UNOG Press conference: UN Geneva at the time of COVID-19

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.

Thank you very much for being here with us for this press conference by Mr Tana Valovaya, the Director General of the UN Office at Geneva.

Missus Valovaya, good morning and welcome and thank you very much for the for accepting to speak to the Geneva Press Corps.

I will give you now the floor for a few introductory remarks and then we will take question from the journalist who are here with us today.

We can see you now.

DG Thank you very much.

Please, you can start.

Thank you.

Very much, Alessandra.

Thank you, dear colleagues.

And it's a real pleasure to talk to you and answer your question well, although it's still in a virtual format.

But I would like to start with thanking you all for the support you've been providing to United Nations and for multilateralism all these very difficult weeks.

You know that we're really undergoing the most severe crisis since the end of the Second World War.

It's not only health crisis, but it's economic crisis, social crisis, and of course the results of the pandemics are very, very serious.

We are losing lives all around the world.

And of course, we need to join our efforts to find this crisis.

And I would like to say that really within these weeks, we've seen that we really need multilateralism, we need multilateral cooperation, We need multilateral solutions because really this crisis has proven that the challenges the humanity is seeing these days, there are global challenges and or to fight these challenges, we need global response.

That's why United Nations has launched a new appeal for solidarity, for solution and for science.

We really have to address all these three issues in order to find the pandemics.

And of course, with you, with journalists, we have to use all the possibilities or the instruments.

We have to disseminate real information to fight fake news, fight wrong statements, fight stigmatisation, fight xenophobia and many other very negative events with seen being developed over the last weeks.

And you know that the United Nations has launched a new communication response and we're really counting on you.

I would like to tell you about the work a little bit so which has been being done here in the Geneva office of the United Nations over the last weeks.

I would like to say that we have been teleworking and very effectively teleworking with the last weeks, over the last weeks and we've managed to carry out all our mandated tasks because you know, our office is serving about 30 entities, United Nations entities in located in Geneva also with their field offices in 90 countries.

And in all these difficult times, we've been able to provide the necessary support, including human resources support, financial support, Technical Support and what is very important, all the support in information and communication areas.

So we really have seen that if necessary, of course we can work or virtually.

Of course that does not replace a normal way of for the United Nations is working.

It does not replace need for multilateral meetings in a physical space.

But we see that in terms of emergency we can work or also without physical presence.

I would like also to say that we had special events over these weeks.

On the 24th of April, we had a very big event devoted to the International Day of Multilateralism, which is being celebrated on the 24th of April.

We use this day to have a big conference around the global conversation launched by Secretary General to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the United Nations.

I think it was a very, very good event.

My colleagues, head of agencies here in Geneva, participated in this with a very big audience online, young audience, and it was a very good communication with young people about the future of multilateralism.

The event was really a success.

So I decided to have another event on the 25th of June and we will concentrate on challenges for such important spheres like sports, culture and tourism.

The which are really touched by the COVID-19 pandemic and again with my colleagues, head of international agencies, we're going to talk about the necessity and challenges and the future for the multi election.

Also, we could organise unnecessary meetings which were asked by Human Rights Council, some other bodies of the United Nations, virtually online.

We had started the art competition online and I invite all of you to go and see it.

It's the art competition again within the 75th anniversary of the United Nations.

The topic of this competition is the future we want and online we have about 40 works of art which were sent by the the different permanent missions located here in Geneva for their national countries, art of established art, artists in their countries and we have now online voting.

And then there will be the jury, jury comprised of kids educated in art, who will choose the winners of this very important competition.

Also, we have been preparing during this time a physical exhibition which hopefully will be open in Geneva in one of the art galleries during the end of June, beginning of July.

And this will be the first time the art from the Paladinacio, the art which was donated to us by artists or by the member states, will be exposed to people in Geneva.

And we think it's a very good, important thing.

Well, resuming cultural activities, resuming normal life with exactly the exhibition about the United Nations and speaking about the art which unites the world.

As I said, we've been trying to arrange quite a number of activities which are really speaking about the multilateralism, about the unity of the world, unity in our diversity.

I would like also to say that over the last weeks we launched 2 important events which have direct impact on user journalists.

