Welcome to the press briefing here in Geneva at the UN
Today is Friday, 15th of March. We have a long list of speakers, including,
uh, colleagues joining in from the field. So
I'll ask everybody to be as brief as possible, including to you.
you have the floor for a short update of the council.
Thank you, Alessandra and Good Morning, everyone.
The Human Rights Council is currently concluding its third week of the
55th session with a general debate with statements from UN member states.
The debate will be on the promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights.
starting this coming Monday,
the Human Rights Council will begin
consideration of human rights situations that require
the council will hold two consecutive meetings on the Islamic Republic of Iran,
starting with Javed Rehman,
a special rapporteur on the human rights situation in the country
and then with the international Fact finding
mission that was established in November 2022.
And the report of the Fact finding mission was shared with you a week ago.
The fact finding mission will also hold a press
conference on Monday in this room at 1:30 p.m.
The Human Rights Council will then hear from Elizabeth Salmon,
the special rapporteur on the human rights situation
in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
And this will be followed by another debate with the Commission of Inquiry on Syria
and the Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine that you just
heard this morning will present its latest report on Tuesday morning
for the latest updates on our programme of work.
I will recommend that you check our sked
50 five.scad.com. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Pascal, Any question to the council?
I don't see. I see Christo
and just a remark, if I may, um,
So we got the report a week ago, as you said,
and then it gets presented and then we have
the press conference a couple of days later.
I'm sure it's, you know, hard to organise, but for us it's really difficult to
work in three bits like that. So if at least the press conference could be closer to
the publication of the report,
or that would be really helpful for us just to make it more,
I conveyed your comments from your colleagues in the
last week to the to the various investigative bodies.
the established practise when an investigation is
presenting its first report is usually to give
the first news to member states a public appearance.
So that's why they really insisted on having their press conference right after
their dialogue with member states on Monday.
But of course, this is a message that we convey to all our colleagues there.
Any other questions to Pascal?
I don't see any. So thank you very much. Let's go now to the first of
the first two of our invitees. But
I'm told there is a slight problem
Brennan, the regional emergency director of
in the Eastern Mediterranean region. He's calling in from Cairo.
I understand there are a few issues with this line.
Oh, he has solved them. Give me a second. I'm trying to check if he's online.
OK? No, he has a problem. So
I would like since we have two guests today speaking on Sudan, one being Dr
Brennan and the other one being Jill Lawlor,
the chief of field operations for UNICEF
I would like to ask Mrs Lawler, who is here with Mari
C if she doesn't mind to wait a little bit to see if we can get Mr Brennan on the line
so that we can do one item on
Sudan. And I see you nodding. Thank you very much, madam.
Which gives me the opportunity to go now to the other
guests we have from the field is Antonella de Pree.
Antonella is the World Food Programme country director in Mozambique.
Let me see if we have her on the line. I think we do.
So if you can unmute yourself, madam and we will unmute you on this side.
So Antonella is going to tell us about the drought that
is ravaging the country and
adds to the tropical storm Filippo that we have heard about in the last days
and adds to Mozambique's misery. You have the floor.
Thank you. Thank you very much. Alessandra.
And, uh, indeed, uh, it's, uh, an opportunity,
uh, to talk about this. Multiple shocks affecting Mozambique.
Um in this, uh, in this week that marks five years after
I struck Mozambique, affecting more than 2 million people.
Um, across, uh, Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe.
In fact, um, on 12 of March,
Um, in the night, uh, tropical storm of
entered the southern Mozambique in Aura
district in, uh, in Yamba
and, uh uh, with a very, very strong uh uh,
wind up to 100 and 20 kilometres per hour.
It exited back, uh, to, uh, the Mozambique Channel on
uh, to the Gaza province.
So, uh, considering, uh, that the region, the province is, uh,
uh is already affected by a nino
phenomenon. The water level level in rivers and basins, uh, remained low.
The government preliminary data on the storm's impact
provinces unfortunately indicated that more
than 48,000 people have been affected
and over 23,000 students and teachers have been unable to attend.
And, um, school classes more than 100. Uh, sorry.
More than 10,000 houses have been, uh, partially or completely destroyed.
So, of course, there are more damages in key infrastructures uh, like, uh, roads.
um, Power poll health units.
And, uh, the assessment that going to continue, uh, quantifying, uh, the damage.
shocks I was, as I was saying is, um, and camps on top of already constrained, uh,
in the northern region, Uh, because of, uh, conflict. Uh, and, uh, in in security.
Meanwhile, uh, WP and the UN, um, are on standby to respond to the A NJ
Disaster Risk Management and Reduction request for support.
