Thank you for joining us here at the UN
office at Geneva for this press briefing today.
The fourth of October. We have another, uh, very packed agenda.
We have a few announcements.
We'll start off with our colleague, uh, Pascal from the Human Rights Council.
We'll obviously Then we'll go on to,
uh, Sophie Fisher of ILO. We also have briefers who will address the situation
in Lebanon as well as in Gaza, as well as an update from the FAO.
So again, very packed agenda. We'll start off immediately with Pascal
and then over to Sophie from ILO
The Human Rights Council is beginning today the consideration of the last item
of its agenda which is dedicated to technical assistance and capacity building.
A total of 10 countries will be considered
until this agenda item at the 57th session at
the Council is holding an immense interactive dialogue
on the nuclear legacy in the Marshall Islands.
Deputy High Commissioner Nada
and the special rapporteur on toxics and human rights, Marcos
will participate in this dialogue
and we also expect the participation of members of
the National Nuclear Commission of the Marshall Islands.
This afternoon at around 3:30 p.m. the council will hear an oral update
on the situation in south Sudan
and on Monday morning, the council will hear reports from Vid
the special reporter on Cambodia,
to be followed by Isha Dian,
the independent experts on Somalia.
On Monday afternoon, we will hear a report from a
the Independent Experts on the Central African Republic
and a report from the UN Human Rights Office on Penitentiary Systems,
Security and Justice in Honduras
and on Tuesday morning until I speak to you for the next briefing,
the council will hold an intense interactive dialogue
on the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
will participate in this dialogue along with the
team of international experts on the country,
and you will also have the participation of the head of
the chief of the peace operation in the
We received all the draught text for consideration for adoption for this
We have a total of 38 draught texts,
one presidential statement and 37 draught resolutions.
Four of these draught resolutions are new initiatives,
one on the elimination of domestic violence,
a second one on the social reintegration of persons released from prisons,
the third one to mark the 30th anniversary of
the Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action on Women's Rights
and the fourth one on biodiversity and human Rights.
About one third of these draught resolutions, concern country situations
and several of these draught resolutions request the
renewal of mandates for investigations and experts.
The fact finding mission for the Bolivian Republic of Venezuela two years.
The fact finding mission for the Sudan one year.
The team of international experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo one year.
The Special rapporteur on the Russian Federation one year.
The Special rapporteur on Afghanistan, one year
Special rapporteur on Burundi one year. Independent experts on Somalia, one year
Independent experts on the Central African Republic one year
and the Special rapporteur on Climate Change one year.
I will be able to share with you the list of the 38 draught texts,
hopefully this afternoon as well as the running order for their consideration
that will begin on Wednesday afternoon. Thank you
thanks very much for that comprehensive brief.
Uh, Pascal, do we have I do see a question for you from Christiano of DP a Christian.
Uh, thank you, Rolando Pascal.
Do you know whether there's anything special happening on the seventh at
the Human Rights Council to commemorate the events one year ago?
Thank you, Christian. Uh, listen, so far, the the secretariat of the presidency
have not received any request or proposal
to commemorate this anniversary on October 7th.
strongly advise that you stay alert on what's going on in the room starting at 10 a.m.
we'll be focused on the proceedings as you approached the
last week of the council and you have further questions.
I don't Oh, there it is. Our body. Please.
OK, I don't see further questions, so thank you very much, Pascal.
And good luck once again.
OK, we'll now, uh, throw to, um, her colleague from the ILO Sophie Fisher,
who has an announcement on a publication,
uh, concerning Gaza. And then afterwards we'll
go into some of the briefings, uh, on Gaza in Lebanon,
Thanks very much. Uh, good morning, everybody.
Um uh, as you said, it's just a quick announcement.
On Monday, the ILO. Is going to be releasing
the fifth and latest in its series of bulletins on
the unemployment and livelihood situation in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Uh, this one is entitled A year of war in Gaza.
Impact on employment and livelihoods in the West Bank.
Uh, the report, We are hoping to put it out at,
uh, 11 a.m. Geneva time, which is midday in Beirut.
The report is being prepared by our Beirut office.
unfortunate. There will be a media advisory later today.
we won't be able to give you advance
copies because the report isn't actually ready yet.
As you would appreciate, Um, this is going down to the last minute to, um
Uh, the report will cover the period,
uh, from the start of October 23 to the end of September 24
and it compares the situation in that period with the preceding 12 months.
Um, the primary point of release of this report is Beirut. But as you can imagine,
um, the press there has a lot of other things. So we are also releasing it in Geneva.
