OK, so let's continue with our regular press briefing today.
Tuesday, ninth of April It was great to hear from the secretary general of Angad.
We have other speakers on the list and in particular I'm very happy to welcome
UNHCR, who has brought her as her colleague Marie Helene
representative in South Sudan. Mrs. Verne
is coming to us from Juba to
tell us more about people fleeing Sudan daily one year after the start of the war.
and then we will go to Madame Vernet.
Thank you, Alexandra. So we are here a year on.
As the war in Sudan continues to rage with the country and its neighbours dragged
into one of the largest and most challenging
humanitarian and displacement crisis in the world,
the number of Sudanese forced to flee has now surpassed 8.5 million people,
with 1.8 million of them crossing borders.
The ongoing conflict has shattered people's lives,
filling them with fear and loss.
Attacks on civilians continue
even though the war started, uh, one year ago every day thousands cross borders,
as if the emergency had started just yesterday in south Sudan.
An average, uh on average, over 1800 people continue to arrive, uh, daily,
ST infrastructure and we will hear more from our representative in south Sudan,
Chad has experienced the largest refugee arrivals in its history,
HR and Partners uh continue to to to work
and relocate refugees to expanded a new settlement.
Over 150,000 remain in border areas
in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions,
mainly and largely due to funding shortfalls in the Central African Republic.
over 2200 people arrived from Sudan in hard to
reach areas where logistical challenges hindered aid delivery.
The number of Sudanese registered with unity and in
Egypt has increased five fold over the past year,
with a daily average of 5000 refugees and asylum
seekers from Sudan registering and approaching our reception areas.
Ethiopia also reports continuing refugee arrivals.
Those crossing borders, mostly women and Children,
are arriving in remote areas with little to nothing and in desperate need of food,
water, shelter and medical care.
Many families have been separated and arrive in distress.
People and Children have witnessed or experienced appalling violence
and making psychosocial support a priority,
and high number of Children are arriving Malnourish. For instance.
In Chad, nearly 50,000 MN
Children have crossed the border in the past few months
as the conflict continues and
it with a lack of assistance and opportunities.
More people will be forced to flee Sudan
to neighbouring countries and likely move further,
risking their lives by embarking on long dangerous journeys to to find safety.
In the last year, for instance, Uganda has welcomed 30,000 Sudanese refugees,
including over 14,000 since the start of this year.
Uh, most Sudanese who are arriving,
Khartoum and have a university level education
statistics. So increased movements of Sudanese refugees to Europe as well,
with 6000 arriving in Italy since the beginning of 2023 from Tunisia and Libya.
This is an almost six fold increase from the previous year.
Host countries have been extremely generous, welcoming those forced to flee,
and they are making efforts to include them in national and public services.
However, despite the magnitude of the crisis,
we continue to see that funding remains critically low.
The the 2024 regional refugee response plan is just 7% funded, Uh,
is the situation for the humanitarian response plan from inside
UNHCR and partners are saving lives in many locations.
Uh, but we are being able to provide less than the very minimum,
uh, firm commitments from the international community to support Sudan.
And the countries hosting refugees are needed to
ensure that they can live in dignity.
Thank you very much. And now we go to Mrs Verne.
Good morning. Um, colleagues,
has just told you about the overall numbers,
so I'm not going to spend a lot of time on numbers,
but I do want to give a bit of an idea of what these numbers actually mean.
635,000 people have arrived to South Sudan since 15th of April last year.
Um, and that represents more than 5% of the population of South Sudan.
So I think if we want to make a comparison,
if we're talking about Germany,
that would be 4.5 million people arriving in one year,
uh, in less than one year.
And if we're talking about the United States,
that would be 17.6 million people arriving in less than one year.
uh, this is, uh, the world's poorest country.
So you can imagine the pressure, Um,
that has been put on this country since 15th of April.
Um, daily average of arrival since last, uh,
15th of April a year ago is 1800 people a day, a day, every single day.
I want to really stress this
because I think it's also important to, uh,
understand that the pressure this is putting on
the humanitarian teams responding at the border.
Um, every day, uh, Sunday Christmas, you name it Easter.
