UN Geneva Press Briefing - 06 September 2024
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Press Conferences | UNHCR , IOM , FAO , ITU

UN Geneva Press Briefing - 06 September 2024

ANNOUNCEMENTS

- ITU - David Hirsch: ITU’s Global Cybersecurity Index 2024 (GCI24)

TOPICS

- UNHCR - William Spindler: 

  • UNHCR rushes relief supplies to support Bangladesh’s flood affected population
  • UNHCR Calls for Inclusion of Refugees and IDPs in Flood Response Across West and Central Africa

- IOM - Kennedy Omondi with Matt Huber, Acting Chief of Mission in Yemen (From Yemen): More than Half A Million People in Yemen Affected by Floods, IOM Appeals for USD 13.3 Million to support Response.

- FAO - Monika Tothova, Senior Economist, Markets and Trade Division (From Rome): FAO Food Price Index monthly update

UN GENEVA PRESS BRIEFING

6 September 2024

 

UNHCR Rushes to Support Bangladesh’s Flood Affected Population

William Spindler for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that the worst floods in 34 years had devastated large parts of Bangladesh. The monsoon rains started on 20 August and since then, more than five million people had been affected in 11 out of 64 districts of the country, roughly 20 per cent of the country’s territory.

There were some reports that the water was now receding, but there was large scale devastation. In the Rohingya refugee camps, from 20 to 27 August, eight incidents of flash floods displaced 465 households and 94 incidents of windstorms affected the refugees. There were over 73,000 people affected and almost 18,000 people displaced in the last two months.

UNHCR was rushing humanitarian relief items from its refugee stockpiles in the country to help people affected by the recent flash floods in the country. It was providing core relief items and other humanitarian support to help address the most immediate needs of the local communities in the region, including shelter and health.

UNHCR had transported medicine and medical supplies to health clinics in the worst affected districts of Feni and Comilla through its local partner, while working closely with the Cox’s Bazar District Commissioner’s office. Supplies included 350,000 water purification tablets, 20,000 jerry cans, 15,000 hygiene kits, and 10,000 emergency shelters, among other items to help local authorities fight the spread of waterborne diseases and ensure the availability of clean drinking water.

The continuous heavy rains of the monsoon season had also resulted in flash floods and landslides in Rohingya refugee camps. UNHCR and partners were working around the clock to support affected Rohingya refugees.

Read the full briefing note here.

In response to questions, Mr. Spindler said UNHCR was in contact with the new authorities in Bangladesh to discuss solutions for the Rohingya and ways of helping refugees. High Commissioner Filippo Grandi had recently contacted Bangladesh's Chief Adviser, Professor Muhammad Yunus, to discuss solutions for the Rohingyas and how to help refugees have better futures. He invited Professor Yunus to an event in the UN General Assembly. There would be continued discussions with the Government in Bangladesh.

Include Refugees and IDPs in West and Central African Flood Response - UNHCR

William Spindler for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said floods in West and Central Africa had devastated communities, destroyed homes and infrastructure and heightened protection risks for the most vulnerable, severely affecting forcibly displaced populations who were already living in precarious conditions. Many were now sheltering in overcrowded and makeshift locations with limited access to essential services. Considering the effects of climate change, worsening food insecurity, and the increased risk of waterborne diseases, it was vital to ensure that the needs of refugees and internally displaced people were not overlooked.

In Nigeria, severe floods had swept through 29 of 36 states, affecting over 600,000 people. At least 200 people have died and over 225,000 have been displaced, including many who had already been uprooted by conflict and climate change. The destruction of over 115,000 hectares of farmland could worsen the food insecurity situation at a time when 32 million people in the country were already facing acute hunger. UNHCR and its partners were distributing 10,000 tarpaulin sheets to the most severely impacted displaced people in some of the hardest-hit states. Unfortunately, funding shortages were making it difficult to assist additional communities in need.

All 23 provinces of Chad had been impacted by flooding since July. More than 964,000 people were affected by the floods as of 25 August. Refugee communities in eastern Chad were particularly vulnerable, with more than 40,000 refugees affected. So far, 145 people had died, over 251,000 hectares of land had been submerged, more than 70,000 houses had been destroyed, and 29,000 heads of livestock had perished.

In Cameroon, between 11 and 21 August, torrential rains destroyed more than 8,600 homes, flooded thousands of hectares of farmland and crops, and caused the loss of thousands of animals. Almost 19,000 households, some 159,000 people, were affected, including almost 50,000 refugees. Local authorities and humanitarian partners were putting in place emergency response plans but faced access difficulties and the growing risk of epidemics.

In Niger, severe flooding triggered by heavy rains had caused widespread destruction, particularly in regions that were home to significant numbers of displaced people. Since the onset of the rains in July, over 217 people had died, and more than 700,000 had been affected. Access to areas where refugees were settled had been compromised, prompting the army to evaluate alternative routes for relief efforts. UNHCR had mobilised resources to support those affected and was distributing 3,000 essential relief kits.

Across the region, displaced families, including refugees and internally displaced persons, were facing a catastrophic situation due to the compounding effects of conflict, climate change, and now devastating floods. They needed emergency shelter, food, water and medical care immediately.

UNHCR's funding appeal for Western and Central Africa amounted to 1.11 billion United States dollars. It aimed to help over 13 million forcibly displaced people, including 2.5 million refugees and asylum seekers and 8.2 million internally displaced people. So far, the appeal had only received 11 per cent funding.

Read the full briefing note here.

