Ukrainian soldiers walk by the graves of fellow soldiers, after the funeral of Hennadii Kovshyk, who was killed on the frontline in eastern Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, 16 February 2023. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

‘Shoot them, we won’t take prisoners’: Behind the growing trail of executed Ukrainian soldiers. Reports of executions of Ukrainian soldiers captured by Russian forces are stacking up, according to the United Nations. While they are often difficult to prove, Ukrainian authorities investigating the deaths accuse Moscow of “criminal behaviour”.

👛TOUGH TIMES. The Human Rights Council will meet today to address financial woes. Delegates will receive updates from the UN Geneva Office and the UN Human Rights Office on available resources and what services and activities they can support amid the UN's unrelenting financial crisis. Countries are planning to extend cost-cutting measures into next year, such as keeping speaking times short.

With the office under intense financial pressure due to deep cuts, including from Russia and China, reporting on rights violations will become even more challenging going forward.

Leadership shake-up. Council members may also look to appoint their new president for next year as Swiss Ambassador Jürg Lauber concludes his one-year term. Following regional rotation, it is the Asia-Pacific group’s turn, though no contenders have been reported so far. Last time, the seat was held by Fiji.

Human Rights Day. UN high commissioner for human rights Volker Türk will also meet with Geneva reporters on Wednesday as the world marks Human Rights Day at a time of growing pushback on multiple fronts, from women's rights to migrants’ rights.

One government that will be celebrating the day for the first time is Syria, where conditions have improved since being released from the decades-long chokehold of the Assad regime, according to the UN human rights office’s Middle East division.

🎤TO SING OR NOT TO SING. Following last week’s icy Eurovision showdown in Geneva, broadcasters wanting to join Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain and Slovenia in withdrawing from the otherwise light-hearted song contest's 2026 edition have till Wednesday to do so without penalty.

The four countries’ exit followed the European Broadcasting Union's decision to allow Israel to compete despite objections. The EBU has long maintained that politics should have no place in the contest, though it had banned Russia in 2022 after its invasion of Ukraine.

Kitsch over politics. Moldova, Bulgaria and Romania, meanwhile, are set to return in 2026, skirting the political row to instead embrace the event’s celebration of kitsch.

More on EBU: Meet the organisation behind Eurovision and its fight for trusted journalism

👨‍👩‍👧‍👧REALITY CHECK. Finance issues will be high on the agenda as the highest authority at the embattled International Organization for Migration meets over the next three days.

The IOM’s council will consider the issue of outstanding contributions, its 2026 budget – which has been revised down after losing 30 per cent of its funding this year – and the CHF45 million renovation of its headquarters, financed through a long-term loan from the Swiss government.

Earlier this year, IOM director general Amy Pope forecasted that roughly 7,000 out of its 22,000 jobs would be cut in the new year.

– Paula Dupraz-Dobias and Michelle Langrand