MINSK, 20 October (BelTA) – UN agencies have not been granted permissions to work in the conflict zone in Ukraine yet, BelTA learned from the OSCE special representative in the trilateral contact group on Ukraine Martin Sajdik on 20 October.
Martin Sajdik said: “Since mid-July most of the international humanitarian organizations have not worked in the self-declared people's republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. The International Committee of the Red Cross has been the only international humanitarian organization lately to operate in several areas in Lugansk Oblast and Donetsk Oblast. All the UN agencies are forbidden to work there as of today. The United Nations Organization has not been granted the permission although all the necessary information has been provided.”
Martin Sajdik noted that 16,000 tonnes of food and other necessary things had been prepared. As many as 800 trucks are ready to carry humanitarian aid into the conflict zone yet the delivery has not been authorized. “We call upon the Ukrainian authorities to open the checkpoints at the contact line with Lugansk Oblast as soon as possible for the sake of delivering these cargoes to the people in need. Unfortunately, the problem is partially due to the mine clearance issue. The UN donor states need to report why the aid is not being delivered. Now it is necessary to deal with the issue,” concluded the OSCE special representative in the trilateral contact group on Ukraine.