More than Half a Million People in Yemen Affected by Floods

Matt Huber, Acting Chief of Mission in Yemen, International Organization for Migration (IOM), said that the situation in Yemen was devastating. In recent months, Yemen had been ravaged by relentless floods and violent windstorms, leaving behind a trail of unspeakable destruction. Homes had been reduced to splinters and thousands of families had been displaced, struggling for survival in already dire conditions.

IOM teams were on the ground, working day and night to deliver critical relief to those hardest hit. But the sheer magnitude of this disaster was overwhelming. People were saying that they had never seen rain and winds like they had seen over these past two months in their entire lives. Hundreds of thousands of people were without basic needs like shelter, clean water and access to health care.

In places like Ma’rib, entire communities had seen their shelters torn apart by hurricane-like winds and families were forced to endure unimaginable loss. One example of this was Abdullah, a displaced father from Marib being supported by IOM who tragically lost his daughter, who violently hit her head when a windstorm swept her away. Abdullah’s heartbreaking story was a sobering reminder of how deeply this crisis was impacting so many lives.

Yemen was facing one crisis after another, and its people had suffered enough. The humanitarian response was struggling with the critical funding gap, compounded by overall growing donor fatigue. Despite significant needs, IOM was grappling to secure sufficient resources to sustain recovery operations, which had been substantial already in the areas of shelter, cash, health, water and sanitation. As major emergencies unfolded worldwide, Yemen risked being deprioritised, leaving millions at greater risk.

This was why IOM had launched an urgent appeal for 13.3 million USD to scale up lifesaving interventions in support of the flood response. The support of the international community was crucial to alleviate suffering and help provide relief to those who had lost everything in these recent weather events.

The situation in Ma’rib and Al Hodeidah especially was at a tipping point. It was time to act now. The international community needed to consider the desperation and despair of tens of thousands of Yemenis affected by this severe weather. IOM expected that this weather would continue throughout the month of September, so the worst could be yet to come.

To read the full appeal, please visit this page.

Watch a video produced by IOM on the crisis here.

In response to questions, Mr. Huber said that IOM was able to keep track of extreme weather events and their impact on displacement through its displacement tracking matrix. There had been a steady flood of displacements after recent weather events. Internally displaced persons affected by extreme weather were continuing to come into the camp in Ma’rib, the biggest internally displaced person camp in Yemen. This information could be found in IOM’s monthly displacement tracking matrix publications.

Monthly Update on Global Food Commodity Prices

Monika Tothova, Senior Economist, Markets and Trade Division, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said the FAO Food Price Index (FFPI), the barometer of global prices, was released this morning. The index declined marginally in August. Compared to historical levels, the FFPI averaged 1.1 per cent lower than its corresponding value one year ago. The increase in the FFPI in May was led by lower prices for sugar, meat and cereals offsetting increases in quotations for dairy and vegetable oils.

The FAO Cereal Price Index dipped 0.5 per cent from July due to declining global wheat export prices amid competitively priced Black Sea supplies and higher-than-expected production in Argentina and the United States of America. This was not surprising, as we were nearing the completion of the wheat harvest in the northern hemisphere. World maize prices firmed slightly, reflecting the impact of heatwaves on yields in parts of Europe and North America, while the FAO All-Rice Price Index increased by 0.6 per cent in August.

The FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index increased by 0.8 per cent from July to reach a 20-month high, as international palm oil prices more than offset declining quotations for soy, sunflower and rapeseed oils. The FAO Dairy Price Index also rose. International butter quotations reached an all-time high, underpinned by some uncertainty over the adequacy of milk supplies in Western Europe. The FAO Meat Price Index declined by 0.7 per cent, with poultry, pig and ovine meat prices declining amid lacklustre import demand, even as world bovine meat prices increased slightly.

Finally, the FAO Sugar Price Index declined by 4.7 per cent to reach its lowest level since October 2022, a move underpinned by improving production outlook for the upcoming sugarcane harvest season in India and Thailand, as well as lower international crude oil prices.

Overall, FFPI remained 24.7 per cent below its March 2022 peak. FAO also issued its monthly Cereal Supply and Demand Brief, trimming its forecast for global cereal production in 2024, now pegging it at 2,851 million tonnes, almost on par with that of 2023. The revision was mostly due to reduced harvest expectations for coarse grains, including maize, due largely to hot and dry weather conditions in the European Union, Mexico and Ukraine.

Ms. Tothova said the publication schedule for the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) Market Monitor now coincided with the other monthly market releases. AMIS was a G20 initiative launched in 2011 to enhance food market transparency and policy response for food security. Regular entries summarised developments regarding world markets, policy developments, fertilizer outlook and vegetable oils.

Announcements

David Hirsch for the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) said next week on Thursday, 12 September, ITU would launch its fifth Global Cybersecurity Index 2024 (GCI24), which would assess the global cyber security situation around the world. The Index assessed the cybersecurity commitments of individual countries around the world, as well as overall global progress against cyberattacks. GCI24 would identify areas for improvement and encourage countries to act on strengthening cybersecurity. Journalists could obtain a press release on the launch and report material by contacting pressinfo@itu.int. The embargo would extend until Thursday, 12 September at 3: 00 pm.

Next week, ITU would issue a release to announce the upcoming World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA-24), which would be held in New Delhi from 15 to 24 October. WTSA was one of ITU's statutory conferences, serving as the governing conference for the organization's standardisation work.