As for WP, we are ready to support more than 50,000 people
with a rational of a 30 day, um,
with a food ration of a 30 day, um, covering. Uh, as I said, um, 50,000, uh, people,
um, I wanted also to, uh, give you very briefly, uh,
as Alexander requested a brief intervention.
Uh, and as I was saying, um, the WFP,
Mozambique and other UN agencies are already under a lot of, uh, uh,
Uh, and, uh, not only for uh, um, you know, for resources,
but also because we are handling ma
The situation also in Cabo
Delgado just recently has deteriorated is preoccupying.
Um, Overall, we have, uh, uh,
12 out of the, uh, 17 districts in Cabo
Delgado and also the neighbouring,
uh, province impacted, impacted by a new wave of displacement
between the end of December. And, uh,
There have been new, uh, violent, uh uh,
non state armed groups attacks
that have triggered 100 and 13,000 people.
Um, fleeing and moving, as I said around the the the Cabo Delgado
province, but unfortunately, also crossing into, uh, the southern province of
This is the second largest concentration display displacement
since the beginning of the conflict in 2017.
of the new displaced people are Children.
uh, WFP, UNICEF and the IOIOM
their joint response plan managed to respond and assist, uh,
17,000 people in the southern part of Cabo Delgado
and, uh, WFP. Um also responded to the new wave of, uh, people moving to Nampula.
in a situation whereby we have to take tough decisions
because resources are shrinking as people are increasing in their displacement
just to give you, um, a very quick, uh, statistics
In January 2023 WP assisted 1 million displaced people
in the northern part of the country.
In January 2024 we managed to assist, uh, half of the half half million
of the people displaced, and we have to further reduce to 215,000 people in, uh,
starting in May with a reduced, uh uh,
Uh, we have, uh, of course, uh,
to as I was saying, to take tough decisions because at the same time,
we have to support the government on tropical summer
people. And also, we have already supported
the, um, the the government of Mozambique
in activating anticipated anticipatory action for, uh, El Nino phenomenon,
which is something that I wanted to highlight
in, uh, many of the SAEC country Angola, Botswana, DC,
Malawi, Mozambique and Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
We have received the lowest rainfall between January and February, time frame
these extreme weather events, events
and the ongoing tropical storm.
Already it has exited already, but the impact is still to be assessed,
will likely increase the humanitarian
needs in central and southern provinces of Mozambique. So we have just to conclude
and, um, conflict. And with a new wave of displaced people, 113,000
more of them, most of them are Children and women.
Then we have the central and southern part of Mozambique affected by
tropical storm uh, Filippo
and, uh, any phenomena, Uh, causing loss, loss of, uh, crops because of lack of,
So this is in a nutshell.
The complexity of Mozambique,
Uh, with the very, uh, you know, limited resources back to you, Alexander.
And hope I didn't take too much time. Thank you.
that was absolutely fine.
I just wanted to remind the journalists that the
humanitarian response plan for Mozambique for this year,
which called for $413 million
at the moment, is just under six per cent funded.
So it's really important that we call your attention on that.
So I open the floor to question now and I see Chris Vogt,
who is our correspondent of the French news agency
Thank you, Alexandra. You actually answered one of my questions on the on the 6%
the other one, the two questions.
I would just like you to give us more detail when you say we reduce the Russians.
What does that mean exactly? Like, concretely.
And second, uh, according to the WMO, the El El Nino is going away slowly.
It will be replaced most probably by El Nina
So can you tell us what you expect in terms of
effect on the weather and the crops and et cetera from
Yeah, Uh, thank you very much.
Yes. Um, reduced rations. That means that, uh, we are distributing, uh,
uh, every, um I mean, we we we distribute it to, uh,
families to displace family once to cover two months.
So this is already a reduction because we used to assist the people on a monthly bas
food. Of course, it has to be shared.
Um, O over the two months period is, uh is also, uh, you know,
providing less nutritional intake.
So by monthly distribution,
uh, and, uh, at, uh, at also a reduced nutritional intake of 79% for food ration
Nina. We are, uh uh as we speak. Uh, we are, uh, work
very closely. Uh, with the the national, Uh
um uh, counterparts, um, the Meteorological Institute and the Ministry of
Agriculture to first, uh, um, assess the impact impact of the current El Nino.
Nina is absolutely going to hit in the last trimester of 2024
and most likely on the contrary of this current phenomenon causing,
uh um um, heavy rains and flooding in the same area of, uh, the current, uh,
um, we are going to have, uh uh, we are going to present,
um uh, this joint work in, uh,
the next in the next meeting for the humanitarian country team.
