UN GENEVA PRESS BRIEFING

4 March 2025

Protection Needed for Congolese Fleeing Escalating Conflict in Eastern DRC

Patrick Eba, Deputy Director, Division of International Protection, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said UNHCR today issued a new position on returns to the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), advising that Congolese nationals fleeing the conflict, as well as those outside the country who originated from the area affected by the conflict, could need refugee protection under international and regional legal frameworks.

The security and humanitarian situation in the DRC continued to deteriorate, with hundreds of thousands of people on the move in North and South Kivu provinces. Close to 80,000 people had fled armed clashes into neighbouring countries, including around 61,000 who had arrived in Burundi since January this year. Today, only around 17,000 people remain in displacement sites, schools and churches around Goma, while 414,000 others had been on the move for the last four weeks, encouraged by the de facto authorities to return to their villages of origin. At least 209,000 individuals from these sites had arrived spontaneously in Masisi, Nyiragongo, and Rutshuru territories, where basic services were not equipped for the sudden surge in population.

Eastern DRC remained one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. Near the frontlines, sexual violence and human rights abuses remained rampant, as was the looting and destruction of civilian homes and businesses. In the first two weeks of February, 895 rapes, an average of 60 a day, were reported and referred to humanitarian actors for assistance. Explosive remnants of war posed risks to children and farmers trying to tend their fields. Humanitarian access to those on the move had been impeded by continued clashes, leaving many vulnerable people without access to life-saving aid.

Given the widespread insecurity in these provinces and surrounding areas, many more could need to cross borders to find protection and assistance. UNHCR called on States to register all asylum-seekers from the DRC and provide them with documentation. Asylum claims needed to be processed through fair, transparent and efficient procedures, including the use of a prima facie approach to recognition where relevant, in accordance with international and regional refugee law and other relevant legal standards.

For Congolese nationals outside the country who were considering voluntary return to eastern DRC, UNHCR emphasised the importance of informed decision-making. Individuals needed to have access to up-to-date and detailed information on security, governance, and livelihoods in their places of origin to make fully informed choices regarding return.

There were more than one million Congolese refugees across Africa, mainly in neighbouring countries that had a long history of providing protection and assistance. UNHCR encouraged them to continue upholding their refugee law obligation and humanitarian commitment and called on the international community to step up support for host countries in providing protection and assistance to refugees from the DRC.

Read the briefing note here.

In response to questions, Mr. Eba said that like other humanitarian agencies, UNHCR had been affected by the current freeze on aid funding from the United States. However, the agency continued to provide assistance on the ground in crisis-affected areas. The crisis in the DRC was arguably one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, and the international community needed to step up its response.

UNHCR’s activities in the DRC were typically underfunded. Last year, its response was only 42 per cent funded. UNHCR was grateful that the United States had granted a waiver on the aid freeze for funding of operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In response to a question on protests in Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, Eujin Byun for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said the situation in Kakuma was fluid but had calmed recently. There had been injuries to four refugees and a member of the local authorities in demonstrations about the situation of refugees, but there had been no fatalities recorded. UNHCR’s activities in Kakuma were also underfunded. UNHCR was in discussions with the refugee community on the ground and would continue to support them.

Ebola and Marburg Disease Outbreaks in Uganda and Tanzania

Dr. Janet Diaz, Unit Head, Safe Scalable Care, World Health Emergencies Programme, World Health Organization (WHO), said Tanzania had been facing a Marburg disease outbreak since 20 January, and Uganda had been in the midst of an Ebola outbreak since 30 January. Dr. Diaz said that she had visited both countries to support their management of patients.

Over the weekend, the Ministry of Health of Uganda announced the death of a four-year-old child from Ebola. This brought the total to 10 confirmed cases, including two deaths. The outbreak was ongoing, as were all aspects of the response, including investigations to understand the latest chains of transmission. WHO was supporting several aspects of the response, including clinical care.

Ebola from the Sudan virus had a case fatality ratio of 40 to 70 per cent. With no licensed treatment yet, early detection, diagnosis, and the best possible supportive care were key to saving lives. With this combination, mortality could be driven down to 10 per cent.

In Uganda, Dr. Diaz visited treatment centres in Mulago and Mbale—two affected areas—and worked with health workers and emergency medical teams. The teams had set up treatment centres in the hot spots within hours of the first case, and the Ministry deployed medical supplies and equipment to deliver optimised care.

Dr. Diaz said she had focused on improving the standard of care. WHO had worked with partners for years to bring up the standard of care to ensure patients were in the best possible health and to improve the design of the treatment centres with new, innovative techniques, such as using transparent walls to directly communicate with clinicians and monitor patients in the red zone, as well as safe connectors for passing items through the walls. For a strong Ebola clinical response, the right number of people needed to work in the right functions with sufficient rest.

