Welcome to the press briefing of the Information Service here in Geneva.
Today is Tuesday, 18th of June.
We have a few points on the agenda. And the first one,
is, uh, with UN HCR. I have the great pleasure to welcome Dominic Hyde.
You know, Dominic. Very well.
Uh, Dominic is the director of external relation of UN HCR.
And in my right, we have, uh, Mrs
Tu, who's the managing direct managing director of Ipsos
ahead of World Refugee Day Thursday on 20th of June. As we all know,
have joined forces to conduct a survey on global attitudes towards refugees
and to present and reflect on these results we have today our two speakers here.
You should have received this morning the
press release and the report under embargo.
Uh, the embargo will be lifted at noon.
If you haven't, we have here all the team of the UN HCR.
And of course, you can let them know and they'll send them to you.
They'll send it to you straight away.
So, um, I give the floor first to trim,
uh, for the introductory remarks. Thank you.
Is that all right? That's right.
good morning, everyone. I am from
Ipsos and I'm really pleased to be here today to
tell you about the survey that we have partnered with UNHCR
this year. So Ipsos has been doing
a global attitude survey on refugees for World Refugees day since 2017.
We normally do in about 30 countries covering about 20,000
citizens. But this year we've partnered with UNHCR
to expand the survey. So it is our largest survey
to date, covering 52 countries, 33,000 citizens. And it's a representative survey
of the public attitudes in these countries.
We've done it at the country level to allow us to have a look at the results because the
differences by countries are quite significant.
So we have between 501,000 interviews in each country.
The survey is conducted online.
So what that means is in a majority of the global north countries,
the survey is representative of the population.
Obviously, the internet penetration varies around the world.
So in some of the global South countries,
the results are representative of the connected population.
Even though we still think that that is really,
really important to be able to understand
the best evidence that we have in a number of these countries.
OK, that was good. Uh, so thank you so much. Uh, trin,
um, I. I might be slightly, uh, slightly longer.
Uh, but first of all, we're really pleased,
uh, with the UN HCR Ipsos, uh, study,
which has shown a significant support for refugees
and their ability to seek safety and their essential rights.
It's not all. It's not just a rosy picture. It's also a complex one.
Um, and, uh, with growing scepticism as well as some concerns,
and I'm going to walk you to that.
But let me through that. But let me start with some, uh, positive.
Uh, So the survey, uh, that UN, HCR and Ipsos
did together reminds us that there is an enduring stream
of support globally for, or the right to seek safety.
And it's, uh I guess I would say it's reassuring to see through data
that there is understanding and compassion for refugees.
It's alive. It's kicking,
and especially when it comes to the right to seek asylum,
which unfortunately is under so much threat globally.
Uh, and as we have reached as many of you know, uh,
historic number of people forced to flee over 100 and 20 million people who've been
forced to flee since, uh, in with our data from May 2024.
Um, as Trin explained, uh, we did the survey in 52 countries.
Uh, the vast majority agree in principle with,
uh the fact that those that are fleeing war
that are feeling conflict that are fleeing persecution,
that they be able to seek safety from
we we know and many of you here in the audience
know that refugees are and have become upon in political games,
and often compliant media and social media
We hear about the walls, we hear about closed borders, push backs,
but let's remember that most people are actually quite
reasonable and practical and know that under other circumstances,
it could be them that would be asked to flee.
And so they understand that this need to actually open the borders and,
uh, and open their arms in solidarity for refugees.
Look at whether it's volunteers look at, uh,
NGO S or people that are giving their time and place, uh, to support, uh,
Uh, there are people in Scotland, uh,
who are coming out on the streets to block deportations,
uh, or the workers at the
deil in France or the tireless staff at bra,
NGO who are working day and night,
um, or also, uh, workers that I met in Mexico who work, uh, uh,
on the relocation projects,
Uh, in, uh, an organisation called Aqua Agua
Calientes, where refugees are given a start are given training opportunities.
This simply doesn't happen in a vacuum.
So I think these positives that are coming out of the survey,
uh, really, uh, show that there is an understanding that, uh,
refugees have the right to integrate.
And this is seen also throughout the survey.
When it comes to the right, Uh, at least half of the survey,
people thought that refugees should be given access and full access to education.