And we will be able also to continue sharing the
information at the regional to the regional channels for,
Thank you very much. Antonella. Any other question? Let me see on the platform.
I don't see other hands up, so thank you very much. Antonella, for this update.
Good luck with this important work you're doing and keep us informed.
I'm afraid we could not get
and ask Jill Low. As I said, she's the chief of field operations for UNICEF
If she can brief us on the situation in this country
and I'm told by our colleagues from
that he will get the notes of Dr
Brennan on the situation in Sudan and will send them to you by email.
you have the floor. Jill and me
is also on the line. Thank you
and good morning. And so sorry not to be joined by
Doctor Brennan, um, on this important topic, but it's really good to be with you.
My name is Jill Lawler and I'm the chief
of field operations and emergency for UNICEF in Sudan.
Last week, I led a team of 12 UNICEF
It was the first UN mission back to Khartoum,
which has been under near constant fire since the war broke out in April 2023.
Our our objective was to understand as much as
possible what the conditions are like for Children.
For 11 months of fighting and to see
firsthand the work that we're supporting with local partners
to deliver life saving supplies and services, at least to the parts of
ommen that we could reach.
Hospital, one of the only hospitals in Khartoum
with a functional, very crowded trauma ward,
we met with two young people who had recent amputations.
Two young lives changed forever.
We learned from the hospital director that about 300 people had
limbs amputated in the hospital in just that past month alone.
Doctors say that needs are growing.
We saw two, sometimes three patients sharing beds,
exhaustion among staff, many of whom are practically living in the hospital,
most of whom haven't been paid salaries in months.
It's palpable, as is frustration at the lack of supplies, equipment and space.
we visited with malnourished Children and their caregivers in complete darkness
because electricity out outages,
their backup generator had failed about a week prior.
And so they were working in the dark
and sustaining a critical cold chain, uh, vaccines with ice packs.
And as we near the the summer months, those ice packs simply won't last.
we learned that women and girls who had been raped
in the first months of war are now delivering babies,
some of whom have been abandoned to the care of hospital
staff who have built a nursery near the delivery ward.
We saw the UNICEF supported Almenara water treatment plant,
which is the only one still functioning out of 13 plants in the Khartoum area,
providing safe water to about 300,000 people in
And two has been damaged by the fighting and is working at just 75%
capacity and will cease to stop functioning in two weeks.
Uh, if we can't get more chlorine and to treat water, Uh, for that population,
though, we could hear sounds of artillery firing in the distance.
Uh, there was a relative calm where we were,
um, but an intense armed presence in the markets,
on the streets and even in the hospitals.
We saw many young people carrying arms, not clear how old they were,
but clearly young and clearly not in schools,
which have been shut since the start of the war.
It's the number one concern people expressed, uh, there's food in the market,
but it's simply unaffordable for most families,
due in part to the continued telecommunications blackout
that is preventing families from accessing mobile cash.
We met one young mother at a hospital whose
three month old little little child was extremely sick
because she couldn't afford milk. And she had substituted the milk with goat milk.
Um, which led to, uh, diarrheal, um conditions.
And she wasn't the only one.
The numbers of acutely malnourished Children are rising,
and the lean season hasn't even begun.
Nearly 3.7 million Children are projected to
be acutely malnourished this year in Sudan,
including 730,000 who need life saving treatment.
The needs for Children in Khartoum alone are massive.
But this is also true in Darfur,
where I was last month on a cross-border mission through Chad.
The scale and magnitude of needs for
Children across the country are simply staggering.
Sudan is now the world's largest displacement crisis,
and some of the most vulnerable Children are in the hardest to reach places.
So our asks are clear. We need parties to the conflict to enable rapid, sustained,
unimpeded humanitarian access, both across conflict lines within Sudan
and across borders with Sudan's neighbouring countries.
Chad has provided crucial lifeline to communities in Darfur
and access to its borders remains absolutely critical
as does access through south Sudan.
Parties to the conflict have a moral
imperative and legal responsibility to protect Children
in particular, they must take concrete measures to prevent
and end the killing and maiming of Children,
the recruitment and use of Children in the conflict
and all forms of sexual violence
and from the international community.
We need a massive mobilisation of resources by the end of March
so that humanitarian partners can get the supplies and capacity on the ground
to limit the impending humanitarian catastrophe that we're seeing.
As our executive director said last week.
The brutal war in Sudan is pushing the country towards a famine
and unless there is sufficient political will,
attention and resources put towards the response.
Now we are looking at a potential catastrophic loss of lives.