All of it is included in that.
So the vast majority are actually arriving in just one place.
Um, which is a place that is called, uh, the joda border crossing point,
which is at the very obviously, at the very north of the country.
Um, and this is a place, uh, that is cut off from the rest of the country.
There are no roads. The only way out of that place is by river. The Nile River.
So the first priority of the response has actually been to
move people away from the border further into the country.
Um, and that is obviously not as easy as it sounds, because, um, there are no roads,
so people have to go by boat.
Uh, it's 48 hours on a boat down to a city called Malakal, and from there,
they wait until, uh, they can be taken to the places where they're going
Uh um, the other priority of the response, therefore, is obviously, uh, setting up.
We have set up, uh, a large number of transit centres
and managing these transit centres because due to the logistics, um,
the the amount of time that people do spend in rank vary from two days to two months.
Uh, so that's obviously a priority. Um, and I will get back to the funding,
but it's a priority that we need to uh,
at the moment. Uh, because we are approaching the second rainy season,
I mean, you may have seen pictures of rank. Uh, when it rains, it gets very muddy.
And unfortunately, a lot of people are outside
another priority. Obviously.
Um, and that I think Olga already touched on, is really identifying the vulnerable.
Unfortunately, we get a lot of Children arriving unaccompanied.
Um, a lot of single women. Um,
you all know, we all know that, um, the risk of, um, of, uh,
sexual violence are high during transit.
And we have heard pretty heartbreaking stories of what has happened
to women trying to flee when they were in Sudan.
I've mentioned some of the challenges for sure.
The logistics South Sudan is a very complex country to work on
pretty much everything in terms of assistance as to be airlifted, which, of course,
significantly. I've mentioned that we are approaching again the rainy season.
And, of course, with the rainy season, uh, we are once again facing risks of, um,
disease. Particularly cholera is something we're always very worried about.
the lack of funding. Uh, certainly is an issue. Um, the, uh, for South Sudan.
Uh, the funding, uh, the total, uh, funding, uh, that we require is 283 million.
That's 18% funded as of 30. 1st of march
and um, actually, something that is, uh, interesting.
And that is both a challenge and an opportunity.
Many, many of the refugees that we are receiving.
Um, the Sudanese refugees are, in fact, quite a different profile. Uh, from the,
uh, all the Sudanese refugees that South Sudan has been receiving in early years.
They tend to be very, uh, urban mostly from Khartoum Wad
Madani and also very, uh, middle class. Very educated.
Which means that many of them are, uh, one, have professional skills that can be used
and two very reluctant to be in camps.
So we're working with the government of South Sudan to try and match
the professional skills with the gaps that exist in South Sudan.
In terms of skills, particularly, we are talking here,
professionals and education professionals.
I would say the biggest challenge that we
face is really the relentlessness of this crisis,
Uh, 1800 people every day. Unfortunately, we're not seeing an end to this crisis.
Um, and in fact, it could get worse before it gets better.
We're particularly concerned about one particular city
in Sudan which is called hosi,
where there are at least half a million, Uh, south Sudanese, Uh,
and at least half a million.
Probably a lot more than that,
Uh, Sudanese ID PS. And that's something we're very concerned about.
I will add by really stressing the impact on south
Sudan which goes way beyond the number of arrivals.
I mean, I was mentioning 4.5 million arrivals in Germany in one year.
I think that would challenge even a rich European country.
Um, but really, when you're talking about a country like South Sudan that has very,
very close links with Sudan, you all know, of course, that Sudan
was part of Sudan until 2011,
and the economy of the country is very linked to Sudan.
So the crisis in Sudan has very badly
particularly in most of the country.
We've seen the prices of food within one month of the conflict starting going up 300%
same for all basic commodities.
And these communities in the north of
the country are actually the community where this
we say returning to South Sudan from Sudan are going to 735 cells on arrival.
Half a million are south Sudanese and we say that they are South Sudanese returning.
But that's a misnomer. They're not returning.
The vast majority of them had never lived in south Sudan.
in the north of the country that are having
to integrate a very large number of their compatriots coming
with at the time where they are even more fragile than they already were.
of the population of the country is in need of humanitarian assistance. 75%.
we are seeing an increase in the number of
communities that are now facing famine in South Sudan.