Many support the full access to health care to job opportunities,
and, uh, the vast majority show support for policies that allow the reunification
of family of families in the country of asylum.
countries with a long standing tradition of hosting refugees
and generous refugee policies such as Uganda and Kenya
generally showed higher degrees
of optimism about fully integrating refugees.
and they also said in the survey that that had a positive impact on their own society.
Kenya, as you all know, has generated a, uh uh uh A large number, uh, of,
uh or not has not generated has hosted a large
number of refugees and asylum seekers over the years decades.
It's, uh, one of the largest refugee hosting countries in Africa,
with over 7600 refugees and asylum seekers.
And in these countries, everyone has mett a refugee as a friend as a neighbour,
and this proves that when there is daily interaction,
this really helps pivot away from ignorance, uh,
into more kindness and compassion.
And in some cases, when I was in Uganda, for example,
some of the people that I met there
had actually been refugees themselves in south Sudan,
had received support from the South Sudanese government as
well as from UN HR at the time.
And so you see, with Kenya is really shifting, uh,
its refugee management and transforming
refugee camps into integrated settlements
under the multiyear sharika plan.
So I think this gives us really encouraging foundations of solidarity and
hope as we continue to strive for a world that welcomes refugees,
find solutions and protects their rights
I I'm not naive in saying that the whole survey is rosy.
uh we have seen support that has declined in major host
countries as well as Western countries and in some cases,
we don't have the all the answers to why that is.
But we know that the septic system is coupled with concerns about refugees,
ability to integrate and their overall contributions.
A third believe refugees will positively
contribute to their country's labour markets,
national economy and culture.
But another half hold the opposite view.
The survey also showed concerns with the impact
of refugees on national security and public services,
notably in countries with large refugee populations.
So the stark global variation in sentiment shows we need to
do much more when it comes to explaining to the sceptics
why refugees should be embraced and not ostracised
you. As I hope you know, today is, uh, the International Day of countering.
Uh, the study comes at a time of increased, uh, instrumental
and politization of refugees and people on the move
often depicted as a threat.
According to the results of the survey,
traditional media and social media remain a trusted source of information.
So you all play an important role in responsibly shaping,
and reporting public perceptions to avoid feeding into
discourse of fear mongering and misinformation towards refugees.
there has been an increasing trend to target refugees on social media,
and misinformation campaigns.
And we have seen these examples whether it's in Indonesia
in the case of the Syria crisis in Ukraine war and as well as in Ethiopia,
most recently, we want to see
urgently more people stand up,
uh, to change the narrative and counter this misinformation and disinformation.
We want to see increased investment
and leadership in addressing public,
uh, anxieties that can be through calling xenophobia and racism
in many cases, just helping refugees directly.
and empathy is a huge barrier to creating a safe and welcoming, uh,
environment for refugees.
World Refugee Day is coming up. We want to celebrate refugees.
Strengths, uh, and achievements.
Peace is sadly, in short supply.
Lasting solutions remain a reality for too many for too few.
It's understandable to feel
helpless and overwhelmed,
but we can't allow pessimism to overshadow the positives.
We can't afford to lose hope on World Refugee Day.
We must stand with the 43.4 million refugees
for a world where there are where they are truly welcomed.
The results from this survey,
which will help us inform our longer term campaign hope away from home,
many people are still taking action to support refugees through
donations and awareness through their personal social media and channels.
I think this is heartening,
and I think we need to hold on to what's heartening these days.
Solidarity, uh, and hope is needed in this sometimes very dark world we're living in
people out of five surveyed believe that international
aid for countries hosting refugees is insufficient.
This is, I'd say, reassuring to hear especially,
especially as we're seeing humanitarian financing running dangerously short,
with 75% of refugees living in middle and low income countries.
Stronger financial commitments are needed
to support host countries and communities
with the right to seek asylum under threat
for so many people around the globe.
We continue to advocate to defend
and on to call on global leaders to stick to
their moral imperatives and legal commitments to protect the rights everyone
that is forced to flee. Thank you very much.
Thank you very much. Uh, Dominique. Thank you, Trin.
before giving the floor to the journalist, Yes.
Um, um, Domini has mentioned two international.
There are three and one after the other. I would say
they are really important ones.
As Dominic said, today is the International day for countering his speech.
Tomorrow is the International Day for the elimination of
Sexual Violence in conflict and on the twenties.