Most importantly, 24 million Children across Sudan need and deserve peace.
They need a cease fire, They need a lasting political solution.
They need a chance to be Children. Thank you so much for this opportunity over to you.
Thank you very much for this update. Let me just add to that. As we have heard,
on track to becoming the world's largest hunger crisis.
And as said, we really need additional resources.
So again, I'll give you the numbers for the humanitarian appeal,
which for this year called for $2.7 billion
five per cent funded. We only have 130 million in our bank. So we really need support.
And we really reiterate the call of the Secretary General that he expressed at the
beginning of the month for silencing of the guns during the holy month of Ramadan.
And I'll open the floor to questions now.
Thank you for taking my question. Um,
so we see that the funding is clearly insufficient. Um,
how much supplies or do you actually have, uh,
supplies that could last for some time?
Uh, if you know, the international community doesn't,
uh doesn't mobilise on on, uh, on the topic. And, uh, for how long would it last?
How many Children could you could you help? Thank you.
Uh, so we do have plenty of supplies in Port Sudan and the pipeline is strong.
The availability of supplies is not the issue.
It is really access getting the supplies and
getting the supplies to the Children in need
and really advocating, um, for that access reaching Children wherever they are,
we have been working very hard doing our best to get a
life saving therapeutic nutrition to Children Our UTF across the Chad border,
um, similarly, with many of our wash supplies.
And and so the supplies we do have supplies available, but again, it's it's really,
uh it's the humanitarian access getting the unimpeded access, uh,
Thank you very much. Other questions to deal
I don't see any on the platform
for the first mission of the UN to Khartoum.
No, I see no and no hands up. So thank you very much, Jill.
And, um, we count on Mari
to the journalist here. Thanks again for for connecting and
good luck with your work.
Um, and I like now to go to, uh, my colleagues here on the podium.
It's a sad anniversary, the 13th anniversary of the conflict in Syria. You have been
given the message of the secretary general last
week and we'll hear more about this from
Jennifer Fenton and then from Matthew Salars
Mr Pedersen released a statement this morning which you should have received.
This solemn anniversary of the conflict is tragically marked
by heightened regional tensions and concerning developments throughout Syria
as it enters its 14th year
without a political solution in sight.
Syrians have long endured unspeakable violence and devastation,
indiscriminately impacting the young and old men and women across all societies.
Syria's humanitarian crisis continues to intensify.
An astounding 16.7 million individuals need humanitarian assistance,
the highest number of people requiring assistance since the conflict began.
There are more than 5 million refugees living in neighbouring
countries and more than 7 million internally displaced inside Syria,
The special envoy salutes the resilience encourage Syrians
show in the face of their deepening suffering.
But at the same time his message is clear.
Only the unwavering pursuit of a political solution to end
this conflict can restore hope to the Syrian people.
This starts with ending violence.
The envoy again appeals to all parties
to the conflict to immediately cease all violence
and fulfil their obligations under international humanitarian law,
to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure
and to pursue a comprehensive nationwide cease fire
to counterterrorism in line with international law.
Mr Pedersen also appeals to all parties to the conflict
to immediately and unconditionally release all
persons held arbitrarily in their custody.
Addressing the plight of the detainees,
abductees and missing persons comprehensively and at a
scale commiserate with the scale of the tragedy
Doing so is vital for rebuilding shattered lives,
reuniting families separated for far too long,
relieving other families from living in the limbo of the unknown
and for ensuring that the credibility of any political path to a lasting peace.
Refugees and internally displaced persons continue to
lack the necessary conditions for a safe,
dignified and voluntary return.
Their critical concerns regarding protection and livelihoods
central to this matter remain unresolved.
In these fields and other fields, including the economy,
the opportunity exists to pursue genuine steps among the
various parties involved in the conflict in Syria,
and that opportunity should be seized without further delay.
the international community needs to unite to push
for political process in line with Security Council Resolution
2254 including confidence building measures,
the resumption of the Constitutional Committee
the comprehensive addressing of the full range of issues that
would need to be resolved to end this conflict.
if we do not do so. The grim downward trends across nearly all indicators in Syria
will only continue in the year ahead.
The Syrian people deserve better than this.
We will continue to work to enable the Syrian people to
realise the legi legitimate aspirations and to restore the sovereignty,
unity, independence and territorial integrity of Syria
as mandated in Security Council resolution 22. 54. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Jennifer and Matt.
Good morning, everyone. And Ramadan Karim.
To those who are marking the holy month right now,
the UN refugee agency has a very simple message today and
that is please don't forget Syrians who have been displaced at home
13 years ago, the Syrian crisis broke.