Um, and lately, in the past months, uh,
the the economic situation in the country has deteriorated even further
because the oil pipeline, um, south Sudan does produce oil,
but it doesn't refine oil.
And so all the oil that is produced in
south Sudan goes to Sudan for refining and exporting.
that oil pipeline has been closed because Sudan is no
longer able to maintain it due to the conflict,
this has had a massive impact on the economy of south Sudan, the entire country,
incredibly rapid inflation of the South
Sudanese pounds and just generally speaking,
a lack of revenue getting into the country.
So it's a pretty, um, challenging situation for the country.
And, uh, I suppose it sounds
the only real solution to this is, uh, to have peace in Sudan as quickly as
thank you very much. There were a little bit of problems on the audio,
but hopefully you'll be able to answer questions from our journalists.
Otherwise, Olga can do that.
So I will start now to give the floor to Benjamin Louis,
who is our correspondent of the Swiss radio television.
the secondary movement of the the the
Thank you very much. I have a AEC in the room if there are other hands up. No.
So let's go to the platform.
Katrin has already asked for the notes of Mrs Verne,
and I understand from Olga that they have been
transcribed because she didn't read from a paper,
so you'll have them as soon as possible.
And maybe you have a question. Also for
Mrs. Verne is our correspondent to force of America.
Welcome back. All good. I'd like to have your notes as well as, uh, Madame
And, uh, for my questions, they're a little scattered, but I'll see where I, uh,
that is in regard to the Sudanese returnees. So called.
I mean, it was interesting that you mentioned that, uh
uh, when they originally were planted in Sudan, they weren't.
They were part of Sudan because of the whole thing.
But nonetheless, do they have attachments to, uh, communities of origin?
Uh, and, uh, if so, are they being,
uh, are you trying to integrate them into the places where they,
uh, originally came from And are they being welcomed?
Uh, then, uh, it was interesting that you mentioned that there are people, um,
um, professionals. And they have skills.
And so it's a kind of reverse brain drain that they
they now are coming to South Sudan.
Are you, uh, actually, actively working with the government?
You know, uh, talking about this and about how,
um, these people can be used for the benefit of, uh, the,
uh, South Sudanese economy.
Um, let's see now the Yeah,
you're talking a lot about the people who were going from, um,
fleeing to other countries. Sorry. In in Africa and also in Europe,
Um, what is their reception like? That is, is their hostility,
um, growing in terms of these communities to which they are going Because many,
many of the countries are very poor chad and on and on and on. And there's a lot of,
uh, you know, pressure upon them.
So I'm wondering what's, uh what's happening with that?
yeah. And the government. The South Sudanese government itself. Sorry.
I, uh I will stop after this, but
in terms. In terms of that,
are they really able to handle this? I mean, what what is going on?
politically and economically and socially have so many difficulties.
Thank you so much. Thank you. I'll start with Mrs Van,
and then we can go to you. Olga.
so your first question attachment to communities of origin,
South Sudan is a very defined by people define themselves
very much in terms of their identity by ethnic origin.
So even those who have never lived in south Sudan
they would probably choose to go to the area where the
originally their family came from, Right?
So, um, you know, depending on their ethnic origin,
they might go to unity state or up and our state.
there is that, but many, many of them I've never really never lived here and again.
Sudan is coming back. We're in Khartoum,
and it's a bit of a shock for them to be in communities.
Um, that are, uh, very often, um, quite small.
So what we're seeing, in fact, um, is that a lot of them do end up in urban centres.
as I was saying, the issue here is that so
On the one hand, many of those who are coming back not all but many
have skills that perhaps South Sudanese here would not have.
And these are the ones who tend to end up in the cities,
particularly the younger people.
do these communities welcome them? Yes, in the sense that we have not had anywhere
um, Returnees? Uh, it it has not been any friction.
I think the communities do understand what's happening in Sudan,
and so in that sense, they welcome that.
Do they have the capacity to integrate them? That's really another question.
