Thank you for joining us here at the UN
office at Geneva for this press briefing today.
The first of October. We have a very,
very heavy and very important agenda for you. Today we have Ukraine.
We have Lebanon. We have the situation along the Lebanon Syria border. We have Gaza
and we also have briefings on Nepal and briefings
and updates and announcements from colleagues from WHO.
So we'll start off immediately with a colleague, Um in Ukraine.
Uh who, uh, Liz Throssell of the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights.
Yes. Good morning, everyone.
We have this morning published our latest report on Ukraine.
It covers key human rights developments from First of June to 31st, August 2024
during which civilian casualties and
damage to civilian infrastructure increase significantly
with 589 civilians killed
So if we can do that again, if we can cut the
the, uh, P a system in the room that was a bit of an echo. If we can try that one more time,
You can start from the beginning,
We have this morning published our latest report on Ukraine.
It covers key human rights developments from 1st June to 31st, August 2024
during which civilian casualties and damage
to civilian infrastructure increased significantly,
with 589 civilians killed and 2685 injured.
There was a 45 per cent increase in casualties on the previous three months.
The deadliest single day was 8 July
when a large scale co ordinated missile attack by the Russian Federation
left at least 43 civilians dead.
The majority of casualties occurred in territory controlled by Ukraine.
A significant development was the Ukrainian Armed Forces cross border incursion
on 6 August into the Kursk region of the Russian Federation.
While we have established some names of civilians who
were killed and injured in connection with this incursion,
we have not been able to establish the exact circumstances of these
casualties due to a lack of access and limited available public information.
we requested that the Russian authorities
facilitate our access for these purposes,
but to date this has not been granted
as of 31 August, the UN Human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine,
had verified that conflict related violence
had killed 11,743 civilians and injured 24,614
in Ukraine since 24 February 2022.
During the reporting period,
Russian armed forces continued to target energy infrastructure across Ukraine,
affecting essential services and deepening concerns about
the plight of the civilian population.
these trends continued into September.
The civilian casualty numbers for September are on track to be as high as in August.
Intensive military efforts by Russian armed forces near the front line Sorry
intensive military efforts by Russian armed forces have forced the
Ukrainian government to evacuate thousands from near the front line
attacks across cities across Ukraine, for example, in Sumi, Kharkiv and
Zaria have damaged and destroyed civilian property and infrastructure,
including schools, hospitals and even a geriatric care home.
And we have documented even more attacks against Ukraine's energy infrastructure
regarding prisoners of war.
The report, based on hundreds of interviews,
details how Russian authorities have subjected Ukrainian prisoners of
war to widespread and systematic torture and ill treatment.
A range of factors indicate that supervisors in
the detention facilities were aware of this treatment
and had the ability to prevent it.
Some public figures in the Russian Federation have explicitly encouraged
inhumane treatment and even killing of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
The report also assesses that the Russian prisoners of war were
subjected to torture or treatment by Ukrainian forces during initial stages of
The High Commissioner for Human Rights will formally present this report
to the UN Human Rights Council on the eighth of October.
I'll now hand over to Daniel Bell,
the head of the human rights monitoring Mission in Ukraine,
for more details about the report's findings
on torture and attacks on energy infrastructure.
Danielle And also do something about the P? A system in the room, please. Thank you.
Seems sorry. Uh, Danielle, it seems that we have a problem with the audio.
We can't hear you here. Could, um,
we take a moment to try to correct this situation.
Sorry. Just if you can be patient with this colleagues just for a few seconds.
Apologies, colleagues. We're trying to fix this.
Recording and recording and recording and recording and
hello? Can you hear me in the room?
OK, we We can hear you now, but there seems to be an echo still in the room.
If we can correct that, that would be, uh,
Let's try one more time. Danielle, could you say something, please?
I know that you have to leave soon. Daniel. A
signal once it's been remedied.
OK, now, now we hear you. Let's let's try now. OK, Go ahead. Daniel, please.
Sorry about this. Let's try. Go ahead.
Thank you very much. And how is the sound now
in the room? No, it's fine. It's fine. Let's
I'll begin by addressing the torture and ill treatment of prisoners of war
before turning to some details of
our findings on attacks against energy infrastructure
First Um, since February 2022 my team has interviewed 377 Ukrainian POWs
following their release from internment
and 434 Russian prisoners of war
The report released today focuses on findings from
our interviews conducted over the past 18 months.
A key finding of the report, as Liz mentioned,
is that Russian authorities have subjected Ukrainian prisoners
of war to widespread and systematic torture.
We've interviewed 100 and 74 Ukrainian prisoners of war,
and this includes five medics
since March of last year, and almost every single one provided
credible and reliable and detailed accounts of
torture and in severe ill treatment.
The POWs described severe beatings, electric shocks, sleep deprivation,
dog bites, mock executions, sensory deprivation,
68% have reported sexual violence,
torture, oral treatment occurs at all stages
of captivity during administra during um,
the initial capture administration procedures
and in the daily routines under appalling internment conditions.
The abuses were documented across multiple
facilities both in the occupied territory
and in the Russian Federation,
showing consistent signs of mistreatment and patterns.
Conditions of detention were typically poor,
with most POWs reporting food shortages, lack of medical care,
and poor hygienic conditions.
We documented the death of 10 Ukrainian POWs
lack of medical care and dire health conditions.
This abuse was not isolated.
Several several key elements point to
coordinate efforts across multiple state entities.
the routine nature of the abuse occurring on a daily or weekly basis
and continuing throughout the period of internment,
which sometimes it's getting up to three years,
indicated knowledge of faculty supervisors.
Russian public figures have openly called for the
inhumane treatment and execution of Ukrainian POWs,
often using dehumanising language in public
forums and also through state owned media
safeguards meant to prevent torture such as Reg, Regular medical care,
oversight and access by independent
monitors were frequently absent or ineffective
when external officials of the Russian Federation visited internment sites.
In many instances, the TE,
the torture and ill treatment temporarily ceased and conditions improved,
indicating that those responsible for these
facilities were aware of the mistreatment.
combined with the adoption of broad amnesty laws for Russian service persons,
have contributed to a climate of impunity
or 100 and four of the 205 Russian POWs that we've interviewed
since March have reported torture or ill treatment by Ukrainian authorities.
In almost all cases during the initial phases
or the first few days of their internment,
methods included severe beatings, threats of violence and, in some cases,
have reported sexual violence.
The abuse occurred almost entirely in unofficial or transit locations
and typically ended upon arrival into the official internment facilities,
where conditions generally meet international standards.
My team continues to have unimpeded access
to POW internment facilities inside Ukraine,
and this has fostered an open and frank dialogue
with the authorities and has led to improvements.
Let me stress accountability for abuses remains essential and
ending torture is a legal and moral imperative.
Let me move to attacks against energy infrastructure.
The report also covers the Russian
Federation's attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure
and the resulting harm to civilians.
The analysis of the report is based on visits
to seven thermal hydroelectric power plant and thermal power plants
and 112 interviews with local authority, energy experts, tech experts
and residents of of affected communities.
Between March of this year and August 2024 the Russian Federation launched
nine waves of large scale co
ordinated attacks targeting Ukraine's energy generation,
primarily thermal, hydroelectric
Many of the facilities were struck repeatedly,
some until they were completely destroyed.
hit facilities in 20 regions, including Kiev.
this year alone, nine gigawatts of generation capacity has been destroyed,
73% of thermal power units were rendered inoperative, leading to an energy deficit
and a reliance on imports.
The cascading damage from these attacks
has affected essential services like electricity,
public health and education.
Vulnerable populations, for example, older persons, persons with disabilities,
lower income households and Children have been disproportionately affected.
Last summer, many areas, including here in Kiev,
experienced power outages daily of more than 12 hours.
Rolling blackouts are expected to resume this winter,
but let me emphasise significant efforts are underway to restore Ukraine's
and to mitigate the risks of a harsh winter.