It will be distributed to you. Um, hopefully.
Interviews will also be available if anybody wants one.
Thank you very much. Well, very well noted. Uh, Sophie, uh, questions.
Yes. Hello, Sophie. It will be available Monday morning, though not at 11.
And please, um if that splits, uh uh, slips a little bit bear with us.
That will be because of of the fairly obvious
related to getting the relevant clearances from people who are in Beirut
who have quite a lot on their plates at the moment.
Yeah, indeed they do. Thanks very much for that. Uh, Sophie
and of course, do connect. Uh oh. We have a question from Imogen BBC.
Yeah, just to clarify. Have you got an embargo on it? Or or how does this work?
It's It's We can report on it as soon as you finalise it and give it to us.
ok, got that question for you for from John Zarco,
the latest estimates from the IO
on the number of people that have fallen below the poverty line
Uh, and if your Beirut office has some new estimates,
uh, of Lebanese nationals and also refugees the levels of poverty,
Sorry I missed a bit, beginning your question
Lebanese nationals and also
migrants and refugees in Lebanon.
If you have new estimates from the ILO or your Beirut office
below the poverty line, Basically
I will need to ask them because that's
not directly the subject of the
That's a separate, because I know you track this stuff very much. And
World Bank, I think they do
this tracking as well. So I was interested. If you have something similar
Thanks very much, uh, to you both.
And, uh, good luck with that publication, Sophie.
OK, we're gonna stay on the subject of Gaza and our colleagues we're turning to, uh
I think Margaret has two guests.
Margaret Harris of the World Health Organisation would
like to introduce two guests who join us
from, uh, Jerusalem. And, um yes, I believe they're both speaking from Jerusalem.
So, Margaret, over to you.
Thanks very much. And I'll be very quick because it's a packed agenda.
Yes, we have Doctor Michelle
Tiran, who's our special representative for Israel.
And we also have, uh, doctor
Who's our emergencies lead in the occupied Palestinian territories.
And I think we will start it. Looks like Michelle is already ready.
So we'll start with Michelle
talking. I'm speaking from Tel Aviv, Israel.
October 7 is on Monday and in Israel.
October 7 is day 911. And the last year has been
a lead determinant of ill health in Israel
and a continued engagement for the who
in Israel to respond to it.
is one year after the October 7th Massacre, and it is the largest on its soul.
marks one year of captivity of 101 hostages who, from their timeless students,
it was their New Year's celebration.
will mean in Israel being away from home for 75,000 people
Shlomi, where I was a few days ago,
is the incubator of another October 7th
for the 10 million Israeli residents here.
It has been a year which saw over 19,000 rockets fire towards the country
The WHO has so far verified 68 attacks on health care in Israel,
For all of the above. This Monday will mark one year of a collective trauma
that has spared no one in the country
and has spread at pandemic speed
and has doubled and in some parts tripled the demand for mental health care.
the entire health system of the north of Israel, including the third largest city,
operates on the ground in reconfigured shelters and parking.
This represents very complex working and living conditions
for thousands of patients and health workers.
A patient without dayline is a patient without natural strength to heal.
There is an immense resilience and impressive readiness on the health system here,
but at a great human cost for patients and healthcare workers,
represent one year of solidary presence with the health authorities
and with the people of Israel.
It is one year of bearing witness of
the constant existential fear for 10 million people
living in the country and its impact on health
It's one year of support to the family of
hostages and the family of the displaced populations.
will mark one year of emergency
mental health interventions for the most vulnerable
and for the first responders.
This is a pact made between the Israeli Ministry of Health
regional director for the European region,
It is one year spent on dozens of site visits, areas of massacres,
ghost evacuated, city evacuation and display centres, hospitals,
border areas and commemoration events for the many lives lost and more.
in Israel means one year of reporting on Israel and Israeli realities
and one year of continued humanitarian bridging
and dialogue for anyone affected outside Israel.
No one heals without peace,
and in Israel, no one heals
without the return of 101 hostages left in
This was in all the New year wishes which I could hear
here yesterday during Rosh Hashanah celebration.
O director general, was very clear yesterday.
The unspeakable suffering in Israel and throughout the region must stop.
Peace is the only and good medicine.
Thank you very much, Michelle. We'll now hear from Dr
Thank you so much. And good morning.
It's been 12 months and the hostilities in Gaza continue to range.
Over 6% of the population of the entire Gaza Strip has been killed or injured
and an estimated 10,000 people remain trapped under rubble.
