Geneva, Switzerland – Kyiv’s allies on Tuesday condemned Moscow for proposing a “cynical” draft resolution on the “health emergency in and around Ukraine” at the World Health Organization’s annual meeting.
The draft resolution, brought jointly by Russia and Syria, is set to vie with another submitted by Ukraine and its allies which denounces Russia’s invasion and attacks on healthcare facilities.
The latest Russian draft resolution does not mention the year-long war in Ukraine launched by Moscow.
France’s envoy Jerome Bonnafont said the draft was a “new cynical attack against the truth,” adding: “According to the WHO, there are over 20,000 civilian victims, health centres and workers have been targeted, there have been numerous cases of sexual assault”.
Three months after Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year, WHO member states adopted a resolution condemning Russia’s “military aggression”.
They overwhelmingly rejected another tabled by Russia, designed to be “more neutral”.
British ambassador Simon Manley said: “We are aware that like last year Russia has passed around pamphlets to our fellow delegates, which allege that Ukraine has been attacking its own health system. This is the theatre of the absurd.”
He condemned “gratuitous disinformation propagated by the Russian state in an attempt to distract and confuse the World Health Assembly”.
“We are confident that the vast majority of our fellow delegates here today won’t be fooled by such disinformation or the cynical resolution which Russia has proposed.”
The WHO says there have been 974 verified attacks on health services in Ukraine, leaving 101 people dead.
The draft resolution tabled by Kyiv and its allies calls on Moscow to immediately end attacks on hospitals and health facilities.
US ambassador Sheba Crocker said: “The brutal attacks by Russia’s forces have displaced millions, destroyed critical health facilities, deprived millions of safe and access to essential health services and disrupted essential medical supply chains.”
“As Russia’s brutality continues, the impact on global health deserves the highest level of attention,” she added.
The vote on the two new resolutions could take place on Wednesday due to the length of the debate.
apo-nl/vog/ial/lcm/ach
© Agence France-Presse