But this situation is exacerbated by ongoing attacks.
Before we open up for questions,
I would like to reiterate or return
the civilian protection concerns that Liz raised.
We know this we documented a 45% increase in civilian casualties
compared to the previous three month period during this attack,
and as Liz said, this continued until September,
noting, for example, the deadly attack on a hospital in Sumi on Saturday,
which killed 10 and injured more than 20 is a sobering reminder of how civil
of how civilians across Ukraine
continued to be affected by this war. Thank you very much.
Thank you very much, Danielle. And of course, Liz. Um, for those briefings,
we have a question. We'll start in the room, and then we'll go online.
Thanks for taking my question and for the briefing.
I was just wondering if you could tell us.
Uh, you said that the Ukrainian authorities were collaborating that you have
unimpeded access to the detention facilities.
I was also wondering if you have any, Uh, any idea if there have been
any indictments yet or even any trial sentences
for the people responsible? And if I got you right,
those abuses really happened
in the first few days of people being getting into detention before getting to
the facilities where they will be held for a longer time. Yes.
Thank you for the question, Christo.
Yes. We have unfettered access
to internment centres in Ukraine.
So this includes the four POW camps.
We visited all of them and we visit regularly, as well as the
Caesars or the jails that sometimes temporarily um, accommodate Russian POWs.
So, for example, facilities in Nepro
and we are able to carry out a very
open dialogue with Ukrainian authorities on where to make improvements.
You asked about accountability?
Um, the office of the prosecutor has opened up five investigations into, um,
Um, but these haven't proceeded, uh, beyond the initial investigative phases,
and we hope that that will take place soon.
I, I hope that answers the question
Thank you very much. Danielle, we have a question now, is that satisfied? Ok,
further questions in the room.
OK, we'll turn to Yuri of Riana.
Yuri, over to you. Good morning.
Yes. Good morning, Ronaldo. Good morning, Liz. Good morning, Daniel.
three questions because I have read the whole
reports for some precisions for the first one.
You have just said that more than half of
the 205 Russian prisoners of war interviewed by your
office, uh, more than the health report about torture and mistreatment.
But you are not considering that despite this very high percentage,
the torture and mistreatment of Russian prisoners of war in Ukraine is common.
Uh, so I just want you to understand why What is the difference?
Why are you not talking about systematic when this is more than the health
and even knowing that no one has been prosecuted for this act by the procure?
Only five cases have been opened, but
no one was suspected in that. Uh,
do you want to take question by question? Maybe. Or do you want to take the,
I think question by question,
because these are important questions and I don't want to skim over for them,
thank you for reading the report cover to cover and and for the questions,
More than half of Russian POWs have had have been tortured or ill treatment.
the difference between the treatment of the Russian POWs
and the Ukrainian POWs is different in scope and scale.
So with the Russian POWs, it takes place
on the at the initial capture
and it stops and they're safe once they're inside the intern facilities.
Does that make it OK? Does that make it legal? Absolutely not.
Why haven't we used the widespread and
systematic language when it's happening to almost half
the scope and scale of torture
in the Russian Federation and occupied
territories of the Ukrainians is different.
My team has documented, um,
instances of detention in 60 unofficial sites and 76 official um,
internment sites inside the Russian Federation.
And of these 76 facilities, for example,
more than in 57 of them we document torture on a regular basis.
so it's geographic spread.
Second, in terms of frequency and duration,
it's not just happening once or twice when you know they're first captured or
it's happening through the duration of their internment.
So when we're interviewing the Ukrainian POWs when
they've come back and after 2.5 years,
they're telling us about torture in multiple facilities throughout the, um,
and it's happening on a daily or weekly basis.
So, for example, I interviewed um, a returned POW about 10 days ago, and he said
a day doesn't go by without somebody being being beaten.
Another factor that led to this assessment
is the number of state entities involved.
So it wasn't limited to just one group because there are groups, um,
and certain ships at certain facilities where they where it doesn't happen.
But because it is happening across the places by different, um, bodies that also,
another is the indicated knowledge of the torture
and ill treatment by those running the facilities.
POWs have been telling us consistently is in advance of, um,
an inspection or a visit by an external authority.
So, for example, the torture and ill treatment stops for a period of time,
and the food rations, um, increase.
And then it goes back to the way it was before after the inspection.
And so this indicates a knowledge or awareness of those
running the facilities that the torture is indeed taking place.
but again to coming back to your point,
you know, accountability is essential,
and initiating investigations is not sufficient.
Every act of torture must be thoroughly investigated and pert,
and every perpetrator needs to be held accountable.
So sorry for the long answer, Yuri. But that was a really good question.
And I look forward to your second question,
Thank you very much for the precision of the answer. Really?
My second question is about you have a part
in the report that is talking about the civil rights
in Ukraine, and I was quite surprised because
there is absolutely nothing about the issue
of the forced and violent mobilisation,
even if we can see every day dozens of videos across the country
with people that being just
catches in the streets taken and throw
throw to buses. And this is really every day in Ukraine.
And every day there is scandals with
tar with the mobilisation centre,
with some people that have been beaten there that can't call to the family,
And there is nothing in your report. I just wondering why
thank you for the question. And indeed, mobilisation and conscription is
a hot topic and a very important topic in Ukraine right now.
My team, when we receive accounts of, um, mistreatment and
such conduct around conscription, we follow up these cases and, um,
what we haven't seen is we haven't seen, um
these cases amounting to, uh, the level of torture, et cetera.
So it doesn't mean we're not following up on it,
but and we are aware of it.
And if we do see an increase, or if we see greater patterns, indeed,
But this is something we are. We are watching. Thank you for the question.
is that, uh did you have one last question? We do have quite a number of other hands up
In your report, you are saying that you have, um, how to say,
for some civilian casualties. But you can't say what are the circumstances.
So in your report, nobody There is no clearly
saying who is the responsible of that.
So it means that in your report we can just see that there are casualties.
But you couldn't find any
probe or argument saying that
the firing of the Russian army against the region, for example,
are responsible for civilian casualties.
But you are doing this for example, in Ukraine when Russia is bombing somewhere,
you can say that Russian is responsible for that.
Why? It is not the case for the coast,
Good. So, um thank thank you, Yuri, for the question. Um,
so in the report, we document 12 civilian deaths and
22 excuse me 12 civilian deaths
and 201 civilian injured.
And most of those, um, casualties occurred during the early days,
like in the first week after August 6th
Like why aren't we naming 11 party or another?
In the context of intensive fighting and
in fighting on both sides,
it is almost impossible for us to
precisely determine attribution in the context of Crossfire.
Having said that, as Liz said at the beginning of her presentation,
the OOHC HR has requested access into, um these areas as well as to occupy territory.
And having access to these areas would allow us to, um,
fully document the circumstances of individual attacks.
um, with other attacks and the attacks where we have, um,
it's because we have had or it it's contributed because
we have had direct access to some of these areas.
Thank you again for this.
Thanks. Thanks to you, Danielle. OK, we have a few more, uh, hands up.
So Lisa Schlein, Voice of America Lisa
Thanks, Rolanda Good morning and good morning, Danielle.
Uh, yeah. Very interesting and disturbing.
Uh, I I'd like to ask you about the Russian attacks against power grids. Uh uh,
do you have any concerns about the possibility of any of
the nuclear facilities being attacked either deliberately or by accident?
No. Thank you for the question, Lisa.
And as you pointed out, attacks against energy infrastructure is a huge concern.
Um, in Ukraine right now,
in terms of the attacks against nuclear facilities,
this is something that we're monitoring.
We can't predict what will be happening, Uh,
in the coming days, Weeks, months. But, you know, obviously it's a concern.
And we're hoping that the aerial defence systems will mitigate any, um,
mitigate any incoming aerial attacks to these facilities.
At the same time, we are worried about the upcoming winter,
and it's impossible to predict what will happen this winter.