We launched our 2019 Geneva Annual Report on the 21st of April and we also launched our new website on the 24th of April.

And I hope that you see the improvements and you see that it has become more interactive and more user friendly.

So and of course we would love to have your feedback also over these weeks.

We will.

We're working a lot around the GI agenda.

You know that 2020 is a very important year for reaching SD GS.

It's exactly opening the decade of action.

And over these weeks we have realised that SD, GS, like multilateralism, are now more important than ever.

Because really what we have seen during the crisis, the countries, the nations, the communities, the people who were before poorer than others, who were really in a very vulnerable situation, were touched by this crisis.

More than other regions, more than other communities, more than other people.

Because these people were the first to lose their works.

They had less access to health facilities, even to just ordinary fresh water to wash their hands, let alone the access to proper pharmaceuticals, etcetera.

So we really see that reaching for the GI agenda is much more crucial now than even it was before.

And also there is a very important issue about the climate change, speaking about the pandemics, the results of the pandemic.

So we shouldn't forget about the climate emergency because what we have seen over these 2 1/2 months is that once the humanity is stopping its usual economic activities, the nature is resuming, is revising.

We really saw less pollution, fresh air, people for the first time in many big cities in India saw Himalayas mountains.

We have seen now on the photos absolutely clear crystal Clearwater in the Venice channels.

And we really see for now that our economic activity is really having a very harmful effect on the nation.

So we can't go to our economic activities as usual.

We really have to restart our economy in a more sustainable way.

So for us, sustainable development goals are more important than ever.

Whatever goal we're taking, it's crucial.

So we really have to concentrate all our efforts on reaching the SDGS and it's very important to talk about the new challenges.

And I would like to say that one of the first activities we will organise in the United Nations office in Geneva with our SDG lab, with the cooperation with the International Labour Organisation, will be a online discussion exactly around the consequences or the impact of COVID-19 on labour markets, on the situation in equalities, inequalities in the labour force and how we have to address this crisis.

What kind of a policy response we should have.

It's AI think it's it is going to be a very interesting discussion because one of the topics of the discussion there will be exactly workers who are working in informal sectors of economy, which is huge sector, but it was exactly the first sector to be touched upon this pandemic.

So later we will give you more details about these events.

I would like to say that also we tried over these weeks to provide for you, for the journalists, unnecessary facilities for those of you who have offices in the Palace.

And as you were able to access these offices, the Palace was never closed for you.

We've been organising thematic briefings for you.

We encouraged my colleagues, head of agencies, to interact more with you.

And I know that there was some special events and we really hope that quite soon we will be able to provide more possibilities of hybrid virtual conferences for you.

When speakers like I am today will be in the Paladin, assume my team will be here, you will be online and so it will be now possible for you to have more regular access to them.

Information.

I would like also to inform about, well, our internal life.

One of the results of the pandemic was that we had unfortunately to stop our SHP project and to following the regulation of Swiss authorities, our construction boards for the new building and for their temporary conference facilities was stopped.

But I would like to say that it already has resumed each building.

We resumed the construction of the 29th of April and construction for conference facilities were resumed on the 11th of May.

Of course, this has had an effect on the time schedule and of course, we are going to have certain delays with our construction plans.

We're now assessing the scale of these delays because of course, even though we have resumed the construction, the number of workers we have on building sites is less than before because the workers have to follow very strict protocols.

But we hope that quite soon we will know the time schedule or the delays and we will go to a new schedule.

Also, I would like to say that now for the last several weeks, we've been working very hard on our back to workplace plan.

I would like to say it's exactly workplace, our offices because we've been working all these weeks.

But now we're thinking how we're going to resume normal activities in the Palais.

We already have here our staff preparing the premises and we have to do a lot on our premises to follow out the new procedures of social distancing.

And so one, once you are back to the parlay, you will see how we are organising this.

There will be some staircases with the only going up or some staircases going down.

There will be a number of people allowed to be in this big conference room marked clearly.

So we're doing a very thorough job.

Of course, we're paying special attention to cleaning procedures, to air ventilation procedures.

We're using now only fresh air inside their pallet during the ventilation system.

So it's a huge work which hopefully will allow us, starting the beginning of June to bring step by step gradually our staff back to the pallet.

