Welcome to the press Briefing.
Today is Friday, 9th of August.
We are here in Geneva, the UN.
We have quite a few guests and briefer today and I would like to start immediately by going to Rome where we have Mrs Valerie Guanieri, who is the Assistant Executive Director, Programme Operations of the World Food Programme.
Mrs Guanieri, I understand you were recently in the Southern Africa and you are here to brief us about what you saw in, in, in, in relation with El Nino.
You have the floor and as usual we will have a few minutes of introduction and then we'll open the floor to questions.
Thank you for the opportunity.
I'm just back from Southern Africa where 27 million people across seven countries in the region are struggling with what has been a devastating El Nino induced to drought this past year.
In Zimbabwe we've seen over 70% of the crop was lost as a result of drought.
In Malawi and Zambia, 50% of the drought of the crops were were lost.
And I visited Zimbabwe together with the Secretary General's Climate Crisis Coordinator, Reena Gilani, and I also visited Lesotho, one of the seven countries affected, together with with the Director General of FAO and the Assistant Vice President for EFED.
So a joint Rome based agent mission to to Lesotho.
Now in Zimbabwe, we found that families are have no stores.
They've they've much earlier in the season than expected.
They have run out of, of stocks.
The, the stores and the rural areas are also empty of, of grain and people are starting to take some very negative coping mechanisms.
They're reducing the number of meals children are being pulled out of, of school and we're seeing that already this early in the, in the season.
So families are making tough choices.
And in both Zimbabwe and Lesotho, the prices of maize are going up.
And so people are really being priced out of the, of the market, unable to afford enough food to feed their their families.
Across the region, the UN is scaling up.
We are looking at a lean season that would normally go from December to to March before the next harvest starting as early as October.
So we're gearing up to be providing people with food and cash to meet their food needs during that leasing season.
We already started with anticipatory action, 500,000 people reached with early warning messages and cash transfers so that they could take steps to protect their own assets.
And this year, for the first time, the countries in the region were able to benefit from climate risk assurance through the African Risk capacity.
That has also enabled some early assistance, so families are being supported, but we are in the process of really scaling up so that we can be providing full support to households in in that lean season.
At the same time, the governments are mounting their own response across the region and as the World Food Programme we are supporting the governments with targeting the most vulnerable people and also with some of the logistics around procuring food and getting it to the region and delivering it where it needs to to go.
So very much at the UN response, but also a government response that that's underway.
A very important feature of the overall effort in Southern Africa, and we saw this in Zimbabwe, is the need to be investing in resilience activities, supporting the populations to harness water.
Water is a key issue in a drought.
Water for consumption, water for production, water for animals as well.
These are the key concerns that community communities are are raising.
And so WFP, other UN agencies, partner non governmental organisations are really scaling up those resilience activities that have proven to help mitigate the impact of the, of the drought.
And we're linking this with efforts to really help the farmers in the rural areas adapt their livelihoods so that they're growing more drought resistant crops.
And, and they're making those changes that are needed not just to better cope with this crisis, but also for the recurring shocks that are coming as due to the impact of, of climate change.
So as we scale up the response, it's super important that we really double down on the resilience activities, which are helping to bolst after the shock this year, but also to protect the households and communities in the years to to to come.
But I should just highlight that funding is a major concern.
The fiscal space for governments is tight.
The governments in the region are struggling with with **** debt, they have face arrears in some contexts and they don't really have the resources to buy and bring into the country as much food as is required.
And that makes the need of the response even more important.
In Zimbabwe, the UN humanitarian response plan is 25% funded.
The overall UN appeal would still require nearly more than 300 million in order to be able to mount this large scale response.
And for the World Food Programme, against our regional appeal of 400 million, we've only raised 1/5 of those resources.
So we are looking for the governments in the region to do more with the resources that they have.
But we're also calling upon the generosity of the donor community to support the UN and support its partners to make sure that those most in need get the support that is required.
Thank you very much, Missus Barnieri.
I'll open now the floor to question.
First of all, in the room we have our correspondent of the AFP, Robin.
Can you can you activate the mic?
Yeah, Yeah, that one works.