The health system of the Gaza Strip has suffered immensely from
the repeated attacks and from the ongoing shortage of supplies,
medicine, fuel and stuff.
recorded at least 516 attacks on health care in Gaza, which resulted in 765 deaths.
Only half of the Gaza hospitals are partially operational,
of the primary health care facilities in Gaza Strip are functioning.
The working hospitals that still remain open
provide the bed capacity of only 100 beds, which is supplemented
in 10 operational field hospitals by emergency medical teams.
This falls far short of the need industry.
Many of the hospitals that are still functioning,
uh, have been reduced to a fraction of their former capacity.
They lack specialised staff. They lack supplies.
They lack equipment to treat complex injuries and the
complex diseases that are currently exist in Gaza.
According to the Ministry of Health, around 1000 health workers have been killed.
This is an irreplaceable loss and a massive blow to the entire health system of Gaza.
which was once Gaza's largest hospital,
has not yet returned to its former state, despite all the best efforts by W
that has left it in ruins.
I still remember when I visited the stench of
rotting blood and death in the courtyard of the Al
and the fear on the people's faces when they rushed themselves and their
loved ones into the overflowing hospitals where
patients were spread across the floors,
corridors of emergency rooms and in every possible space that they could occupy.
I witnessed patients crying in pain due to the lack of pain
Asaba Hospital who shared with me a story how he himself
amputated his knee leg in his own kitchen table with his own kitchen knife.
Because there was no safe access to the hospital,
Gazans have been living through hell and continues to suffer.
The situation is still grim.
Many essential health services are still not available.
construction centre in Nasser Hospital is no longer functioning
and the Soul Psychiatric Hospital remains out of hospital.
imaging services are unavailable.
Specialised paediatric surgery is not available
and the chronology services are not available.
Vascular surgery has been compromised among many other critical services.
We estimate that around 24,000 people in Gaza are
suffering from life changing injuries due to the conflict,
and they have no access to rehabilitation or specialised gear.
who had crafted his own prosthetic leg
using a broken crutch and some wood.
While this speaks to the resilience of Gaza people,
no one, no one should have been doing this.
We're deeply concerned about the impact of the conflict on mental health and psycho
social status of people in Gaza.
there were almost half a million people who
have already been diagnosed with mental health disorders.
Malnutrition is another concern.
Children have been admitted for the treatment of malnutrition,
1000 Children with severe acute malnutrition.
Over 96% of women and Children aged 6 to 24 months
are not meeting their nutritional needs. Due to lack of diet diversity,
and new mothers are enduring unbearable conditions,
unable to access hospital due to the constant displacement,
I have met many mothers who have shared their stories
of living with their newborns in the hospital stairwells.
Because there is no privacy, there is no room for them to stay.
They have been forced out of the hospital, uh, for the second day after the delivery
due to the, uh, different safety issues that they face.
and communicable disease remain a significant public health threat.
Acute watery diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections
account for more than 80% of all cases of reported cases of
communicable disease in Gaza during the first eight months of 2024.
sanitation and hygiene conditions alongside with overcrowding in shelters
and lack of primary health care services are the primary drivers of this disease.
These conditions, we expect, will worsen during the winter,
likely leading to a further rise in cases of morbidity as well as mortality.
As the burden of health services continues to grow,
the medical evacuation out of Gaza remains severely limited. As of 30 September,
out of more than 15 0 cases requested for medical evacuation,
have been approved by the Israeli authorities. This is around 5130 patients.
Since the closure of Rafa
crossing in May 2024 only 219 patients
have been evacuated out of the Gaza Strip.
urgently call for the establishment of multiple medical evacuation corridors
to ensure safe, organised and timely passage of patients via all available routes.
Despite the extreme challenges on the ground,
doing everything possible
out of the 214 missions that we planned within the Gaza Strip. Since October 2023
and through those missions we delivered fuel
that helped restore hospitals.
We also deployed emergency medical teams to support the Gaza's health system.
Together with our partners, we have been able to vaccinate 560
in the first round of the polio campaign last month.
Repeated evacuation orders and ongoing hostilities
continue to disrupt humanitarian operations.
We call for effective de confliction and protection of the health care.
We call on safe access to health facilities and
to sustain aid flow into and across Gaza.
I wanted to commend the resilience of Gaza's health worker,
their heroes who without rest continue to care
often at great personal cost to their own mental and physical health.
They're fulfilling their oaths of medicine and humanity Beyond measure.
