Thank you all for joining us here at the UN office at Geneva for this press briefing today, the 26th of July.
A few items on the agenda for you today.
We'll start off immediately with the landslides in Ethiopia.
Jens Lacke from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is with us here, who has an update on you in response to the landslides.
Staff from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, my office ORCHA are leading rapid assessment teams on the ground in Gofasong S Ethiopia region that were devastated by deadly landslides and heavy rainfall earlier this week.
At least 257 people have died, according to local authorities, who warn that the death toll could rise to up to 500 people.
Search and rescue operations were ongoing yesterday led by local authorities with the support from the Ethiopian Red Cross Society and community members.
Rescuers were mainly digging through mounds of mud with their bare hands and spades.
UN agencies and our non governmental partners, we're on the scene and we're dispatching assistance including food, nutrition, health and other critical supplies.
Authorities say more than 15,500 people have been affected and those people remain at **** risk of further landslides and need to be evacuated to safe zones immediately.
The government is working with regional and local authorities and with us on plans to relocate those people.
We expect to have a fresh flash updates a bit later in the day.
It will be online, but if you need it in a direct mail, please let me know and I will send it to you as soon as it's out.
Thank you very much, Anton.
I take this opportunity to remind you that we issued a couple of days ago a statement on behalf of the Secretary General through which he says he's deeply saddened by the loss of lives, as he said at the time, more than 200 lives lost.
But sadly, this number will will probably increase in the South of Ethiopia following the landslides triggered by the heavy rains.
And of course, as always, he expresses his sincere condolences to the families and victims of this tragedy.
So we'll turn over to you now for for questions for yens on Ethiopia landslides.
No, we have a question from Paula Dupress.
Paula, yes, good morning.
Just wanted to know actually it's not about Ethiopia, it's more about the Philippines.
I don't know if Yens may have an updates on on the situation there and any response to the flooding in the Philippines.
And I just want to make sure we have no questions on Ethiopia before we shift to the Philippines.
Are there any questions on Ethiopia?
I don't see that's the case.
So yes, on the Philippines, Yens, if you have something.
I don't have anything this morning, but I will try to get some updates about what we can say.
And if you can maybe stay with us just for a bit.
We also have with us, of course, Shabia man 2 of the UN Refugee Agency.
We'll move to a different subject here about the shipwreck of Mauritania, So Shabia and you'll have another item afterwards.
So first on the shipwreck.
We've just got a bit of a an update just on the the tragic shipwreck that was reported on 22nd of July on Monday this week.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is deeply saddened by this tragic shipwreck that has resulted in the deaths and disappearances of numerous people up the coast of Mauritania.
The vessel, which was following the West Atlantic route capsized near Newark, shot claiming the lives of least 15 people, with many others still missing.
According to reports, approximately 300 people were on board the vessel, which departed from Gambia.
The Mauritanian Coast Guard has rescued 120 survivors, most originally from Senegal and Gambia.
While search and rescue operations continue to locate missing people, around 165 people remain unaccounted for and this is the second deadly shipwreck in the region that has been reported this month, with another that was recorded at the start of July.
These very tragic incidents_the extreme perils faced by desperate individuals who resort to risky sea journeys in the absence of safer pathways and these are done for reasons to reunite with family to, seek better opportunities or to escape extreme violence human, rights violations and dire conditions in their home countries according.
To data from IOM BETWEEN, 1st of January And 15th July This year more, than 19,700 refugees and migrants disembarked in the Canary Islands Compared to 7590 during the same period last year so.
That is 160% increase the.
West Atlantic Route is one of the deadliest routes in the world with thousands of migrants and refugees drowning in recent years.
Since June last year, more than 76 boats with approximately 6130 survivors have disembarked in Mauritania, while around 190 have perished at sea before these two latest tragedies.
The increase in journeys along the Mauritanian coast reflects the increased the mixed nature of of movements in the West African and Sahel regions amid a deterioration in the economic and security situation in various countries in the Sahel.
Mauritania currently hosts over 238,000 refugees and asylum seekers and while most are located in the southeastern region of the country bordering Mali, 20,000 refugees and asylum seekers have been registered by UNHCR in coastal cities.
UNHCR has offices in Mauritania where in two coastal cities where disembarkations take place and UNHCR is present at disembarkations conducted by the Coast Guard, and refugees and asylum seekers with UNHCR documentation are referred to UNHCR by authorities for legal assistance and release.