Um, for example, if the attacks continue, the blackouts may be intensified.
repairs to the destroyed and damaged thermal
power plants and substations are underway,
and we hope this continues.
Um, and there's a lot more if I can also point out Lisa,
The human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine has
also issued a bulletin specifically on this topic.
and it gives some more details or it adds on to the DE.
It adds on to the periodic report that was issued today.
So I encourage you to go into that report,
and there'll be some more details to more precisely answer your question.
Thank you so much. Uh, Danielle. Ok. Jamie Keaton, Associated Press.
Uh, thank you, Ms Bell, for, uh, for coming to see us.
Uh, it's really nice to to have you.
Um, I just wanted to follow up on two questions. Um, 22 issues. The first is, um
if you could just sort of put it in a nutshell.
The differences between types of torture that you're
hearing both of Ukrainian P OS and Russian
Um, is it safe to say that
the torture that exists of Russian P OS, or Russian detainees
like very quickly at the very or or right at the beginning?
Whereas in Russia, it is happening of Ukrainian PWS? It's happening
much more long term. I think if you could just summarise that in a single sentence.
And then the second question I have is,
um I assume that the, um the the I think you said 200 or 100
Russian PW you had interviewed,
um that was done in, uh, Ukrainian detention facilities.
what access do you or what access do the United Nations generally have
in custody in Russia or in Russian controlled territories? Thank you so much.
Thanks, Jamie. Um, in a nutshell, the summary you provided is accurate, but
what I need to emphasise is torture is always wrong.
It doesn't matter if it happens once or 50 times. It's wrong every time,
but yes, with the Ukrainian
It happens across internment facilities both in the Russian
Russian Federation and occupied territory.
at the different facilities.
So the guys that we interview have often been held in 347 facilities.
So it's happening, um, through the duration. So it's
and with the Russian POWs,
almost every single instance
that we've recorded in the past 18 months has
been in the first few days of their capture.
Um, either in a temporary uh,
internment centre or where they're initially interrogated.
Once they're they're transferred to the camps or to the
so again, we have access. Um,
we have access to the Ukrainian POWs
after they've been transferred,
and we typically will interview them while they're
receiving treatment in the hospital or other locations.
So we usually interview them a coup a couple of weeks after they've been back,
regarding the treatment and access you
about the the Russian POWs?
We interview them at the camps
and in the jails. We have full access.
And, um yes, half in the past 18 months. So 104 of the 205
have, um, reported torture
You ask, Do we have access to, um,
POWs in the Russian Federation? We do not.
Um, And as Liz had said, we've been, you know, asking for access for a long time.
So this is why we interview the Ukrainian POWs once they've been released.
Daniel, we have one final question for you from Gabriella Sotomayor of El Paso
um, I can't hear Gabrielle's question, nor can I,
um Let's try to. Maybe she is unmuted. Gabby, could you unmute yourself, please?
Thank you, Danielle, For for offering that, uh, way of communicating.
Yeah, I think we'll have to move on, then, to the next subject.
Uh um, And maybe Gabby, if you can pose your question, maybe to Liz.
OK, go ahead. Gabby. We can hear you now. Please, go ahead.
OK, if it's another subject, if we can ask for your indulgence if you can wait.
We have a lot of other briefers on on other subjects, so if we can wait until the end,
Uh, so I just want to thank you again.
Danielle, Uh, it's really great to have you join us here.
And of course, you're welcome back Any time.
Um, with that, I will turn not to my colleague in the second row there, Jens Luck
of, uh, of the office of the Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs, who
has an announcement about a humanitarian flash appeal for Lebanon.
And just to note that we will take questions strictly on the flash appeal.
And then we'll go on to, uh, the situation in Lebanon with, uh,
Liz and a colleague from IFRC.
Thank you. Uh, Rolando. Good morning, everyone.
The United Nations and our humanitarian partners
in Lebanon have just launched with the government
a three month flash appeal to address
rapidly escalating humanitarian needs in the country.
The appeal aims to support 1 million people with humanitarian assistance.
The ask to international donors
Lebanon has experienced an unprecedented surge in casualties and displacement.
In just the past two weeks, more than 1000 people have lost their lives
and over 6000 have been injured
and rapidly escalating in these past weeks.
There are today an estimated 1 million people
directly affected or displaced by the crisis.
Those are the ones that we are responding to with the flash appeal,
and that is according to the Lebanese authorities, those numbers
NGO partners are already responding with food, nutrition for Children,
water and essential supplies such as mattresses
and hygiene and emergency health kits.
the basics for people's survival and well being.
Distribution is taking place,
especially in collective sites housing displaced families.
This appeal aims to rapidly reinforce and scale up these
essential services in support of the government led response.
And we of course appeal to the donors to look at that
I want to add that you will have seen in
recent hours the reports of the beginning of an Israeli ground
offensive in southern Lebanon and we are deeply concerned about this development.
We urge all parties to prioritise the protection of civilians,
adhere to international humanitarian law
and engage in immediate immediate de
escalation to prevent further loss of life and to prevent further suffering.
Now we have just launched this appeal
for the needs that we know.
fear that with these developments, things could get
Now we have won time and time again
for almost a year against the widening of this
and why do we do that? Because I think if there is
one universal truth in humanitarian affairs,
it is that it is infinitely easier and faster to break
things and hurt people than it is to fix them.
Thank you very much, Jens. Uh, let's maybe take questions strictly on the appeal.
we do have Liz and her colleague from IFRC
who will speak also to the situation in Lebanon.
But let's take questions for Jens Now. Go ahead, Jeremy.
you mentioned 1 million people in need.
Do you know how many of them are Palestinian refugees in Lebanon?
Can you desegregate the number?
And the other question is talking about finance again.
How much is the fresh appeal for
you are launching this one in Lebanon. But
what's the percentage of the funding right now for the for the for the one in Gaza.
The situation is rather chaotic,
and people are still on the move and being displaced.
And with the recent developments we're seeing, we should expect
Mostly from southern Lebanon but also from the southern,
densely populated suburbs of Beirut, which have also come under heavy attack.
It is a mixed population group in Lebanon. As you know,
I think we estimate there's about 1.5 million
refugees from Syria over the decade or more of war and conflict there
There are Palestinian refugees as well. There are other nationalities
in Some of the Palestinians have lived in camps we know
Others have settled there for a very long time but still have status of refugee.
So I can't give you a complete breakdown
What we look at when we issue an appeal like this is OK,
What is the totality of the needs over the past year?
Because we are looking at an escalation in recent months.
But it started 11 months ago,
both directions, but particularly now into
Lebanon. So 1 million is the target, the number we have from the government.
And that's what we are trying to address. With this,
large appeal is for three months,
just to say Give me a second and I will look up
if we can get back on that one and then we'll turn in the meantime to Jamie A P.
I just wanted to know if, uh, anybody either you or ar Jens or or anyone else.
But presumably you can, uh,
discuss the situation with the UNIFIL troops in Lebanon.
Um uh, particularly what their activities are,
Um, given the, uh, ground incursion that was just, uh, referenced.
I mean, are is there are there any plans to to
do anything with those UNIFIL troops, or are they just gonna hunker down?
Can you Can you address that? Thanks.
Yeah, I think, uh, I'll need to connect. We don't have lines.
Uh, I don't have lines at the moment, but I'll need to connect with our colleagues.
Aura in the south, in the blue line
area. Um, so I'll just need to check with them and double back to you.
during this briefing, I'll certainly, uh, certainly share that with you.
uh, I don't know if you had another question, Um, for Jan.
Specifically, Or maybe the second, uh, part of that question.
I don't know if you had anything for
for Jeremy yet or Should we go to the next question?
Still working? Uh, Kasmira,
Hi. Uh, thanks for taking my question.
I was just wondering how many staff you have on the the ground in Lebanon
um, in terms of logistics. How difficult?