Could you, could you tell us a little more about these drought resistant crops?
Are they, what, what are they, are they completely different crops or are they modified strains of the existing crops?
Well, both in Zimbabwe and in Lesotho where we visited, there's a real emphasis on going back to, to, to grains like sorghum, which are not new, but were more popular in the past.
And lately the communities have just shifted their preferences towards maize.
So reintroducing sorghum, but also just looking at even some, you know, ancient crops and local varieties that are both more nutritious, but also drought resistance.
So really supporting the countries to be making the shift in their food systems that they're trying to do and the impact of the drought is showing how important that that is.
And in Lesotho, where I visited right now, the country imports about 80 to 90% of the food that it consumes.
What it wants to do is take the land that is arable in the country and make it more productive, revert to some of the crops that Lesotho used to grow for its population and also used to export for neighbouring countries and then put more land into into production.
And, and hence some of the work on the resilience activities in Lesotho is about restoring land that as a result of the changing climate has been degraded over over time.
In Rome we work with the Food and Agriculture Organisation which brings the real technical knowledge on on crops and we work with the the EFA had which is really helping ensure that smallholder farmers that are key for increasing the production have access to the technology, the resources the know how that they need in order to be more productive and have higher yields.
Other questions in the room, I don't see any.
So let's go to the platform.
Lisa Shrine, Voice of America.
The number of people overall who are.
Being affected by this, by this terrible drought and has is malnutrition a problem or is it still are you somehow able to sort of help the children?
Perhaps they don't need that?
Are you are is WFP or other agencies providing school lunches?
In order to help them, what is being done in terms of this situation?
Well, thank you so much for the question.
So it's 27 million people that are affected by by the El Nino induced drought across the region.
And at the World Food Programme we are targeting 5.9 million of those with the relief assistance that we are providing.
So those are in far as far as the numbers are, are going in terms of malnutrition.
It is indeed still a concern in the in the region.
Across these countries, 21 million children are stunted and and we are seeing 3.5 million children who are struggling with acute malnutrition and who require nutrition treatment.
So these numbers aren't as stark as they are in other parts of the region, countries that are facing famine, Sudan for instance.
However, we should not have these kind of numbers in Southern Africa.
And we know that to deal with stunting, to prevent wasting, we need to be ensuring that all children and all women of childbearing age in particular have access to the nutrients that they require in order to grow and to thrive.
So it's not just an issue of of filling empty bellies and providing calories, it's making sure that we are really optimising the opportunity to provide good nutrition and start to make the changes in the region that help improve the ability of people to access an affordable, full nutrient rich diet.
Other questions to WFP, I don't see any.
So Mrs Barnieri, thank you very much for this, for this briefing.
And with luck with this huge operation you are conducting there.
Let's stay on the catastrophic effects of of this time, not the draught but the floods with Olga who has a briefing on the effect of this floods in Sudan on refugee situation.
So as a heavy seasonal rains kicking across Sudan, refugees and internally displaced people continue to bear the brunt in an incredibly dire humanitarian situation after more than a year of deadly war that has now led to the tragedy of famine conditions, all compounded by the growing impacts of climate change.
Heavy rains and flooding have already impacted 10s of thousands of people across Sudan, causing further displacement, injuries and death.
Over 11,000 people, including refugees hosted in the country and local communities in the Eastern Castle Estate have been impacted by several floods and heavy rains in the past two weeks.
This includes many families who recently arrived after fleeing violence in Sennar state, who were sheltering in five gathering sites and reception centres.
Some have been displaced 3 or 4 times already since the start of the conflict.
They have lost their belongings, including food rations, and are facing significant challenges in accessing clean water and sanitation facilities, increasing the risk of waterborne diseases.
More than 400 shelters have also been damaged in one of a refugee camp, leaving already vulnerable people destitute.
Unit CR, the UN Refugee Agency and partners are on the ground making every effort to assist the most vulnerable together with the state authorities.
New land has been identified where tents are being set up to accommodate the affected families.
This new site is expected to host 800 families newly displaced due to the flooding, and some of these tents, emergency shelters have been already installed.
So far, 400 tents have been put up despite the ongoing rain.
