IAEA Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi assessed the safety and security situation at nuclear power plants as part of ongoing efforts to prevent nuclear accidents during the ongoing war.
The Russian military seized control of ZNPP, Europe's largest nuclear power plant, shortly after launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago.
Grossi pointed out that there had been no shelling since May last year, when the UN Security Council established five specific principles for protecting the plant.
This principle states, inter alia, that there shall be no attacks of any kind from or against nuclear power plants.
However, Grossi warned against any complacency over the very real danger that still exists, recalling that the ZNPP was on the front lines and came under fire several times in 2022.
The plant has also lost all off-site power on eight separate occasions, most recently in December, when it lost emergency power needed to cool the reactor and maintain other critical nuclear safety and security functions. have been forced to temporarily rely on diesel generators.
UN aid chief allocates $6 million to fight floods in Democratic Republic of the Congo
As the Democratic Republic of the Congo continues to battle devastating flooding, United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths this week allocated $6 million from the agency's core humanitarian fund to support the response, his office said. reported Thursday.
Heavy rains that began in December caused water levels in the Congo River to rise to levels not seen in more than 60 years, causing catastrophic flooding.
More than 2 million people are affected in 18 of the country's 26 states, nearly 60% of whom are children.
Floods are reported to have destroyed or damaged nearly 100,000 homes, more than 1,300 schools, and approximately 267 health facilities. Crops are ruined in flooded fields, and there are fears of food shortages in some areas.
The allocation from the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) will support around 400,000 people in areas such as health, food security, shelter and protection.
US designation as sponsor of terrorism affects human rights, experts warn
Independent experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council said Thursday that the United States needs to review its domestic framework for imposing sanctions against countries designated as state sponsors of terrorism (SST).
Currently, four countries are on the U.S. State Department's SST list: Cuba, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Iran, and Syria.
The experts said that the unilateral designation “violates basic principles of international law, including the principle of equality of national sovereignty, prohibition of interference in the internal affairs of states, and the principle of peaceful resolution of international disputes.”
Furthermore, fundamental human rights are “adversely affected by the additional restrictions and prohibitions caused by the SST designation.”
The process by which designations are made is also unclear and opaque, they added.
Experts have previously expressed concerns about the negative effects of the U.S. government's over-compliance.
They said additional restrictions or unilateral sanctions would create a chilling effect and cut off access to designated countries.
“The comprehensive isolation of this state, designated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism, has an adverse impact on the delivery of essential goods, including food, medicine, medical equipment, and other supplies, including humanitarian supplies under UN Security Council humanitarian resolutions. “There is a possibility of giving,” they warned.