It forced more than 12 million women, Children and men to flee for their safety,
both inside and outside the country.
The displaced have suffered hugely and they continue to.
So now, more than ever, they need the world's support.
Back in 2015 Syrian refugees dominated the headlines
as they moved in search of safety.
You'll all remember the groundswell of support that we saw then,
they no longer command that attention or that support,
and their plight seems to have been relegated.
More than 5 million registered Syrian refugees
remain in the five neighbouring countries.
These refugees still need international support. They still need asylum.
Inside Syria, there's more than 7.2 million people displaced.
These numbers are huge forgotten, perhaps,
but Syria remains the world's largest displacement crisis by UNHCR's
Syrians needs have rocketed just at a time when prices have risen,
resources are more scarce and funding is dwindling,
leaving millions at risk of hunger, illness, abuse and indignity.
16.7 million people need aid and 12.9 million people are food insecure
in neighbouring countries.
including refugees and the host communities
will need humanitarian assistance this year.
UNHCR is chronically underfunded.
our appeal is six per cent funded for the region.
We are 10 per cent funded.
But I think what's perhaps more worrying than that is if you
look at the broader appeal that we've made with partners recently,
which is known as the regional refugee and resilience plan,
that too has been underfunded in recent years. In 2023 it was about 30 per cent funded
and if you go back to the period of 2015 to 2018,
this was around 60 per cent funding funded.
This decline in funding has forced UNHCR
and our humanitarian partners to make difficult
choices about what and who to prioritise.
We have had to cut cash assistance
and WFP are assisting 88,000 fewer refugee families
with cash and food assistance than we did
less assistance and higher prices means, of course, more debt for Syrian refugees.
Most refugee households in Lebanon
are in debt and the average debt rate is almost $500.
That might not sound a lot to many people, but to refugees in Lebanon, that is a huge
The lack of funding also risks pushing more Children into labour,
accentuating gender based violence, early marriages and school drop outs.
In the aftermath of last year's devastating earthquakes earthquake,
there has been a further compounding of the suffering for Syrians.
Thousands of those displaced by the quakes remain outside their homes
the war in Gaza has raised concerns about a
regional spillover that could complicate an already dire situation.
intensification of cross border clashes between Lebanon and Israel
have already displaced more than 90,000 people from south Lebanon
as of early February, and that includes over 7000 Syrian refugees.
With our partners, UNHCR is supporting the government of Lebanon's
emergency response to those who are displaced.
As we mark 13 years of the Syrian crisis,
we continue to stand of course in solidarity with the long suffering Syrian people
and those countries that are hosting Syrian refugees.
less support risks eroding gains made with grave consequences for
millions both inside Syria and in the broader region.
Thank you both very much. And again.
I like to call your attention to the statement of the Secretary General 9 march.
So let's open the floor to questions Don't see in the room.
Uh, uh, Jennifer, I have a question about the institutional committee.
Uh, there's anything new about the meeting of, uh, this constitutional.
Uh uh uh, community. And,
um, what about the location? There is negotiation between,
uh, Mr Pedersen and, uh, the, uh
uh, the sites in Syria and the opposition about the location of, uh
uh, these meetings in Geneva or somewhere somewhere else.
And I have a question about the refugees,
the impact of the decline of the support in refugees, especially in Lebanon.
How is the situation now in Lebanon
concerning the refugees in the country? Thank you.
Can I give the floor to Jennifer first and
then maybe too much for the part of refugees.
The UN special envoy for Syria has received communication from the SNC
accepting the invitation to the ninth session of
the Constitutional Committee in Geneva next month.
Mr Pedersen has also received communication
from the co-chair nominated by the Syrian government
declining the invitation.
Mr Petersen is scheduled to be in Damascus shortly travelling soon
and the office of the special envoy will update you in due course.
I just want to reiterate.
As Mr Paterson has always said, the Constitutional Committee alone
cannot solve this conflict.
Resolution 2254 speaks to a wide range of issues
as he constantly reminds the Council that clear ideas
for steps for step confident building measures addressing core
elements of resolution 2254 remain on the table.
thanks for the question on Lebanon.
As you know, Lebanon hosts almost 800,000 Syrian refugees,
making it the second largest
And of course, it is the largest host per capita.
And we all know the situation in Lebanon has been extremely difficult
in the last year or years.
The economic situation is grave in the country. There are regional tensions
we work with partners to try to support Lebanese people
who themselves are having a very difficult time as well.
In terms of the refugees.