We start of course, with the staff which really wants on a voluntary basis to go back to their normal office.

And of course, first of all, with the staff we need here on site.

People who can continue to rework for the time being will continue teleworking because of course we have to follow all these precautions.

Speaking about the resuming of conferences, that's a very important issue.

We know that it's it should be done in a way in order not to compromise the safety or the delegates or the journalists of our staff.

So we're now waiting for the decision of the Swiss authorities because for the time being, you know, the events of more than five people are not authorised.

But if they are authorised starting hopefully the 8th of June, we will be able, starting mid June, to resume a limited number of activities in the parade.

Of course, if the Member States would like to resume the conferences and if there are requests on part of the Member States and the bodies for such events, for us, for the United Nations office in Geneva, it's important just to provide the possibility of having this physical or hybrid meetings starting June.

I am thinking that maybe I've covered all the points I wanted in my initial introduction.

I'm prepared to answer all your questions, so the floor is yours.

Thank you very much, Miss Valovaya.

Thank you for this introductory remarks.

We have quite a few journalists this morning with us, so I will open the floor now to questions, but I would like to start with Catherine Fiancon, who is going to address you on behalf of Akanush.

Catherine is in a train, so we hope the connection works.

I would like to ask our colleagues to give her the floor.

Catherine, if you can be unmuted.

Hello.

Yes, thank you.

Excuse me, Good morning, Missus Balapoya.

Thank you so much for taking time to address a message this morning to the Geneva press corps.

One of our main concerns is, of course, the the restriction of work and the decrease of work and also the fact that more and more events that are taking place in Geneva are open to the Press of the world and that decrease or capacity of proper coverage of what's happening in Geneva.

Because as you know, the Geneva Press Corps is highly qualified and also knows the importance of the place of international Geneva.

So would you support us in having more and more events, press events only and exclusively for Geneva Press Corps?

Thank you.

Thank you, Madam.

Thank you very much.

Of course we will you Geneva, of course.

And I remember we had such a discussion with Secretary General when we had a lunch here with you, I think it was in December.

And as a result of this lunch, Secretary General asked me to talk to my colleagues, head of agencies about this problem.

And I've carried out his task.

I talked to all my colleagues about necessity of having more events exactly for Geneva press corps.

Well, I think during these weeks it was some exceptional time when really it was important to send the information from Geneva, for example, from World Health Organisation immediately all around the world because it was so urgent, so necessary.

And the nature of this information demanded the immediate leverage by all around the world.

But of course, I thought that once we go back to a new normal, to a better normal, will go on providing you with some exclusive events, exclusive information, also information in French.

We've launched a new podcast in French.

And of course, we want Geneva Press Code to be here to cover our activities and to have some exclusive access to coverage of the events taking place in Geneva.

Thank you very much, Madam, and thanks, Katherine for listening to us from a train.

I will now like to give the floor to Laurent Sierra from the Swiss News Agency.

Laurent, you have the floor.

You've been muted.

Go ahead.

Thank you.

Good morning, Director General.

Thank you for the the press conference.

I'd like to come back to what you just said about the resumption of certain number of conferences mid June potentially if the third stage of the restrictions in Switzerland is lifted as planned.

Does that mean that it's going to be too early to to held the Human Rights Council session that is planned at the end of June because that will be a meeting with a broader number of people?

And then on a broader, on a broader perspective, what's do you think what's will the international Geneva look like after this crisis in terms of working methods?

Editor, Gentleman.

Well, speaking about conferences in June, I hope that if there are necessary decisions, we will offer our Member States the possibility to resume the limited number of conferences.

I know that normally in June, Human Rights Council meet, conference on disarmament meet, etcetera, but it's not for us to make the decisions for them.

That's their bodies which have to make decision if they resume their activities on site.

But at the same time, we will be informing in one of these days for the Member States about the logistics for these meetings.

For example, of course, we will not be able to have meetings in previous formats.

When we have a meeting of any institution, we're thinking that it will be just one representative from the Member States in the audience because we can't have more people in one room, even our big rooms, they are not suited enough for more than one person from the delegation.

So there will be lots of social distancing rules, how to behave in these new surroundings.

