UN chief pleads for a 4-day Easter humanitarian pause in Ukraine
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has made a plea for a four-day Holy Week humanitarian pause in the war in Ukraine beginning on Holy Thursday and running through Easter Sunday, April 24, to allow for humanitarian corridors, warning that the destruction and human loss seen so far “could pale in comparison to the horror that lies ahead.”
“In five days, Ukrainians and Russians will mark Easter,” Guterres said.
“This holiday (is) a time for reflection on the meaning of suffering, sacrifice, death, and rebirth. But this year, Holy Week is being observed under the cloud of a war that represents the total negation of the Easter message.”
Speaking as Russian and Ukrainian troops engaged in a long-awaited battle in the east of Ukraine on Tuesday, Guterres said that “the terrible concentration of forces and firepower” makes this battle more violent and destructive,” and warned that the civilian loss the world has witnessed so far “could pale” in comparison with the horrors that lie ahead.
“This cannot be allowed to happen,” Guterres told reporters in New York. “Hundreds of thousands of lives hang in the balance.”
Many good-faith efforts by many parties to reach a cease-fire in Ukraine have failed.
Lamenting the failing efforts by many parties to reach a cease-fire in Ukraine, the UN chief said that the humanitarian pause is necessary to allow safe passage of all civilians fleeing the areas of confrontation, and the delivery of life-saving aid to the hardest-hit areas, such as Mariupol, Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk.
According to the UN, more than 12 million people need humanitarian assistance in Ukraine, with Guterres anticipating the numbers to rise to about 16 million, or 40 percent of Ukrainians still in the country.
He again called on Russians and Ukrainians to silence the guns and begin to forge a way toward peace and safety. He also urged “all champions of peace around the world” to join his Easter appeal.
Guterres added: “Save lives. Stop the bloodshed and destruction. Open a window for dialogue and peace and keep faith with the meaning and the message of Easter.”