Uh, it is at the moment or
yeah, just to give an idea of what it's like to actually get the
essentials in and where you're distributing, Uh, them as well.
don't have an overall number of UN staff. There are
a great many UN organisations in Lebanon.
It's normally something we asked UN Department for safety and security
about I don't know if there are any concerns there,
but there are certainly a substantial number of UN staff, and we have tragically
many of them have been displaced as well,
staff from my own organisation. So
in terms of logistics, of getting stuff in and stuff out.
It is not something that I have heard as a immediate concern.
it's always of concern when we hear about as we have heard in recent days,
in Beirut, which has come under attack. That's always a concern.
seems to be possible, but it is a function
of the hostilities and where the bombs
Ok, great I. I can I have a short update I can share with you in terms of UNIFIL. And
I mean, of course, despite the extremely difficult situation, uh,
our our troops in the south of, um, Lebanon unifil, uh,
military and civilian peacekeepers remain committed to the mission and
continue to adapt to deliver on the mission's mandate.
Uh, in UNIFIL continues to engage actively with the parties. Um,
and of course, um, it stands ready to facilitate any diplomatic efforts.
Um, so this is really just, uh the general, uh, lines that we have.
But of course, we can dig deeper and maybe check with our colleagues,
uh, the spokesperson at the mission who I will pose your question to Jamie.
And we can also reconnect you, or rather connect you
with our colleagues, Um, in, uh, southern Lebanon.
You wanted to add something maybe to the first question.
Yes, to Jeremy's question. It's about the flash appeal that we have for the
opt. So it actually covers both Gaza
and the West Bank. It's the entire population of Gaza and a very substantial part.
I think it's 700,000 in the West Bank. The requirements are $3.4 billion.
It's currently 49 per cent Funded,
Thank you. We still have three questions.
Liz and our colleague from my FRC who also address the situation on the ground.
Uh, but let's turn now to Mussa al
the short answer to your first question is no.
We do not have enough supplies. We do not have enough capacity.
And that's exactly why we are launching this appeal. Because we need
this additional injection of funds to actually procure it
to increase the response, which is not where it should be,
because we are, as usual, running after the fact.
As I said, it's easy to break things and hurt people,
to some sort of normality takes a very long time and it costs a lot of money.
So that's why we need to stop this development and de escalate the conflict
We are distributing primarily in the collective shelters.
I believe there are around 800 schools and possibly
other public facilities that the government has opened,
which also of course tragically means that kids are not going to school.
But they are sheltering displaced families.
if you like easier to actually distribute food
and mattresses and that sort of thing,
When people are gathered in one place,
all of these displaced people, many of them are moving from place to place.
They are sheltering with friends and families as you know better than I do.
It can be difficult to reach them,
but of course the intention is to provide the support for the full 1 million people
that have been identified as in need.
Uh, Moussa, maybe I again I.
I will try to connect you and get some updated lines with the situation of, you know,
pertaining to our mission
in Lebanon. UNIFIL. But of course, um, you know the idea.
We strongly urge the parties
to recommit to Security Council resolution 17 01
as the only viable solution,
uh, to bring back stability in the region.
of importance of paramount importance as the safety and well being of our
staff while trying to continue our mandate under these very dire circumstances.
I'll connect you with colleagues and, uh,
see if we can get some updates as they are very fluid.
Yeah. Thank you for taking the question. Yes.
Um, there's been quite a lot of pledges of aid already coming in from France,
the region and from Egypt and the gulf countries.
I think there was even $100 million pledged by the UAE.
Is that coming in through the UN? Is this being coordinate by the UN?
Um, what is the kind of mechanism for getting,
um, some kind of coherent international operation here.
don't have the details of that. Of course.
The office for the co ordination of humanitarian affairs stands ready and is
available to help co ordinate incoming
international aid in Lebanon and elsewhere.
OK, maybe we'll turn John for the last question to Jens,
and then we'll have to open it up to other briefers on the same subject.
Uh, but from a different point of view, maybe John Zarak.
Yeah. Hi. Good morning. Uh,
I was wondering on your flash appeal if you have a bit
of a breakdown of the prior the two or three priority areas,
uh, that where the money you hope will go of the 4. 26 million.
I sent you all a note, and there's a link there to the full flash appeal,
and you will see on page five there is an overview
of the different sectors and clusters.
Whether it is this specific breakdown in terms of how much money each one needs,
basic assistance is very is very high. That basically means food
and other really survival
supplies. We also have shelter
And, of course, protection of civilians, which is extremely important here.
Thank you very much, Jens. OK, maybe I'm gonna throw to Liz.
But maybe just to give you a further update, if you will,
I just received something from our colleagues in the region.
And just to mention that despite the dangerous development,
uh, peacekeepers, UNIFIL peaks, that is, they remain in position.
We are regularly adjusting our posture and activities,
and we have contingency plans ready to activate if absolutely necessary.
Peacekeeper safety and security is paramount,
and all actors are reminded of their obligation to respect it.
These are just some lines that were just shared with me.
But again, we can provide more details. Uh, should you need those
and then we'll afterwards throw it to our colleague
who is joining us from Beirut from the IFRC.
But Liz, over to you first.
We are gravely concerned by the widening hostilities in the Middle East
and their potential to engulf the entire region
in a humanitarian and human rights catastrophe.
the prospects that the situation may deteriorate further with a terrible
impact on civilians and that it could rapidly expand to embroil.
Other states in the region are real,
with armed violence between Israel and Hezbollah boiling over.
The consequences for civilians have already been awful
and we fear a large scale ground invasion by
Israel into Lebanon would only result in greater suffering.
Israeli strikes in Lebanon have reportedly killed over
1000 people in the past two weeks alone.
Hundreds of thousands have also been displaced in
Lebanon alongside those recently fleeing into Syria,
and over 60,000 have been displaced in Israel since Hezbollah's
escalation of missile fire from October 8 last year.
Even before the most recent escalation in mid September,
tens of thousands of homes across Lebanon had
been reportedly damaged or destroyed by attacks.
Medical facilities have been damaged, with 10 per cent of health
centres in Lebanon closed.
41 medical workers have been reportedly killed and
111 wounded since October 2023 with 14 killed.
In the last two days alone,
25 water facilities have been damaged, impacting nearly 300,000 people.
Schools and nurseries have been closed and some 300 converted into shelters
in northern Israel and parts of the northern occupied West Bank,
sirens have sounded and residents instructed to remain close to shelters,
limit their movements and avoid gatherings.
The impact of the escalation resulting from
Houthi missile fire from Yemen into Israel
and Israeli attacks in response
are also deeply troubling.
All parties to these conflicts must clearly distinguish between military targets
and civilians and civilian objects in the way they conduct hostilities.
They must do all they can to protect the lives of civilians,
their homes and the infrastructure essential to their daily
existence as clearly required by international humanitarian law.
Too many innocent Children, women and men have been killed,
and too much destruction has been exacted.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights folk
urges all parties to pursue negotiations to end the current path
of destruction and violence that shows no end in sight.
He reminds everyone to ensure accountability of those responsible for violations
of international humanitarian law that have taken place or are ongoing,
whoever the perpetrators may be
and to ensure justice for the victims.
In interest of time we're gonna now I'm
just gonna give the floor to Christian Cortes,
IFRC who's the head of the delegation for IFRC
for Lebanon is joining us from Beirut. And then we'll take questions
on on the overall subject of Lebanon
Christian over it to you.
Uh, good morning, and thank you for being here.
I would like to start with the personal history.
my wife brother was killed in the line of duty while rescuing others.
He served with dedication in the Lebanese civil defence.
He is dead. Thought the best
is not just a personal loss for our family.
He joins the heartbreaking list of Lebanese humanitarian workers and civilians
who have tragically lost their life in the recent escalation,
he leaves behind his wife and three young Children
and like 1000 of other Lebanese,
they now face the hardship of the displacement.
I start with this history to show how personal this is.
He's just one of millions of stories of fear and trauma.
