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UN GENEVA PRESS BRIEFING

8 April 2025

Myanmar recovery

Titon Mitra, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Representative in Myanmar, speaking from Mandalay, said that the death count in the country had exceeded 3,000 people, with thousands of people injured. The search-and-rescue operations had now turned into recovery efforts. With short medical supplies and urban waterpipe systems broken, water-borne diseases were a growing threat. Numerous people were defecating in the open, and many people were still sleeping on the streets, afraid to go back home. Eighty percent of buildings in Sagaing were reduced to rubble, and critical infrastructure, including sections of the railway bridge over the Irrawaddy River, was severely damaged. People were living on the streets in extreme temperatures, with scarce clean water and outdoor defecation leading to outbreaks of cholera, hepatitis, and typhoid. Hospitals, already strained by civil war, were overwhelmed, understaffed and operating in car parks, explained Mr. Titon. Local markets were mostly closed, inflation was rapidly growing, and transport links were severely affected, making food both scarce and expensive.

UNDP, in collaboration with UN partners, was working to address both immediate and early recovery needs. Cash-for-work programs were supporting the poor, and efforts were underway to safely remove debris and clear access for response. In addition to immediate shelter material support, UNDP teams were assessing the damaged homes and preparing to initiate their repair in collaboration with local tradespeople. The focus was also on laying the groundwork for recovery. Mr. Mitra stressed that this crisis had a major impact on urban areas, and the relief phase had to turn into a sustainable recovery phase as soon as possible. Aid had to be provided impartially, he emphasized. The declared ceasefire should provide conditions to reach everyone in need. It had to be recognized that Myanmar was a compounded crisis, with many people having already been food insecure because of the conflict, civil disobedience and hyperinflation. The earthquake had simply compounded the already existing crisis. He hoped that Myanmar would not turn into a neglected crisis once cameras turned off.

Answering questions from the journalists, Mr. Mitra said that in many crises first responders came from community groups, which was unfortunately often done in an uncoordinated way. In Myanmar, road traffic was hard to manage, and coordinating both official assistance and local charitable organizations remained a challenge. Military authorities were in control of many affected areas, and the UN was very dependent on those authorities for aid coordination. Efforts had to be made to ensure that aid was not politicized. On another question, Mr. Mitra said that the day after the earthquake and the unilateral ceasefire announcement, some air strikes had still continued, but there had been a significant slowdown, nonetheless. Bias in aid distribution was not obvious, he said. UN was doing its best to make sure that aid would be delivered to those who needed it the most.

Rolando Gómez, for the United Nations Information Service (UNIS), sad that United Nations Special Envoy for Myanmar, Julie Bishop, was in Myanmar, and more information would be available soon.

Influx of Congolese refugees in Uganda

Matthew Crentsil, United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) Representative in Uganda, speaking from Kampala, said that the situation in Uganda was becoming increasingly dire with refugee reception centres overcrowded and funding cuts. Some 41,000 refugees had arrived from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to Uganda this year. UNHCR was speeding up transportation of refugees from the reception centres, which hosted six times the number of people over their capacity. Critical shortages of water, latrines and bathing facilities, particularly at the Matanda and Nyakabande transit centres, were putting people at dire risk of deadly diseases, warned Mr. Crentsil.

More details can be found in UNHCR’s press release.

Answering questions from the media, Mr. Crentsil explained that 41,000 refugees had arrived from DRC to Uganda in 2025, 80 percent of whom were women and children. The total number of Congolese refugees in Uganda now stood at over 580,000. Some nine children had died since the beginning of the year because of the malnutrition they had suffered from in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Many refugees were reporting extreme violence, including sexual violence and killings. On some days, there could be as many 1,000 new arrivals, a significant increase compared to 2024, and fully attributable to the conflict in Goma.