365 days of bloodshed, pain
Thank you very much. Uh, doctor, um
and Michelle as well. Do we have questions for our colleagues from
WHO? OK, we'll start in the room. First row, uh, Robin of
Thank you. A question for Michelle
How many patients are being treated in those in
those reconfigured underground shelters that you talked about?
And in Southern Israel year? Can you give us
an overview of the healthcare situation
in those areas that were affected by the October 7th attacks? Thank you.
The, uh when I say the entire, uh, inpatient system in Israel,
North Israel is operating on the ground, it counts by thousands,
uh, including the health workers at their bedside. What I saw, uh, four days ago
is an entire parking lot with about 5 to 700 bed hospital beds.
And, uh, we should count certainly
two or three healthcare and associate workers for each bed.
So that was a lot of people.
There were two floors like this under Raam
Same things in the central hospital of Haifa. Uh, called, uh, the
Uh, and then still ashron
hospital around Gaza is still in that situation, so you really can't count, Uh, by,
uh, uh, a few thousands of, um,
of patients and and, uh, healthcare workers working underground.
Thank you very much. Michelle.
think Margaret must have, if not already. She will soon send the notes.
So I think there are some questions about the notes, Uh,
the details that were shared.
a question. A question about Gaza.
Do you have any information about the use of
uranium bombs in Gaza during the last year?
Thank you for your question. Uh, W
does not have any information about, and this is not part of our mandate.
OK, fair enough. We have a question for you from Emma of Reuters.
Hi. Good morning. Um, a question for Doctor
has the polio two campaign now been, uh, approved? Has Israel given its go ahead?
And And do you have any details of that?
please. What is the perceived risk of polio, actually, in
a significant portion of the Orthodox population is unvaccinated.
So how do you see that risk? Thank you.
Who wants to start um, maybe the first question for Michelle?
Yes. Um, the the risk of Israel is is, uh, cannot be discarded. And, uh,
the indeed the the initial, uh, immunisation coverage in Israel,
not homogeneous. It's very high.
But in certain population segment, and especially after the covid,
there has been some, uh, indent in the cot in the coverage.
That's why we really need to be very careful here. The risk is taken seriously.
We cannot say that there will be,
but we know that the exchanges between Israel and Gaza will only but increase.
And therefore, we need to be careful.
This is how it entered in Gaza from elsewhere as well.
So the the chain of that strain going,
uh, needs to be stopped at some point.
Thank you. And I believe you.
Yeah, Go ahead. Sorry, Doctor. Go ahead.
Uh, thank you for the question. Uh, yes. Uh, there are ongoing discussions
with the Israeli authorities, uh, the, uh, co
guard and the Ministry of Health of Israel, as well as, uh,
the partners on the ground on the second round of the polio campaign.
Uh, we have requested the start of the, uh second round of the polio campaign, Uh,
So this is, uh, a week from now, Uh, 10 days from now.
And, um, we expect that the vaccination, uh, should finish by the 29th
of October. We have communicated those days,
uh, to the Israeli authorities, and we're having a meeting on coming Sunday,
uh, to see whether this will be, uh, confirmed.
learning the lessons from the previous successful polio campaign will continue,
uh, to, uh, support the Children.
Uh, 0 to 10 years in Gaza with this, uh, polio supplementary music activities. Over.
Thank you very much for that. Clarification.
Uh, we have a question from Nick Cumming, Bruce of the New York Times.
Thank you. Yes, just following up on the Po.
You, uh, doctor Idle. Um,
could you just update us on the numbers of
Children who have been affected by this or
Uh, for the second round of the polio campaign, we estimate, uh, that around, uh, 500
Uh, Children should be vaccinated, uh, with a novel oral polio vaccine, Uh, two.
And these are the Children aged 0 to, uh,
10 years in addition to the polio vaccinations.
Uh, they also, uh, will receive a dose of, uh, vitamin A.
Uh, this is an oral, uh, vitamin to boost the immunity
OK, thank you for that elaboration. Uh, we have a number of hands going up.
Maybe back to Nick, because you have a follow up I, I trust.
just a quick follow up on the number of Children who
have been affected by poliovirus since the first case was announced.
Number of Children affected
Thank you very much. Uh, for the question,
Uh, so far, uh, through the, uh, epidemiological surveillance of, uh, acute
Um, the laboratory has detected only one
child, 10 month old child in Gaza. Who, uh, has, um,
circulated a vaccine derived polio virus, too.