Tension has been escalating for months, of course,
but over the last week it has escalated into
I will sketch out the needs
Cross and the city an Arabic crescent both supported by IRC, are responding.
Mid-september, the situation in Lebanon has deteriorated
significantly, we are seeing
high number of displacement,
violence and increasing humanitarian needs.
Nevertheless, this escalation comes on top of the Lebanon severe economic crisis,
where around 75% of the population live below the poverty line.
Lebanese Red Cross has been at the front line of the emergency response
They are the first primary responders of the emergency services in the country.
and evacuation of injured
around the country, especially in the South area Beca
area, and are surrounded.
They have around 51 ambulance centres,
13 blood transfusion centres across the country
and 15 rescue teams that they are working. As I mentioned, 24 7
since the escalation, they are responding to thousands of medical emergencies,
and distributing food and essential supplies to displayed families.
However, the challenges are immense.
Lebanese across is facing shortage of medical supplies, ambulance and fuel
and the forts are also severely underfunded.
IRC, we allocate to millions with francs
as a part of our disaster response emergency fund on September 23rd.
But overall our IRC emergency appeal
that is for a total of 55 million Swiss francs for Lebanon is only 12% covered.
We urgently need international support
to address the growing crisis and to
keep humanitarian operations running in Lebanon.
For Syria, the impact of the conflict is also being felt across the border in Syria.
We know that around 80,000 people are displaced to Syrian between
Lebanese and Syrian population.
Many are returning Syrian nationals, but a high proportion as well. Lebanese.
The Syrian Arabic Crescent
is actively responding to the influx,
working in the border, providing urgent medical care,
relief suppliers and shelter.
They are deploying as well mobile health units and emergency
medical teams to assist to assist the people on it.
today? More than ever, Lebanon need the support of the international community.
Financial support is needed,
but also pressure from governments to on those on the table
to introduce some restraint to end hostilities.
We call all the parties to the conflict to respect IHL.
Humanitarians and civilians
The Lebanese Red Cross and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent
of the IRC remain committed to providing critical humanitarian assistance
under incredibly challenging circumstances.
cannot continue without international support.
Thank you. And I am happy to take your questions.
Thank you very much, Mister Cortes.
And of course, expressing to you and your family, um,
and the people of Lebanon Condolences.
Uh, we will take questions starting on the room. No. No questions in the room.
I think she had a question for Jens if I'm looking at the chat correctly.
Yes, Thank you very much. Orlando, I have a question for G and for Mr Cortez.
Uh, how much money did you receive from Russia?
China, Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, USA and European Union.
If you if you can give us a little bit of more details. Thank you so much.
You caught me on the wrong foot there.
I don't have those numbers I would need you to specify.
Is that total funding for all appeals? Is it this year? Is it for these appeals?
more details Maybe you can write to me or text me, and we can sort it out
Prior to this, we did not have a humanitarian response plan for Lebanon.
there is another response.
Plan is brought up into which we have folded humanitarian needs.
It's a bit complicated, but
short of the long thing is that we did not have that. So this is the first
humanitarian appeal this year,
Strictly humanitarian for Lebanon. So we have just launched
So we'll have to wait. Of course, some time to see how the donors respond.
And I'm happy to look out for the list of I didn't catch all of them,
but for the list of countries that you are interested in.
Gabby, did you have a question specifically for Mr Cortez?
Yes, the the same question that
Ok, uh, Mr Cortez, we can
provide you the details. Thank you so much.
Uh, for us, you know, our funding is coming through the different recross
Uh, until now we are under cover. We have only 12% of covering of our appeal.
we we we our support is through mainly our Red Cross
thank you very much. Uh, Mr Cortez Moussa,
uh, how do you describe the assassination of the leader of Hezbollah? Hassan
from a human rights, uh, perspective.
Uh, as you know, the attack, Uh, targeted six building in, uh, in Beirut. Thank you.
Well, clearly, this has sent shockwaves reverberating around the region.
think what we have seen unfolding in recent days has added to our concerns.
Which is why we've said we are gravely concerned
by the widening hostilities in the Middle East.
You're referring to targeting someone?
Clearly, the Israelis had their reasons for targeting Hassan
What we are always concerned about, we repeat it time and time again.
on civilians the impact on innocent Children, women, men of hostilities?
we are saying the High Commissioner is saying
halt this path of destruction and violence that has no end in sight.
The hostilities must stop.
And I think we've heard it powerfully from our colleague from
IFRC in Lebanon about the impact that this has. It's not abstract.
It has personal consequences,
as you could hear in his voice how he and his family have been impacted.
So I think that's what we would say at the forefront of everything.
For us is the protection of civilians
and abiding by international humanitarian law.
Easy things to say, of course.
And we've seen that these have not been regarded in recent years
in other conflicts as well as this one. But I think we reiterate for us.
Protection of civilians is paramount. Thank you
indeed. Thank you very much for that. Uh, before going to Nina and Gabby, I
Oh, no question. Yeah, Go ahead. Chris.
could you just clarify when you say that the Israelis had their reasons to target na?
Do you mean there were good reasons they could be legally
defended? Can Can you just clarify what you mean by that?
We're not party to what the Israelis may be thinking.
So we can't comment directly on that.
Would assume that for them to carry out such an act, they would have their reasons.
We will obviously be gathering more information on this and what happened.
But that is not something that we are in a position to respond to directly. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Liz,
to double back to Musa because I think you might have a follow up on that same point.
This is not an incident that we're able to comment directly on.
we respond frequently to questions of
this nature citing international humanitarian law,
the respect for protection of civilians,
respect and abiding by the principles of
distinction and proportionality and precaution in attack.
But we're not in a position to comment directly on this.
Thank you very much. Uh, Liz, OK, Two more questions. Then we'll have to go
to our colleague Louise, uh, from UN R, who has been waiting patiently. So, Nina a FP.
Yeah, Thank you for taking my question. It's It's on the same subject.
Um, but it was about the the bomb that was used
in the attack on Nasrallah, which apparently was
one of these, uh, 2000 pound Uh, uh, bunk bunker. Uh, blasters. Um
I mean, you've your office has put, uh, Liz,
your office has put out a report previously
about these large bombs being used in civility,
uh, densely populated civilian areas in Gaza.
I'm wondering, um, if you have thoughts on the use of this bomb, um, in this attack.
Well, as I said, we're not really in a position to comment directly on the attack.
But heavy weapons such as the one that you were describing are of grave concern
Precisely because of these principles that I referred to earlier.
The principles of distinction, precaution, attack and proportionality.
The size of these bombs do raise huge concerns with regard to
them hitting civilian areas and the resulting
But as I say, we're not in a position to comment directly on what may have happened.
What may have been the actual circumstances of what happened the other day.
Thank you again, Liz. Ok, One final question. Gabby. Once again,
Yes. Thank you. Roland. I have questions for Liz on another subject. Can I ask,
no, if you don't mind. I'm sorry, but I really need to throw now to Louise Water
of UNRWA, who's been waiting patiently.
Gabby, if we can just kindly ask
Liz promises to answer, you're hearing her. Uh, just stay.
Stay patient if you don't mind. Ok, thank you very much.
Um, so I apologise for that. But let's, uh, turn now to Louise Water
R, who's joining us from Amman. Um, and she has an update on the situation in Gaza.
Then we have other subjects afterwards.
Louise, thanks again for your patience. Over to you.
Thank you so much. Yeah, So it's been 12 months of brutal war in the Gaza Strip.
My colleague Mohammed's daughter was born on the 31st of October in Gaza City
through relentless bombing, he rushed his wife Mai,
to hospital himself because they couldn't get an ambulance,
which they were busy responding to people injured in strikes.
She delivered her baby at a hospital with limited medication,
surrounded by people screaming in fear and dying,
a similar experience to that of around 50,000
women who've given birth during the war.
my colleague's four year old daughter Salma was shot in the neck and died
in her father's arms as the family were trying to flee Gaza City.