As Dominic said, we all look at refugees with World Refugee Day.
of the Secretary General both days, the World Refugee Day and countering a speech.
I just wanted to remind you that there is
hate campaign which is launched by the
United Nations across media and digital platforms.
And this year's focus is particularly on the
power of young people to counter hate speech.
being impacted by his speech, especially online,
as the secretary general reminds us in his speech,
and therefore we also need to support them particularly,
be the actors of indispensable actors to end this
and and and maybe just to remind you also that today is also the
five year anniversary of the UN strategy and plan of action on hate speech.
his speech in the next days.
Um, I'm pretty sure, but I wanted to remind you all this information
so that you can take care of
take them into consideration in your coverage.
So I'll look at the journalists in the room and I see Chris Chris
of bureau of the French news agency
which is an international news agency. Sorry.
I just want to make sure that we understand we're not just trying to,
have a hard time reconciling
what's in your survey and what I see.
For example, recently, with elections in Europe,
decisions made by the president of the United States
the general sentiment that there are too many refugees, people
putting into place systems and mechanisms to send them back to certain
so I just wonder where you know is Do they just say, Oh,
we love refugees are great And then they vote in another direction.
is there a geographical explanation that in some
countries they a RE more IN favour Or
so the findings are very, very nuanced.
so there are major variations by countries as well as by regions.
But there is the data that Dominique quoted to you today is a global average,
an average of all the people who've taken part across the 52 countries.
And the one theme that runs quite strong across the countries is this compassion
and the right for refugees to seek safety. So people across the globe
generally feel very, very compassionate and they agree with this.
But underlying all of that, there are tensions as well,
So the tensions has always been there, So views are much more divided
when you look at things like whether
refugees will integrate well within the society,
whether they will positively contribute to the society,
whether they're genuine or not
and whether borders should close or not. So those tensions have existed since 2017.
They've always been there year on year. But the overriding
majority is the fact that people really want to feel this compassion.
But they also have some kind of doubts and some scepticism as well.
And we have seen that change since 2017.
Okay, so let's you have a follow up, Chris.
No. Okay, so let's go to online. Uh, JJ,
can you introduce yourself, please?
Yes. Hello? Can you hear me?
I'm not sure if it is a problem with the email that I received or with my computer,
uh, but when I click, uh, the the report is not there.
Uh, so it could be a problem that I face, but, uh, I haven't seen the report itself.
So bear with me because my question, uh, is only based on the
uh, you do not. You do not show the data. The national data is that correct?
uh, so that is the first question. The second question,
Uh, within these, uh, 50 something countries.
Have you done a survey in Brazil
And thirdly, you keep mentioning that, uh, you have seen,
Uh, comparing comparing to 2017.
Can you explain in numbers what these changes were,
uh, what was the support in 2000?
2017. How much is the support today?
Uh, to be a bit more specific. Thank you so much.
Maybe Trent can take the substantive part.
I just want to talk about the There's just the issue of the link, if I can.
Just on just on the link. Jamil, Uh, the link is
Atta attached, but it will go live at 12 Geneva time
when the embargo is lifted.
I keep forgetting to do this.
so in the report you will find detailed
breakdown for every country For every question.
So that will be available.
There will be an overall global average
country average as well as a country breakdown
Hannah, would you check for me?
I'm not sure whether Brazil was included this year
because we do change our countries year on year
in terms of the trend since 2017,
obviously this year we've included 22 more new countries.
So the trend data is only available for the
countries that we normally survey year on year,
which is still quite substantial still around about 2028 29 countries.
So in terms of the trend,
you can probably group the trends into three periods
So in the run up to the COVID-19 pandemic,
you see people's compassion increased so from about 70
per cent on average globally to about 75 per cent
and then But alongside of that you also see
an increase in fear as well because during covid,
people started to feel more protectionist,
so things like closing borders started to increase.
People felt a little bit vulnerable and they wanted to close borders.
In the event of the Ukraine,
which is the second major period in terms of global events,
compassion went right up to about 85 per cent globally
terms of borders started to come down.
People started to become less protectionist.
And some of that is because we came out of covid
and also the outpouring of compassion for Ukraine.
And we saw that across a number of countries on a number of questions.
So people started to feel warm.