Uh, the there are additional samples that have been collected and sent to the lab,
And we expect the results of that investigation to
be available within the next two weeks over.
Thank you very much a question from John Zarak Kota
Hi. Yeah, my question is to, uh uh,
uh, I was wondering, sir, if you could bring us up to date on the number of, um,
civilians that have been injured
since October 7th on the cross border exchanges.
And if you could repeat the number of health personnel I
think that you mentioned killed and how many were injured.
And the number of, uh, health attacks
Those are the numbers that we are reporting.
I. I was interested in the northern, uh, injury levels.
Uh, you're mentioning the north and the south in the northern, uh,
Hezbollah and the Israelis in the north.
No, I don't I don't have a disaggregated number to offer you at this stage, but I will,
uh I will, uh, look around, and you will receive that.
Thanks, Michelle. Yeah, maybe, uh, Margaret.
Uh, I know there's a lot of numbers being thrown around.
Very important, uh, that we get clarity on those. So thank you in advance. Um,
we have a few questions online. Uh, Lisa of Voice of America. Over to you.
Uh, thank you, Orlando. Good morning. And, uh, to
ask you, uh, given the, uh, political stalemate in the region.
Uh, could you give your impressions or what you think
H? How? How? The Palestinian, uh,
views the situation whether they've given up hope in terms of
any sort of a, uh, ceasefire and their,
uh, outlook for a future. Indeed, if they have a fut
if they think they even have a future,
And, um, regarding the Israeli, uh, population,
I guess a a similar question. But also, I would like to know whether you think that,
uh, the the hostage, the families of hostages
how how are they feeling? I mean, do they believe that perhaps,
uh, the hostages will be killed? Uh, the, um,
Netanyahu seems, uh, determined to continue this
war and not agree on, uh,
the relief of the release of the hostages, which was a kind of primary
demand or, uh, belief by the Israelis. Uh, that should be done.
Do either of you want to comment on these, uh, questions, I.
I can also just maybe remind you, as we have been repeatedly from this podium here.
the Secretary general has been calling for an immediate ceasefire
since the beginning, uh, immediate and unconditional release of hostages,
obviously the effective of humanitarian aid,
including much needed medical supplies which the doctors are speaking to.
Um, but perhaps our colleagues, um,
from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem have something to add
from from Tel Aviv. Perhaps, uh,
is what I observed every day there is much more,
and hope for peace. Uh, among the people here in Israel that, uh, one could believe
their wishes that the hostages
And, uh, this is central to all the humanitarian debate here in Israel.
Even the political one. I think the commitment is is is certain.
And, uh, the families are with that, uh, that hope and that, uh,
that that relentless claim
and certainty that something positive will happen.
Thank you very much, Michelle.
Ok, A couple of fans still up.
uh we're going to address the situation in Lebanon shortly afterwards.
But, uh, Emma and then Jan Dirk
Herberman. So Emma of Reuters again.
Thank you. It was just to clarify, um, the second phase of the polio campaign.
You envisage as well for there to be, um, pauses in the fighting.
And you're asking Israel to agree to that? If you could just clarify that.
That is your request. Thank you.
Thank you for the question. That's correct.
Uh uh, as I said, the discussions with the regular authorities, including the
coat, uh, the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Health. Ongoing.
We have asked the Israeli authorities to,
uh, uh, consider the similar, uh, scheme that we had for the first round
was, uh, uh, something they call tactical poses.
Uh, for the during the working hours of the campaign
during the days that we have been indicating
there seems to be a commitment to this tactical poses. And we are hopeful
that all the parties of the country will continue
to adhere to those poses when they are announced.
will be hearing from the Israeli authorities shortly.
Thank you. Thank you very much. Uh, one additional question from Jan
Um, I also have a question on on on numbers.
Um, according to the, uh, ga Gaza health authorities,
more than 41,000 people have been killed in this trip,
and at the same time, the UN, um uh,
around 10,000 people are feared to be buried under the rubble.
Uh, now, I was wondering,
are these 10,000 included in the 41,000 or
other 10,000 addi additional casualties of the war?
So far, the Ministry of Health has reported
that 41,689 people have been killed.
The estimated 10,000 people who are buried under the rubble is a separate figure
from the number of killed over.
Ok, thank you. Thank you very much. I
I think that exhausts the questions on Gaza.