And what can we do? What we trying? Are we trying? But it's very, very difficult.
these were communities that pretty much 100% of them in the north of the country
already depended on humanitarian assist.
Humanitarian funding in South Sudan has been going down, but so it is difficult,
and I really feel that this is going to be
whether or not we manage to help is gonna
I wonder whether if I wonder whether if you could turn off the video,
we could hear you better.
It says that the low the bandwidth is very low.
the video, the audio is better. Please go ahead.
I think whether or not we managed to integrate this half a million
people and probably half a million before the end of the year,
another half a million in two communities is going to be the the deciding factor as to
whether or not these people then decide to
move back either to Sudan or towards Europe,
the reverse brain drain. I like that expression. Um,
yes, we are talking actively with the Commission for Refugee Affairs,
Uh, and with, uh, the Labour Minister about what we can do to, uh, match the skills
there are. There's a big, um there are big gaps in south Sudan, particularly
in education and in health.
So we're trying to match the skills of the
education professionals and health professionals that are arriving,
and the government of South Sudan really needs to be praised for its generosity.
the world's poorest countries.
The borders are open and they're willing to give job even in the public sector
to, um, qualified doctors and nurses, uh, from Sudan.
So that's something that's actually quite interesting. And I'm happy.
We also also quite interesting that we're able to
do this from the beginning of the crisis,
that is one of the I would say, one of the opportunities that we've seen here.
And maybe I would also highlight the involvement of
development actors and the multilateral banks.
Um, they're really trying to help, including to integrate, uh,
returnees into communities.
So both the World Bank and the African Development Bank and the European
Union have really stepped to the plate and are really trying to help.
Sudanese government able to help? I mean, it's, um,
as you know, I mean, I've described the economic situation.
you also know that South Sudan is possibly heading for
its first presidential election at the end of the year.
I think that the South Sudanese government is doing everything possible to help.
The coordinating with humanitarian actors has been good,
but again, the scale of the response, I think,
would challenge any government and and it is obviously very difficult.
So our message to the South Lebanese
government is really coordinate,
uh, keeping the borders open, which they have done,
but also making sure that they really target these communities with a large
number of returns and include them into the state and national development plan.
Thank you very much, Olga,
just very briefly because I think what Maren
said translates to to other neighbouring countries as well.
I mean, we haven't seen any major hostility in the neighbouring countries.
we've seen communities that are open and welcoming
those refugees since they started arriving a year
ago and the same for the for the For the governments and the hosting countries,
refugees being included in existing settlements in in in schools,
also facilitating, for instance, in Egypt the access to SIM cards
and other services that can make someone's life
much easier and dignified when in exile.
But something that is key here is that funding needs to arrive, and not only for the
humanitarian response but also to those hosting countries. So they can They
can enhance those infrastructures and public services
to accommodate the refugees that have been arriving
in the past year and that we see continue arrive on a daily basis.
Thank you. Uh, Catherine?
Yes. Uh, good morning. Uh, thank you for being with us.
I'd like to ask you two questions. The first is related to the conference
you told us about. Where is it going to take place? Who, um, is organising it.
And, um if I understood Well, it will last one day, April 15.
My second question is related to the oil exploitation
because this is a very important revenue for South Sudan. And due to the war in Sudan,
there are problems. So are the countries that have companies
exploiting oil in south Sudan and taking advantage of that oil
Yeah, go ahead. Go ahead, please.
I was giving you the floor. Ok, sorry. Sorry.
Ok, um, the conference in Paris, one day 15th of April,
organised by the French Foreign Ministry.
Uh, the morning is going to be, um,
political discussions. I mean, basically
peace resolution discussions.
I think at head of state levels. But I am not quite certain.
I don't have confirmation as to who is going,
but that's probably some information that Olga
Um, and in the afternoon, it's a pledging conference.
So that's, uh, next, uh, week in next Monday. Even I think in Paris, uh, one day.
And I'm pretty certain that Olga
can share a lot more information on that one.
of the declared revenue of South Sudan comes from oil. 95%.