WHO helped to establish the intensive care unit in the Mulago treatment centre and had previously trained a national Emergency Medical Team which was also deployed. It supported the organisation of the pharmacy and supply inventory system within the treatment centres. Doctors Without Borders was supporting the case management response in areas of water, sanitation and infection control in Mbale.

WHO ensured that the trial vaccines and treatments were in-country as part of preparedness even before the outbreak began. The vaccine trial began days after the outbreak was declared, and the therapeutics trial protocol was under its last ethical and regulatory review. In the interim, all confirmed patients had received remdesivir for emergency access use, and this was helping to collect robust clinical data. The goal was to provide effective treatment for Ebola caused by the Sudan virus.

Before going to Uganda, Dr. Diaz visited Tanzania for the Marburg outbreak response, also with a focus of improving patient care. Marburg was clinically similar to Ebola and belonged to the same filovirus family. In this outbreak, there were two confirmed and eight probable cases reported by the Ministry of Health. All 10 persons died, eight before the outbreak was detected and declared. Two died while under care.

Once the alert was raised, the clinical workforce deployed to Biharamulo—the affected district—within hours. When Dr. Diaz arrived, medical staff were in the process of installing an intensive care unit to provide more advanced care and had access to medical oxygen, monitors and point of care laboratory testing. WHO ensured a clinical care pathway was in place, from early diagnosis to referral to treatment centres, ensuring that the proper infection, prevention and control and water, sanitation and hygiene measures were implemented. Doctors Without Borders was providing holistic support to the case management response, highlighting how important collective action amongst partners in support of health ministries was key to a response.

There had been no recent cases of Marburg; surveillance was ongoing. The countdown was now on to hopefully declare the end of the outbreak in a few weeks. WHO provided support to the brave clinicians so they could be safe while giving their patients an even better chance of survival. Thanks to joint work with partners and countries, generic protocols were available for filovirus outbreaks, speeding up the launch of vaccine and treatment trials and the response to future outbreaks, and improving the standard of care for patients.

In response to questions, Dr. Diaz said the United States funding freeze had affected key outbreak response measures in the region. The organization had released 3.4 million in contingency funding to support the government-led response to the outbreak in Uganda. Dr. Diaz also said that WHO’s infection prevention and control and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) programmes received significant funding from the United States. WHO would assess how to maintain these programmes.

Doctors Without Borders had been a strong partner in the humanitarian response to virus outbreaks; they were reliable and present. The comparative advantages of the different organizations needed to be utilised and coordinated.

Answering questions from the media, Dr. Margaret Harris for the World Health Organization (WHO) said WHO was still assessing the impact of the funding freeze but was continuing its work. Changes in funding were challenging, but WHO was being innovative and seeking new avenues for funding. It was impossible to quantify whether people had died as a result of funding cuts. WHO could not sit and weep; it would continue to do everything it could to support the health of all people on the planet.

WHO was a large organization with many programmes. Some were more impacted by funding cuts than others. For example, the Global Measles and Rubella Laboratory Network (GMRLN), which did surveillance on diseases such as yellow fever and Japanese encephalitis, was 100 per cent funded by the United States. WHO would do everything it could to prevent its programmes from collapsing. It would continue to support the health of people across the planet. WHO was organising a briefing on the funding issue.

In response to a question on patients abducted from hospitals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, said that the High Commissioner for Human Rights had issued a statement on the abductions.

One Million More People at Risk of Food Insecurity in Somalia

Jean-Martin Bauer, Director, Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Service, World Food Programme (WFP), said alarming new data from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) projected that about 3.4 million people in Somalia were facing acute food insecurity between January and March, and the number was predicted to rise to 4.4 million between April and June. This was significant because of the level of vulnerability in Somalia. Some 1.7 million young children in the country were facing global acute malnutrition, and of these, 466,000 were facing severe acute malnutrition.

There was a major food crisis in Somalia in 2022, and the IPC had forecasted a famine, though it did not eventuate thanks to the scale-up in assistance. We were now seeing similar patterns that were worrisome. Crop yields were below long-term averages and weather models were now indicating drought in the next crop cycle of April to June 2025, which would exacerbate the situation.

The impact of funding cuts had not been factored into predictions. They, along with high food prices and conflict, could further aggravate food insecurity. WFP had already had to curtail its assistance in Somalia. Around 820,000 people received assistance in January, compared to 2.2 million per month in the peak period of 2024. WFP’s school feeding programme had been suspended in some parts of Somalia, including the south-west.

WFP needed 297 million United States dollars over the next six months to provide assistance to a very vulnerable population. Acting early would allow humanitarians to mitigate the adverse impacts of the forthcoming drought. The humanitarian response plan in Somalia was largely underfunded; it was only 12 per cent funded. The overall appeal was for 1.4 billion United States dollars.