So alongside other UN agencies, civil society, and the Red Crescent and Red Cross movement, UNHCR continues to advocate for initiatives that prevent and offer alternatives to dangerous onward movements by sea, including enhanced protective measures, greater solidarity and alternative pathways of admission to third countries.
And concrete roots based protection.
Responses are needed to save lives and reduce suffering, in addition to addressing the root causes of displacement and the drivers of irregular onward movements.
Shabbia, do we have questions on the shipwreck?
OK, we have a question from Lisa Schlein, Voice of America.
Shabia, you say that what, 15 people are dead and 300 were on board approximately.
So do you have any numbers on how many may be missing or are the 15 people all all the dead?
Are you satisfied that the number has been accounted, accounted for?
And then now let's see you you So what?
Why did the boat capsize?
Was it because it was overloaded and were there smugglers involved in there?
Are there any people who are responsible for this bad ship and this horrible accident to have been detained and perhaps might have some kind of accountability for them because we don't really hear about them.
I mean, it's just sort of like a boat goes out and it capsizes and that's it.
And what are you doing right now where they're they're all from Africans presumably on board.
Do you have any specific information about nationalities and what are you actually doing to assist them?
And I'm sorry, I've overloaded you as much as the vote has been overloaded with my questions, but thank you.
Thank you, Lisa, for those questions.
So what we can do, Lisa, is information is still coming in on this.
So we can also check with our colleagues if there are any updates to to the numbers that I shared in terms of those that are that are missing.
What we have in terms of the information so far is reports that there were 300 people on board.
And the last information that I had as of last night was that at least 15 were apparently dead.
There were 120 survivors that were rescued and at the time there were 165 people that were unaccounted for.
But as I mentioned, these numbers might be fluid.
There might be an update in terms of the rescue efforts or in terms of recording, unfortunately the the the death toll.
So those are the numbers that we have.
We'll send the notes off to the briefing.
But as I mentioned, we will also double check if we have any latest update on this, as this has been quite fresh, unfortunately.
So you raised some really important questions and I don't have the forensic detail on this and I'm and there may be more information that that becomes available in terms of how how this tragedy unfolded.
What we know so far is that most on board we're from from Gambia and Senegal.
So in terms of these movements, unfortunately this is not an isolated occurrence.
We are seeing, as we've mentioned, a resort by incredibly desperate people, both refugees and migrants and what we call mixed movements of people just resorting to these journeys without speaking particularly on this incident.
But in the case of these mixed movements in general, we do see a phenomena of these movements being taken by people who are extremely vulnerable, their desperate desperation and vulnerability sometimes exploited by, by smugglers, by traffickers, by others.
So there are a variety of, of, of modes of modalities that are resorted to.
But really it's, it speaks to the desperation and people are resorting to these journeys because there are simply or what they perceive to be no safer pathways.
And for the reasons that we mentioned, to escape instability, human rights violations, persecution, to escape dire conditions at home, to escape poverty, to reunite with family members, if they feel they don't have pathways to access safety or to access those mechanisms, people will resort to these journeys.
So it is very much a mixed, a mixed movement and we are call calling for for action to address this as there have been many tragedies in this region and in others at sea and also on land.
But there should be accountability indeed for for anyone that that profits of the desperation of others.
And as I mentioned, I can't speak to the the details of this specific incident until we have further information.
But in general, yes, accountability is, is something that we are calling for when it comes to placing desperate people's lives in danger.
Thank you very much for that very critical context as well.
Lisa, do you have a follow up?
Was Mauritania the place where they were aiming to go or where were they heading for?
What we know is that they were traversing the West Atlantic route.
But they were, they departed from Gambia and they were rescued.
Some were rescued by the Mauritania Coast Guard.
So we don't have the the forensic detail of of the motivations of the ultimate destination because many may also plan to go onwards to other countries.
But Lisa, we can also follow up after this and come back with whatever information we have.
Yeah, that would be much appreciated.
Thank you for the continuous updates on this important story.
Shabia, do we have further questions on this issue?
I don't see that's the case.
Obviously, you have another item.
But before we turn to you, if I may just go back to the previous question from Paula on the Philippines.
I think Yens does have something you wanted to add.
Yeah, thank you, Rolando.
I, I just wanted to flag that we, we do have a flash update out now on the Typhoon gaming.
I think it's pronounced and I can share that with you, Paula and anyone else interested.