Um, and it is. It is an interesting set up in the sense that
the oil is extracted here by a number of companies, including Chinese, I think,
mostly Chinese companies,
and is then sent through a pipeline
to Sudan. Sudan refines the oil and exports it,
and then some of the refined oil come back to south Sudan
In exchange for Sudan transporting and refining the oil,
south Sudan pays money to Sudan.
Basically, for each barrel of oil there,
there's a fee that is being paid to Sudan
so it was in the interest of both countries to keep that pipeline going.
But, um, basically, uh, they've tried,
and it's not even so much a case that
either side in the conflict has attacked the pipeline.
It's more a case that because of the conflict,
they are not able to do basic maintenance on that pipeline. And,
um, if you don't do maintenance on an oil pipeline,
at some point is going to basically get, uh, get, uh, tilted,
and the oil will not be able to flow.
And this is what's happening now.
So this happened about a month ago and immediate, uh,
immediate consequences on the economy of South Sudan
and and possibly in the longer term on the stability of South Sudan as well,
um, again, 95% of the revenue.
the country no longer has money to pay
salaries of its civil servants of its military,
We don't have a clear outlook of how quickly that pipeline could be repaired.
Frankly, it's probably hard to see if it can be repaired as long as the uh,
All the companies that are, uh, ex, uh, extracting the oil in south Sudan.
I'm not private to that kind of information.
My guess is that they are because again, it's in their interest for the oil to flow.
it really is the conflict itself in Sudan that is
preventing people from being able to maintain that pipeline.
Sorry, just to add, Catherine,
that the conference taking place on Monday is convened by France,
Germany and the European Union.
We can share additional information with you later on. But also
as the convenience are the States,
they can provide further information.
And it's an opportunity again to mobilise resources but also a
momentum for that much needed cease fire
and humanitarian access that we are asking.
Katrine, I see you have a follow up.
Yes, Thank you. Olga, Uh, for these details, Um
are the UN officially invited?
And also are the heads of states or representatives
of neighbouring countries also invited to that conference?
Sorry. Yes, I forgot. I forgot that point.
So the High Commissioner Filippo Grandi will be there.
here so he can confirm attendance to the conference. Uh, from from
and regarding the presence I understand it's a ministerial level presence.
But Catherine, I can I can get to you later on.
Yes. I don't know if you want to come to the podium. Just to
other question was, uh yeah, I I'll, uh
will participate with our assistant Secretary General George Musu.
OK, so thank you very much.
I don't see other hands up, so
unless there is any other question for
Jens. Yes, there is. Can you come back, please?
I wonder if it's maybe not on Sudan. Gabriel, no. OK, so let me
just thank very much Olga
and our colleague in Juba, Marie
representative in South Sudan.
to send the notes as soon as possible to the journalists. Thank you very much.
OK, so, Gabriel, you have a question, and then we have Sarah also,
Gabriel, you have a question to Jens before we let him go. Yes. I
don't want to keep them up there too long, so I'll be quick.
Uh, Jens, Essentially, we we'd like to know. Um,
you know, we're looking at how much aid is going going into Gaza. Cogat
has published certain numbers,
uh, suggesting that more aid has been going in.
Uh, but those numbers are not
do not necessarily correspond to numbers published by other UN agencies.
said that 419 trucks went in,
uh, which would be the most since the war began.
Uh, but there's a backlog. So just wondering what would, um,
a stance on this B And if indeed, 419 trucks
I know the figure had been 500 before, Um, but if what is going in currently,
uh, would be sufficient. Thank you.
Yeah. Thank you, Gabriela. I missed you, too.
has has actually tweeted another update a few hours ago.
Where they put together, I
believe Sunday and Monday numbers.
And let me be upfront here. We will never get these
And there's a reason for that.
that arrive in our warehouses
trucks that go in screened by coca
are typically only half full.
have put in place for screening purposes.
we count the trucks on the other side,
when they have been reloaded and I'll come back to that,
already there. The numbers will never match up.
makes little sense because it does not take into account
imposed by the Israeli side
Egyptian drivers and trucks can never be in the same
area at the same time as Palestinian drivers and trucks.
First, everything has to come in,
has to be offloaded. Everybody has to go out
new set of trucks from inside Gaza on Palestinian plates with
vetted Palestinian drivers can go in and pick it up.
