Many innocent civilians, including children, were killed in residential areas of the densely populated city, and an educational facility and several apartment blocks were also attacked.
“Attacks by Russian federal forces on Ukrainian cities continue to take a devastating human toll,” Brown said.
Respect international law
“International humanitarian law must be respected,” she added.
Deputy UN spokesman Farhan Haq said humanitarian workers were now “on the ground providing psychological support and materials needed for the rapid repair of damaged homes.”
Brown also called for increased protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure in the region.
African countries are not investing enough in quality education for their children
In Africa, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) says most governments are not spending enough on quality education.
Fewer than one in five African countries allocate 20 percent of their national budgets to education, in line with the 2030 targets linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In an education report released ahead of the Day of the African Child on Sunday, UNICEF warned that despite “considerable progress” in increasing primary and secondary school enrolment rates over the past decade, many African schools are “underfunded, have overcrowded classrooms and suffer from a shortage of teachers, many of whom are not properly trained.”
The UN agency said a lack of funding is leaving millions of children without the skills they need to thrive in the future.
According to UNICEF, about $183 billion is needed each year to educate children in African countries to meet the Sustainable Development Goals targets, but there is only $106 billion available.
Progress being made, but challenges remain for people with albinism
While “remarkable progress” has been made on the human rights of people with albinism, according to Mulcahan Mitty Drummond, the UN's independent expert on albinism, “prejudice and violence persist.”
Mitty Drummond, speaking to mark the 10th anniversary of International Albinism Awareness Day, commemorated on Thursday, praised the great strides that have been made in including people with albinism in human rights debates and the disability movement, but also highlighted the significant challenges that people with albinism still face today.
The killings continue
“I continue to receive reports of attacks and murders against the most vulnerable people in our society – children,” Mitty Drummond said.
People with the condition, which affects skin, hair and eye colour due to a lack of melanin pigment, continue to face an uphill battle to live with dignity and equality.
In some communities, false superstitions put the lives of people with albinism at constant risk: hundreds of attacks and murders have occurred in 28 sub-Saharan African countries in the past decade due to harmful practices stemming from long-standing prejudices, poverty and witchcraft beliefs.
Some reports also suggest that albino children in China and other Asian countries are abandoned or rejected by their families.
When it comes to health challenges, people with albinism still struggle to obtain a simple bottle of life-saving sunscreen, an unaffordable luxury in some areas, according to independent UN experts.
Mitty Drummond calls for renewed efforts to address these challenges, including greater awareness, education, advocacy, legal and policy reform and community engagement to combat the discrimination and marginalization faced by people with albinism around the world.