At least 200 families have been already relocated, and in addition, Unit Share is planning to distribute plastic sheeting to refugees to repair roofs that have been damaged by the storms.
More rainfall is expected in the eastern and western parts of the country and to mitigate similar impacts in other states, including GAD, RAF, White Nile and Blue Nile states.
UNITR is prepositioning coral relief items, shelter kits, cleaning drainages and building ***** to shore up internal roads and protect camps and sites hosting displaced people.
Flooding in the Darfur region is also impacted the already limited ability of aid aid agencies to reach people in need in those areas where we have access.
The humanitarian needs are reaching epic proportions in the region as hundreds of thousands of civilian civilians remains in harm's way and famine has been recently confirmed in a displacement site.
As you all know, conflict has already destroyed crops and disrupted livelihoods.
The climate crisis is making those displaced even more vulnerable.
Flooded land also means that people are unable to grow crops and graze livestock, adding to food insecurity and hunger in areas also affected by drought and conflict in earlier earlier in the year.
About a few weeks back, UNHER launched a regional floods appeal for nearly 40 million U.S.
dollars to assist and protect people.
5.6 million refugees, returnees and internally displaced people from extreme weather events that are impacting East Africa.
So far, we have only received 5 million of the requests that were made in that appeal, which is impacting our capacity to actually adapt and and preposition items to to support those that will be impacted by the by the rains.
Questions to your NHCF in the room.
Hi, just on on how the conflict has has impacted on this situation, could you say a little bit more about the damage that that has done to crops and and also perhaps the benefits that might that might come if this conflict were to come to an end?
So we know that conflict has impacted of course the ability of people to to reach the agricultural land, to also reach their livelihoods, continue with their employment and that is impacting food insecurity indeed in different parts.
We're very worried to see that the conflict continues to spread to areas that are also hosting large number of ID PS but also refugees.
We know conflict is also impacted our ability to move and reach those in need in different parts of the of the country.
So we continue calling for a ceasefire.
The only solution to this war that is already over a year long, it's just to stop the war and allow people to get back to their normal lives, to stop deaths, stop displacement and also continue with their with their livelihoods.
Just maybe to add to that, Robin, I just want to refer you to the briefing that WFP and Archer gave to the Security Council on the situation of food in in Sudan and the need to reopen the the access to humanitarian aid.
We have it on the UN news website, Jamie.
This might be also a question for Alessandra.
Next week, we're expecting some Sudan talks leading into drawing from Robin's question about the prospect of peace.
And obviously there's going to be some talks here.
What role of any will UNHCR or other UN institutions have in these talks?
Will there be any participation?
I know you're not hosting them, but will you, will there be any role?
Because obviously the impact on people may be a big part of this.
Look, the the issue here as as we've already discussed by e-mail is that this is not a UNAUN initiative.
But of course we welcome all initiatives that can be helpful in, in solving the crisis in Sudan.
The, the, the, the personal envoy of the secretary general had held these talks before here, as you remember at the Parli.
This is building on this on the efforts of the African Union.
So we really hope that this is going to be bringing to to advance the the, the issue of peace, the specific of what these talks are, you know, the implications with the UN.
We will give you more detail as soon as we receive them, Mike.
As far as you know, there's no UN participation or observer status or whatever in these talks as far as you know.
We'll let you know as soon as we can.
Olga is still on the issue of conflict.
Unfortunately, I'm assuming that you and other agencies are unable to reach the famine stricken area in Northern.
Darfur, are you do you or any other UN agency have any sort of contact with the Rapid Support forces the in order to try to.
To alleviate the situation there and your inability to to access this area are the people, they're essentially doomed.
I mean, do you expect this a lot of deaths?
So indeed, access to that area is very difficult because of the location.
We continue working to, to bring inside relief items as part of the interagency response from Chad as as you know.
So we expected to be able to to do so in the near future.
And of course, we know that the reality of the conflict is making this very complex and has made it so far.
But it's important that humanitarian organisations and humanitarian aid can reach people that are in dire need.
Flats and heavy rains will not make this any easier.
So indeed, we we continue working as part of the holy Day Regency.
