UN Secretary-General António Guterres Calls for an Immediate Ceasefire in Ukraine

UN Secretary-General António Guterres Calls for an Immediate Ceasefire in Ukraine
Photo by President United Nations General Assembly on Flickr

19-04-2022

Manon Picard

International Justice and Human Rights Researcher, 

Global Human Rights Defence.

On the 18th of April 2022, the spokesperson of the United Nations Secretary General, António Guterres, made a statement regarding Russia’s unlawful invasion of Ukrainian territory. The statement was made following civilian casualties and destructions in the cities of Lviv, Dnipro, Kharkiv and Mykolaiv due to an attack initiated by the Russia Federation. Mr. Guterres’ spokesperson made the following statement: 

“The Secretary-General strongly urges all parties to enact an urgent and immediate humanitarian ceasefire, which will enable the safe and secure functioning of humanitarian corridors, help evacuate civilian residents and also deliver life-saving humanitarian and medical assistance”.  

In addition, during the statement the spokesperson stated that the United Nations would support any efforts made by either Ukraine or Russia and that “genuine negotiations must be given a chance to succeed and to bring lasting peace”. Moreover, Russia has still not installed a humanitarian ceasefire which would enable the safe passage of civilians. 

Although “ceasefires […are…] not on the horizon right now” an agreement may be found in a couple of weeks said the spokesperson. The failure to negotiate and agree to a ceasefire has caused mass civilian casualties over numerous cities in Ukraine as well as mass destruction of infrastructure. Despite the international sanctions imposed on the Russian Federation and the collective effort made by all States to reach a peaceful settlement to the situation, the war is still ongoing and there is still no indication as to its ending. 

Sources and further reading:

United Nations. (2022, April 18). Guterres Appeals for Urgent Humanitarian Ceasefire in Ukraine. UN News. Retrieved on April 19, 2022, from https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/04/1116412