At least 11,000 Children have been reported killed in the last 12 months,
although the exact number is presumed higher because
many are still buried under the rubble.
we lost contact with my colleague Hussein for a whole week
when the UNRWA facility his family was sheltering in was besieged,
trapping over 40,000 people inside.
Ambulances and emergency teams were denied access.
When we finally got through to him,
he told us he was burying the bodies of those killed, including Children
100 and 98 UNRWA facilities have been hit since the start
of the war and many while sheltering families inside of them.
Some of the most impactful images of this
war have been taken by my colleague Abdullah.
In February, Abdullah was hit in a strike while documenting north Gaza.
Both of his legs had to be amputated
while doctors tried to keep him alive. In Al
Shifa, the hospital came under Israeli siege.
Miraculously, the UN was able to reach him.
I was first permitted entry to Gaza myself in April
and visited Abdullah in a field hospital in Rafah.
Doctors informed us he only had days to live because they did
not have the equipment or medicine necessary to treat him further.
My two colleagues, who had matching blood types,
donated their blood on the spot just to keep him alive.
Two months after being hit,
he was finally approved medical evacuation just days before the Rafah
crossing closed permanently.
there are more than 10,000 people still in
urgent need of medical evacuation in the Gaza Strip
in May. My colleague Jamal was one of the first people to flee Rafa
due to the evacuation orders and start of military operations in the area.
The first night he arrived in DO
Bala, he was killed sleeping with his family by an airstrike.
Meanwhile, Mohammed, fearing nowhere safe to go,
was one of the last people to flee raffle with his family.
Not far from his own shelter,
he bore witness to an air strike that killed families sleeping in a tented area.
The screams of Children burning alive still keep him awake. Now,
as disease has spread through the shelters and camps through summer months,
my colleague Raja has had to care for her sister,
with no access to medicine and no clean water.
She's been malnourished for months of poor diet.
We're now at 12 months into this war,
and I can tell you that 1.9 million people have been displaced.
I can tell you that a reported 41,000 people have been killed.
I can tell you that 63% of buildings have been damaged or destroyed,
but I cannot quantify the horrors that
people have endured relentlessly for 12 months.
I cannot fully portray the fear instilled upon
an entire population every hour of every day.
I cannot share the overwhelming smell of
blood in hospitals surrounding doctors in despair,
unable to save countless Children.
The situation in Gaza right now is as bad as it's ever been.
Our ask has remained the same during the last 12 months of war.
We need an immediate ceasefire,
the return of the hostages and safe and sustained delivery of
aid to give families a chance to rebuild their lives.
Uh, as difficult as it is to hear these statistics, it is is indeed very good that, uh,
you share those with us here.
Uh, do we have, um, questions for Louise?
Ok, uh, Gabby, I'm not sure if this is for Louise, but, uh, if so,
I think I know you have a question for Liz,
but I just wanted to make sure we
OK, please. Thank you, Gabby. Thank you. Over to you? Yes.
And then please my questions.
Um is international community forgetting about Gaza
because of what is happening in Lebanon?
Do you think that are Are you feeling that way or
I think from what colleagues and people on the ground expressed to me in Gaza
is there's always a fear that they have been forgotten throughout the 12 months,
not just in the recent weeks of of escalations.
They fear the world overlooks their suffering and their pain,
and they fear that not enough is is able to be done
or being done to help their their cause and what they need.
So, yes, I mean, 12 months into this horrific war,
I can express on behalf of people who speak to me that that they do feel forgotten,
and they do feel that their needs are not as important
as others and and what they need just basic things.
Food, water, shelter, uh,
are completely overlooked in in such devastating circumstances.
Absolutely. Thank you so much. Uh, for that Louise.
Um, and and thanks to your voice and that of your
the commissioner, General honour, who briefed you here last night?
Uh, the idea is really not to to make sure that people of Gaza have not been forgotten.
thank you so very much. I don't see further hands for you. Um,
rather questions for you. Excuse me. So I'd like to thank you again. Louise.
You're you're always welcome to brief us here.
with that, maybe I'll turn back to you. Gabby, I know you have a question for Liz. So,
uh, before we go to our briefer on Nepal, I'll, uh, we'll take your question, Gabby.
Rolando, I'm so sorry that I'm asking a lot of questions,
but today is a very special day for Mexico
because we have a new president today. The first woman,
uh, to hold that post that, uh, her name is Claudia.
my questions. I have four questions. Quick questions.
to the inauguration of of Missus Chambas.
what consequences could have
the initiative of Mister Donald Trump, former president of USA,
and Kamala Harris, vice president of USA,
that cartels of drug in Mexico should be named as narcoterrorists.
So what are the consequences of naming
as a terrorist to the cartels of Mexico,
all right, OK, so it's only three questions. I'm sorry.
was invited to the inauguration of new President Claudia
But Mister Putin has an arrest warrant,
so against him. So for crimes against humanity, as you may remember,
do you think that if Mister Putin go to Mexico could happen
the same as Mister Pinochet?
I mean, because Mexico is a part part of the Criminal court
and also on freedom of expression in Mexico.
several journalists intellectuals have been critical
to the government of Mr Lopez Obrador
from the media outlets that they used to work.
Um, some of them are Hector Aguilar Camin,
Former Minister of Exterior Jorge Castaneda
And if you remember, I was fired too.
to to know. What do you think about this? Thank you so much. And I'm sorry for taking,
uh, the time of of your briefing, but I had a lot of questions.
This is a very special day. Thank you so much.
I know it's an important day indeed, just to mention that we don't, uh I don't know.
Here at this podium, who will be representing the UN?
Uh, I will definitely check with colleagues or you're free to do so yourself
in terms of, uh, your comments about, uh, Mr Trump and Ms Harris, Of course.
Uh, we don't That is the UN does not
comment specifically on, uh,
electoral processes. Uh uh, sovereign processes.
We do obviously give general comments up to ensure that uh uh,
that democratic processes are upheld and transparent,
But beyond that, we wouldn't be able to comment on specific comments from from the,
Um, and then I believe, uh,
the other question was about Mr Putin and then freedom of expression.
So maybe it's something you can add on that. Liz.
Yes, thank you for that, Gabriela. Indeed,
I personally am well aware that Mexico is about to have a new president.
it is for the first time in Mexico's history
that a woman has become president,
and I think we can all agree that that sends a powerful message
regard to the crucial role of women in decision
making and their rights to participate in public affairs.
With regard to your specific questions,
I wouldn't want to speculate on what might or might not happen should or should not.
The Russian president attend the inauguration
with regard to freedom of expression and
obviously the work of journalists in Mexico.
We have said on repeated occasions
that their work is incredibly important, is vital,
and they should be in a position to be able to report for
to be able to voice opinions. Should everyone
what I think we would really say at this point where indeed
the new president is about to take office, Claudia
We really would encourage her to continue the
efforts and consolidate the progress made towards poverty reduction
and social equality in Mexico.
acknowledge that Mexico has complex challenges in addressing violence,
which we often speak about.
We are concerned about the growing role that the military has
taken in public security and other law enforcement functions That should,
of course, be the responsibility of public entities and of a civilian nature.
One other thing I think we would really want to highlight at this point is
that the authorities should really double their efforts
to address the issue of disappearances in Mexico,
which you, Gabriel obviously know all too well
They should try and address this double their efforts by bringing
justice and effective remedies to the families of the victims.
If I may conclude on this, I think, as you know,
the UN Human Rights Office. Our office in Mexico
engages and has worked closely not only with the Mexican authorities,
but with many stakeholders, and I think as we now have a new
administration in Mexico,
we will of course continue to support
the authorities and institutions at the federal,
state and municipal levels to promote and implement
a solid human rights agenda in the country.
Thank you very much, Liz. And thank you. Uh, Gabby for your questions.
OK? And now I'd like to turn to, uh, the situation in Nepal. We have
who is IFR CS head of country
in Nepal. He's joining us from Kathmandu.