We have items in place and ready to support those.
Need in in in that food and in in Samsung as well.
And I don't see other questions on Sudan, so thank you.
You'll get the note via e-mail shortly and there will be also be a role and photos in case that are needed.
OK, so let's go to our next speaker who come to us from Amman.
We have with us Salim always.
Sorry UNICEF Communication Officer for the Middle East and the North Africa.
Salim, you're calling in from Amman.
I hope you have a good connection.
Let me see if we can get hold of you.
I am here, can you hear me?
So thank you for being with us today and for the briefing you're going to give us on what it doesn't mean to live in Gaza for a child, 10 months in the conflict, please.
Unfortunately, the unrelenting war in Gaza continues to inflict horrors on thousands of children, keeping far too many separated from their loved ones.
Last Saturday I met 8 months old Yahya.
Four days and several attempts later, after a long and dangerous drive together through military checkpoints to the north of the Gaza Strip, yeah, he met his father for the first time.
His father's a Korea, literally.
He was born at Kamala Dwan Hospital on 27 November last year.
The boy was born prematurely and was transferred to Shifa Hospital for new Natal medical care.
Shortly after, a military operation took place around Chief Hospital and he was evacuated to a lot of hospital in the in the middle of the Gaza Strip.
But unfortunately his parents were forced to stay in the north.
Once Will Yahia was eventually placed into temporary care and kept safe with the support of UNICEF and partners who managed to stay in touch with his family.
Finally, the time came to reunite him with his mother and father, who had to endure months of uncertainty and fear before being able to hold him in their hands.
The successful mission included seven children from four families and was a rare moment really of joy and otherwise bleak environment.
But it wasn't without its complexities.
Our mission has been denied access three times before, despite 3 coordination and initial approvals.
Just two weeks earlier, another UNICEF car on a reunification mission was hit by three bullets while waiting at a holding point on its way to the north.
But our small win, seeing Zakaria the Father cry with joy and relief is why we persist despite the many challenges.
I was shocked by the depth of suffering, destruction and widespread displacement in Gaza.
The footage the world sees on TV's gives an important peek into the living hill people are enduring for over 10 months.
What it does not fully show is how behind the crumbled buildings, all neighbourhoods, livelihoods and dreams have been levelled to the ground.
When you see an image of a displaced mother carrying her child and all their belongings on her back, you don't see hundreds of uprooted people following her up the road.
One lost child like Yahya is really the story of thousands.
The life of a child in Gaza in month 10 of this conflict is not a life.
There's no safe place and everything is running out.
Food, water, fuel, medicines, everything.
When you walk through the mazes of makeshift shelters, you struggle to climb the sand they lay on and you smell the strong odour of sewage filling the paths around.
You are struck by the many children hovering around asking one question.
Mr When will the war end?
Water and waste are a huge problem in Delhi, where the bulk of displaced people have played in recent months.
The partially functioning functioning sanitation system is estimated to be overloaded by 7 times its capacity due to the massive waves of displacement to the area.
Consequently the decade the decades old sewage network is mostly clogged and leaking.
Families urgently asked me for soap and hygiene supplies.
They are using water and salt to clean their children or boiling water with linen to try and treat skin rashes.
They tell me doctors don't have the capacity or medicines to treat them, with more serious medical cases arriving every hour and no supplies on the shelves and so the rashes spread.
There's also a serious lack of medicine for children with pre-existing conditions like cancer and congenital ailments.
At a lot of hospital I met 10 year old Abdul Rahman who suffered a leg energy, a leg injury during an airstrike.
His leg never healed and after following up with doctors he was diagnosed with bone cancer.
His mother's summer said to me with a broken voice.
I wish my child would die and not to be suffering as he is now.
Can you believe that I was that?
Now, a child with a disease in Gaza Strip has been handed a sentence of a slow death because he cannot receive the treatment he needs, and he is unlikely to survive long enough to make it out.
Their only hope for survival is a ceasefire.
The children of Gaza are still clinging to the belief that this day will come, and UNICEF shares this hope.
Achieving a ceasefire is still possible, more necessary now than ever, and way overdue, and everyone must do everything in their power to advocate for it.