People were still quite divided on things like whether
people would integrate well or not and people's contribution.
But overall the trend became much more positive after Ukraine
and then the third period is obviously the global cost of living crisis.
And what we've seen in the last couple of years is that compassion started to decline
So we're now at similar levels to during the COVID-19 pandemic,
which is still majority positive.
But it has declined from its very high in 2022
and the borders feelings protectionism has started to creep up again.
So they're kind of like the trends
divided quite simplistically into three periods.
But obviously there are major differences when you drill down to the country level.
see your colleague Nothing. I don't know if you notice
OK, so, Jamil, do you have your answer. And I see you have a follow up.
Yeah, Yes, I do have a follow up. Uh,
first one you mentioned globally, it went up with the Ukrainians.
You mean globally in Europe
or globally, or did, uh, Ukraine affect, for example,
the perception of refugees?
Uh, in a country in Asia or in South America? Uh um, I.
I don't see exactly how this globally, uh, could be, uh, uh, applied.
When, uh, it was, uh, in a real it was an European phenomenon.
Uh, that is the first question and second on Brazil since it was included.
Can you talk about it? Uh, a little bit about it, please. Thank you.
So the global average. So this is the global average increased
in the, I think 2028 29 countries that we did around that time.
It was mostly the countries included in
our survey were mostly global north countries.
But we did have some global south countries as well.
So obviously the sentiment was a lot more positive in Europe.
But around the world in the 2829 countries we serve
a views did become more positive even
though they weren't geographically as close to Ukraine
I don't remember off the top of my head in terms of the exact data for Brazil.
52 countries a lot to get your head around.
But that data is completely transparent and concluded in our report.
So you'll be able to see the exact data for Brazil. For every question that we asked.
Thank you very much. Jeremy Loche,
OK, so let me go to the next question. May
Thank you very much, Alexandra, for taking my question.
Um, my question is regarding the use of social media to so heavily by UN agencies.
And, uh, as you probably have seen the news today,
the US surgeon general is calling for a tobacco style
warning label for social media because
mental health problem they are causing causing in teenagers and people in general.
So why is the UN still investing so much in social media strategies and teams?
instead of investing on press relations and creating press relations
teams within the organisations and supporting the news media.
Are you sure this is a question for UN HCR? And for on this subject?
Because they just mentioned that they are using social media to create
for the the the distribution and getting to, uh, at, uh,
reach out to teenagers to help them to understand and disseminate
a good stories about the refugees. But
the social media is is a is a burning trash trash can for the information ecosystem.
So and I see that very little is done in terms of working with the news media
in general. And is that not only UN HCR,
Yes. Yes, I can. I can I can try to I can try to answer as, uh, as as best as I can.
Um, I first of all, I I'm maybe, um, I was misunderstood,
but we we aren't actually investing much, uh, in social.
Uh, it's part of our broader communication alongside me media,
uh, our our big concern. And I guess this is, uh what
Alexandra was, uh, touching upon is, uh,
our concerns when it comes to misinformation, disinformation
and hate speech and social media obviously being playing a key role in this.
And when it comes to protection issues, uh, this is really, uh, a call for,
and it is causing and contributing to real harm towards refugees in many places.
that I don't see the work that we do
on social media, the kind of promotion we do on social media
as being much more important than what we do with the press.
We work with every means of communication when it comes to promote
the UN values of tolerance. Solidarity.
The secretary general in his speech for the
International Day for countering his speech. I don't know if you have received it.
It is online. He says very clearly that we
environment which is free from hate speech in all forms, and he mentions.
And that is why I was saying before that we will talk more about this issue.
The fact that we are preparing the United Nations,
the global principle for information integrity,
which will be launched very soon and which
will guide decision makers around these issues.
So I think we are fully invested in tackling the problem of its speech.
Misinformation, misinformation, whether it's on social media or on
And I see you have your hand up. Maya.
Yes, it is a follow up, actually. So how much do you invest in terms of dollar amounts
And how much do you invest in press relations teams within the organisation?
Because that would give us a good number, right?
A reference number saying OK, so how much you're investing
because you're paying for social media advertising too. It's not just organic.
And then the other problem is that the social media, if you go look at the engagement
which is the most important metric,
you have only bots and really trolls responding to the posts.
There is not even real engagement with real people
on the social media relationships you are creating,
to have on social, I think I think I got your point.
