UN Catch-Up Dateline Geneva

In a week that’s seen the UN chief push for peace and justice in Ukraine with visits to Moscow and Kyiv, the Security Council has also been hearing that fighting in Syria is still raging – and that we mustn’t forget it. We’ll also highlight the UN’s work to help stop a new Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, while in Afghanistan, it’s never been more urgent to unblock billions of dollars of assets, top rights experts say.

Hello, as reports emerge that four busloads of civilians managed to leave Mariupol on Wednesday, we hear from UN humanitarians who continue to plead for safe and sustained access to the besieged city.

Also in this week’s show, we visit the UN Satellite Centre UNOSAT, which is tracking the devastation caused by shelling across Ukraine – how does it fit into the international calls for accountability, following Russia’s invasion on 24 February?

Seven weeks since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the global food and energy crisis that’s followed, the UN Secretary-General has explained what needs to happen to get help to the most vulnerable. Climate shocks and chronic violence have also created famine-like conditions and desperate scenes in Somalia and South Sudan, humanitarians tell us, while in Brazil, activists, women journalists and others, face appalling violence, a top rights expert has said.

Hello, first we heard that cluster bombs had been used in residential areas of Ukraine, now there are reports that civilians have been run over by tanks while trying to flee Russian troops in Bucha. We’ll hear more from the UN rights office on what steps it’s taking to verify those claims, on a day when the General Assembly decided to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council.