Uh, that said, we'll we'll shift, um, north to the situation
in Lebanon. And we have, uh, three briefers, uh, who are
going to, uh, brief, you one, from UN HCR.
who is a senior communications advisor for the UN refugee agency
who joins us from Amman. We have, uh, Matthew Luciano,
who is IO MS head of office, uh, in Lebanon who joins us from Beirut.
And, uh, introducing here is Christian Cardone.
Who's the new, uh, chief spokesperson of the IC RC,
who is also going to address the situation in in Lebanon as well as in the Middle East.
So, uh, we'll start off, uh, with ruler over to you,
Uh, you're you're muted or something is with the, uh
Sorry. Before, before I start I I was a bit, uh, discourteous.
I mean, I just really normally thank our speakers joining us from WHO and I.
I didn't I neglect to do that, but I just really wanted to thank Aya, Dylan,
Michelle and, of course, Margaret,
for having our speakers from WHO address his very important point.
So thank you very much. Uh, and apologies for not saying that earlier.
Back to you, Rula. Over to you.
So I'm going to brief on the displacement situation in
Lebanon and the influx of people fleeing to Syria.
the intensifying Israeli airstrikes and orders to evacuate for people in southern
Lebanon are forcing more families in the country out of their homes,
desperately looking for a safe spot.
Now, with the areas targeted being expanded,
the areas people had deemed safe
earlier on are no longer so so many people are having to flee and move
to date, most of the displacement in Lebanon is internal and within the country.
The government estimates up to a million people have fled to places across Lebanon
and more than 100 and 85,000
people had actually chosen to cross the border to Syria,
uh, mainly through the moustache
state at Yabu border Crossing.
The Israeli airstrikes overnight, targeting the road
in the no man's land at the Masa
border crossing, has put a halt on traffic,
effectively closing off this route for vehicles
And this is the main entry point
for tens of thousands of people, um
the and has been the main entry point for those people in the past week.
There are still three other border crossings that are open and operational,
but this is the main one, and today vehicles cannot use it
now, with more people displaced every day.
Most of the nearly 900 government established collective shelters
in Lebanon have no more capacity to host all those displaced
on the streets of Beirut. And even at the most famous landmarks like the Cornish,
uh, hundreds of stranded men, women and Children are sleeping in the open.
UN HR is working with humanitarian partners
and Lebanese authorities to urgently meet,
uh, meet the needs of those displaced
and to try to find safe shelter for those who are still without any shelter.
UN HCRS response continues to focus on all affected communities,
And since October 2023 UN HCR has distributed more
than 223,000 relief items for individuals in need,
and 70,000 individuals have received multi-purpose cash systems.
UN HR continues to repair or support collective shelters
and has expanded its hospital network to 42 hospitals across Lebanon,
allowing for broader coverage of much needed emergency medical care.
Now, as the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate,
UN HCR is working to reinforce its supplies of much needed co relief items
to meet the increasing needs and to prepare
for any possible further escalations and displacement.
However, the volatile security situation and ongoing Israeli airstrikes
are disrupting and delaying relief supplies such as an airlift carrying
medical trauma kits that enable hospitals to perform life saving surgery.
A shipment from Amman with over 20,000 thermal blanket was also delayed.
It crossed into Lebanon, but there were significant delays.
Now at the Syrian Lebanese border, the influx of people fleeing to Syria continues.
The Syrian authorities have kept the border open for people to enter from Lebanon
and UNHCR is at the four main Syrian official
border crossing points alongside the Syrian Arab Red Crescent
and other UN humanitarian partners and NGO S.
Uh, of course this is to support those who cross into Syria,
in rural Damascus, which remains the primary entry point.
The arrivals so far are mainly Syrians and Lebanese.
Uh, there are also Palestinian refugees, Iraqis, migrants and, uh,
other nationalities who are crossing into Syria.
UN HCR UN HCR supports the new arrivals with water, food items,
uh, blankets, legal assistance on issues such as documentation.
Many people fled their homes without any
papers. They have been away from Syria for years.
Many they don't have birth certificate.
Other documents that were helping on that front as well
rub holes had also been provided,
and UN HCR protection teams are also at these border crossings to support.
Now 60 some 60% of the new arrivals are Children and
adorns. Some of the Children have arrived on their own without family members,
and as they flee the bombings,
families arrive with profound physical and emotional
fatigue and huge needs for support.
Some require urgent medical care. After the long journey,
the majority of the uh new arrivals head to
their original towns and villages to join relatives elsewhere,
and they some of them they do need accommodation
hosting centres across the country. In rural Damascus,
Latakia, Homs and Hama are now accommodating both Syrians and Lebanese who fled
Um UN HCR is also supporting these centres with co relief items as well,
uh with supporting repairs at these centres
to make them more dignified to receive those displaced by the conflict.