Look, I don't I cannot be 100% sure, But to the best of my knowledge,
the work we do on social media is we
launch campaigns that are going to go on media on
social media on any kind of platforms that we have.
We don't particularly invest
in advertisements in social media. We are not a private company.
We don't know about other agencies, but I think we are all using social media as
It is a platform to spread to promote these values we were discussing before,
including solidarity towards refugees.
I think that's something that we need to consider.
I can ask if we have, uh, figures on that. But to the best of my knowledge,
And I would definitely not oppose this to traditional
media because the two things are not in opposition.
They are not investing on one media or on the other.
what we are saying is whatever you say on social media or media on traditional media,
whatever has to respond to principles of information, integrity
If it's still on that, uh, maybe we can we can stop this year and I can look,
if we have any any, uh, uh,
figure to to share with you unless Dominique wants to add something.
No I, I guess the only thing I would add is is you need to be able to find a balance,
and social media needs to be used to actually spread,
antique xenophobia messages.
It needs to be spread to actually show the hope the solidarity,
uh, in the case of UN HR for refugees for internally displaced people.
But obviously we need to also be in
and balancing strengthening anything that has to do
with digital protection for refugees and displaced people,
which is what I said before, which is a key priority.
And I know that we often get free
credits on Social for promotions from the platforms.
But I think that's a larger question, and
don't have much else to thank you very much. I give you the floor.
If it's a question on the survey,
we'll take the other questions.
Oh, it's just a final comment that if you look at the engagement rates
right, the response is that after the post, there are only trolls and bots.
There is no real people responding to this social media campaigns,
and when you say they are for free,
they're not for free because you're lending the United
Nation's credibility to these platforms that are mostly profiting
think we got your point. Thank you very much.
Well noted, Thank you very much for that.
Yeah, sure, If you have. Please. Can you put
so just a quick one? So in the survey, we do ask people
how they find out about refugees,
what they rely most on so obviously the traditional media comes out first.
But social media was a very close second.
don't use social media, we would miss out quite a big chunk of the population
in terms of risk, spons influencing and informing people about refugees.
And when it comes to the level of trust,
we also ask them about the trust gap whether
you trust the information that you receive from social media
and from traditional media. So obviously there's more trust in traditional media.
But there is a gap in social media, so people do and stand.
They can't trust everything that they hear
But nevertheless, there is a chunk of the population who does rely on social media.
So if we cut that out completely, we would be missing outreach.
Indeed And it's especially for young people. This is particularly important.
That's why we are focusing on young people this year for the commemoration.
Thank you very much for this additional information.
Let me go back to the other question. I see Jeremy has a follow up from,
So, in terms of the European, the developed European countries,
the trend that we have seen since 2017 is compassion still high,
though deteriorated after Ukraine,
our concerns in the European countries, the developed European countries,
So there's definitely more concern now as
to whether refugees will integrate well in society
and contribution as well. So people are a little bit more sceptical now than
in terms of whether refugees will contribute
and whether they will integrate well in the European countries.
Thank you very much. Trin, Uh, Jamil
has a follow up and then we'll close.
You have to, uh, unmute yourself, please.
I see your hand up, but we can't hear you.
don't know what's the problem. Maybe we'll, uh,
I'm looking at my colleagues in the regime.
I don't think it's on our side. Uh, but we can't hear you.
So maybe you can put your question in the chat,
and I'll, uh I'll give it to
and, uh, and Maya, thank you very much.
I see the notes that you've put into the, uh notes,
the the the reference to the, uh, to the, um,
information you were giving in the in the notes. Thank you very much.
OK, so I don't see other questions. Uh, and maybe, uh um,
Jamie, this one will come on the charts. Otherwise, if there are no other
questions from other journalists, I close
here. Thank you. Yes, please. Dominica.
No. Just one last thing. Just to remind you Said it at the beginning, Alessandra.
But just to remind everybody on the 20th of June
around the globe, we will be celebrating or marking World Refugee Day.
And there will be events all over all over the world, from Afghanistan
to planting trees in Kenya to picnics in Poland.
They sound frivolous, but I think that it
is a day that we need to mark to shine a light on the
strength and courage that so many refugees are forced to live every day.
Absolutely. And we will tell you more about that. Thank you very much, Dominique.