As I mentioned, the stresses and strains have increased
as funding has had to fall away.
have risen. Levels of precarity
through this. We do have intention surveys in the country. And
it does show still, though, that the majority of refugees do not feel ready
about the consequences of these significant cuts to aid
and the growing vulnerability
and poverty among refugees.
Thank you very much. Kathrine.
Yes? Good morning, Alexandra. And good morning to both of you.
Thank you for the briefing.
Um, a question regarding, um
and the fact that there's less assistance. Is it through UN system,
or could you give us also, uh, information
about the the help to the refugees
in the field? Uh, do they have help by local
NGOs or other entities that UN? That's my first question.
My second question is regarding Matthew,
uh, regarding, uh, Syrian refugees in Turkey.
Could you please remind us the number as it is the first
place where you have the most the biggest amount of refugees.
Jennifer um do you think it would be possible to have a briefing with the deputy Naj
on the humanitarian situation?
Thanks Kathrin for the question.
Obviously, I gave you the numbers for UN and UN partners.
Our funding for Syria, for the region, for refugees.
The levels of funding are in significant decline.
And that's extremely concerning.
And of course, a lot of that funding for us also goes to local
NGOs and local partners. And if we're getting less money,
it means, for the most part that they're getting less money.
So I think it is across the board,
the tightening up in the funding situation.
NGOs. It's affecting the UN, and ultimately it's affecting Syrian refugees.
Your second question on Turkey
currently hosts 3.1 million registered Syrian refugees.
Hi. Good morning. Uh, yes.
your request to the deputy special envoy and noting as
well that others of you yesterday appealed for the special envoy
to speak to you as it has been some time. So I will
refer those requests, and I appreciate that You guys do keep Syria on the agenda.
maybe just the number that are the
figures that are made available by
the humanitarian response plan. Requirement was 4.4 billion.
And the funding update, I guess to today, is that the coverage is only of 0.03%.
Only $1.4 million have been
to the next questions. John.
Yes. Uh, good morning. I have a a
Maybe, uh, she might have this information, but I'll give it a shot.
does the office of the special envoy have, uh,
data on how many Syrians are being held in, uh, prisons,
Many being political prisoners in both the government side
and in the opposition areas in Idlib. Thank you.
Good morning. Uh, John, I'll just note that OHC HR uh, and the High Commissioner.
ref, uh, notes those numbers and has so done so publicly.
I'll just reiterate that what guerre
we've seen no concrete results in addressing
the situation of the estimated 100,000 arbitrarily detained
force dis forcibly disappear,
disappeared and missing persons as called for in resolution 2254 He continues,
of course, to meet with families and those affected who continue to live in
and hope to see their detained loved ones released,
or at least to know the whereabouts.
Yeah. Do do you Do you have the breakdown?
Uh, in the various regions in the government, health and any other areas held by,
uh, opposition groups. Uh, this was, uh, a brief, uh, in the special envoys office.
The detainees. It's not only the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
But if I have any more information available, I'll make sure to get that to you.
Thank you very much. I don't see other questions than that. So thanks
and I'd like to go to now to WHO.
We have two colleagues uh, connected, Uh, in addition to Mr Brennan.
As I said, we could not join.
we have Doctor Catherine see
Who is the mental health specialist of the Brain Health unit
is going to speak first, and then we will hear some announcements from Christian
Doctor. You have the floor.
Thank you very much. Uh, good morning, everyone.
Um, I'm speaking today on a publication.
Um, that was released in Lancet neurology today.
that study showed that in 20 21/3 0.4 billion
people had conditions that affected their nervous system.
This is more than one in three people worldwide.
Previous analysis did not consider child or paediatric conditions.
Neither did they include neurological complications that stem from
diseases that affect multiple body systems such as diabetes,
syphilis, malaria or, more recently, COVID-19 or zika virus disease.
But so such under reporting has huge implications for policy and service planning.
So that study that was released today by Lancet neurology used data
from the global burden of disease injuries and risk factor study 2021
and presents for the first time the overall health loss
that's associated with 37 conditions that either directly or indirectly,
uh, cause neurological health loss.
Together, this group is the leading contributor to health loss worldwide
and also the leading cause of years of life. Lost
the top contributors to neurological health loss or stroke,
neonatal brain injuries or encephalopathy,
dementia or nerve damage associated with diabetes.
Neurological burden is greater in lower and middle income countries,
where also access to diagnosis, treatment and care are more scarce.
Generally, males are at higher risk for neurological conditions than females.
But there are some conditions that disproportionately affect women,
such as migraine or dementia.