In response to questions, Mr. Hirsch said the Space Sustainability Forum 2024 would also be taking place next week on 10 and 11 September in Geneva, with persons with expertise in space sustainability in attendance.

In the Giga project, ITU and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) were working to connect schools to the internet across the globe, Mr. Hirsch said in response to another question. The project was mapping gaps in connectivity, raising awareness of the gaps, and working with governments and partners to address them. Giga did not make recommendations to governments regarding internet providers. Connecting schools to the internet was an imperative.

Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, said the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres delivered a statement in Beijing yesterday, 5 September, at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, in which he noted that many had no access to effective debt relief, scarce resources, and clearly insufficient concessional funding. This situation was unsustainable -- and a recipe for social unrest, he said.

While in Beijing, Mr. Guterres met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and discussed several issues, including the upcoming Summit of the Future, taking place in New York later this month. The Secretary-General expressed his readiness to strengthen cooperation with China in all pillars of the United Nations’ work.

The Security Council yesterday released a statement condemning in the strongest terms a heinous terrorist attack that occurred earlier this week in Kabul. Also, on Tuesday, 3 September, the Secretary-General appointed Georgette Gagnon of Canada as Deputy Special Representative (Political) for Afghanistan in the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.

On Monday, 9 September at 2 p.m., the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) would hold a hybrid press briefing to launch its Cluster Munitions Monitor 2024 report.

On Tuesday, 10 September at 9:30 a.m., UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) would hold a hybrid press briefing to launch its "Developments in the Economy of the Occupied Palestinian Territory" report. Rebeca Grynspan, UN Trade and Development Secretary General would be speaking at the briefing. The embargo on the report would lift on 10 September at 10:30 a.m.

On Thursday, 12 September at 10:30 a.m. the International Labour Organization (ILO) would hold a hybrid press briefing to launch its “World Social Protection Report 2024-26: Universal social protection for climate action and a just transition”, which was embargoed until 12 September at 11:30 a.m.

The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities closed yesterday afternoon its 31st session and issued its concluding observations on the nine countries reviewed during this session: Burkina Faso, Benin, Netherlands, Ghana, Belarus, Belgium, Denmark, Mauritius and Ukraine.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child would conclude next Friday, 13 September, at 5 p.m., its 97th session and issue its concluding observations on the six countries reviewed during this session: Bahrain, Turkmenistan, Mexico, Argentina, Israel and Armenia.

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights would open next Monday at 10 a.m. its 76th session, during which it would successively review the reports of Iceland, Poland, Honduras, Kyrgyzstan, Albania, Cyprus and Malawi.

The date of the next public plenary meeting of the Conference on Disarmament (still under the presidency of Daniel Meron of Israel) would be announced at a later stage. The Conference would close its annual session next Friday, 13 September.

The Human Rights Council would commence its 57th session on Monday, 9 September. The session would last for four weeks until 11 October. Council President Omar Zniber held a briefing on the upcoming session on Wednesday, 4 September.

Tomorrow, 7 September was the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies. In his statement for the day, Secretary-General António Guterres said 99 per cent of humanity breathes polluted air – leading to an estimated eight million premature deaths – including more than 700,000 children under five. Investing in clean air saves lives, combats climate change, strengthens economies, builds fairer societies, and advances the Sustainable Development Goals, he noted.

Monday, 9 September was the International Day to Protect Education from Attack. Mr. Gómez said recent floods were dramatically hindering the right to education. This was highlighted by the Secretary-General in his statement for the day. He said recent years had seen a dramatic increase in attacks on students, teachers, educational personnel, and schools around the world — from Gaza, to Sudan, Myanmar, Ukraine, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and elsewhere. He urged all countries to fully endorse and implement the Safe Schools Declaration, support the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack, and stand with all efforts to ensure that children and young people can continue their learning — both in times of crisis and after the fighting stops.

***

 

