HAMILTON, Canada 

The UN relief chief criticized the Security Council on Tuesday for failing to uphold international law, saying civilians in conflicts such as Ukraine, are being abandoned "on our watch."

Tom Fletcher noted his visits to Ukraine, the Gaza Strip, Sudan, Lebanon and Myanmar, and told the Council that "not only are we not standing robustly for international law, but in some cases supporting its debasement."

"The world is getting more dangerous for civilians, on our watch, your watch," he said. "Please, you can do more to ensure that this era of increasingly belligerent, transactional, self-defeating nationalism is not also remembered as one of callous impunity and brutal indifference."

He said nearly 13 million people in Ukraine need humanitarian aid, while almost 3.7 million are internally displaced due to hostilities.

​​​​​​​"There are almost 7 million refugees from Ukraine recorded globally, mainly in Europe,” he said.

More than 12,900 civilians, including 682 children, have been killed and nearly 30,700 injured since Russia launched its “special military operation” on Ukraine in February 2022, according to UN figures.

Women and girls are facing a "special crisis," with pre-term births making up half of all deliveries since the war began, he said, noting that gender-based violence, particularly intimate partner violence, has surged 36%.

Fletcher welcomed recent ceasefire talks focused on energy infrastructure and navigation safety in the Black Sea but stressed that "the best protection of civilians is that this war ends."

"If we do not make our stand on this point, consistently and unequivocally, what do we stand for anymore?" he asked the Council. "And how can we expect anyone to listen to us, or hope that others will make better choices in the future?"