Thank you very much, Selim, for this briefing on the appalling situation of children in Gaza.
And as you said, we really call for all parties to the conflict to respect their obligation under international humanitarian law and respect the life and safety of civilians.
I'll open the floor to questions now in the room first.
I don't see any hand up on the plat.
Sorry Gorky, I didn't see you.
Salim Gorky is our correspondent of the isolated the CAR and Continuum Premier.
So for your briefing I would let you explain this outrageous more than an human situation of children in Gaza.
We are all living this in our soul and please do receive our heart feeling.
Cognition for everything you're doing for these people, we know that the world is now watching.
No one right now seems to be able to do anything because there is a state in the world that can do whatever he wants to do.
And my question was not to know how these children are living.
They have no future, we know that.
But you as humanitarians living in the ground, how do you?
We answer every question.
I, I just, I think it's really tough to be there and tough to meet those children who are struggling and suffering day in day out.
Really this testimony that I just shared is just a fraction of what you see on the ground in terms of suffering.
Children have not been in school for almost a year.
Children have not had any normal meal maybe in, in almost a year.
Just walking through the, the camps and hospitals, you can, you can see, you can hear and, and you can feel the suffering of, of children and their families who are incapable of providing the support and the care that their children need.
So yes, it it is a horrible reality and yes, we ought to, we owe it to them to to stop this now.
Indeed, any other question to UNICEF on the in the room?
So Salim, thank you very much for briefing the journalist here in in Geneva and good luck with the continuous your work in this terrible situation.
And now I'll turn to my right.
Liz is here with two points.
I think we start with Iran.
Yes, So good morning, everyone.
UN **** Commissioner for Human Rights Falka Turk is extremely concerned about reports that in the space of two days this week, Iranian authorities reportedly executed at least 29 people across the country.
This represents an alarmingly **** number of executions in such a short period of time.
We've also verified that 38 people were executed in July.
Now this brings the reported number of executions to at least 345 this year and among them 15 women.
Those executed were mainly convicted of drug related offences or ******.
Nearly half of the execution since the beginning of 2024 were for drug related offences.
Imposing the death penalty for offences not involving intentional killing is incompatible with international human rights norms and standards, as we have repeatedly emphasised.
We also have recurring concerns about the lack of due process and fair trial standards.
In many of these cases, several executions were carried out with neither the prisoner's family nor legal counsel being informed.
Minorities including Kurds, Hawassi, Arabs and Baluch continue to be disproportionately affected by these executions.
It's time for Iran to join the growing consensus worldwide towards universal abolition by imposing a moratorium on executions with a view to ultimately abolishing the death penalty.
Just on, on the 29 figure that that you gave, is that, is that a figure that you've been able to verify so far?
Could you, could you say a little bit, a little bit more about what we know about that figure?
As as you can imagine, it is difficult to get information.
As I highlighted, some executions are taking place without the families or, or their council being informed.
Our colleagues working on Iran do obviously have have many contacts and they do try and follow up as best they can.
We're not able to to to verify absolutely, which is why we're saying reportedly executed.
But but as, as you can see, this forms part of a wider pattern of executions.
You know, at least 345 reported executions since the beginning of the year.
We also have information we didn't want to put too many figures in in this note, but I'll give you another figure.
It it has, it is reported that at least 87 people have been executed since the presidential elections on the 7th of July.
But the the government doesn't publish data on that.
So that's why it makes it so difficult.
But we we do think it's very important to highlight this because it is really such a, an arbitrary deprivation of life.
There's the lack of Fair trial guarantees and due process.
And it also feeds into the call that that the **** Commissioner has repeatedly made, that that the office has repeatedly made towards the universal abolition of the death penalty.
So with, with the change of government, is there, is there any indication that there might be a change of stance or a change of policy at all when it comes to executions?
The, the, the change of of, you know, has has taken place relatively recently.
So I think we would probably need more time and more monitoring to be able to, to really sort of get a sense of whether there is a shift.
Also problematic precisely as I keep saying, that it is so difficult to get actual information.
