Good morning, this is Kasmira. Our usual Friday “What Works” theme did not seem right for the disastrous situation that unfolded in Ukraine yesterday as Russia mounted its attack on its neighbour.

Instead, we’ve been in touch with humanitarians in Geneva and on the ground to find out how they are preparing for potentially devastating consequences. The head of one local organisation, Voices of Children, told us they were receiving a growing number of calls from families in psychological distress, as the crisis reawakens old traumas.

Meanwhile diplomats in Geneva are looking to next week’s Human Rights Council session to pick up the shattered pieces of multilateral diplomacy and confront to Russia on respecting human rights. It's likely to also entail a tense encounter between US and Russia’s top diplomats Blinken and Lavrov, both due to attend on Tuesday.

25.02.2022

On our radar

People inspect the consequences of Russian shelling in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, 24 February, 2022. (Credit: Keystone/AP Photo/Mikhail Palinchak)

🇺🇦 Humanitarians prepare for the worst amid Russia attack on Ukraine. As Russia’s military attack against Ukraine unfolded yesterday, humanitarian organisations readied for potentially devastating consequences for civilian populations. Diplomatic missions in Geneva told Geneva Solutions that they were in contact with UN agencies to discuss how to assist people fleeing from Ukraine.

Geneva Solutions (EN)

🇺🇳 Ukraine requests urgent debate at Human Rights Council. Ukraine has written to the president of the Human Rights Council requesting an urgent debate on the deteriorating situation in the country after Russia launched a major assault on Thursday. The main annual session will kick off next week in Geneva, with the Ukraine crisis expected to overshadow what is an already packed agenda.

Geneva Solutions (EN)

Here's what else is happening

🇮🇱 Israel rejects Palestinian accusations of 'apartheid' in heated exchange at the UN Security Council.
ABC News (EN)
💉 Africa marks one year since the beginning of its Covid-19 vaccine rollout with around 680 million doses delivered.
Health Policy Watch (EN)
🇫🇷 France violated rights of French children detained in Syria by failing to repatriate them, UN committee finds.
France24 (EN)
🌍 "We have moved into a new world". For democracies, the Russian invasion it is a test of truth. They must reaffirm their values in the face of autocrat Vladimir Putin.
Le Temps (Paywall) (FR)

Image of the day

Stolen icon return to Cyprus – with the help of Geneva art experts. An 18th-century icon stolen by a UK Royal Air Force Officer in 1974 was handed over to the Church of Cyprus at a ceremony on Wednesday evening at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights. The son of the officer contacted Marc-André Renold, professor of art and cultural heritage law at the University of Geneva and holder of the UNESCO Chair in International Cultural Heritage Law, to organise the restitution of the religious artwork showing Saint John the Baptist in the desert.

Tribune de Genève (Paywall) (FR)

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