WHO condemns Russia for its attack on Ukraine and health services
In Volnovakha, Donetsk region, in front of a destroyed hospital, March 12, 2022. REUTERS - ALEXANDER ERMOSHENKO
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
Russia a little more ostracized from the international community.
This time it is the WHO that condemns the attack of Vladimir Putin's regime on Ukraine and its health centers.
The resolution does not, however, call for sanctions against Moscow, which attempted a bluff by presenting its own text.
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With our correspondent in Geneva,
Jérémie Lanche
If much has been said about the defection of a Russian diplomat in Geneva in recent days, other representatives of Moscow at the UN do not seem to be taking this path.
This is the case with Alexander Alimov, who affirmed before the WHO Assembly that “
his country brings peace to Ukraine and continues its humanitarian aid
”.
The diplomat had just introduced a resolution that condemned the attacks on civilians in Ukraine.
Exactly like the resolution presented by kyiv.
Except that the text of Moscow was careful not to speak of any responsibility of Russia in the crisis.
A crude attempt to twist the facts for Westerners, as US Ambassador Sheba Crocker put it:
Russia's cynicism knows no bounds.
She has given you a resolution presenting her as a champion of peace and humanitarian aid.
If you vote for this resolution, you are aligning yourself with a country that literally seeks to destroy what the WHO was created for.
»
The resolution carried by Ukraine and finally adopted by 88 votes against 12 and 53 abstentions therefore condemns Russia.
The WHO condemns "
in the strongest terms
" the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and in particular
the attacks on health services
.
According to the most recent WHO census, there were 256 attacks on these services which left 75 health workers dead.
A census that can be used for prosecution for war crimes.
The resolution adopted on Thursday stresses that the aggression "
constitutes an exceptional situation, seriously hampering the health of the Ukrainian population and having health repercussions in the region and beyond
".
However, the adopted text does not provide for concrete sanctions against Russia within the WHO.
He is not seeking to exclude Moscow from the WHO, which could set a dangerous precedent.
On the European side, we are rather trying to isolate Russia as much as possible by also preventing it from exercising any responsibility in all multilateral forums.
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