And thank you very much Trim for being with us.
So the embargo will be lifted at noon
and so that our reporters can go ahead and publish their stories.
Um, yeah. Thanks. And maybe next time you do another survey. Please come
and update us. I see there is a lot of interest from the journalist. Thank you.
So let's go to our next speak.
Hello, Catherine. Uh, thank you very much. Uh,
couldn't quite follow what exactly you had said. Can you tell me? Uh, please.
My notes will be in English. I don't want to take too much time here,
you will have everything in English.
I can forward them to you by email earlier than the summary of the briefing.
I will do that. No worry.
Maybe to all the journalists that will be
Thank you very much. If there are no other questions, let's go to another
that this time has been conducted by
and I give the floor to Sara for that
the people's climate vote
Um, so on on June 20th this Thursday, U NDP, uh,
will publish the second iteration of the people's Climate vote 2024.
The survey has been conducted with Oxford University and geol,
as I mentioned in French,
all material is under strict embargo till this Thursday 6 a.m. Geneva time.
So U NDP People's climate vote is the world's largest public opinion.
Serbia on climate change More than 70
5000 people speaking 87 different languages across 77 countries
on climate change for the survey, and questions range from how climate change is
impacting people's day to day lives
to what citizens would like the world to do about it.
global, regional and national data that are available in the folder,
and the result offer a country by country snapshot
of where the world citizens stand on climate change
and help us understand how people everywhere are experiencing its impact.
um, different spokesperson.
Uh, we can walk you through the findings,
um, before or on the day of the launch. Just, uh, please reach out to me. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Sara,
Uh, is there any question to U NDP?
So thank you very much for for this announcement.
And then we have with, uh, with me on the forum.
the Human Rights Council has started this morning its 56th regular session.
And we'll hear more from Pascal
and press conferences also.
Yes. Thank you, Alessandra. Good morning, everyone.
presented his global update this morning to the Human Rights Council and as well as
as well as his report on Myanmar,
The interactive dialogue on this global update will
take place tomorrow afternoon and continue Thursday morning.
And today around 12:30 p.m. the council will hold an
interactive dialogue on the human rights situation in Afghanistan.
It will hear from Deputy High Commissioner Nadal
Nasif as well as from special rapporteur Richard Bennett.
And the council will also hear from the permanent
representative of Afghanistan to the UN in Geneva,
as well as from three human rights defenders from Afghanistan.
the council will hear for the first time from the fact finding mission for the Sudan.
the fact finding mission was established last year by the Human Rights Council
for this first intervention before the council.
The fact finding mission will only present an oral update.
The report will be presented at the next session in September.
On Wednesday, we will continue the dialogue with the fact finding mission on Sudan,
but we will also hear from the Commission
of Inquiry on the occupied Palestinian territory,
including East Jerusalem and Israel.
The Commission of Inquiry will also hold a
press conference in this room around 1:30 p.m.
and continue his dialogue in the afternoon.
the council will hold three dialogues with three different special rapporteurs.
The first one is the special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Eritrea,
The second dialogue is with
Reid, the new special reporter on sexual orientation and gender identity,
and the third dialogue will be with Paula Gavi
Betancourt, the special rapporteur on internally displaced persons,
And just to remind you that on Thursday the council's meeting,
the morning meeting will start at 9 a.m.
and this to accommodate a presidential discussion. High level discussion
on the human rights implications of climate change, health,
security and food security.
And this high level discussion will feature the participation
of several heads of UN entities and international organisations
Any question for the council?
Any other questions for the council?
And just on the committees Uh, you will not hear from me, Uh,
announcements on the treaty bodies because there are no
treaty body meeting schedules until the first of July,
when the Human Rights Committee will open its 141st session. So
no announcement for a while at the briefings on the committees,
but we'll hear more from the council.
I'm pretty sure Pascal, isn't it?
Uh, wait, John, Is that a question for pasca?
Yes. Uh, Alexandra Good morning.
the the list of speakers for
the special session that you mentioned on, uh,
climate change and food security and health security.
Who will be speaking from the World
Health Organisation and the World Food Programme?
I don't have any confirmed participation from the agencies that you mentioned.
Uh, we expect to hear, uh, soon from WHO.
And I will check about WFP and FA O and get back to you.