Just in terms of the the top lines, the the Super Typhoon Gamer which locally is called Karina has been downgraded to a typhoon as it crossed Taiwan and exited the Philippine area of responsibility.
Governmental authorities have reported that over 393,000 people have been affected by incidents from the 24th of July and onwards and that's across 11 regions.
The hardest hit area is in Metro Manila.
In total, the combined effect of several weather systems since the 9th of July has affected over 1.1 million people nationwide.
In the Philippines, as of yesterday, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, which is a government entity, reported 13 confirmed casualties and some injuries.
The Government of Philippines is taking the lead in coordinating the response and early recovery efforts and of course, the United Nations stand ready to support that.
I know that our resident and humanitarian coordinator there is very active mobilising the country team to see how we can support the response.
Thank you very much, Yens, for that important update on the statistics.
Anything more for Yens on the Philippines or perhaps another subject?
No, I don't see that's the case.
So thank you very much, Jansen.
We'll go back now to you, Shabia.
You have an announcement on the UN Refugee Agency marking the 73rd years of the Refugee Convention.
Thank you, Rolando, Indeed, of a topic very close to our heart.
This Sunday marks the 73rd anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention, which is the cornerstone of refugee protection and which has saved and protected the lives of millions of people around the world fleeing war, violence, conflict, persecution and human rights violations.
The Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol established the internationally recognised definition of a refugee and the rights and assistance they are entitled to receive while they are displaced.
Millions of people around the world continue to receive protection owing to the principles that these treaties enshrine.
At the heart of the Refugee Convention is the customary law principle of non reform on which prohibits a state from returning someone to a place where their life or freedom would be threatened.
Important regional refugee instruments such as the OAU Convention signed by many African states in the Cartina Declaration from the Americas complement the Refugee Convention and have built upon its refugee definition.
So to date, 149 states worldwide have acceded to the Refugee Convention and or it's 1967 protocol.
And these are set out in a new refugee treaty and legislation dashboard recently released by UNHCR, which captures developments on international and regional refugee instruments and national legislation.
So ahead of the anniversary of the Sunday, UNHCR, as the guardian of the Refugee Convention, is urging the remaining 46 UN member States and observer states to accede to it.
An increase in the number of accessions to the Refugee Convention was observed in the latter part of the last century and since 2000.
Since the year 2013, states have acceded to it as well, with the most recent being Nauru in 2011 and South Sudan in 2018.
More commitment to the Refugee Convention is still needed, in particular among states in Asia and in the Middle East, as well as in the Caribbean and the Pacific.
Accession to the Refugee Convention is important.
It not only evidences a state's willingness to protect refugees in accordance with international legal obligations, but it can also help avoid friction between states over refugee issues.
In recognising that the granting of asylum is not a political act, but a peaceful humanitarian and legal act, it can also help foster cooperation and the sharing of refugee protection responsibilities between states, strengthening predictability and accountability at the international level.
And it is also a signal of support for the principles of multilateralism and international solidarity that underpin refugee protection.
So with 43.4 million refugees currently protected in countries across the world, today's global displacement situation is testament to the enduring relevance of the Refugee Convention and regional refugee law.
So as long as new conflicts continue to erupt and prolong ones and fail to end and people continue to be persecuted, there will be a need for these legal instruments.
So in addition to promoting universal accession to the Refugee Convention, the UN Refugee Agency is calling on all states to give effect to the principles of refugee law, including to protect the fundamental right of all people to seek and enjoy asylum and to uphold and protect the human rights of those forced to flee.
Thank you very much, Shabia.
Very, very important messages indeed.
On this 73rd anniversary coming up, do we have questions for Shabia on this topic?
I'll keep it small, although I have more questions.
You say that you kind of praise the enduring relevance of the convention, but do states see it that way?
Many things have changed.
Do you think it needs to be updated and perhaps the definition of a refugee expanded?
For instance, I think when the convention was enacted, the danger that people depending upon their sexual identity was not figured into that, and I believe that this is now in some cases a reason for granting.
Asylum to certain people.
And then there is all of this confusion with economic migrants.
Doesn't that somehow need to be clarified?
And lastly, there's a lot of, you know, abhorrence, maybe that's not the right word, but a lot of countries really are not interested in granting protection to anybody coming in.
They sort of mix up of what refugee is with an economic migrant as I mentioned and so forth.
And so how do you overcome that?
Thank you, Lisa for those questions.