So, but as I said, it's for the member states themselves to decide when to resume their physical activities for us.

For me, it's important to to provide them with necessary logistics, taking into account all the necessary precautions, all their regulations we will have to follow according the decisions made by proper authorities in Geneva, Cantona, in Geneva as such and in the Swiss Confederation.

Well, and the second question about how I see the international Geneva after the COVID-19, you know, I hope it will be more efficient international Geneva.

I might sound a little bit optimistic to you to positive, but what I have seen over these weeks, I've really been working a lot with my colleagues, heads of agencies on all of the fronts.

Well, first of all, all, the response to the pandemic, we've been discussing and addressing together.

We're different organisations with different tasks, different methods of work.

But we are meeting regularly over these weeks with when meeting practically once a week to discuss how to address this crisis, how to coordinate our efforts, coordinate our policy.

And we're now discussing our coordination in going back to the work plan.

So I think this experience of working together will stay here.

And secondly, what we have seen as a result of this crisis, as I said, we really need to double, triple our efforts to reach sustainable development goals in all the respects.

We really see the health, the education, the access to water, rights to work, etc.

And these efforts are really covered by the agencies and international organisations located in Geneva.

And of course we will need more support for the private sector which is also represented here.

We we will need support of non governmental organisations.

So I think that international Geneva will be more relevant than ever.

But of course, that demands lots of efforts on all of us.

Mercy, thank you very much.

The the next question is from Peter Kenny.

Peter with for you.

Are you asking today?

Can you please?

I'm actually a freelance journalist, but I am also the Vice President of the appears, which is the Foreign Correspondents Association.

Madam DG, as a former journalist, you would know that information is just not only a one way St It's we live in an age where of science, where we're seeking scientific solutions to our problems and everything needs to be scrutinised.

And a lot of journalists are sometimes concerned that one of the articles of the UN Human Rights Chart, Article 19, is maybe not ignored, but it's not kept in focus all the time, which includes the right to receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Would you like to comment on what you feel about that article of the UN Charter and how it applies to the way the media has to deal with this current pandemic?

Well, you know, I think that all the articles of the United Nations Charter are crucial, are very important.

And I think that exactly the year of 75th anniversary is a great year to reread the Charter and to reread the articles.

Because what's important and why, for example, I am a firm believer in better multilateralism, more multilateralism, better international Geneva.

Because I really hope that the response to the current crisis will be more multilateral.

Because the United Nations, as you remember, has been born exactly after the Second World War, when the humanity really saw the necessity to unite the forces in order not to repeat that tragedy of the Second World War.

What we have now, a terrible crisis, health crisis, financial, economic, social, you name it, psychological crisis.

And really to overcome this crisis and not to allow similar crisis to take place in the future, we need more multilateralism.

We need a more corporation and to have this, we exactly need to use all the articles of the charter, this article included.

We really need to provide the people with more verified information.

That's why just a couple of days ago, United Nations launched a new strategy, communication strategy called Verify Really in order to send more verified information all around the world using social media, providing people, those who would like to become part of this network with verified fact about the pandemic, about the situation in different parts of the world, about the response to the pandemic.

And I really think that what we have seen all the these weeks, really we use a lot the possibility of access to information, but we really have to guarantee the access to verified information to everybody all around the world.

And on this, I would like to remind our correspondent that yesterday we have sent around, we have distributed the press release about this initiative, which was launched by USG Melissa Fleming, as the Director General said yesterday.

Next question, Bonjour.

Freddy was actually Prussia.

We bonjour.

System.

A la security lepalid nacio E landroa lepus securizo Monde nusia lo no masque mele COVID disnef and postmanali mask esque la securiti.

Thank you very much.

I will answer you if you don't mind, in English, it's a little bit easier for me.

So thinking about Zoom, well, we're using Zoom now, but the problem is that Zoom is not integrated into the United Nations technological platform.

And we're working on this to find the technical solutions for the whole United Nations system.

It's not only for Geneva office.

We need a technical solution for the whole United Nations system.

And so on the respect of using technological platforms, we're working closely, very closely with our colleagues in New York for the time being.

They find that in Zoom there are lots of technical dimensions which are not secure enough, which are not safe enough, and they can't fit totally into our system.