But just to remind you that this is an informal discussion,
So this is not officially part of the
council's programme of work.
So, uh, the rules of the council does not do not necessarily apply to this meeting,
but we try to share as many statements as possible with you.
Yeah. Thank you, Alexander.
The question is, are you aware of the state of, uh, you know,
freedom of speech in India and attempts to arrest Arundhati
the novelist, for a speech he gave on Kashmir in 2010.
Has the council or commission go, uh, has anything to say about this?
Well, as you know, the Human Rights Council is a is an intergovernmental bodies,
and all the views and opinions of the councils
are expressed in the decision and the resolutions that it
adopts at the end of every of its session.
It's up to any member state to raise the issue or any other issue
to the members of the council. But so far
we haven't heard that India is on the agenda of the Human Rights Council.
But I like very much Arun de ti Roy. And I encourage you to read these books. If you
Maybe Ravi, what you want to do is ask the question to Liz or to Ravina.
And they might have a comment on the situation from the
office of the High Commissioner.
Uh, is there any other question? I don't see any.
So I think we have concluded here this brief but interesting,
uh, press briefing. You have, uh, quite a few, uh, things. Oh, Jamil.
You just raise your hand.
Yes. Sorry, Uh, is WHO in the room?
Not in the room. Online we have Tariq.
I mean, if he's still there, let me check if he's not gone.
Tarik, if you're there. Yes, he is. Go ahead. You can ask his question.
Yes. Hi, Tare. Uh, good morning. Um,
my question is about, uh, abortion and the criminalization
of women, uh, who undergo, uh, such a procedure
in Brazil. The law is being proposed
where the person the the the woman,
and who later looks for a legal, uh, access to abortion?
Because in Brazil, if you're raped, yes, you can have this,
uh, legal, Uh uh, access.
Uh, if that person goes ahead with the abortion,
uh, she may face a penalty. That is including,
than the, uh, the person who did the crime of rape
Uh, so this is a law being proposed that we have heard,
in the UN system, Uh, about this. But my question to WHO
the position of WHO towards the criminalization
And why is it important to
decriminalise? Thank you.
Hi. Hi. Thanks. Uh, thanks, Jamil.
And, uh, I recall that, uh, my colleague Liz from human rights uh
uh, answered this question.
Uh, I think last, uh, last week, uh,
from their perspective and the perspective of human rights law,
what we can say from government and opposition was really clear.
And that's that, uh, unsafe
is is an important and preventable cause of maternal deaths and morbidity.
and mental health complications.
implications and financial burden for women but also
for communities and and health system as well.
So so lack of access to safe, timely,
respect for abortion care is a is a critical
public health, but also human rights
issue. So, uh, let me just, uh, give you some.
Some, uh uh uh Figures around 73 million induced abortions
take place worldwide each year.
of all unintended pregnancies and three out of 10 of all pregnancies
and in a induced abortion. And if this abortion is not,
uh, using a method that is recommended by WHO in a healthcare setting,
Uh, then then then there could be different, uh, complications, infections,
uh, damages to, uh, to vaginal tract. So So all these things make that, uh, that we
advocate for safe abortion everywhere using methods
Thank you very much. Tariq. Uh, for, uh, yeah, Jamil,
the criminalization of of abortion, uh, is a health issue,
Or is it, um well, obviously you're talking about from that perspective,
but, uh, what is the implication
Uh, what what could be the, uh, the consequences.
Uh, well, again, Uh uh, colleagues from human rights, they talk more about, uh,
uh, And what What exact laws should be in place.
But it's clearly that that that that there shouldn't be a legal, uh,
legal obstacles to have access to safe abortion because safe abortion
leads to complications. It leads to, uh, increased costs in le it leads to, uh,
that's basically of, uh, of, of, of, of, of, of younger, young mothers.
As I said, infections, haemorrhage,
damage to genital tractor and other complications. So so
what we need from the medical point of view,
make sure that the whole system is supporting access to safe abortion.
Uh uh, for everyone using, uh uh uh, using the approved methods.
So we basically try to save lives.
Very clear. Thank you very much. Uh, Tariq, any other question to WHO?
I don't see any. So I'll go back to say thank you to everyone. And to conclude
this, uh, uh, press briefing. I'll see you on Friday.
And thanks to everyone for participating And good luck with the council,
