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UN GENEVA PRESS BRIEFING

29 April 2025

Situation in the occupied Palestinian territories

Juliette Touma, for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), speaking from Amman, shared the latest statement by UNRWA’s Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, in which he addressed the issue of detained and abused UNRWA staff. Since the start of the war in October 2023, over 50 UNRWA staff, among whom teachers, doctors and social workers, had been detained and abused. They had been treated in the most shocking and inhumane way. They reported being beaten up and used as human shields; they had been subjected to sleep deprivation, humiliation, threats of harm to them and their families, and attacks by dogs. Many had been subjected to forced confessions. Justice for those serving as humanitarians was not an option; it was an obligation, stressed Mr. Lazzarini in his statement.

Speaking of the ongoing proceedings at the International Court of Justice, Ms. Touma said that UNRWA welcomed the process. UNRWA and other agencies continued to be present in the occupied Palestinian territories, where they would need to continue their work until there was a viable solution for the Palestinian people. The Knesset law against UNRWA was impacting the Agency’s ability to fulfill its mandate, which had been entrusted to it by the UN General Assembly. Israeli officials were now banned from communicating and coordinating with UNRWA, which impeded aid delivery. International UNRWA staff, for example, had not received Israeli visas and consequently they could not enter the occupied West Bank or Gaza Strip, said Ms. Touma. Hundreds of children could lose access to education if several UNRWA schools in east Jerusalem were forced to close. Israel, as the occupying power, had an obligation to provide such services if UNRWA’s activities were to cease. Close to 300 UNRWA staff had been confirmed as killed since the start of the war.

In Gaza, it was almost two months since the beginning of the total siege on 2 March. Medical and food supplies, as well as fuel, were all blocked from entering the Strip, which was threatening the lives and survival of civilians in Gaza, who were also suffering a heavy bombardment. This siege was already four times longer than the initial siege, at the onset of the war. Hunger and desperation were spreading as food and medicine distribution was banned. UNRWA’s Commissioner-General had described the situation as man-made starvation. Ms. Touma stressed that UNRWA was ready to bring in supplies, which were waiting in 500 trucks, many of them just outside Gaza. As soon as the siege was lifted, those much-needed supplies could be brought in. UNRWA echoed the call by the UN Secretary-General for an immediate ceasefire and release of all hostages held in Gaza, as well as for the lifting of the siege and an unobstructed humanitarian access to all people in need. Ms. Touma reminded that almost half of the people in the Gaza Strip were children under the age of 15.

Responding to questions from the media, Ms. Touma explained that UNRWA did a so-called direct-service delivery of aid: they used UNRWA trucks with UNRWA drivers, through UNRWA warehouses. UNRWA vehicles were then used for further distributions to the displaced people by UNRWA staff through UNRWA shelters, explained Ms. Touma. On another question, Ms. Touma said that the siege on Gaza was a silent killer of the most vulnerable. Multiple-member families were resorting to sharing a single can of beans, and the diet children were receiving was far from either nutritious or diverse, adversely impacting their growth and development. Local crops were either not available or sold at very high prices unaffordable to most people. Since the start of the year, some 10,000 acute malnutrition cases had been identified among children of Gaza, added Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service.

Close to 300 UNRWA staff had been killed so far, reiterated Ms. Touma responding to a question. Some of them had been killed with their whole families, others in the line of duty. Even community kitchens were now running out of supplies and were likely to close down. Before the war, Gaza had needed some 500 trucks of supplies every single day, reminded Ms. Touma. Many people had been displaced multiple times, and the entire population was now believed to be dependent on humanitarian aid.

Regarding the financial situation, Ms. Touma said that the cash flow was managed monthly, and there was very little long-term visibility. Currently, there was no funding from the USA, and Sweden had decided to stop funding UNRWA in December 2024, while the Netherlands was reducing its support in 2025 (from EUR 19 million to 15 million), and it would continue to do so for several years to come. In parallel, income from private sources - individuals, foundations, and high value donors - had reached an unprecedented USD 232 million total contribution between 7 October 2023 and end of March 2025. Finally, answering a question, Ms. Touma said that the situation in Rafah was very dire: 97 percent of the area was under forced displacement orders, affecting 150,000 people. Those evacuation orders also adversely affected distribution of aid. Rafah was nothing like the city it used to be; it was obliterated in many ways and in every direction one could only see destruction.