So our colleagues are looking for some alternative scenarios.

We're now testing several other systems which we can use, but I'm sure that we will be able to find the technological solution which will be safe, secure and accessible to all.

We're working on it with the support of adequate services in different duty stations and in our headquarters in New York.

And speaking about the security in the Parliament, well, I can say that Palais de Nacion is the most secure place in the world.

You know, for us it's important to keep the Palais accessible because the most secure places are normally not open for public.

We really want to have the Palais open to many visitors, to delegates, to journalists.

We want to have our Palais lively and very, very secure.

And of course, this pandemic has made it very, very difficult to provide secure environment.

But I think we are succeeding.

We are following all the regulations.

As I said to the Swiss authorities, it's not obligatory in Switzerland to wear masks, but it's possible for anybody who wishes so to wear a mask inside or around the Palais.

People who will be in the Palais will be asked to keep social distance 2 metres.

For me it's, I would tell you absolutely, honestly it's the biggest headache how really to tell people coming back to the Palais who have not seen each other for many, many weeks really to go on having social distance of two metres.

But that's crucial.

If there are situations then people can't have a social distance, For example, our guides when they're checking your badges etcetera, they can't keep on social distance.

They will be wearing the masks and the gloves.

So we're trying to make the pallet as safe as possible.

I also mentioned that we had a special attention paid to the ventilation system.

We studied very and I seriously all the recommendations of Swiss authorities.

So we switched our system to using only fresh air.

We will be encouraging people in the rooms which do not have ventilation to open their windows regularly, where, as I said, decreasing the number of people who will be the parlet at the same time.

That's why we're really trying to understand how we are going to organise this where as I said, making the special routes in the pallet with periodically one side direction, there will be only one person in the elevator and we're encouraging people if they're not having problems, if they're not disabled, to use the staircases.

So there will be lots of precautions suggested and organised in the parlay.

There will be of course, sanitizers everywhere.

But as I said, I think the most important thing these initial weeks of return to normal life will be our own behaviour.

Because if we manage to keep the social distance, if we manage to follow up all the rules, of course the parlay will be absolutely safe.

Thank you very much, DG.

Next question is from Jan Ebermann.

Jan, you have the floor.

Yes.

Good morning, DG.

My name is Jan Helbermann.

I write for Tiger Spiegel in Berlin and other German language media.

Many thanks for giving us the opportunity to ask you questions this morning.

I'd like to ask you on the SHP, which you have sort of inherited from your predecessors.

As we know, it's a billion dollar project and there have been loads of delays, uncertainties and problems already with this.

And now, at the time of urgent financial needs, in order to fight the Corona pandemic and to reconstruct the world, wouldn't it be appropriate to modify, prioritise and even slim down this project?

Thank you dear.

Well, that's a very good question.

You know, I was asked in a similar question last year when we had a very serious financial crisis or the organisation and somebody asked me maybe if you have such financial difficulties you should stop this process and the project.

But the problem is this project was started first of all, and most of all because the current Paladinacion, which was constructed at the end of the 20s, beginning of 30s, are not fit to modern standards for public buildings.

That's the most important problem, because it's an excellent parlet, It's a fantastic architectural building, but it has been built practically 100 years ago to the standards of the beginning of the 20th century.

Modern, modern standards on public buildings, on safety of modern buildings, on Fire Protection, on access, accessibility for the disabled people are absolutely different.

And so we have to refit the parlet in order to have this new, new standards.

Secondly, this Apollo has not been renovated over this time.

So it's technical system really needs the renovation.

And I would say that's the biggest part of the project which is still there because we practically finalised the building of a new building which is will be ready at the end of this year.

But exactly the most important part of the project, exactly the part of the project for which this project was initiated, is still before us.

So it doesn't make sense to stop or streamline it.

At the same time, I would like to say that we made a very serious look into the project.

We understand that even now putting it on hold now and wait for the better time doesn't make sense.

We will lose much more money just stopping the project then going on.

And we thinking that of course it's better to go on with this project.

Of course there are delays, there will be additional delays unfortunately.

But I hope we will be able to manage this project within.