HCR and SARC are also continuing to support authorities in transporting thousands
of the most vulnerable from the borders to their final destinations.
Uh, there are now, UN HCR supported regular buses. Uh,
and they take these people mostly to Damascus, Raqqa, Aleppo, Homs,
But the suffering of those who cross does not end at the border.
Unfortunately, after 13 years of crisis, many are going to destroyed homes,
damaged infrastructure and crippled basic services.
They have arrived with no resources to help
them provide for their families most basic needs.
Uh, we have to remember inside Syria until this day.
There are more than 7.2 million people who are still internally
displaced inside the country and are in need of humanitarian assistance.
Now, UN HCR is not stopping at the border.
So we're following up with those who had just arrived in their final destinations.
And UN HR is expanding its existing humanitarian
pro programmes in Syria through more than
110 community centres around the country.
So we can support those who have
newly arrived along with the other vulnerable populations
But more resources are desperately needed.
Uh, with the onset of winter,
UN HCR is concerned that conditions for those affected
by the escalating conflict in Lebanon will only worsen.
we have already started dispatching essential
winter assistance for recently arrived families.
we have to also remember that some of those who flee are now fleeing Lebanon to Iraq.
According to the Ministry of Interior in Iraq,
over 5000 people have arrived since the 20
they either fled onward from Syria through al QA and
crossing or had arrived by plane to Baghdad or Najaf.
UNHCR's humanitarian response is severely underfunded
both in Lebanon and in Syria.
More resources are needed.
The Interagency Flash Appeal for Lebanon was launched on October 1st in Beirut.
It aims to mobilise more than 425 million
to deliver life saving assistance to 1 million people.
UNHCR's portion of this appeal is estimated at $111
in Syria as well, UN HCR operations are is only about 27% funded
and we along with UN Partners and NGO S,
are trying to mobilise more resources to meet their huge additional needs.
Uh, there will be a flash appeal for Syria early next week and it will be led by UN HCR.
The international community must step up the support to
all those displaced as a result of this conflict.
Every day this conflict continues means more lives lost, more people displaced
UN XR reiterates the Secretary General's call for urgent deescalating
and calls on all parties to ensure humanitarian workers have safe access
to civilians in need of support.
An urgent political solution to end hostilities must be the priority.
Happy to take any questions.
Thank you, Rula. Thank you very much. Uh, we we will do colleagues.
As I mentioned, we'll take the three briefers on Lebanon,
and then we'll take questions at the end.
And I now turn to Matthew Luciano and I Thank you, Matthew. I know that
you may need to run quickly.
Uh, he is I os head of office in Lebanon, joining us from Beirut.
But thank you very much for joining us,
Thank you. Uh, thank you very much for, uh, for inviting me to, uh, to brief.
I mean, uh, I'm the head of office of, uh, IOM, uh, here in, uh, in Beirut, where,
as you know, the, uh, the situation is is really, um, deteriorating.
I wanted to speak to, um, internal displacement, um,
And to the, uh, hundreds of, uh, thousands of people who've been forced to, uh,
to fill their homes in the past two weeks in, uh, in particular.
Uh, you've all seen the images on the on TV. The roads are jammed with, uh, traffic.
Uh, the people sleeping in public parks on the streets, on the beach, as you
Um, so, as of, uh, Second of October,
IUM has identified over half a million internally displaced, uh, person
with 400,000 displaced in just the last two weeks.
more than 165,000 are living in 800 collective shelters across the country.
These are schools, um, that the government has urgently opened.
Of course, the numbers continue to rise.
Um, as heavy shelling continues in the south,
in Beirut and the other regions in the, uh in the country,
in addition to internal displacement. And as you
all said, uh, tens of thousands of Lebanese, but also Syrians
are leaving the country both through legal and, uh, irregular means
between 21st of September and, uh, October 3rd,
individuals crossed into Syria by land
and 100 and 52,000 Syrians.
And these are the figures from the Lebanese authorities, Uh, from yesterday night,
uh, during the same period. So 23rd of September to third of October, 50,000 people,
uh, departing from Beirut airport, mostly Lebanese, but also 10,000 Syrians
and 1060 people fled by sea.
Israeli air strike against the Lebanese border crossing in Masa,
which is the, um, that closed the, uh, main, uh, road, uh,
international road connecting,
um, Lebanon and, uh, and Syria.