But but it's a very good point and I think it's something that colleagues working on Iran will be be monitoring very closely.
Other questions to human rights don't see.
No, there is no there is another question on the platform of this.
If there are no question on Iran, I'll go to the platform.
I wonder if you could just say whether you've been able to determine whether the victims or the people who have been executed in these cases, We're seeing the same kind of disproportionate representation of minorities in the executions as has previously been reported.
And I wonder to what extent there's any concern that people are being executed on drug related charges, but for offences that actually had nothing to do with drugs.
I mean as we as we highlighted, we are concerned about the fact that minorities continue to be disproportionately affected.
We don't have a specific breakdown of figures as as to to which minorities have been executed.
But but it is again part of of the pattern that we have seen.
The fact that a lot of the executions are are for drug related offences is is incredibly concerning whether these actually have anything to do with drugs offences or not.
Again, is very difficult to to establish precisely because there is so little information coming out that that so many of these executions take place as it were hidden from view behind closed door, closed doors.
Going back to to to the, the the your question about minorities, our office, the human rights office has has observed a crackdown on religious minorities in Iran, including a series of executions of members of ethnic and religious minority groups since mid-december actually.
And a lot as as we said in in in the note, do not amount to the most serious crimes, do not amount to to intentional killing.
They are very much focused on on drug related offence offences.
As with with other information regarding around we, we are working to try and and verify figures regarding the executions of minority members.
We think we, we have information indicating that around 20% of those executed since the beginning of the year belong to minorities and obviously that's quite a **** percentage given that these are minorities as it were.
So that that really is the information that we have.
Yuri, I suspect this is not on Iran, but if it is, I'll let you ask you a question.
You are totally right, Alessandro.
OK, let's wait a second because I think Jamie also has a question, none related to Iran, but Liz has another point and I'd like her to conclude her briefing and then we take questions on everything you want.
So, Liz, I think it's on Peru, your other points go ahead.
As you will have seen, we issued a comment by the **** Commissioner a bit earlier this morning on Peru.
And if I may, I will just just just highlight this the the **** Commissioner deeply regrets that a law setting a statute of limitations in Peru for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed prior to the 1st of July 2002 is now set to come into force.
The law contravenes the country's obligations under international law and is a troubling development amid A broader backlash against human rights and the rule of law in Peru.
Crimes against humanity and war crimes are among the most serious violations of international law, and neither amnesties nor statutes of limitations should extend to them.
Those responsible for atrocity crimes must be held accountable consistent with international law.
Lack of accountability for these crimes, whenever committed risks endangering the rights to truth, justice, reparations and guarantees of non recurrence for thousands of victims of grave violations in Peru.
These questions on Peru don't see any, so I let you go.
I think Isabel might have a question on Peru FF.
In the in what you read, Lisa is is said that this new development is happening amid A broader backlash against human rights and the rule of of law in Peru.
I would like you to describe for us what is this broader situation.
I think in in recent weeks, months, we, we have seen a deterioration in Peru.
Concerns have been expressed by our office with regard to what is happening.
So the fact that this, this this statute of limitations has been approved and will come into force and adds to our concerns.
So I think really, so this is very specifically about the, the the crimes committed prior to 2002, but it clearly has been pushed through in an atmosphere where, for example, you know, judges are feeling threatened, human rights defenders are feeling threatened.
There is very much concern.
So, so that's the broader context that we're referring to.
Thank you very much, Liz.
Wanted to turn to the Middle East, if you could address.
There was some comments from the Israeli Finance Minister, I believe it was yesterday or day before.
And I just want to know if you have any comment on that.
There's been a lot of outrage obviously expressed in many countries.
Yeah, thank you for your question.
Jamie, If I may, I will hand over to my colleague Jeremy to take that question.
Yes, the the the **** Commissioner is shocked and appalled by the words of Minister Smottridge, according to whom letting 2,000,000 Palestinians in Gaza starved to death could be justified and moral in order to free hostages.
He condemns these words in the strongest terms, which also incite hatred against innocent civilians.
The starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is a war crime.
The collective punishment of the Palestinian population is also a war crime.
This direct and public statement risks inciting other atrocity crimes.
