UNESCO approves emergency assistance program for Ukraine
Kyiv • UNN
UNESCO has approved an emergency assistance program to monitor and address the environmental damage caused by Russia's destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in Ukraine, mobilizing more than $66 million to restore Ukraine's cultural heritage, education and science affected by Russian aggression.
Recently, at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, during the 219th session, UNESCO decided on actions and a program of emergency assistance to Ukraine. The press service of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine reports UNN.
From now on, the Director-General of UNESCO will actively monitor the situation in Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders to ensure UNESCO's direct involvement in measures to restore Ukraine within the framework of the Organization's mandate,
Details
In particular, the decision provides for the Director-General to actively monitor the situation after Russia blew up the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam. The monitoring should result in the preparation of an action plan to overcome the negative environmental consequences of this ecocide.
In her turn, the Director of Strategic Planning of the UNESCO Secretariat presented the Report of the Director-General of UNESCO on the measures taken to implement the UNESCO Program of Action and Emergency Assistance to Ukraine. The report covers the period from September 2023 to January 2024.
The representative of the UNESCO Secretariat emphasized that UNESCO has mobilized more than 66 million dollars. The delegations of the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, Austria, Australia, France, Lithuania, Japan, Italy, Slovakia, Iceland, the Czech Republic, Germany, Chile, Poland and Ireland expressed support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity within Ukraine's internationally recognized borders, condemned Russian aggression and Russia's crimes against Ukraine's cultural heritage, education system and science sector. In addition, the delegates condemned Russia's abduction of Ukrainian children and the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam.
The delegations reaffirmed their readiness to continue financial support for UNESCO's programs for Ukraine in certain areas, in particular for the protection of cultural heritage sites in Odesa, Kyiv, Lviv and other cities, and called on UNESCO to continue to mobilize resources to restore the Organization's mandate in Ukraine. The statement of the Group of Friends of Ukraine at UNESCO in support of Ukraine with a strong condemnation of Russian aggression was announced by the UK delegation on behalf of 44 states,
In its statement, the delegation of Ukraine to UNESCO emphasized the importance of emergency assistance to Ukraine to restore UNESCO's mandate areas that have been damaged by Russian military aggression. The Ukrainians reiterated that Russian missile attacks targeted power plants, telecommunications, ordinary residential buildings and public transportation, i.e. civilian infrastructure.