Uh, he'll brief us on the situation of floods in Nepal.
Thank you very much for your patience, Asmat.
I've been living here for four years, but this is totally different.
I've never seen anything like this.
Uh, I live within 20 minutes walk from one of the main,
uh, areas where the major Kathmandu River BMA
discharges and it was like a mighty mighty waterfall.
what the toll of damages it would bring along its path
Kathmandu is at about 1500 metres in elevation
for more than two days. It rained
I've seen a lot of major monsoons,
but I've never seen one that doesn't have one minute of break.
the flow and the quantum of flow,
which have led to the devastation and the disaster further downstream.
So far, claiming about 200 lives and
more than 40 people are still missing,
rapidity and of the flood waters.
Swimming away entire villages, homes and very important livelihoods
as well as major infrastructure such as roads, bridges
hydroelectric station because of a lot of landslides
have caused a great toll.
As I said, just to reiterate
floods are common, I've never seen something like this,
uh and it it really stood out for severity.
The human pole is profound not only with life loss, but entire communities.
We have built quite a lot of communities south of the Kathmandu
Valley being cut off from the rest of the country due to landslides
and destroyed infrastructure.
In Kathmandu alone, over 3600 people have been rescued
and many have lost not just their home but entire livelihoods.
Access to essential resources such as fresh water will be a challenge.
And even when the flood water recedes,
uh, there could be a major outbreak of dengue.
There are still many, uh,
villages which are isolated due to impossible road and broken bridges.
In response, the Nepal Red Cross
IFRC have mobilised swiftly and effectively.
Over 200 Nepal Red Cross volunteers have been working around the
with evacuation, search and rescue
as well as distributing essential supplies.
The Red Cross has also been coordinating closely
with local authorities to clear roads restore access,
especially in high elevation areas where
landslides continue to pose significant challenges.
the Red Cross have distributed
uh supplies to 5000 people
with the emergency relief items.
Despite the destruction, these efforts are making a difference.
volunteers embedded in communities trained and prepared for
the disaster like these have played a key role
the Red Cross is preparing for a long
term recovery and the IFRC is currently finalising
an emergency appeal fund,
So, ladies and gentlemen,
just as the nation to conclude as
the nation faces increasing spread of climate change
which has intensified disaster like this one
preparedness within communities,
in our opinion, is the key,
the having trained volunteers,
having empowered volunteers within the communities
as well as having access to relief items.
if their coordinations with national, local and national
uh, authorities is also of paramount importance in strengthening,
uh, the the humanitarian assistance for future challenges,
the disaster highlights the need for scaling up these
efforts to protect vulnerable communities in years to come.
Um, do we have questions for a colleague? Yes. Uh, front row, Christoph
Thank you for taking my question and for the briefing.
I was just wondering if, uh, you you were talking about preparedness.
And, uh, and at the end of, uh, you know, scaling up the preparation
Do you have any idea of what the priorities would
have to be to protect against this type of floods?
And, um, how much do you think? Uh, money would be needed.
So, uh, that's a very difficult question. Uh, as I said, I've seen many floods,
uh, in Nepal and the South Asia region. I haven't seen something which came so fast.
It was a little bit like a tsunami. Very short and very fast.
And, uh, as I said that, uh,
uh, when the when a disaster hits, they are vulnerable people. And
the response with the Red Cross network positioning
the volunteers within communities and having community volunteers to
me is the key to deal with this.
I mean, whether I can predict that such flood will come again?
Uh, I don't know, but, uh,
the climate change is changing a lot of things, uh, with glacial outbursts,
but the whole region and beyond.
on your second question. We are hoping to, uh, and
with our emergency fund, we are hoping to raise
and its members up to about a million Swiss francs at this stage.
Ok, thank you very much. Did you have a follow up? Uh, Chris. Ok,
um thank you very much. Uh, Mr Ula
for joining us and for your patience. And of course, um
um, preparedness is key, as as we've heard here in many situations like this, um,
with that Now I turn to, uh, our colleagues from WHO.
Margaret Harris is here and she'll have an announcement shortly.
But maybe I'll just turn really quickly to
two guests from WHO who are going to, uh,
speak to a situation of arbo
Uh, from the WHO over to you,
maybe. I don't know, Doctor Raman, Perhaps we'll start with you.
Thank you very much. So today, the World Health Organisation
is launching the global strategy for, uh, preparedness,
readiness and response to tackle dengue
and other A I DS borne arbo
viruses which will be published later today.
The plan, as you have just heard from Nepal
dengue threat is global and the plan aims to reduce
the burden of the disease, suffering and death from dengue and a I DS borne arbo
a global co ordinated response.
Dengue cases have surged across all
regions with an estimated 4 billion people at risk globally,
and the total number of cases recorded so far has reached 12.3 million.
And by the end of August, with over 7900 deaths
and which virtually means the number of cases have doubled
is a vector borne disease transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito.
serotypes of the virus that cause dengue,
and these are known as dengue 123 and four.
The majority of the infections are mild and may not be noticed.
Severe dengue is potentially lethal and complicated,
And usually it is the second infection, which is more serious than the first.
Factors such as unplanned urbanisation, poor water supply,
climate change and international travel have all facilitated
this rapid geographic spread of the disease.
The disease is now endemic in more than 100 and 30 countries,
and similar trends have also been observed,
viral diseases such as Zika chikungunya and, more recently, the ORU
virus, especially in the Americas.
This global escalation underscores the urgent need for a robust strategy
to mitigate the risk and safeguard the population.
Taking into account that urban centres are at greater risk,
the vector mosquitoes have silently spread
across several countries and continents.
Parts of the southern USA and several countries in
Europe are also at risk of this viral disease.
As some of you may recall, we had warning from the Swiss government
on the spread of Asian tiger mosquito here
and even in Geneva, several
localities were mentioned to have recorded these mosquitoes.
Vast majority of these dengue cases reported in 2024 are from the American region,
And there are several other arbo
viruses reported from that region.
To know more about these diseases,
I will now request my colleague Diana to brief us on us on this.
Thank you very much. Uh Raman
for for giving me the floor. So additionally to dengue,
viruses which are also climate sensitive diseases,
including in this global strategic and preparedness readiness and response plan.
So chikungunya is also a virus which is spread by
the same mosquitoes and co circulates usually with dengue.
And today the 118 countries have reported chikungunya transmission.
The main burden of this disease is due to
chronic disabilities and severe impact on quality of life.
In 2024 over 465,000 chikungunya
chikungunya cases have been reported globally with
high circulation that continues in Brazil,
where most of the cases have been reported.
So as you hear most of the cases, dengue cases have been reported from Brazil,
the same with chikungunya.
circulation of these viruses because they are transmitted by the same mosquito,
and then we have other countries in in South America.
In India also has reported almost 70,000 cases as of June
2024 and there are some other countries that have reported transmission.
You might remember Zika virus,
which has a public health emergency of international concern in 2016.
Zika is also spread by these by the same mosquitoes that transmit dengue
but it can also be transmitted sexually between
people and from mother to child during pregnancy.
Uh, Zika virus disease have declined globally since 2017,
uh, as they but they still occurred in very low levels.
We have 92 countries and territories that have current or
previous spread of Zika virus by a ID mosquito,
and so far in 2024 more than 36,000 cases have
been reported mostly from the region of the Americas.
But we have also increased number of cases in India in the Maharashtra and Karna
Um, so since the Zika emergency was almost nine years ago,
it's enough time to accumulate, susceptible and to build to a new epidemic.
So that's why this, uh, plan
integrated plan is is so important.
And if it was not enough,
we are also closely monitoring and emerging arbovirus in the
virus disease, which is also
borne disease. But this one is not transmitted by the same mosquito as dengue
and chikungunya, but to the bite of an infected Mitch.
So these midges sometimes are called noi
so they are very small insects that usually bite during the day.