Support for Afghan returnees

Babar Baloch, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), stated that an even deeper humanitarian crisis was looming in Afghanistan as tens of thousands of Afghans were being forced to return from neighbouring countries. UNHCR urgently sought USD 71 million to assist those arriving home in desperate conditions. In April, more than 251,000 Afghans had returned in adverse circumstances from Iran and Pakistan, including over 96,000 who had been deported. UNHCR continued to advocate with the Governments of Iran and Pakistan that returns to Afghanistan had to be voluntary, safe and dignified. Forcing or putting pressure on Afghans to return was unsustainable and could destabilize the region.

Mr. Baloch said that since 2023, more than 3.4 million Afghans had returned or been deported from Iran and Pakistan, including over 1.5 million in 2024 alone. Such mass returns had strained the capacity of many provinces in Afghanistan and exacerbated the risk of further internal displacement. UNHCR was working with partners like UNDP and IOM to support the growing number of returnees in Afghanistan. If UNHCR were to receive the required funds, those would allow our teams to provide crucial financial assistance for returnees to cover urgent needs, travel, access to services, livelihoods, and reintegration activities – with an emphasis on reaching women and girls. UNHCR would also enhance our reception capacity and centres to help returnees address protection needs and receive critical information.

Full statement is available here.

One month since the Myanmar earthquake

Nadia Khoury, Head of Delegation of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in Myanmar, speaking from Yangon, said she had just returned from the areas worst affected by the 28 March earthquakes. The needs there continued to be immense. In just a few weeks, the monsoon season would start. The latest earthquake aftershocks, of 4.4 magnitude, had taken place just two days earlier, informed Ms. Khoury. IFRC was working with the Myanmar Red Cross Society and partners to reach affected people; 110,000 people had already received life-saving support this way. This disaster reemphasized the importance of local actors. Almost half of the IFRC team on the ground came from the Asia-Pacific region and more than half were women.

On the ground, IFRC specialists trained Myanmar Red Cross staff and volunteers on how to deal with the post-disaster challenges. The local response had been incredibly inspiring, with immense solidarity in line with humanitarian principles and helping the most vulnerable in accordance with their needs. The Myanmar Red Cross was now focusing on providing safe drinking water, primary health care, relief items such as tents and blankets, as well as cash distribution to families. An emergency appeal of CHF 100 million mostly focused on the recovery effort, which was now starting. Work was also being done on community infrastructure, including water, sanitation and education facilities. The sheer magnitude of the disaster meant that more international funding was needed. The current CHF 100 million appeal was only 15 percent funded, warned Ms. Khoury; with it, the IFRC aimed to reach 100,000 people in need. Ms. Khoury reminded that even before the earthquake, the Myanmar Red Cross had already been helping some of the most affected areas. Local volunteers had the trust, the knowledge and the reach to help the affected communities, said Ms. Khoury, but they needed sustained international support.

Announcements

Alessandra Vellucci, of the United Nations Information Service, on behalf of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), flagged that journalists had received a press release about the new UNDP report with data on the dramatic economic situation of Afghanistan, embargoed until Wednesday 30 April.

She said that on 1 May at 4:30 pm, the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions Secretariat would hold a hybrid press conference to present outcomes of the High-Level Ministerial Segment from the 2025 BRS Conventions Conference of the Parties (COPs). Speakers would include Rolph Payet, Executive Secretary of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions; and Inger Andersen, Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme.

Margaret Harris, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that Dr. Tedros’s press conference for ACANU members would be held at the WHO on 1 May at 3 pm.

Ms. Vellucci informed that the Committee Against Torture would have this afternoon at 4 pm a public meeting devoted to the follow-up of Articles 19 and 22 of the Convention, and the question of reprisals.

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination was concluding this morning the review of Mauritius and would begin this afternoon the review of the Republic of Korea.

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UN Geneva Press Briefing - 29 April 2025

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