Over the past three decades, the absolute neurological health loss has increased,
mainly propelled by demographic ageing.
But we also do see some positive trends that suggest that public health
Um uh strategies related to sanitation,
vaccination or nutrition such as folic acid fortification
are taking effect and help us globally to
prevent neurological infections and birth related neurological complications.
this study is an important step forward in
estimating the global burden associated with neurological conditions.
But it only represents one aspect of all the efforts undertaken by WHO to
support its member states in implementing the
recently adopted intersectional Global Action plan,
uh, on epilepsy and other neurological disorders.
And that plan aims to raise awareness and reduce stigma,
strengthen policies, improve access services,
promote brain health across the life course,
given the large amount of potentially preventable burden,
so that also gives us a great opportunity to draw
for joint action with other health programmes such as MC,
uh, maternal and child health, infectious diseases or injury prevention.
Thank you, Doctor. Let me see if there are questions I don't see hands up in the room
So thanks for this update on this report,
and I go to Christian. Chris, you also have some announcement, right?
Indeed. And thank you very much. And so thanks to doctor, say
And, uh, we have these, uh, remarks, and we'll share them with you in in a moment.
Two brief announcements, um,
or ahead of world TB Day World Tuberculosis Day, which is observed next Sunday.
No, actually, following Sunday, 24th march,
we will have a briefing on World TB Day on Monday,
18th march. So coming Monday at three o'clock,
Um, we're very conscious of the fact that there's a four o'clock briefing,
humanitarian coordinator from Jerusalem,
uh, that I saw today. So we are trying to be brief that you all have time,
uh, to get back to that briefing
too. So, well, TB day briefing on Monday at three o'clock.
It's a virtual press briefing so easier
double job will release a new investment case on TB screening and prevention to
help countries reach the UN target on scaling up access to TB preventive treatment
and to recall, TB remains one of the world's deadliest infectious killers,
causing 1.3 million deaths each year and affecting millions
more with enormous impacts on families and communities.
That's Monday. Three o'clock
WO is holding its biennial stage meeting on immunisation from 11 to 14 March.
So that was finished yesterday
Um, and then we will hold on Tuesday, Tuesday, 19, march at two o'clock, 1400 hours.
The, uh, press briefing on the immunisation meeting that was ongoing. So there,
um, we will have recommendations on
uh, to update the interim guidance on polio,
um, hepatitis, hepatitis, E
that's for Tuesday and on both of the items I just announced, there will be press,
Uh um, announcements going out today. Still.
Thank you very much. Yes, indeed.
Monday will be a little bit busy, but, uh, let me see if there are questions for you
Uh, Lauren, as a question.
No Christian just to plug that there is already a press conference by WMO,
uh, on Tuesday at two o'clock
with the head of the WMO so that that that might be also, uh, a
problem in terms of schedule.
Thanks very much for flagging Laurel. I take this
How much flexibility we have.
He is absolutely right, Christian. I'm seeing it now. It's exactly two
press conference. The state of global climate. We will discuss this offline and see
But thanks for pointing this out.
Are there questions to Christian?
since, uh, well, I'll I'll give you the press conferences afterwards.
Maybe I'll I'll pass the floor now. Uh, first of all, thank you, Cristina, and also
And I go to David, who's been patiently waiting.
You have also an announcement for ITU. David.
I'm afraid we can't hear you. We have problems today.
told that we don't know why, but we can't hear you, David.
And and you are unmuted. So there must be a problem with the mic.
Um, can I propose that I that you disconnect and reconnect?
And in the meantime, I'm going to read a few announcements
and, uh, and then just go out and in again,
and we'll see if it works.
Sorry for that. Let's try
Yeah, just disconnect and reconnect, and we give you the floor immediately.
And in the meantime, I'm just
reminding you, the the press conference there are, as we have seen, quite a few.
Monday is gonna be busy. In addition to the World Tuberculosis Day
literal press briefing that Christian has already mentioned,
1:30 p.m. press conference by the colleagues of the Fact Funding Mission
mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran.
This is to present you with the latest report on 18 march at 1. 30
this room where you'll have the three members of the fact finding mission.
As we said, also on Monday 18th of March at 4 p.m.
The humanitarian situation in the
the subject of a briefing by Jamie McGoldrick,
the humanitarian coordinator from Jerusalem.
Of course, this is going to be partly virtual, but
Jens is here, and he will be there
for the press conference on Monday. That's 4 p.m. from this room.
