice coated, states and other actors must implement a global approach which includes repairs in various forms »» said The High Commissioner of the United Nations for the Human Rights Human Rights Volker Türk.

“To be really effective, this approach must consider the network of links between the past and the present – at individual and societal levels, in all areas of life – in order to dismantle unjust structures and systems designed and shaped in the past.”

Consider local contexts

Mr. Türk warned against a “unique approach” Because restorative justice should meet the requests of affected communities.

“” Initiatives and processes should be based on history and the local contextAnswer the evolution of communities’ demands and center the specific experiences of women of African origin in particular, “he said.

The report recommends that Africans and people of African origin must guide the design and implementation of these measures by significant, inclusive and safe participation.

Reviews, restitution and research

He also highlights the initiatives already underway. For example, some countries have examined public spaces to identify, delete or contextualize the statues and place the names linked to the persons involved in the transatlantic slave trade.

Museums in several European countries also take measures to combat the links of their collections with the past.

The restitution of the cultural heritage continues, as the return of the so-called “Bronzes du Benin”-the old sculptures and sculptures of the centuries of what is now the state of Edo in Nigeria.

In addition, certain university establishments have carried out or financed external research on their own history, issued apology, advanced educational opportunities for communities and created commemorative monuments. Some companies have also taken clear measures to recognize their links with the past.

“Requests for compensation were filed before the courts in several jurisdictions, and the associated legal arguments have strengthened broader public movements and favored political pressure for change,” added the United Nations Rights Office.

The report calls for new research and policy proposals on broader structural and systemic issues, particularly in the fields of climate and environmental justice, as well as reforms to respond to gaps in development aid and financial architecture and international governance.

A 14-year-old girl with cerebral paralysis that depends on a wheelchair was part of the crowds fleeing Israeli military aircraft in the east of Rafah in Gaza on October 13, 2023, said that the member of the Muhannad Salah al-Azzeh committee, who presented a report on the Palestinian territories occupied on Wednesday in Geneva. In the fray, she lost her wheelchair.

“” She cracked on the sand and asked her family, saying to them “you can leave me here” because she felt that she slowed them down“He said.

Indeed, some people ignore the evacuation orders given to Gaza because of their handicap since the start of the almost two year war launched by the attack led by Hamas against Israel.

“This is one of the most serious problems because in regular situations, personal handicaps are excluded in an emergency, more excluded,” he said. “It’s more complicated for them.”

States do not protect the rights of disabled people

Following in -depth interviews with individuals, delegations and organizations working in Gaza and in the West Bank, the United Nations Committee has submitted a series of serious recommendations and concerns to Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

The situation in Gaza is a serious concern, said Al-Azzeh.

“What we are witnessing there is very worrying for us,” he warned. “We believe that all states parties Convention on the rights of people with disabilitiesThey really failed in one way or another to fulfill their obligations to protect and ensure the minimum protection of disabled people in the emergency situation. »»

Quoting Grim Cases reported to the committee since the start of the war, he said in one case, prolonged electricity closings in Rafah have left a mother unable to receive evacuation messages on her mobile phone, and she and her children died subsequently in an Israeli strike.

Noor’s parents, nine, deaf, have relied heavily on her to survive bombing and attacks by Israeli tanks. She had to learn a new signature vocabulary for the language of war, including tanks, armed quadcopters, bursts of shells and planes, said the representative of the committee.

There are dozens of examples of people like Abdulrahman al-Gharbawi, with cerebral paralysis and disability of the lower limbs, he said.

The nine times that the family of the 27 -year -old graphic designer has been moved since the start of the war, His mother would wear her wheelchair while her father and brother transported him.

“Horrible” situation in Gaza City

The United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs Coordination (Ochha) warned Wednesday that a new intensification of the continuous offensive of Gaza City, in the middle of continuous famine, will push civilians – already beaten and bereaved – in an even deeper disaster than world leaders must act decisively to prevent.

“Partners supporting travel sites have warned that the growing hostilities of Gaza City have horrible humanitarian consequences for people living on these sites, many of whom were previously moved to North Gaza,” said the United Nations Agency. “They say that Many households are unable to move due to high costs and a lack of safe space to move, with the elderly and disabled people, especially affected. “”

The partners report that between August 14 to 31, more than 82,000 new trips have been recorded, including nearly 30,000 movements from north to south, said OCHA.

Obstacles to chronic help delivery

Meanwhile, humanitarian efforts continue to face chronic obstacles. While a net of aid enters the Gaza Strip torn by the war, great challenges remain, according to the ochha Last situation report.

Between August 17 and 30, the partners continued daily convoys to raise humanitarian food aid of Kerem Shalom and Zikim level crossings, bringing more than 6,900 metric tonnes of wheat flour, food plots and loose food supplies in Gaza by the uncoordinated aid mechanism, OCHA reported.

“However, almost all this aid was unloaded by hungry crowds or looted by groups organized along the convoy tracks, preventing targeted household distributions and delivery to partner warehouses,” said the United Nations Agency.

Since July 20, when regular food freight shipments of Gaza level passages have resumed, less than 40% of the 2,000 metric tonnes of food supplies required daily to meet the basic needs of humanitarian assistance could enter the band, said OCHA.