And this is a subject for for further discussion, no doubt.
And we'd be happy to to continue that conversation.
But very briefly to to come back to your questions.
I think, you know, we, we are faced sometimes with these questions about the enduring relevance of the, the Refugee Convention.
And I think one just needs to look at the global picture today, look at the recent crises that have erupted, whether it was Sudan or Ukraine or elsewhere or the Syria crisis.
The fact that millions of people fleeing those crisis were able to access safety and protection is on the basis of commitment to the the refugee framework and the principles of international refugee law.
So it's not a question of anyone contesting the relevance or the application of that because you know, we often say that the Refugee Convention is one of the greatest human rights instruments to have existed simply because it protects and saves the lives of people who otherwise would face grave danger and grave harm and perhaps even death.
So it is a life saving instrument.
We've seen state practise recognise that we don't have states announcing their intention to to abdicate from those responsibilities.
Surely there are attempts.
So there have been attempts by some to make perhaps circumvent some of the provisions or evade responsibilities, but we also see the corresponding reaction from the rest of the world when those initiatives and those proposals are announced.
And we can take the case of externalisation, for instance, or the sending of of refugees and asylum seekers to third countries and see the, the international reaction by States and also civil society that was that that was met with.
So I don't think it's a question of relevance.
Your question about the application in terms of, of different circumstances.
Indeed, we're dealing in a situation where we have climate, the effects of climate change, the the persecution or the the harm faced with people of diverse sexual and gender orientations.
But indeed, the refugee international refugee framework has been capable of applying to people facing threats and harm based on their identities, based on who they are.
And that is to do with the application of the principles.
But all states recognise the definition of the the refugee, which is codified in the the the Refugee Convention and also the principle of non reform on which ensures not returning people who face specific threats and dangers because of who they are or because of the situation of conflict or violence from being returned to a situation where their life would be in danger.
So it is capable of, of being applied and it meets the, the challenges that we we find in today's contemporary world.
But the the real test is just the commitment to these principles and to also ensure that spirit of multilateralism, of solidarity is maintained.
Because we see in the global picture that many of the world's refugees are hosted in some of the poorest regions on earth.
And that's also not not equitable for them to be hosting the bulk of that responsibility.
So it's important for other countries to support those states, but also for other countries that are far more perhaps prosperous to also ensure that they are also fulfilling their refugee protection responsibilities as well.
Yes, thanks for those questions and thanks very much for the very comprehensive responses.
Shabi, do we have further questions on this point?
I think in that case we've we've exhausted the agenda items, which leads me to just recite a few announcements to keep you on track, starting with the secretary general, who we've shared with you a short while ago.
The message of the secretary general, Antonio Guterres, that will be a video message.
In fact, that will be aired this evening in Paris at the opening of the Olympics.
The Secretary General is on route to to France where he will attend the ceremonies this evening the the Olympic Games at the invitation of the International Olympic Committee and the government to France.
So in the video message that will air again this evening, the Secretary General, in the spirit of the Olympic Trucey, calls on everyone to lay down their arms, to build bridges, foster solidarity and strive for the ultimate goal that is peace for all.
So that message is in your inbox later today.
Once he's in Paris, Secretary General held a series of bilateral meetings, including with Thomas Bach, the head of the International Olympic Committee, and several other meetings.
So we'll keep you updated as things progress throughout the day.
And of course, we've shared with you earlier, we announced it as press at this press briefing on Tuesday, the call to action on Extreme Heat, which was launched yesterday in New York.
We had our briefer from ILO here and we flagged to you the statement and the report which was again launched yesterday.
At a press conference yesterday, the Secretary General on the subject of the call to action on extreme heat, you refer to billions of people facing extreme heat epidemic wilting under increasingly deadly head heat waves with temperatures topping 50°C around the world.
So that's 122°F and halfway to boiling, he says.
So the call to action, I should mention for the record, addresses various points.
Firstly, it's talking about caring for the most vulnerable.
Of course, as we've said, must stepping, stepping up efforts to protect workers, which was addressed quite specifically by ILO, massively boosting the resilience of economies and societies using data and science and then of course, tackling the disease.
The disease which is the madness of incinerating our only home.
That is the Secretary General's words.
The disease is the addiction to fossil fuels fuels and the disease is climate inaction.
So please do consult those important comments from the Secretary General.
And nearly the last note for me is just to mention what's happening here at the Palais de Nation Committee against Torture.