Uh, and a three as we heard the world to be cruise this day,
that's a Monday on Tuesday, we do have a problem with the, um
uh, overlapping with the WHO
uh, virtual press briefing on the S
because we have already scheduled the State of Global climate 2023. That's the WMO
flagship report. And you will have Celeste Sao,
the WMO secretary general, and Oma
the chief of climate monitoring of WMO. And that's at 2 p.m.
you will be briefed on the situation of human Rights in Myanmar
by Tom Andrews The special report on the situation of human rights in Myanmar.
Let me see if David is back. David is back. Let's try and
I was afraid I might have. I might have lost my voice.
Um, I'll repeat that ITU and and Unifor on Wednesday will release the latest, uh,
That's on Wednesday 20 March.
Our ITU assessment includes the latest information on electronic
waste as well as other global data on collection
Uh, E waste, uh, generally is any discarded product with a plug or battery,
and it's both serves as both an environmental and health hazard.
Uh, the last E waste monitor was released in July 2020.
So this is an update, uh, significant update to that.
we did send out an email yesterday noting that
embargoed versions of the release and report are available.
Um, that embargo is set for 1503 PM central on on Wednesday.
if anyone is interested in receiving the report and release under the embargo,
please do be in touch with our office and also apologise in advance for
any cross posting that might have happened in the sending of that material.
Thank you very much, David. That was loud and clear. I see John, as a question.
Yes. Uh, good morning, David.
Um, this E waste report is this the interagency one that you've done in the past?
Plus some industry advocacy groups participating like the World Economic Forum.
The this this report is a report from unit tar and ITU.
and that's noted in the release.
And on the on the on the research paper,
there's also some a photo and video contribution partner as well.
UEILOWHO they're not participating.
in earlier reports, these other agencies were part of the report.
They've dropped out or what? No. No.
we provide you the if you will provide you the versions of the report
and you'll see in the acknowledgements the
participation of of a number of beyond unit
I don't see other hands up for you, David.
The last announcement that is on behalf of the UN Economic Commission for Europe.
The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the 21st of March
the International Day of Forest that was in 2012 to celebrate
and raise awareness of the importance of all types of forest.
the International Day of Forest will be celebrated
on the theme of forest and innovation.
So the UN Economic Commission for Europe will mark this international day by
raising public awareness about the significance of
forests as precious sorts of wood.
There will be two events to celebrate two part events
will organise a forest talk innovation for climate
that will be at 10 o'clock from 10 o'clock to 11
in the auditorium of the building age here at the
with experts from diverse industries to present ongoing
research on innovative applications of wood components.
This will be followed at 12 o'clock until one o'clock
by a symbolic ceremony on the title of
glacial threads from forest to future textiles.
It's a ceremony involving the unrolling and laying of a glacier
fleece made from wood based fibres,
and that would be into the iconic Michelangelo Pistolet
sculpture rebirth in the Garden of the Palais.
That's of course, outdoor.
So the information about these events are online on the UN
websites and the forest events. And Paula DEA,
the director of that division, is happy to answer your question, if any.
Let me see. OK, I see there are more questions. I guess it's not on Forest
Yes. Hi, Alessandra. It's just a a logistical note. Um,
it's helpful for us to, uh, give us a heads up when you have, uh, senior UN officials
in Geneva to brief member states or NGO S and not necessarily the press.
And then we can chase up our sources to get a readout on what they're briefing.
We had three or four senior officials in town this week,
and the press officers of the responsible agencies didn't give us the heads up.
Uh, your point is well taken.
What I can tell you is that every time we have a a high level official come to Geneva.
There is a sort of a three pronged operation where
we always ask whether they are interested in briefings,
member states and the press. Sometimes they can do it.
Sometimes they cannot, but it's it's well taken.
I know this, uh, this week there were quite a few in town.
Yes. I'm on forest. Alexandra,
if I can, because I'm reading this
on behalf of you. And surprise. Surprise.
Could you please kindly repeat the date and ask Paula to send
us the link to the website where we can find the info?
Because we don't have time to search during
you know, websites that are often very complicated.
it would be very nice if she could send us the link
to the the website if she has no time to send the
OK, that's fine. So, as I said, that's the 21st of March, which is the same,
uh, day of the commemoration of the International Day of Forests.
Uh, as I said, it goes from 10 to 2. So 10 to 1130 the first debate in building
the auditorium of building.
That's the dialogue with experts. And then from 1 to 2 at the pistol
the symbolic ceremony with the Glacier
But I'll tell Paula to send you the information. No problem. With pleasure.
Just a reminder that today is the International Day to combat Islamophobia.
And we have sent to you the statement
of the Secretary General for this international day.
So thanks to you all, have a nice weekend and I'll see you next week. Thank you.
