(VOVWORLD) - The UN Security Council gathered on Tuesday to review the situation of Ukrainian refugees and discuss humanitarian aid for them. This has been the Council’s 6th meeting on Ukraine’s humanitarian situation since Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24.
 Ukrainian refugees wait at Lviv city train station to depart for Poland on February 26, 2022. (Photo: AFP/VNA) |
The meeting was proposed by France, a permanent member of the Security Council, and Mexico, a non-permanent member. It was attended by Ukraine and neighboring countries which are accepting Ukrainian refugees.
UN Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees Kelly T. Clements called on Council members to put aside their differences and find a way to end conflict in Ukraine. The UN estimates that 13 million people remain in the hardest hit areas, many of them unable to move and inaccessible to aid organizations, so the Council needs to do its job, she said.
Antonio Vitorino, Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), has warned that the increased targeting of cities will lead to more civilian casualties and displacement. He called on parties to the conflict to uphold their international law obligations to protect noncombatants, their homes, and civilian infrastructure.