Such statements, especially by public officials, must cease immediately.
They must be investigated and if found, if found to amount to a crime, must be prosecuted and punished.
We also repeat what we have said over and over again.
There must be an immediate ceasefire.
All hostages must be released and humanitarian aid must be allowed to flow into Gaza.
OK, got several hands here.
Let's you have a follow up, Jamie.
Well, yeah, I just would thank you Jeremy for that.
You said that the who's going to be responsible for monitoring whether or not there are crimes that are follow that follow from these comments.
I mean, how do you, how do you assess that in the first instance, Jamie?
That's always the state in question.
So this is an immediate call to the Israeli authorities that it is their responsibility to monitor this behaviour.
Beyond that, let's take it one step at a time.
The first stage, it's the Israelis responsibility.
My question also will be about Gaza.
As you may know, yesterday, Israeli army has called for a new evacuation.
For the city of Communist in Gaza, people were called to go to the safe area.
Also this morning Israeli army announced that they started a military offensive.
Is there a safe area people to go in Gaza and do this 'cause I mean for vacation have any meaning for Gaza anymore?
OK, so thank you very much for that.
This this really I think your question has been also tackled by Salim.
And if he's on the line he he can still is welcome to to come in.
We've said it repeatedly, there's no safe area in Gaza and there's no safe area for children.
There is no safe area for for civilians.
And yesterday, the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has indeed spoken about the problem related to this further order of moving of of from the Israeli forces to move these people.
Again, as you know, it's again and again and again.
So once again, we call for all parties to the conflict to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law.
And this includes allowing civilians to leave for safer areas, really safer areas, and allowing their return as soon as circumstances allow.
People must be able to receive humanitarian assistance whether they move or they stay.
Don't know if you want to add something, Jeremy.
Just to repeat what she said and we said it, how many times there's nowhere safe, nowhere safe.
And how many times have people been told to move over and over again?
You go into another sub safe place.
The the the safe places sometimes are attacked themselves on the on the way to the safe place.
They become victims again.
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Thanks for your question.
So when it comes to the the mass casualties and as you know, many of those are UN staff and other NGOs, local workers as well as international have been killed and affected by this conflict.
Our position has always been we provide information to the public.
Now that public that information can be used and has been used by international mechanisms.
So those mechanisms as you know, the the ICJ, the ICC and the the Commission of inquiry, it's the information we've been providing has been widely used already and I imagine will continue to be used.
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Yeah, mechanism the active, the the mechanism the protection, the CV repetitive new permit the 1st.
I'm sorry, I speak English, but Musa raised this and I guess maybe it's on Gaza.
So I I like to ask Musa to ask his question 1st and then we'll come to you.
ET consider a confessor party or.
The first question he's asking, let me translate.
As you've seen already and it's been with respect to the ICJ that the our office, the work that we've contributed and it has been cited in the hearings that have taken place.
Let me go to Yuri now, who has been very patient.
The first question will be on Gaza.
This is not really a question.
Jeremy, if you can share with us what you said about all the declarations of the Ministry of Finance of Israel, because I didn't.
So I think this release, or maybe I missed it, I don't know.
And my question is maybe for Liz.
Numerous testimonies with video to support show civilians targeted by Ukrainian soldiers in the coast oblast.
A dozen were killed for now, and about 60 were wounded.
The cars are widdled with bullets.
We can see it on all the video that are published.
Do you follow this information on social networks and the media?
And do you conduct investigation for human rights violation or potential human rights violation?
Jeremy, I don't know if you can take care of sending in the notes.
I think, I think we have already received the notes of what Liz said.
I've seen it in the in the mail.
Maybe you can I, I can share with you.
Thank you, Liz, on the second question.
Yes, with with regard to to what has been happening in Kursk, in in Russia, yeah, We are concerned about the reports of civilian casualties in the Kursk region of Russia.
Our colleagues have been trying to follow up on this.
Now, it is a challenge to obtain information as the UN Human rights office does not have a monitoring presence in the Russian Federation.
Clearly, colleagues are looking at the information that they can gather and that, you know, you mentioned some, some, some videos.