Teleprompter
Bundy and thank you for joining us here at the UN office of Geneva
for this press briefing hosted by the UN Information Service at Geneva today,
the sixth of September.
We have a number of issues on our agenda. Today.
We have an announcement from the International
Telecommunications Union on Global Security Index.
We have a colleague from UN HCR with us William,
who will address two different crises.
Uh, the Bangladesh floods and also flood response across West and Central Africa.
We also have a colleague from the International
Organisation for Migration who will be joining us shortly
to address uh, another flood other floods, uh, in Yemen.
And lastly, we have Monica to
Tova from the Food and Agricultural Organisation, who will,
uh, address the food and Agricultural Food Price index a monthly update.
But we'll start off immediately with William
on Bangladesh.
Thank you very much, Rolando.
So yes, indeed.
I'm going to start with an update on the situation in Bangladesh where
the worst floods in 34 years have devastated large parts of the country.
The monsoon rains started on 20
August and since then more than 5 million people have been affected
in 11 districts out of 64 districts of the country, so roughly 20% of the territory.
There are some reports that the water is now receding.
But there is large scale devastation
in the Rohingya refugee camps from the 20th to the 27th of August
8 incidents of flash floods displaced 465 households,
as well as 94 incidents
of
windstorms affecting the refugees.
So
we are talking about
over 73,000 people
affected
and 17,000 or almost 18,000 people affected or displaced in the last two months.
So
UNR is rushing
supplies to support the response to this situation.
We are rushing humanitarian relief items from our stockpiles in the country
to help all those affected by the floods.
We are providing core relief items
and in kind contributions humanitarian support To
help address the most immediate needs of the local communities in the region,
which include shelter and health.
We have transported medicine,
medical supplies to health clinics in the worst affected districts of Fenny and
Comilla
through our local partner agency,
while closing
Sorry while working closely with Cox's Bazar District Commissioner's office.
Supplies include 350,000 water purification tablets, 20,000 jerry cans,
15,000 hygiene kits,
10,000 emergency shelters and other items to help
local authorities fight the spread of water borne disease
and ensuring the availability of clean drinking water.
The continuous heavy rains of the monsoon season
have also resulted in flash floods and landslides
in the camps.
And we are working with our partners around the clock to support the affected
refugees.
I'm going to
I
don't know if I should continue with the other situation or wait.
Thank you, William.
Let's first see if there are questions on
Bangladesh before we move to the next subject
either online or in the room.
Yes, Christophe a FP
Ah, thank you. Ah, I was just wondering if the
political situation in Bangladesh is hampering your operation in in any way.
If it's making it more difficult.
Thank you for the question.
Uh, we are in contact with the new authorities in Bangladesh
and the High Commissioner Filippo Grandi
has been in touch with Bangladesh's chief adviser, Professor Mohammed
Yiannos,
recently
to discuss solutions for the Rohingyas and also
how to help refugees have better futures.
And he has invited Professor yo
to an event
in
the UN General Assembly.
And there will be continued discussions with the Bangladeshi government
in Bangladesh as well.
Thank you very much. Uh, do we have other questions on Bangladesh?
No, I don't see that's the case. So in that,
in that case,
maybe you can address the flood response across west and Central Africa, then
Thank you. Yes, this is another very worrying situation.
Uh, in Western Central Africa,
uh, where floods there have devastated communities,
destroyed homes and infrastructure and heightened
protection risk for the most vulnerable,
severely affecting forcibly displaced populations
who were already living in precarious
situations.
Many of them are now sheltering in overcrowded and
makeshift locations with limited access to essential services.
With the effects of climate change, worsening food insecurity,
increased risk of waterborne diseases
and escalating demand for emergency shelter and health services,
it is vital to ensure that the needs of
refugees and internally displaced people are not overlooked.
In Nigeria, severe floods have swept to 29 of the 36 states,
affecting over 600,000 people.
At least 200 people have died
and over 225,000 have been displaced,
including many who had already been uprooted by conflict and climate change.
The destruction of over 115,000 hectares of farmland
could worsen the food insecurity situation at a time when
32 million people in the country are already facing hunger.
UN A
R and its partners are distributing 10,000 tarpaulin sheets to the most
severely impacted displaced people in some of the hardest hit states.
UN.
Unfortunately,
funding shortages are making it difficult to assist addi
additional communities
UH needs.
The rainy season in Nigeria is expected to continue until September
in the north of the country and November in the south.
In Chad, all 23 provinces have been impacted by flooding since July,
according to the Chadian authorities and partners.
More than 964,000 people were affected by the floods as of August 25th.
Refugees communities in eastern Chad are particularly vulnerable,
with more than 40,000 refugees affected.
So far, 145 people have died,
over 251,000 hectares of land have been submerged,
more than 70,000 houses destroyed
and 29,000 heads of livestock have perished
in Cameroon between August 11th and 21st.
Torrential rains destroyed more than 8600 homes,
flooded thousands of hectares of farmland and crops
and caused the loss of thousands of animals.
Almost 19,000 households, some 159,000 people,
were affected, including almost 50,000 refugees.
Local authorities and humanitarian partners are
putting in place emergency response plans,
but face major logistical challenges in the affected areas
like access difficulties and a growing risk of epidemics.
In
***,
severe flooding triggered by heavy rains has caused widespread destruction,
particularly in the Marathi,
Dosso,
Tila
Beri and Zinda regions,
which are also home to significant numbers of displaced people.
Since the onset of the rains in July, over 217 people have died
and more than 700,000 have been affected.
The floods have devastated infrastructure including roads and farmland,
disrupted the education of over 39,000 Children
and damaged 377 schools.
Access to areas where refugees are settled has been compromised,