On another question, Olga Sarrado, also for UNHCR, explained that the numbers of arrivals from DRC to Burundi had decreased in recent weeks, and the stadium in Rugombo was now serving primarily as a registration centre. Between Burundi and Uganda, there were currently 113,000 registered refugee arrivals from the DRC, of which over 70,000 in Burundi and some 41,000 in Uganda. Mr. Crentsil explained that, because of the funding cuts, UNHCR had had to give up on some services it used to provide, such as decreasing numbers of childcare givers and teachers. Refugee reception centres, water, sanitation and health were now being prioritized at the expense of some other activities. The funding was going down at a time when they needs were increasing. The budget planned for the entire year was being already used because of the high influx of refugees. Uganda hosted a total of 1.8 million refugees and was Africa’s largest refugee hosting country, reminded Ms. Sarrado.

Conferences of Parties of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions

María Cristina Cárdenas-Fischer, Senior Policy and Strategy Advisor at the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm (BRS) Conventions Secretariat, informed that the BRS Conference of Parties (COP) 2025 would be held in Geneva from 28 April to 9 May, under the theme “Make visible the invisible”. She reminded that the three Conventions addressed some of the most serious pollutants and provided a framework for a lifecycle management of waste. BRS Secretariat wanted to increase the awareness of the Conventions and their ever-important role. The 2025 meetings would, inter alia, focus on the illegal traffic of waste; waste containing nanomaterials; listing of hazardous characteristics; listing of certain chemicals as hazardous; technical assistance; and listing three additional chemicals as persistent organic pollutants (POPs). This year, the BRS COP would have a high-level segment from 30 April to 1 May, with over 30 ministers registered and probably more coming. The high-level segment would focus on circularity, means of implementation, and interlinkages with climate change and biodiversity. Finally, the speaker informed about the exhibition by the lake in Geneva which showed the impact of the three Conventions on daily life.

More information about the BRS COP 2025 is available here.

Replying to questions, Ms. Cárdenas-Fischer explained that the United States was not a party to either of the three BRS Conventions. Many of the chemicals under the Stockholm Convention were used in cell phones or furniture’s upholstery, for example. She emphasized that the chemicals under consideration had undergone a thorough technical review, after which they had been nominated for consideration by the COP. Countries were allowed to opt in or opt out, she explained; some countries needed to go through a ratification process. Parties had two years after the amendments entered into force to come up with practical implementation strategies. Under the Stockholm Convention, there was a deadline to eliminate polychlorinated phenols (PCPs) by 2028, reminded Ms. Cárdenas-Fischer, which were used in electrical transformers, which could cause harm to human health and nature over time. On another question, she explained that the Basel Convention covered electrical vehicle (EV) batteries and provided guidance on how to handle transboundary movement on any kind of waste. Consumer organizations would be represented as observers in the upcoming events, said Ms. Cárdenas-Fischer. BRS Secretariat did not keep the list of pollutant countries as such.

Announcements

Clare Nullis, for the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), informed that the report European State of the Climate 2024, compiled by the European Union Copernicus Climate Change Service and the WMO, would be launched on 15 April at 1 pm. An embargoed press conference would be held online on 10 April at 1 pm; WMO Secretary-General would be among the speakers. Journalists could register by 9 April by sending a message to copernicus-press@ecmwf.int. Ms. Nullis said that 2025 was unfortunately continuing where 2024 had left off. Figures for March, just released by Copernicus, showed that March 2025 had been the warmest ever March in Europe, and the second warmest March globally. The Arctic Sea ice maximum was the lowest on record, she said.

Rolando Gómez, for the United Nations Information Service (UNIS), informed that the UN Secretary-General was expected to speak on Gaza at a stakeout following a Security Council meeting this afternoon.

Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrants Workers and Members of Their Families would end this morning its review of the report submitted by Mexico, while the review of the report of Niger would begin at 3 pm.

This week, the Committee Against Torture was reviewing the reports of Monaco and Mauritius.

Finally, the Conference on Disarmament would resume its 2025 session on 12 May.

Responding to a question, Mr. Gómez confirmed that the Director-General of the UN Office at Geneva Director-General, Tatiana Valovaya, had briefed Member States on the impact of the budget and liquidity crisis on UNOG. The list of cost-saving measures was available here. While there were no current plans to abolish any posts, the liquidity crisis did indisputably affect UNOG’s operations. Various factors, including the COVID19 pandemic and the liquidity crisis, had all affected the ongoing Strategic Heritage Plan, explained Mr. Gómez.

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UN Geneva Press Briefing - 08 April 2025

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