So clearly these are the kind of things that they they would be looking at.
They're trying to obtain more information and they will report findings in the next periodic report, which is planned to be released in late September.
Yeah, you, you have a follow up.
It's just a quick follow up.
You mean that what is happening now will be reporting in the net in the next report that will be present on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine in September this year?
One month, maybe we will have some updates by your office on that.
That's my understanding from the information that I've been given by colleagues that they're trying to obtain information on the civilian casualties and related harm connected with with the attacks in the Kersk region.
And they will aim to report their findings in the next periodic report that is planned to be released in late September.
Maria Alejandra Aristigita, the correspondent of the National.
I don't know if you know her, Maria Chandra.
Yes, thank you, Alessandra.
My question is police, it's regarding any comments that the office may have on the situation in Venezuela in the math, math, math of the presidential election, where there's been a new wave of repression that includes 1000 people that have been arbitrarily detained and we have journalists and protesters that have been charged as terrorists because they're using WhatsApp.
I don't know if the office is aware of this and if they would have any comments on it.
I mean, clearly our office and the **** Commissioner have been and are following very closely events developments in Venezuela.
He he has expressed concern about the numerous cases of arbitrary detention of peaceful protesters, including children and adolescents, as well as of journalists, members of political parties, human rights defenders and other voices deemed deemed to be decent, other voices deemed of dissent.
Since late July, the **** Commissioner is calling on the authorities to release all those who have been arbitrarily detained immediately and put an end to this practise.
So, so, so we are monitoring it very, very closely as, as, as you can imagine, everyone has the right to protest peacefully and express their views freely and without fear, including in connection with the electoral process that has now passed and obviously the, the, the, the, the issue, the situation in, in the wake of the elections that were held in Venezuela.
And I would add to that Maria Alejandra, that the Secretary General spoke with the by phone with Secretary of State Lincoln to discuss the situation in Venezuela.
Our basic point is always the same, which I think has been repeated several times, the need to resolve electoral disputes in Venezuela peacefully and ensure the complete transparency of election results.
Figure I might as well throw you a curveball, the OR a googly for those who prefer other source.
We've seen that some concerts that were supposed to be held in Vienna for Taylor Swift have been cancelled.
Wondering if there are any human rights implications, freedom of assembly, freedom of expression or various other comments that the United Nations could provide about the cancellation of that, which has affected a lot of people and made a lot of people very sad.
Yeah, that is that is something which has really been making the headlines.
It's definitely a good demonstration of the fact that radicalization of people through the use of social media is really a concern.
And I think that there is.
I don't know if you saw it, Jamie, a long briefing by the head of the Office of Counterterrorism of the UN, who spoke about direction, the dangers of addition, its associates.
If you need the text of his briefing, we can provide it to you.
And he specifically spoke about this ******.
But maybe you have something to add, Liz.
I, I wouldn't really have anything specific to add on that.
I would say I think that covers it.
I, I think as you know, we, we, we, we do look at the kind of issues that may come up with regard to, to, to human rights.
I have to say Taylor Swift was, was not on our list of issues that we were looking at.
But, but we know how hugely important it is globally for so many people.
Yeah, we will continue following.
But really, if you want the notes, Mr Voronkov, we can provide that.
Yeah, he was in front of the Security Council.
Yeah, he gave the briefing.
He was a briefing to the Security Council on the threats of Daesh and associates bodies or affiliations or whatever they call it.
I don't see any other hand.
So that brings us to my final notes.
Just to remind you that the Commission, sorry, the Commission, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is finished now or is finishing now the report examining the report of Pakistan.
The next country on the list are Bosnia is the Govina, United Kingdom, Iraq and Belarus.
Just to inform you that next Monday the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities will open it's 31st session.
During which he will review the reports of Burkina Faso, Bena, Netherlands, Ghana, Belarus, Belgium, Denmark, Mauritius and Ukraine along the list.
I'm happy to to send it to you if you if you need.
We don't have the the date of the next Conference on disarmament meeting, but we will let you know as soon as we get it.
Any other question to me or any other question in general to the colleagues connected?
So have a nice weekend and I'll see you on Tuesday.