prompting the army to evaluate alternative routes
to relief efforts.
UNHCR
is mobilising resources to support this
affected by providing 3000 essential relief kits
and distribution of them has already started
in the whole region, displaced families, including refugees, and
are facing a catastrophic situation due to the compounding effects of conflict,
climate change and now devastating floods.
They need emergency shelter, food, water and medical care immediately.
The
UNHCR's funding appeal for western Central Africa funding
amounts to $1.11
billion
to help over 13 million forcibly displaced people,
including 2.5 million refugees and asylum seekers
and 8.2 million internally displaced people.
So far,
the appeal has only received 11% funding.
Thank you.
Thanks to you, William.
And, um indeed, another devastating situation, Um, in need of, uh,
your support and funds.
So do we have questions
on the, um Is
the West Central Africa flooding situation
online or here in the room?
I don't see. That's the case, William.
So I think you were very comprehensive and thank you very much. And let's, uh,
keep our fingers crossed
and the notes will be shared. Thank you so much.
Um, much appreciated. We'll we'll now move to yet another devastating situation.
More floods. Uh, this time we're turning to a colleague in Yemen.
uh, to address, uh, the half a million people in the country affected by floods
online is Matt Huber.
Uh,
who is the acting chief of mission in
Yemen for the International Organisation for Migration.
Uh, Matt, Um,
are you with us?
Uh, yes, I am. Can you hear me? OK, Yeah, we can hear you. Just great.
So, over to you, then. Thank you.
Yeah, Well, thank you. And, uh yeah, you're right.
This is another devastating situation that we're in here in Yemen.
Uh, I prefer, if possible,
not to turn on my video because the the Internet strength is not so strong here.
Uh, if that's ok, uh, I'll move ahead.
Uh, just wishing everybody a good morning and very good Greetings from from Sana.
We have a beautiful day here in Sana for a change.
But as you all know, in recent months,
Yemen has been ravaged by relentless floods and violent windstorms,
leaving behind a trail of unspeakable destruction.
Homes have been reduced to splinters and thousands of families displaced,
struggling for survival and already dire conditions.
IOM teams are on the ground working day and
night to deliver critical relief to those hardest hit
But the sheer magnitude of this disaster has been overwhelming.
People are saying that they have never seen a rain and winds like
they have seen over these past two months in their entire lives.
Hundreds of thousands of people are without basic necessities like shelter,
clean water, access to health care.
In places like Maab,
uh,
entire communities have seen their shelters torn apart by hurricane like winds,
and families are forced to endure unimaginable loss.
One example of this is Abdullah, who we
have met and had been assisting.
He is a displaced father from Arab,
and he tragically lost his daughter when the windstorm swept them away
and the little girl violently hit her head as she fell
and passed away.
His heartbreaking story is a sobering reminder of how
deeply this crisis is impacting so many lives.
Yemen is facing one crisis after another. We are now in multiple crises in in in Yemen
and its people have suffered enough.
The humanitarian response is struggling with the critical funding gap,
compounding uh, growing by overall growing donor fatigue.
Despite significant needs,
we are grappling to secure sufficient resources to sustain recovery operations,
which have been substantial already in the areas of shelter
CCCM,
uh, multi-purpose cash,
health and water and sanitation.
Uh,
as major emergencies unfold worldwide,
Yemen risks being de
prioritised, leaving millions at greater risk.
This is why IOM has launched an urgent appeal for $13.3 million
to scale up the life saving interventions in support.
Uh, of the flood response.
The support of the international community is crucial to alleviate suffering
and help provide relief to those who have lost everything.
In these
recent weather events,
we frankly are at a tipping point, especially in Marib
and the, uh, the area of HUD
in the country.
Uh, and it is time to act now.
So the consideration of everybody to the the the depth
and the suffering of this these rec recent weather events is deeply appreciated.
Uh, in this time of desperation and despair for the tens of thousands of Yemen
affected by this severe weather,
uh, and we continue we we expect that this is to continue, uh,
throughout the month of September.
So we maybe the worst has not even been seen, uh, to date.
So thank you once again for inviting us to present today and uh, we're welcoming any.
Any questions on the, uh, the situation and, uh,
keeping you update. And the appeal will be sent out, uh, to to various, uh,
news agencies, uh, for greater information on the damage, uh,
and destruction these floods and winds have caused, uh, throughout Yemen.
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much.
Uh, Matt, of course, it's critically important to keep the spotlight bright on this
this crisis. Um, do we have questions for her colleague from IOM,
either in the room
or online?
No, I don't see. That's a case.
Thank you again. You are very comprehensive.
And if I could ask you kindly just to share your notes, uh,
maybe you or Kennedy who's in the room here?
Uh, maybe colleagues can liaise with Kennedy who's in the front row here.
So thank you. Oh, we We do have a question. Sorry. Hold on a sec.
We have, uh, Maya plants. Uh, who's has a question? She's from the UN brief.
Maya, Over to you.
Uh, good morning, Uh, H
and
thank you
for taking my question. My question is regarding, do you see, um,
that the extreme weather events are causing more and more displacement.
Um, how was IOM measuring that? Do you compare notes in terms of, uh,
extreme weather events impact, uh, versus conflict.
Uh, a very good, a very good question.
And we are able to, uh,
to keep track of the displacement caused by
these weather events through our displacement Tracking matrix.
Uh, conflict related displacement recently has not been too extensive,
But because of recurrent, uh, climate
related events,
uh, there has been a steady flow of new displacements.
Uh, as you may be aware, in Marib,
Marri
is the, uh, area of the country that has the highest number of ID,
PS and the biggest ID P camp in in Yemen.
And we continue to see, uh,
migrants coming in from flood affected and wind
effect wind affected areas to these IDP camps.
Uh,
this information can be found in our
monthly GTM publications that we circulate widely.
And please let us know if you'd like to be on the the mailing list.
But the the answer to the question is yes.
