The World Well being Group (WHO) is gathering proof for a attainable struggle crimes investigation into assaults it says it has documented by Russia on healthcare services in Ukraine, it mentioned in Kyiv on Saturday.
WHO Emergencies Director Mike Ryan, on an unannounced go to along with WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, informed a information convention it was the specific duty of fighters to keep away from attacking well being services, but the WHO had already documented 200 assaults on hospitals and clinics within the nation.
"Intentional assaults on healthcare services are a breach of worldwide humanitarian regulation and as such - primarily based on investigation and attribution of the assault - characterize struggle crimes in any state of affairs," Ryan mentioned.
"We proceed to doc and bear witness to those assaults... and we belief that the UN system and the Worldwide Prison Court docket and others will take the mandatory investigations with a purpose to assess the legal intent behind these assaults".
Russia has denied earlier accusations by Ukraine and Western nations of attainable struggle crimes and has additionally denied focusing on civilians within the struggle.
400 healthcare services 'destroyed or broken'
Ryan mentioned the 200 circumstances didn't characterize the totality of assaults on Ukrainian medical services, solely these the WHO had verified.
Kyiv has mentioned there have been round 400 such assaults since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy mentioned on Thursday that Russian troops had destroyed or broken practically 400 healthcare establishments in Ukraine.
"My message to all of the individuals of Ukraine is that this: 'WHO stands by you'... We proceed to name on the Russian Federation to cease this struggle," Tedros informed the identical information convention.
WHO member states will on Tuesday think about a decision towards Russia that features the attainable closure of a significant regional workplace in Moscow, a doc obtained by Reuters confirmed on Thursday.
The draft decision stops wanting harsher sanctions resembling suspending Russia from the UN international well being company's board, in addition to a brief freeze of its voting rights, three diplomatic and political sources mentioned.
The draft, ready largely by EU diplomats and submitted to the WHO's regional workplace for Europe this week, follows a request by Ukraine signed by no less than 38 different members together with Turkey, France, and Germany.
Moscow calls its actions since February 24 a "particular navy operation" to disarm Ukraine and rid it of what it calls anti-Russian nationalism fomented by the West.
Ukraine and the West say Russia launched an unprovoked struggle of aggression.
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