There are opening hours at these crossings.
What often happens is that things
they gas aside to come in and pick up trucks.
So already there you have another
issue that makes these direct comparisons
What we want to stress today is
the overall picture, and I want to point to a particular statistic
that we publish today in our
Gaza, because that's where
there is a if you like another complication, one is to get to the warehouse then,
but that doesn't mean anything for anyone because the aid has not been distributed.
The other thing is what kind of movements inside Gaza
and are actually facilitated.
And there we have numbers from March
and there you will see. Perhaps to your surprise, certainly, to my surprise
that the statistics tells us
UN co ordinated food deliveries are much more.
Food deliveries are much more likely to be impeded or denied access
to areas requiring co ordination within Gaza than any other humanitarian mission.
So this is bureaucratic language for the fact that food
convoys that should be going particularly to the north,
face famine conditions, are more likely,
actually three times more likely to be denied
humanitarian convoy with other kinds of material.
That's quite astonishing, isn't it?
hide the fact that distribution inside Gaza is a major issue
because of the well known,
security and safety issues because of the breakdown of law and order.
on the warring parties, and in particular,
I would say on Israel as the occupying power of Gaza
to facilitate and ensure humanitarian access does not stop at the border.
you put up statistics with numbers of trucks going in saying,
Look at all these hundreds of trucks going in
and you put it against Look how few trucks
have actually moved around with the with distribution,
Well, it's kind of an own goal, isn't it?
convoys that we were trying to send to the north
with food were denied by the very same Israeli authorities.
OK, so thank you very much. I think I've seen some hints. Yes, please, Michelle
and I just, um I wanted to follow up, actually, quickly. On on on Gabriel's question.
what is the reason that it has been given as to why, uh, these, uh,
food aid trucks a RE being denied?
sort of a a logic to it? Thank you.
I have, of course, asked the same question.
And we are not given any clear
And that's it. And it ends there.
We don't get an explanation,
yes, we read that, um, other crossing points are going to open.
um, could you say are are these other crossing points already open?
And what's the significance of the area's crossing point?
If it's only servicing supplies from ash
dot port Um, are those supplies coming into ash
dot port? So will this make a sea change to deliveries of food? Uh,
Thank you. Thank you, Nick. As of last night, we had
no information that the iris crossing had in fact opened.
that is what we are waiting to see.
Jamie McGoldrick, the humanitarian co ordinator, issued a statement
where he welcomed a number of measures and actually assurances that he had
gotten from the Israeli authorities to ease entry and distribution of aid.
And I will not read that out. But I will refer to that.
There are a number of very practical points there. He was very clear
the goal is really only and solely to save lives now.
needed. And those were the assurances he was given again. As of last night,
the actual implementation of these
Thank you very much, Jens.
think we can get you off the grill.
uh, and let's go to Sara, who has been patiently waiting.
Sarah, you have a an information on U NDP report. Right?
Thank you very much. Alessandra.
Good morning, everyone. U NDP is launching a new report on Thursday
on the socio economic situation in Myanmar. Another forgotten crisis.
The embargo is under a strict
sorry. The report is under a strict embargo until 6 a.m. Geneva time on Thursday.
this is one of the largest household surveys. To date,
the survey covers over 12,000 people
and it focuses on poverty level in Myanmar and
especially how the crisis affects disproportionately women and Children.
The report brings new figures correlating
and broader vulnerability
with, uh, desegregated data.
And I'll be happy to connect you with our senior economist who prepared the report.
We can walk you through the findings and the policy recommendation
I sent you yesterday. The press release and the report and the strict embargo.
Also, please note that Kani
with UN assistant secretary general and
regional director for Asia and the Pacific will brief at the
noon briefing on Thursday.
yeah, just get in touch. If you're interested to
to know more about the report and potentially cover the story. Thank you.
And just in case it had escaped you please be reminded that
on Friday the Secretary General has appointed Julie Bishop of Australia,
We've sent the statement together with the
background of Mrs Bishop.
Yeah. Hi, Sarah. You talk about noon briefing.
Uh, we we have many noons around the world.
