This is the News in Brief from the United Nations.

Ukraine: ‘Please, let us in,’ WHO issues plea to reach sick and injured

The UN health agency issued an urgent appeal on Friday for access to sick and injured people caught up in the war in Ukraine.

This includes “hundreds” of landmine victims, premature babies, pregnant women and the elderly, in eastern and southern oblasts. 

Speaking from Odessa and calling for humanitarian corridors to be established, here’s Dr Dorit Nitzan, Ukraine Crisis Incident Manager for the World Health Organization WHO:

“I am sure that once there will be corridors we will be there. So, the fact that there are no corridors speaks to itself, surely all of us, asking in different form, please, let us in.”

The WHO official noted that others in need of help included those with chronic but preventable illnesses – those with heart disease, cancer patients and diabetics -  whose condition has worsened because they had run out of medicine.

UN rights office appeals to Sri Lanka for calm during planned protest

Ahead of mass protests planned in Sri Lanka over the weekend, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, urged the authorities to “show restraint” and ensure “every necessary effort to prevent violence”.

The appeal from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, follows increasing tensions linked to Sri Lanka’s dire economic situation and the tremendous suffering that it has meant for ordinary citizens.

There have already been reports of confrontations between individuals, police officers and the armed forces at fuel stations, where thousands of desperate members of the public have queued for hours and sometimes days, said OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani:

“The media has reported that 13 people have actually died while waiting in long queues for fuel. Now we haven’t managed to verify these deaths, but there are other deaths that have been reported of people who haven’t made it to the hospital in time for you know, illnesses that were very much treatable, but they died, because of this lack of fuel, and preventing them from accessing hospitals in time.”

Ms. Shamdasani explained that although protesters had pelted police with stones, reportedly, these had been met with a tear gas, water cannon and on occasions, live ammunition. 

Under international law, gatherings should only be dispersed in exceptional cases, with use of force a last resort where absolutely necessary and proportionate, the OHCHR spokesperson said.  

Afghanistan: UN Human Rights Council urges Taliban to reverse restrictions on girls and women

At the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Member States urged Afghanistan’s de facto authorities to reverse the many restrictions they’ve placed on girls and women.

In a resolution that was adopted without a vote on Friday, countries also expressed deep concern at the “continued prevalence of violence and discrimination against women and girls in Afghanistan”.

Member States went on to reaffirm the “equal right of every child to education” – in reference to the ban on girls attending secondary school in many parts of Afghanistan, since the Taliban took power last August. 

The Council also called for the reinstatement of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, before warning about “shrinking” space for civil society and journalists.

Daniel Johnson, UN News.