This morning closes closed its 80th session during which it reviewed reports for Ecuador, Republic of Korea, Cote d'Ivoire and Turkey and the Committee and the Elimination of racial Discrimination, which will be starting its meeting next meeting this coming Monday.
I'm sorry, the week after Monday, sorry, the 5th of August.
And we'll review reports for Venezuela, Iran, Pakistan, Bosnia Herzegovina, United Kingdom, Iraq and Belarus.
And the Conference of Disarmament will start this coming Monday.
It's third part of the sessions for this year under the presidency of Ireland.
But maybe just a simple personal note, looking at my colleague here, Angel in the front row and putting her on the spot.
Angel is our intern from the UN Information Service.
I'd like to, she's today's her last day and I'd like to thank her for her six months working with us, unpaid I should say.
And this is really a shout out to all the interns and I think all of us would agree the interns really are providing invaluable support to us.
Without them, our work would simply not be complete.
So thank you Angel and Jasmine sitting next to you.
She's here for another couple of weeks.
But just a shout out to our wonderful colleagues who are providing this invaluable service and all the best.
Oh, I did that too early.
I didn't even look on my screen.
I have a couple of questions, Lisa.
Thanks again, Lisa, for your question.
Oh, well, it's Friday and it's hot.
Shabia, I'm glad you're still there.
This may be a bit of a stretch, but Rolando happened to mention the Olympics.
And I believe that there are a number of refugees who will be competing in the Olympics.
How many actually will be competing?
And I'm, I'm wondering, you know, how, how their participation in the Olympics and their achievements reflect upon the importance of the convention, bringing it back to the convention and, and how, you know, the the the convention essentially says that these lives are valuable, right?
And that they're beneficial to society.
So I'm wondering if you can make some kind of a, you know, coordination in between what is happening in terms of their participation in this most important athletic event and the convention.
I will definitely come back to you with information on the participation, whatever info we have.
So I'll come back to you as soon as we finish the briefing.
But you raise a very important point about optimising human potential and ensuring that people who are displaced and have faced incredible adversity where their their lives or their freedom have been threatened or endangered, are able to to have the same opportunities as others here, even while they're displaced.
And it is such a great honour and a source of pride to see these refugee athletes participating in, in one of the pinnacles of human sport and endeavours.
But it's really important.
And, and you know, it's best to, to hear it from the refugees themselves and those that are participating, but to see how inspirational it is.
It's an inspiration not just for other refugees, but also for the rest of society to see what is achievable when you have the right opportunities, when you are given that protection and safety, even in a country of asylum where you're able to, to contribute back and to just really reach your and try and fulfil your, your potential and have those opportunities.
So it's testament to, to resilience as well to the resilience of, of people who've been forced to flee all around the world.
You have people who've been driven from their homes and these can be athletes, they can be professionals, they can be people who simply want to, to have those opportunities to live their their life as best they can and to contribute to societies and, and to their communities and, and to the world and in such a manner.
So we hope that this will really inspire and encourage other forms of participation and contribution and for other countries to make sure that refugees have the right, have the rights that they require while they're they're displaced, whether it's the right to, to work or to other social, economic and, and cultural rights, but also opportunities to engage in sport.
And we know sport has a critical role to play in helping also achieve what we would call protection outcomes, but also to support the recovery and the resilience of people who've faced perhaps trauma or the the the really adverse circumstance of displacement.
Thank you, Chevy, you're extremely well said.
Antonio, you want to add something or?
Antonio, you had a question as well.
Sorry again for prematurely almost ending this prosper.
My question is for you, Rolando.
I would like to know if at the end of this preparatory meeting for the MPT review, which is August 2nd, I believe, do you know if there will be a press conference or at least a press release?
I think you didn't mention.
No, we thank you for the question.
We, we only shared with you, we had the opening press conference with the chair of the Prepcom.
Of course, here in this room.
We don't have any indication of a closing presser just yet.
We'll check with our colleagues who are providing support to this important meeting.
It does conclude a week from today, the 2nd of August.
I should note that the 1st of August, as you all know, is a holiday here in Switzerland, but there will be a small hiatus.
The meeting will go Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and then resume on Friday.
So we'll check with colleagues and get double back to you as soon as possible.
And Shabia, did you want to add something or?
No, I'll come back to you.
So Shabia will come back to you.
Do we have further questions?
Now I can say bon weekend, bon appetit.