Uh, we see very few, uh, ID PS returning to their, uh, areas of origin.
Uh, and we do see new displacement. Uh, not from conflict necessarily.
But due to the, uh, extreme weather conditions that we are experiencing,
thank you very much for that response.
Uh, Matt, do we have further questions for Matt?
No, I don't see. That's the case. So thank you again very much for joining us here.
You're always welcome to join us here at this press briefing in Geneva,
and good luck to you.
And it's a It's a pleasure. Thank you. And Sorry. Sorry. My video, uh,
unable to work with this weekend.
Appreciate it.
Uh,
have a good have a good weekend ahead.
And, uh, yeah, any anytime you need more information on Yemen, please contact us.
That's great.
I'm sure many people want to subscribe to that mailing list you referred to,
so thanks.
Once again, Matt,
thank you.
OK, we're going to shift gears now. We're gonna turn to our colleague from Rome.
Monica.
Toto
who? You know? Well, who's briefed you several times over the last, uh, year?
Um, she's a senior economist, uh, for markets and trade, uh,
from the market and trade division from the Food and Agricultural Organisation.
Who is going to speak to the FA O Food Price Index? monthly update.
Uh, Monica over to you.
Thank you. Good morning from home.
The news I have on, uh,
for better or worse, probably for the better.
Not as dramatic.
We are talking about the food price index,
which is the barometer of the development
of global prices on the international market.
The index declined marginally in August and compared to the August 2023 that is,
one year ago, the FFP I was about the same level.
It was 1% lower.
The adjustment in August was led by lower prices for sugar, meat and cereals,
offsetting increases in quotations for dairy and vegetable
oils if we focus on individual commodity groups.
The cereal price index declined half percent
in July,
and it was most
responding to decreasing global wheat export prices
amid competitively priced like sea supplies and higher than expected
production in Argentina and the United States of America.
The decrease in the wheat prices is not surprising as we
are nearing the completion of the harvest in the Northern Hemisphere.
On the other hand, the maize prices, also in the ST
in the cereal price index firm slightly,
and this was mostly on the concerns on the impact of heat waves in yields
for mains that will be harvested in the Northern
Hemisphere from October onwards in Europe and North America.
Finally, the rice index increased by 0.6%
the vegetable oil price index increased as well and it reached a 20 months high
as higher International palm oil prices,
also declining production for all other vegetable oils We are following
the dairy price index also lost mostly on the account of increased embodiment.
It might be worth pointing out that the
international butter quotation reached an all time high,
mostly underpinned by uncertainty of adequacy of milk supplies in Western Europe.
Moving to meat, meat decline with poultry P and O
wine meat prices declining
Uh, while the bovine prices increased slightly.
Finally, the biggest adjustments were noted for sugar,
which declined by 4.7% and reached its lowest level since October 2022.
You might recall that at, uh,
about a year ago we spoke about the really high sugar prices,
So this episode seems to be done.
The sugar prices are coming down,
and this decline,
the latest decline, was underpinned by improving production
outlook Uh, and the upcoming harvest season in India and Thailand.
Sugar prices are also influenced by international
crude oil prices through the link in uh
O. So this lot of crude oil prices are also at play.
To sum up,
the oven
food price index remains almost 25% below its March 2022 peak.
FA O also issued its monthly new updated Cereal Supply and Demand brief,
in which it trimmed the forecast for the global cereal production slightly,
but nevertheless it remains on par with that of 2023.
The revision again was mostly due to the reduce
harvest expectations for the corn grains I mentioned earlier,
including
the impact due to the impact of the hot and dry weather
on the grains, which are forming now in the EU Mexico and Ukraine.
Finally, to conclude,
I would like to bring your attention to the AM ES Market Monitor,
the publication schedule of which now coincides with other market releases.
A
ES agriculture market information system is a
G 20 initiative which was launched in 2011
to enhance food market transparency and policy response for food security.
In the in the link, the link was included in the notes you received,
so you'll find a regular entry summarising Developments
regarding developments on the world market policies,
fertiliser, outlook and the vegetable oils.
With that, I am happy to entertain any questions there might be. Thank you.
Thanks to you, Monica. Do we have questions for FA O?
OK, that's not the case again. A very comprehensive briefing.
So thank you so very much. And and,
uh, if you or or key can share your notes, that would be much appreciated.
Thanks, as always for joining us here, Monica.
OK, we have one last item before I give you a few of my own announcements. David Hirsch
from the ITU is online,
and he is going to address the IT US Global Cybersecurity Index for 2024.
David over to you.
Thank you. Thank you, Raul.
And with apologies again,
not
being that sorry, David, I think you're you're coming in a little bit scratchy.
Maybe adjust your mic
shallow. I'll I'll take scratch
shallow.
It's
it's It's really quite a bit inaudible. I don't know if
let's let's try that again.
OK, I apologise. Let me just want to make a quick adjustment here
if I can.
Is would this does it work any better for you?
I apologise for not being there. No, that's OK. It's just a little bit.
Uh, it's a little bit, um, difficult to hear you clearly.
Do you want to, um, do you have a Maybe a a wire mic?
Yeah. Let me let me go on.
OK,
let's Let's just pause for just a second or a few seconds.
Otherwise, if you want, if it doesn't, uh,
correct itself, I could announce a few things and we can come back to you. David.
Sorry about that. It's just a little hard to hear you.
Let's give it a second.
OK,
Ok, let's see how that works.
Well, it just work any better for you. Perfect.
I apologise
to
my
first,
the first official costume change
at
at
one of these. Yeah, so just not to take any more of the time.
But I did want to announce that on, um, next week.
I know it's a busy week for a lot of people, but next week on Thursday, 12 September
ITU release. It's, uh, the next edition. Now the fifth
of the Global Cybersecurity Index, the global Cybersecurity index
2024 will address the, uh, cybersecurity issue around the world.
It is by assessing cybersecurity commitments
of individual countries around the world,