Are you talking about the New York noon briefing, which would be
6 p.m. Geneva time. Am I correct about that? Thank you
exactly. But the report is under embargo till 6 a.m. Geneva time.
No, no, the same day. Actually,
a bit complex, but basically you can start publishing your story on
on Thursday. 6 a.m. Geneva time. And Kenny will come to the noon briefer
So the questions are gonna be asked, answered after the report is released.
But that's why I'm here to tell you,
reach out to me and we can do interview Under
embargo that can be published from 6 a.m. and K
will bring additional information
noon briefing. For those who have not covered yet the report
I think it's pretty clear. Thank you very much.
And speaking about the report, let me remind you, we have sent you the invitation.
I think it's very important to say
April at 2. 30 Geneva time. This time,
the UN Sexual and Reproductive Health Agency is launching its flagship report from
Geneva and it's the first time to the best of my knowledge.
Maybe it happened in the past, but I wasn't here to know.
So they are launching their state of world population 2024
report The title of the report is Interwoven lives,
Threats of hope and Inequalities in sexual and reproductive health and Rights.
Kim, will be in Geneva. We come to this press room in person
to present the report to you.
again is an issue of embargo
the launch the report itself both and all content
related to it are under embargo until 6:01 a.m.
in Geneva, Geneva time 6:01 a.m. on 17 April So this is Wednesday,
17 April So Monday 15th she will come she give a press conference.
I think she will also brief some delegates and everything
is under embargo until 17 in the morning at 6:01 a.m.
The reason for which I'm underlying this presentation
is that our good colleague Eddie Wright,
who is the person in charge of communication
on this particular report
in New York, is available to send you the reports
an advance copy of the report under embargo as of today.
So from today on, you can request
under embargo. It's quite a complex one.
So don't hesitate to ask it in advance and come to
the press conference to ask all the questions to Mrs Kane.
she will also be available on that day for 1 to 1 interviews.
If there is any interest of any of you. Since this report has been launched
from Geneva, just let me know, please.
And we will put you in contact with the right person.
If I add this number and email, you have also on the invitation.
help you organise this. So don't hesitate to ask both for the report.
And if you're interested in one to ones,
have an announcement on behalf of WTO for you.
World Trade Organisation is holding an embargoed
press conference at 2 p.m. tomorrow,
10 April on its new global trade outlook and statistics report.
This report covers the trade growth forecast for
2024 and 2025 and trade performance for 2023.
The embargo will lift an hour later at 3 p.m.
Advance copy of the reports and news item will be made
available under the embargo this afternoon by our colleagues on the
online media newsroom and via email.
Journalists will be able to attend in person at
The UN badge will grant entry or virtually, and for further information.
Of course, you can contact the WTO press team,
which gives me the opportunity to remind you that tomorrow the PA
is closed. We are on an official holiday
business here in New York, all the
premises of the UN. But apparently you will be able to have fun at the WTO.
would like also to remind you,
uh, the activities of our Human Rights Committee.
We have the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination,
and today is reviewing the report of Mexico.
The Conference of Disarmament we've told you already
is opening its second part on 13 may,
still under the presidency of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
the council is closed. We don't have announcements from
but I still would like to remind you two more events for next week. Also on 15
April at four o'clock, we will
we hope to see you in room 20 of the Paladin. As
for the commemoration ceremony
of the 38th anniversary terrible anniversary of
the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda
as usual, we will have a very
moving ceremony around this anniversary.
Particularly important for the fact that this is the 30th year
and we will have various speeches from
the Rwanda Community survivor and the president
of the Association of the Genocide Survivor,
together with the ambassador and permanent representative of Rwanda to the UN.
So that's on Monday 15 at four
then on 16 April. I remind you the opening of our international week at B
D who will be there at 10 o'clock with
the Swiss authorities to open this open hours event
at Baker for one week of UN activities by 16 UN agencies and
international organisations showcasing their impactful work
to the people of Geneva passersby,
interested people, schools and, hopefully journalists.
And I think it's all I had for you. If there isn't any question in the room or
I thank you very much and I'll see you on Friday. And remember, tomorrow it's closed.
