WHO gathers evidence on possible war crimes in Ukraine

UN well being company says it has documented 200 assaults on medical amenities because it urges opponents to keep away from focusing on well being clinics.

Executive Director of the World Health Organisation's emergencies program Mike Ryan
Ryan (left) mentioned the 200 circumstances didn't symbolize the totality of assaults on Ukrainian medical amenities, solely these the WHO had verified [File: Denis Balibouse/Reuters]

The World Well being Organisation (WHO) says it has “documented 200 assaults on hospitals and clinics” in Ukraine, including that it was gathering proof for a potential warfare crimes investigation into the assaults.

“Intentional assaults on healthcare amenities are a breach of worldwide humanitarian legislation and as such – primarily based on investigation and attribution of the assault – symbolize warfare crimes in any state of affairs,” WHO Emergencies Director Mike Ryan mentioned on Saturday within the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.

“We proceed to doc and bear witness to those assaults … and we belief that the UN system and the Worldwide Felony Courtroom and others will take the mandatory investigations in an effort to assess the prison intent behind these assaults.”

Ryan, on an unannounced go to along with WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, instructed a information convention it was the express duty of opponents to keep away from attacking well being amenities.

Russia has denied earlier accusations by Ukraine and Western nations of potential warfare crimes and has additionally denied focusing on civilians within the warfare.

Ryan mentioned the 200 circumstances didn't symbolize the totality of assaults on Ukrainian medical amenities, solely these the WHO had verified. Kyiv has mentioned there have been roughly 400 such assaults since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.

Tedros instructed the identical information convention: “My message to all of the individuals of Ukraine is that this: ‘WHO stands by you’ … We proceed to name on the Russian Federation to cease this warfare.”

WHO member states will on Tuesday contemplate a decision in opposition to Russia that features the potential closure of a significant regional workplace in Moscow, a doc obtained by Reuters confirmed final Thursday.

The draft decision stops in need of harsher sanctions comparable to suspending Russia from the UN international well being company’s board, in addition to a brief freeze of its voting rights, three diplomatic and political sources mentioned.

The draft, ready largely by EU diplomats and submitted to the WHO’s regional workplace for Europe this week, follows a request by Ukraine signed by a minimum of 38 different members together with Turkey, France and Germany.

Moscow calls its actions since February 24 a “particular navy operation” to disarm Ukraine and rid it of what it calls anti-Russian nationalism fomented by the West.

Ukraine and the West say Russia launched an unprovoked warfare of aggression.

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