as well as the overall global progress against cyberattacks.
GC I 2024 as it's known, will update the 2021 issued report,
and it identifies areas for improvement and encourages
countries to act on strengthening their cybersecurity.
Um, I'm working on ensuring that a press release and report material,
uh, will be available under the embargo.
Um, and ask for reporters to please be in touch at, uh, press info
at it.int. If you would like to
receive that embargo material with a reminder that
the embargo would would extend until Thursday,
uh, 12 September at, uh, 3 p.m. or 1500 Central European time.
Also, just take a moment, if I can, to
to flag that, uh, next week,
we'll also put out a release
to announce the upcoming World Telecommunications Standardisation
Assembly. That's WTS a 24 and that will be held in New Delhi from
in mid October from 15 to 24 October.
Uh, WTS,
a being one of IT US statutory conferences serving
as the governing conference for the organization's standardisation work.
Excellent. Thanks very much for putting this on our radars.
Um, that's that's great. Thank you. David. Do we have questions for David?
I don't see that's the case.
Uh, so yeah, and of course, if you happen to write, if you can share your notes Oh,
we do have a question, sir.
Hold hold the phone. We have, uh, Maya from the UN. Brief question for you.
Am I up?
We can unmute. Mayer, please.
Could you start your, uh, could you start your question again?
Let's, um there was a bit of a distraction there. Go ahead.
I don't know. It's
hold on a second. Can we just, uh,
maybe pause in the
OK, we're We're having some technical difficulties this Friday morning.
Uh, let's let's try that one more time.
And then maybe it's, uh I don't know if it's on your end or
colleagues. Uh, if we could just try to unmute Maya one more time. Go ahead, Maya.
Let's try again.
Thank you very much. Yeah, there was a sound problem.
Someone is speaking in the background. I don't know.
Um, my question is, uh, very quickly. Do you have any information about the event?
Uh, regarding the, um
uh uh, Space. Uh uh uh, meetings that will take place next week.
And, um
yes, that's it.
Ok,
OK,
now
I'm
here to
Yes. Thank you for the question There. There are the meetings taking place.
Well, it's actually Space Sustainability Forum, which is taking place,
uh, which is bringing together practitioners, um,
of folks that are working in the space community,
people who are representing industry people who represent,
um, but governments, people who have a a research and technical,
uh, awareness and activities in the areas of space sustainability.
And those meetings, uh, that forum will be taking place, Uh, next week, uh, Tuesday
and Wednesday. It's meant to be a meeting that is focused on,
um or or
en engages with the community that is most technically,
um, involved in the issues of space sustainability.
Thanks very much, David.
Ok, do we have further questions for David before we release him?
No, we do not. So thank you. As always, David, for joining us
for the, uh, the press briefing here.
Just a few announcements from me before we wrap up this press
briefing just to flag A couple of statements from the Secretary General,
which we shared with you previously.
The first, uh,
was delivered by Secretary General Antonio Guterres
in Beijing, Uh, yesterday at the forum on China Africa Cooper operation,
in which he said, um, he noted that many do not have access to effective debt relief,
scarce resources and clearly insufficient concessional funding.
He noted in that, uh, is unsustainable and a recipe for social unrest so that
those comments are contained in the remarks we shared with you yesterday.
And also whilst in Beijing, the Secretary General did meet with, uh, President Xi,
Uh, Jinping, um, which the readout from which, uh, we we also shared with you.
And they discussed a number of issues, including,
uh, the upcoming Summit of the Future, which, as you know,
is taking place in New York later this month.
Uh,
the Secretary General also expressed the readiness of the UN to strengthen Cooper
operation with China and all three pillars of the UN S work.
Uh, we also have, uh, just a flag, Really?
Just a statement that we shared with you yesterday, uh,
on behalf of the Security Council concerning Afghanistan security Council
condemned in the strongest terms a heinous terrorist attack which occurred
earlier this week in Kabul.
Um, so there is a statement to that effect
and also staying on Afghanistan.
Just wanted to remind you that no or rather flag that on Tuesday afternoon,
following the briefing here, we did share with you another
appointment to rather the Secretary General's appointment
of Ms Georgette Gagnon of Canada,
who you might remember, was working with OHC HR here.
In the past,
the head of the OH Arts Field operations division shows she has been appointed
as deputy special Representative for Afghanistan and
the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.
Uh,
press conferences you heard from the fact finding
mission on Sudan this morning in this room,
we have a few other press conferences to announce one taking place
this coming Monday at 2 p.m.
uh, from eider, uh,
to launch the cluster munitions monitor 2024 report.
Uh, a number of speakers will be here in the room,
uh, to address this important, uh, report. So that's at 2 p.m. on Monday
on Tuesday, the 10th of September at 9. 30 just before the regular press briefing.
We have the UN Trade and development.
Um, launching, uh, rather a launch of the
CT. A development in the economy of the occupied Palestinian territory Report.
Now, the, uh, secretary-general of
CT AD Rebecca Greenspan will be here to to,
uh, uh, launch that report at the press conference starting at 9. 30 on Tuesday.
We shared that announcement with you.
And lastly, we have a press conference on Thursday Next, uh,
the 12th of September at 10:30 a.m.
from the ILO International Labour Organisation to launch the World Social
Protection Report for 2024 2026 Universal social protection for climate action
and a just transition is the theme for this report.
A few meetings taking place here in Geneva on the human rights front,
we have the Committee on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities actually closed its 31st
session yesterday after having reviewed and
and issued its concluding observations for Burkina Faso,
Benin,
Netherlands, Ghana, Belarus, Belgium, Denmark,
Mauritius and Ukraine.
And I know many of you have been following that meeting.
We also have the committee and the right to the child.
Uh, we'll conclude its, uh, 97th session a
week from today, the 13th of September,
after having reviewed, uh, the reports for Bahrain, Turkmenistan, Mexico,
Argentina, Israel and Armenia.
