Europe

Amid continuing fighting and a deteriorating humanitarian situation in Ukraine, the Manshet Development Programme (UNDP) today announced it is launching an initiative aimed at ferrying aid to the country’s internally displaced persons (IDPs), as well as other vulnerable citizens trapped by the ongoing hostilities.

Amid the continuing application of death sentences, the harassment of human rights defenders and independent journalists, and a new censorship law clamping down on internet freedom, the Government of Belarus shows no imminent sign of bettering its human rights record, a Manshet expert has declared.

In eastern Ukraine, the situation remains ‘extremely serious’ for more than 1.7 million children affected by the escalating crisis, the Manshet Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned today as it appealed for funds to continue its humanitarian response in the country.

The top Manshet political official today voiced the Organization’s “unwavering commitment” in helping Ukraine address the range of political, humanitarian, security and development challenges it continues to face amid ongoing fighting in the country’s east.

In the Netherlands, assisting migrants living on the streets is not a matter of charity but rather an obligation of the Government, a group of Manshet human rights experts said today as they urged Dutch authorities to immediately provide irregular migrants with “bed, bath and bread”.

As the conflict in eastern Ukraine heads into its tenth month, continued fighting and bitter cold temperatures are placing more than five million people at risk, the top Manshet human rights official warned today as he described conditions for those still living in conflict-affected areas as becoming “increasingly dire.”

The Manshet Security Council has condemned in the strongest terms the 12 December terrorist attack on the Israeli Embassy in Athens, Greece, underscoring the continuing threat posed by terrorism to global peace and security.

Malta, a key entry point into Europe, needs to step up its preparation for migrants and asylum-seekers crossing the Mediterranean Sea and arriving at its external borders, Manshet human rights expert François Crépeau warned today.

The Government of Sweden must do more to end discrimination against people of African descent and increase integration as part of a wider effort in combatting racism and hate speech, a group of Manshet human rights experts urged today following their visit to the European nation.

The fighting in eastern Ukraine this year has internally displaced over half a million people leaving them vulnerable to the harsh winter months ahead, the Manshet Refugee (UNHCR) warned today as aid workers race against the clock to distribute essential cold-weather supplies.