The budget streamlining the project, what we're doing now, you see we're looking at exactly the time schedule or this project because as we're going to have the delay in moving the staff to the new building, that means we are going to have a delay with possibility to start reconstruction a certain part of the parlour.

We're thinking how to avoid this delay by changing the sequence of the works.

Also, we are looking very attentively into the our project from the point of view of standards of safety for the staff because the pandemic really created a new environment.

And we want to be absolutely sure that when we move our staff to the new building or to the renovated parts of the building, the staff will be absolutely safe and secure.

And that's demands lots of work being now because we have to examine our plans.

So with not thinking about stopping the project, vice versa, we would like but to carry it on without too many delays exactly in order to save the money which already has been spent for the.

Project.

Thank you very much, DG.

The next question is from Litton Bonjour.

We Bonjour, Yes, Hello.

Thank you DGS to answer our questions.

Could you share the latest figures about the staff at the, you know, again and all international organisation here in Geneva that were victims of the COVID-19?

Thank you.

Well, I would like to say that All in all around the world, we have more than 500 cases.

In Geneva, we have around 50 cases.

In eunuch.

We had eight gates.

We have had eight cases in eunuch.

All the cases have been mild.

Of course, unfortunately there are some casualties about among some United Nations agencies.

But well, I am not going to name the agencies because well it's privacy concern.

But I would like to say that, well, I think well judging by the figures that we have made all the necessary measures to protect our staff because what we have generally in the United Nations family here in Geneva, these are very low figures and well in majority our staff was safe during these weeks.

Thank you, DG.

And the last question is from Nina Larson, AFP.

Yes, hi, I'm Director General.

Thank you very much for doing this.

I wanted to follow up actually on the on the last question because in it I was wondering if you have any indication also about people who may have been infected during the, the conferences that were still going on in February and early March, for instance, the Human Rights Council.

And there's been a lot of soul searching by by countries about whether or not they reacted quickly enough.

I was wondering if there has been the same soul search searching here, if you think that the UN reacted quickly enough and did enough in the beginning.

And then I have also just practical questions.

You mentioned fewer people be allowed into the conference rooms when you you start back again.

I just wanted to know if you're you're reserving spots for journalists there because it's important for us to be physically present and also when you expect like the canteen or places to eat to open on a practical note, Thank you.

Thank you.

Well with the canteen we will have a small possibility starting the 8th of June and generally cafeteria will open later when we have for more people in the parlay.

But there will be a possibility to have something to eat starting the 8th of June.

Speaking about journalists in the conference rooms, you know, for the time being it's a little bit difficult for me to answer this question because our preference will be, of course, to giving the access to the delegations.

And so one person from the delegation, it's already practically the capacity of all our big rooms, but there will be always opportunity for following the discussion online, sitting in other building or another room to watch.

But I would like to assure you that we will try to provide you with all the necessary access to the information.

And even if we have to start, as I said, very gradually, very cautiously.

If everything goes fine and there are no problems, of course, we will be able to resume more and more our normal proceedings, our normal activities.

But at the very beginning, of course, we will be very, very prudent, very, very cautious speaking about them.

If somebody caught coronavirus during our meetings, To tell you the truth, I have no such information that somebody has caught a virus as a result of heavy meetings here in the Parliament.

As I said, we in the, you know, we were very lucky.

We did not have had many cases.

All the cases were traced.

None of these cases was traced to some event in the parlay.

And I would sincerely hope that nobody had caught disease during the meetings in the parlay.

And I would like to say that I would say that we really acted very, very quickly.

And I was very thanksful to my colleagues in different bodies in Conference on Disarm and Human Rights Council who made very quick decisions about moving online in order not to risk safety or the delegates and safety of the staff.

So I really think that we reacted very, very quickly.

And as a result, I, as I said, I haven't heard any cases resulting from being physically in the Parliament.

Thank you very much, DG.

That was the last request for questions.

So I would like to thank everybody for having participated in this press conference.

I hope to see you in 10 minutes for the regular press briefing.

I would like to thank the Director General for being with us.

And as the DG said, ensure you all that we will continue working for this gradual phase to be as efficient and as good also for the journalist as possible.

Thank you, DG.

Have a nice day everybody, and I'll see you in 10 minutes.

Thank you.