“” Every day, civilians continue to be killed and injured by military forces or due to violence that bursts among the desperate crowds while trying to access the aidParticularly in the militarized area near the control points awaiting convoys of aid and on non -humanitarian militarized distribution sites, “said the United Nations Agency.

“Two percent of food aid have reached warehouses”

On August 30, 99 kitchens supported by 19 partners were preparing and distributed 468,000 meals a day across the Gaza Strip, with 155,000 in the north and 313,000 in the center and south of Gaza, according to the OCHA report.

“The partners relied on both percent of food aid which has safely reached warehouses, associated with locally guaranteed resources on the markets,” said the United Nations Agency.

“While representing an increase of 80% compared to the 260,000 daily meals prepared in early August, this remains well below the million meals produced in April with the stocks of humanitarian and commercial food and the cooking gas entered during the ceasefire.”

Famine response

The UN and the partners continued the response efforts to the integrated famine are presented in the heels of the report of world hunger experts supported by the UN to find famine conditions in certain parts of Gaza last month.

The efforts included the scaling of the supply of prepared meals, the promotion of small -scale gardening initiatives and community oven, expanding cash and good assistance and strengthening of real -time monitoring and analysis systems.

“Intense advocacy continues with the Israeli authorities to increase the volume of humanitarian and commercial products approved for entry, emphasizing fresh products and enriched foods, nutrition, health and cooking gas,” OCHA said in his report.

New Critic supplies and shortages

For the first time in more than five months, the fodder concentrated for livestock owners entered Gaza. About 60 metric tonnes were distributed to 600 cattle holders in Deir al-Balah, Ocha said.

However, despite sustained plea, the cooking gas has not entered Gaza for more than five months and is no longer available on the markets, said the United Nations Agency.

“Firewood has also become more and more unaffordable,” said the agency. “Many people are reduced to the use of waste and the racket of wood as alternative sources of cooking, to the exacerbation of health and environmental risks.”

Meanwhile, the United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees ”(UNRWA) Health establishments continue to serve around 132,000 patients with non -transmitted diseases despite disastrous medical supplies shortages. Insulin stocks will be exhausted in one to two weeks, leaving at least 16,000 diabetic patients without essential part of their treatment, OCHA reported.

Access to clean water is seriously limited. At the same time, hospitals remain missing from essential supplies and continue to face overcrowding while daily attacks see an increase in the number of deaths and injured.

António Guterres is the first UN secretary general to visit the country, which celebrates 50 years of independence.

He praised his enormous diversity, with more than 800 spoken languages ​​and countless traditions.

Commitment to peace, dignity and progress

“And yet, you have a shared commitment to speak with one voice – to have” a conversation ” – for peace, dignity and for progress”, he said.

“You are champions of multilateralism and international solutions. And this spirit is urgent in our world today. ”

He said that “Papua New Guinea offers a number of powerful lessons in the world”, the first being the consensus for dialogue.

The country has spent the last half century working to build “one nation from many traditions, many islands, many languages”, which has not been easy.

Last Saturday, August 30, has marked 24 years since the signing of the Bougainville Peace Agreement. The agreement between the government and the separatists ended A decade of conflict and established the Bougainville autonomous region.

Mr. Guterres said that if the conflict had left deep scars, Papua New Guinea and Bougainville stayed during peace for more than two decades.

“You have shown the world the path of healing through dialogue, perseverance and mutual respect,” he said, adding that the inhabitants of Bougainville will go to the polls on Thursday during the fifth autonomous election since the agreement.

Leadership in climate action

Another lesson by Papua New Guinea was the daring climate action.

It was the secretary general’s first visit to the Pacific region since the International Court of Justice (Icj), the highest judicial organization in the UN, issued Historical advisory opinion To affirm that attacking the climate crisis is a legal obligation under international law.

While the Pacific countries played a central role, the advisory opinion “testifies to the management of Papua New Guinea, the Mélanesia and the wider region of the Pacific”, in particular young people, which represent 60% of the population.

A crucial voice

“Your voice will be an integral part again during the United Nations Climate Conference in Belem, Brazil“He said, warning that efforts to limit the world temperature amount to 1.5 degrees Celsius are in danger.

He urged countries to submit new national climatic plans that correspond to this objective, to cover all the emissions of their savings and to accelerate the transition of fossil fuels.

Mr. Guterres also called for action on climate financing, in particular by increasing contributions to The loss and damage fundWhile richer countries must honor their promise to double the adaptation of funding and deliver $ 300 billion each year during the next decade.

In addition, as many developing countries “drown in unbearable debt”, a reform of current international financial architecture is necessary to make it more fair and more representative. The same goes for the UN Security advice and other international institutions.

Representation of women

The United Nations Help noted that Papua New Guinea formerly welcomed soldiers of peace, but is today a champion of peace and sustainable development.

However, he stressed that “no story of peace or progress is complete without fully including half of the population”, highlighting another area where the country can give an example.

He recalled that the UN Secretary General Amina Mohammed was there Five years ago for the national launch of Projectors’ initiative – part of the world’s greatest effort to put an end to all forms of violence against women and girls, a challenge that exists in all societies.

In March, Parliament devoted a whole day to testimonies on violence based on sexes, marking a vital stage.

“Ensuring greater voices and greater representation of women is not only a question of justice-it is a question of national force,” he said.

“Families thrive. Communities are strengthened. And institutions become more reactive when we defend everyone’s rights. ”