They live in humid areas with organic matter
and also in forested areas such as the Amazon
So this virus was isolated in the 19 fifties and
has been circulated in the Amazon region Since then.
In 2024 we have detected an increased number of oruche
and expansion outside the Amazon basin, which is, uh, alarming or concerning,
over 11,600 cases have been confirmed compared with last year,
where 835 cases were reported in all the region.
the symptoms are very similar to dengue fever,
and it can easily be be misdiagnosed in areas where we have
circulation of these, uh, different arbo
viruses. There are currently no specific treatments or vaccines for
oruche, as it's an emerging, uh, arbovirus,
and you just treat the symptoms.
is a current concern because it's occurring outside the Amazon busing. So usually
cases were reported in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
But this year we have found oruche
in Cuba in the Dominican Republic and areas that are not traditionally
who don't don't have traditionally oruche
Also, several deaths have been reported in people with oruche
and we have confirmation of increasing Guillain
which is a condition in which the body immune system attacks the nerves
so it causes weakness, numbness or paralysis.
with zika, uh, with COVID-19 and other infections.
So this is this is concerning because this, uh, the people who show Guillain
syndrome, um, they they need,
and then infection during pregnancy has been associated potentially
associated with foetal death and potential birth defects.
So that's why we are doing further investigations on on oruche.
So we we will keep monitoring all these virus
arbovirus threats, and and it highlights
the importance of the global strategic,
uh, preparedness, readiness and response plan to tackle dengue
And, uh, with this we try,
we want to foster the global coordinations and prepare the countries and
the regions to be able to respond and prevent all these viruses.
Thank you very much. And over to you.
Thank you both very much. Uh, very important. Updates indeed.
Um, we have a question from Gabriela Sotomayor
thank you very much. Orlando. Hi, Margaret.
Uh, how is the situation of dengue
and other countries in America in Latin America that are for your concern
and also the new one I, I don't get it. The the How do you spell Olo
How How is the situation? Also in Mexico?
there are places like Acapulco like, uh, Oaxaca.
for climate change there. Heavy, heavy rains, hurricanes,
and the situation is really, really dire over there. So I don't know if you if you
have noticed that if it's in
your radar in your attention.
Thank you so much. And sorry for asking all about.
And I should note that Margaret has shared the notes, uh,
with you with the correct spellings of of everything that was mentioned,
If I pronounce it correctly, uh, Diana, over to you.
Thank you. Can you hear me? Yes.
So? Well, uh, Mexico is endemic for for dengue
They currently have the four stereotypes
that that Rahman mentioned co circulating,
and they have thousands of cases that that have been reported the same with
circulates they They even reported few zika cases in the in the last year,
so they have the three arbo
viruses currently co circulating in in most of the in most of the country.
As I mentioned before and it usually was
just circulating in Brazil and in South America.
But now our regional office Pao
diagnostic kids to all the countries to start looking for this for this virus.
Uh, as I say it is transmitted by midges.
It is not transmitted by by the by the mosquitoes that
are responsible for the transmission of the other two viruses.
So additionally to testing all the negative cases for dengue
virus disease looks very similar to
And also they are doing entomological or they are looking for the for the vector.
Who is involved that in Mexico probably called
that's how it's called in
in South America. So they are looking for this very, very tiny uh,
And if there is, there is, um, if the Mitch is present,
there is there is risk of transmission.
However, in Cuba and the Dominican Republic,
they are looking for other potential vectors that
might be involved in the transmission such as
and maybe other mosquitoes. But this is everything.
Uh, we are We are currently investigating,
and we will keep you posted when we have more information.
Excellent. Thank you so very much. Uh, to you, Diana and Rahman.
Um I don't see for the question. So we'll now move to our last item.
Last but not least, uh, Margaret is on the podium with me,
and she has an announcement for us.
Yeah, just a couple of things.
Uh, later today, we'll be having a press conference at two o'clock,
but for by the strategic advisory group of experts on immunisation,
And they've got a lot of interesting recommendations on
the use of a range of vaccines to prevent,
or virus, Cholera, polio, and, um, the the universe
rubella vaccine. So definitely one worth attending.
And we're sending the highlights of the meeting out to you very shortly.
We aim to have them to you in your mailboxes,
I think in the next 15 minutes under embargo so that
you've got a chance to read it before we actually do
Uh, the other thing. Tomorrow is World Oxygen Day, and you might wonder why we WHO
have designated a day for oxygen since we seem to have it all around us,
but it's an absolutely critical, essential medicine,
and it's something that has not been available in many, many countries.
a classic case of inequity, and a lot of our work has been to
help countries develop the capacity to generate their own oxygen
generated at hospitals so that you can actually
provide this when people are suffering from pneumonia.
It's the difference between life and death
So that's why we've got some details and stuff on World Oxygen Day.
I think that's it for me.
Great. Thank you very much. Margaret, Do we have questions for Margaret?
No, I don't see. That's OK. So thank you again for joining us for your patience.
Just a couple of announcements from me just to keep you on track. As always,
proceedings here in Geneva we have the Committee on Enforced Disappearances, who,
which will wrap up its 27 session this coming Friday, the fourth of October,
after having concluded, um or issued its observations for the reports uh,
three countries reviewed during this session Ukraine,
The Human Rights Council is still underway today.
The council is, uh, reviewing various reports. 1234567 different reports,
to finalise the process the universal periodic review process for these
seven countries all available in the update shared with you.
That's all day today at the council and then this coming Monday,
Um, the World Meteorological Organisation uh, SE
Secretary General, in fact Celeste Salo She will be here
with colleagues from the WMO to launch a State of global water resources
Report State of Global Water Resources Report being launched here in this room
at 10 a.m. on Monday by the Secretary General of WMO
to observances In addition to World Oxygen Day,
today is the International Day of Older Persons and, uh obviously
we hear too often how the plight of older persons is direly affected through
places that we hear Ukraine, Gaza, Lebanon,
Sudan and so many other situations that we brief on here.
So this is, uh, this year.
The subject is ageing with dignity,
the importance of strengthening care and
support systems for older persons worldwide.
just to mention that tomorrow is
another observance message for the international,
rather the International Day for Nonviolence,
And we shared with you a message from the secretary General,
uh, for this important observance,
which actually is the commemoration of the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi.
Um, and, of course, uh, through his message, uh, the SG notes the various, uh,
crises and conflicts raging, including in Ukraine,
Sudan in the Middle East and far beyond.
And he uses this opportunity to note that
quote Gandhi believed Nonviolence was the greatest force available
to humanity more powerful than any weapon
together. Let's build institutions to support that noble vision,
which is needed now more than ever. So,
on that note, I end this briefing.
But I do have a couple of questions popping up for me, I suppose, uh,
uh, thank you, Orlando. I was wondering whether Pascal
is there and whether we can get an idea of what the Human Rights
Council might be planning or might be happening there on the seventh of October.
Uh, Pascal is not here, but, uh, he's may be tuned in,
or at least colleagues from his office, and
they're better placed to brief you. Of course. Um,
we haven't heard of anything, uh, for our part,
But I would maybe direct your question to
Pascal to see if they have anything planned.
Uh, one question at at what age a person is considered old person.
think it's more of a sh There is a probably a definition I mean about, uh, minors.
That's that's clear. It depends on certain
interpretations. I feel old right now. I can tell you after this long briefing, but,
um, I don't know the answer to that.
Do we know Margaret and Margaret's coming back up?
Uh, it varies from country to country, so each country gives their own definition.
It's often over 65. It seems to be over 60. I've even seen over 50 for me.
I I'm well over all those agents. So and I don't feel
I don't feel that I need a stick quite yet, But, uh,
yes. So it varies from country to country, but generally probably over 60. I think
once they give you a free bus pass, you can call yourself elderly.
Well, I'm not quite there yet, but, uh, thank you for that.
uh, that, uh, elaboration. Uh, Margaret. And with that,
I wish you a good afternoon and see you here on Friday.