In response to questions, Mr. Bauer said there had been two consecutive failed crop seasons, and a third was predicted. The time to step up was now; delays could be deadly. WFP needed resources to support vulnerable groups. United States funding for food purchases and deliveries had thankfully been reinstated. There were repeated droughts in the region, and the society was fragile. Donors needed to step up support.

Somalia relied on imports for around 60 per cent of its food supplies. WFP was providing food from international sources and cash transfers to the local community, which quickly boosted the local economy. Various resources needed to be devoted to diverting a crisis. WFP provided around 85 per cent of all food assistance in the country; this needed to be maintained. It purchased food on international markets from various sources at the lowest prices possible to provide the most food aid possible.

Mr. Bauer also answered that it was essential that humanitarians had access to data on food insecurity. WFP’s Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Service worked closely with partners to ensure that the best data was available. February IPC data forecast that around 23 per cent of the population of Somalia would be in IPC phase three and above, indicating crisis levels of hunger, around August. Resources needed to be provided as soon as possible to avert a catastrophic situation.

United Nations’ Response to United States Funding Cuts

In response to questions on this topic, Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva said that the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres had addressed the issue of funding cuts by the United States in remarks to the media on 28 February. He gave examples of the impact of the cuts in Afghanistan, where more than nine million people would miss out on health and protection services, with hundreds of mobile health teams and other services suspended. He also provided examples of the impacts in Ukraine, Mexico and other countries.

The Secretary-General had said that the United Nations was extremely grateful for the leading role the United States had provided over decades. He gave examples of what funds from the United States had been supported, especially in the humanitarian field.

The United Nations would continue to analyse what needed to be done to bridge funding shortfalls, Mr. Guterres had said. The Inter-Agency Standing Committee, which brought together United Nations humanitarian agencies and partners, had agreed on an ambitious plan for efficiency and prioritisation. The organisation’s absolute priority remained clear: it would do everything it could to provide life-saving aid to those in urgent need. It would continue efforts to diversify the pool of generous donors who supported its work.

Announcements

Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, said that the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres was in Cairo to participate in an extraordinary Arab League Summit, which was focusing on the situation in the Middle East, in particular in Gaza. He would convey to attendees that the ceasefire and hostage release deal needed to hold, in light of recent developments. He would also meet with leaders and officials in attendance. Yesterday, he met with António Costa, and today he was scheduled to hold other bilateral meetings. The Secretary-General’s remarks to the Summit would be webcast on UN Web TV around 3:30 p.m.

In response to questions on meeting with US emissaries, Ms. Vellucci said the United Nations had an office in Washington and remained in contact with United States authorities on many levels. The Secretary-General welcomed and strongly supported Arab-led efforts for sustainable development in Gaza.

Ms. Vellucci also announced that on Wednesday, 5 March at 3 p.m., Balakrishnan Rajagopal, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, would hold a press conference to discuss the beneficiaries of a manufactured migration crisis and the relationship between migration and housing crises. Reporting on the conference was embargoed until 7 March at 1 p.m.

5 March was also the International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness. The Secretary-General had issued a statement for the day, in which he urged leaders to strengthen the systems and tools that prevented the proliferation, testing and use of deadly weapons and live up to their disarmament obligations. He also called for a concerted effort in meeting the disarmament commitments contained in the recently adopted Pact for the Future. It was time for leaders to put words into action and invest in disarmament solutions and the peaceful future every person deserved, he concluded.

To mark International Women’s Day and the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, Ms. Vellucci said, UN Women, the United Nations Office in Geneva (UNOG), and the Delegation of the European Union were organising the “Intergenerational Dialogue on Beijing +30: For All Women and Girls – Rights, Equality, Empowerment”, which would be held on Friday, 7 March from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m in room XIX of the Palais des Nations. Speaking at the event would be Tatiana Valovaya, Director-General, United Nations Office in Geneva; Jürg Lauber, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the United Nations Office in Geneva and President of the Human Rights Council; Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights; and many other personalities.

Ms. Vellucci said the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict was launching a global campaign entitled “Prove it Matters”, which aimed to uphold the spirit and letter of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, bring the voices of children up-front, and promote a long-term solution for upholding the rights and well-being of conflict-affected children. An event would be held in Geneva on 11 March 2025 at 5:00 p.m. to launch the campaign. Speaking at the event would be the Mayor of Geneva, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, and the Prime Minister of Andorra.

Today, a press briefing was being held in Vienna for the global launch of the International Narcotics Control Board annual report; it could be viewed on UN Web TV.

The Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and Israel, would hold public hearings from 11 to 12 March to gather testimony from victims of sexual, reproductive and other forms of gender-based violence committed by the Israeli Security Forces and Israeli settlers. The hearings would take place at the Palais de Nations and be broadcast live. The hearings were open to accredited media. Media without credentials who wished to attend need to register by 7 March on UNOG Indico.

***