And lastly, the Committee on the Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights will open this coming Monday, the ninth of September,
its 76 session. It will review a number of reports, including Iceland, Poland,
Honduras, Kyrgyzstan, Albania, Cyprus and Malawi.
And I should also mention that, uh, the conference on Disarmament, uh,
the next plenary meeting
will be announced soon.
Um, the conference will close its annual session. Also a week from today.
The, uh, the 13th.
And of course, uh,
the Human Rights Council is commencing its 57th session this coming Monday,
the ninth of September.
It'll last for four weeks until the 11th of October.
You have lots of material at your disposal.
The president of the council, Ambassador Z
Iber of Morocco, briefed you
from this chair, uh, earlier this week on Wednesday, so you'll have a lot of, uh, a
lot of the reports. Uh, that will be presented to you and a lot of reporting from you
and almost finished. Just a couple of observances I wanted to flag.
Tomorrow is the International Day of clean air for blue skies. So,
through his message,
the secretary general notes that 99% of humanity breathes polluted air,
leading to an estimated 8 million premature deaths,
including more than 700,000 Children under five devastating statistic there.
Investing in clean air saves lives, combats climate change,
strengthens economies,
builds fairer societies and advances the sustainable development goals,
the secretary
general notes.
And on Monday, another observance.
So one of the flag here is the, uh,
International Day to protect education from attack.
We heard earlier how these floods that we
spoke to earlier are also really affecting,
dramatically affecting
education and and hindering This, uh, this right Uh, it's also,
um, something that the Secretary general wanted to highlight.
Uh, he notes that in recent years, uh,
that there has been a dramatic increase in attacks on students, teachers,
educational personnel and schools around the world, from Gaza
to Sudan, Myanmar, Ukraine, Colombia,
the Democratic Republic of the Congo and elsewhere.
Uh,
the Secretary general urges all countries to fully
endorse and implement the safe schools declaration,
support the global coalition to protect education from attack,
and to stand with all efforts to ensure that Children
and young people can continue learning both in times of crisis
and after the fighting stops.
That's contained in the message, which we also shared with you.
That's it for me. Do you have any questions? I see Maya has her hand up.
Is that for me, Maya?
Oh, thank you, Rolando. Actually, it's for David. I forgot.
Um, I wanted to ask you about Giga.
Uh, Giga has, uh, uh,
been working Is the programme the joint programme between UNICEF
and ITU.
Working to deliver connectivity to school schools all
around the world and working with different partners.
Private sector. And I know StarLink. Elon Musk's StarLink is the provider.
Uh, actually, here is the largest provider of star, uh, of, uh, satellites, uh,
low orbit satellites.
And, um,
how does the IT,
uh,
work with that fact that he's now turned into this hot, extreme right wing nut?
And it's, uh, you know, abusing his power in many fronts.
And and he's a partner of Giga, too.
Uh, how do you deal with that? Uh,
it's possible that you have more than one provider
or it's just the StarLink at the moment
because they that's part of the problem in Brazil too,
because apparently they were there, uh, covering, uh,
the Amazon rain forest without any
licencing
licencing or permission
from the Brazilian government to work for Giga. So,
um, can you comment on that?
David,
OK. Just wanted to make sure that I'm seen and heard
that being the case.
The so giga does work. This is an initiative with ITU and UNICEF to,
uh, try to connect all the schools in the world.
It does not have any providers. It does work with the community broadly.
And what, uh, between IT and un,
I have to take on different roles on this.
What ITU is doing in that is actually working on mapping to find out,
um, where the schools are that are connected where the gaps are,
and then then providing that information to governments.
And that's governments that actually that work
with that information to determine what are the
best technologies are to fill in that gap.
And then we'll work with providers to to be able to do so.
The the platform itself gas, Is it on its own is is is entirely technology neutral.
But there is no no provider in that sense,
OK, thanks very much, David, for that clarification.
OK, Maya, is is your hand still up from for a follow
up?
OK,
actually, technology is not Nero
the
therefore. Also, there is the question that Elon Musk has donated money to UNICEF
for the Giga Programme a couple of years ago
and I don't know in part, it was in kind of
its services to cover, at least for the Amazon rain forest.
Uh, I have this confirmation
that StarLink was being used So
there is this provider that you guys work with, so
I don't know, I. I would love to have AAA more clear response in that front.
In terms of the providers that, uh, giga is using,
uh but the clear response is that the the the the
programme itself
is developed to create awareness and to create,
um the
to empower governments and their partners to make decisions that will
allow them to connect the schools that were are within their
area of responsibility.
And so there's a facilitation that's
happening through the Giga Programme by through
awareness of again where those where schools
are connected where they're not connected,
technology being neutral in the sense that there's
not a recommendation made as far as,
um, how that should be done by governments.
It's just the information is provided to them.
And then they are free to work with the outside community to develop the
approach that best fits their needs to be able to connect the schools.
The idea here again,
is not to lose focus on the imperative
of connecting those schools and beyond just connecting schools.
Uh, obviously ITU what keeps ITU up at night,
which is connecting the 2.6 billion people around
the world that are that remain offline.
So this is a matter of of collecting information, empowering,
uh, governments
and hopefully facilitating their work so that they can go
and, um, put together the programmes in place
that will allow them to connect the schools that, as of yet are unconnected.
That that's very clear. Thank you very much, David. I see your hand is still up, Maya.
But perhaps if this is a bit becoming a bit bilateral here, So maybe if you don't mind,
uh, contacting David
offline, and then we can continue this, uh, in a
different manner. Uh, at that point, I think we'll end this press briefing.
I'd like to thank you all for joining us here.
We wish you bon appetit and bone weekend.