And that's the use the road that, um, I,
a son of people, have, uh, have used in the past 10 days,
uh, to flee the, uh to flee the bombings.
And that's that's never been, uh, been turned off.
Are the conflict intensifying? So IM has launched a flash appeal
as well to raise, um, 32 million,
which will assist 400,000 people affected by the crisis over the
next three months and This is part as well as un,
Uh, that was launched by the UN on uh on Tuesday.
Since October, IUM has scaled up our immediate life saving assistance,
providing essential relief items like blankets,
mattresses, kitchen sets, solar lamps
as well as protection services and health support
to the, uh to the AD PS. And we're also helping partners by tracking internal
These are the figures that I mentioned. You can find them online.
We're not publishing, um,
two reports every week on Monday nights and
Thursday nights with updates on the internal displacements,
and those are actually published and released in coordinations with the, uh,
with the government with the prime Minister's Office.
So our team, uh, emergency response team, they're delivering aid across Beirut,
Mount Lebanon, the North, the bear,
and at the Syrian border as well, where, as I said,
235,000 people have fled due to the, uh, violence.
Please report that we have successfully relocated many of our national staff,
and all IM staff members are safe,
even if they continue to assist those affected.
Despite the significant constraints and challenges in the uh in the country.
I want to take a moment to highlight the plight
of Lebanon's 180,000 migrant workers,
many of whom are female domestic workers. They come from Ethiopia, from Kenya,
Bangladesh, the Philippines
and they too have been deeply affected by the violence in the country.
We are receiving increasing reports of migrant domestic workers being
abandoned by the Lebanese employers either left on the streets
or in their homes. As the employers flee,
many been many have been forced to leave,
but they face very limited shelter options.
I visited a shelter in Beirut, which is run by UH GRS,
which is currently housing 64 Sudanese family had nowhere else to go.
We have received this IUM increasing request
for migrants who seek assistance to return home
and in the last 24 hours as well.
Many IUM member states have requested IS
help to evacuate their citizens from Lebanon.
This will require significant funding which we currently do not have.
I want to stress the importance of an inclusive,
inclusive response and the N HR will agree with me on this.
Everyone in need displaced Lebanese migrants,
refugees and any other available populations must receive the support they need.
The massive crisis demands immediate actions. The needs are significant.
And we call on the international community to provide the resources needed
to ensure the safe safety dignity of the displaced families and anybody anybody,
um, affected by the, uh by the crisis.
repeat is part as I set up a larger
co ordinated effort with UN agencies and other human
organisations to scale up response efforts in Lebanon.
32 million that we're paying for.
We sustain IU MS life saving operations for the end of the year,
and we're prepared to extend our efforts as needed.
Thanks to you, Matthew. And lastly, uh, Christian Cardone, who's IC R CS Uh
uh new spokesperson, chief spokesperson.
And, uh, maybe you can introduce yourself briefly, then maybe go off to your brief.
And then, of course, we'll share his contacts.
OK? Good morning, everyone. Yes, indeed. Christian
just started as the chief spokesperson
was working in the field of protection and
spent several missions in the Middle East.
Gaza Lebanon in particular.
wanted to start by just very briefly taking stock of
what we have seen over the last hours
the last days, what has been described in detail by some of the colleagues before
and obviously starting with Lebanon and so fast
intensification of hostilities over the last days.
Just before coming here, we were exchanging with our spokesperson on the ground
and before starting her usual you know, update of what we do, where we walk,
what we can do, what we cannot do.
She was basically sharing her personal experience of last night,
where her kids just woke up screaming,
And that's happening not in the south of Lebanon.
in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
But that's happening in central Beirut.
and I'm sure that the colleagues based in
Beirut to speak before can just confirm that.
And that's not happening in Gaza.
That's the reality in Lebanon. Beirut Over the last days
yesterday, West Bank affected people killed in Tulkarem
which did not happen for years.
Tuesday evening sounds like it was
months ago Tuesday evening.
The population of Tel Aviv and many others outside of Tel
Aviv in Israel went through a panic and distress again.
And then, as we have said repeatedly in this briefing, in a few days, we will be
what is happening. What is still happening
yesterday again was talking to colleagues in Gaza
this trying to explain me the situation,
trying to put words and we've all tried to
put words on the situation there. But
I think the good summary was Christian.
we are just trying to survive
and everybody is affected.
Everybody is affected. And that was not the case
in previous escalation. Everybody being affected in Gaza.
displacement, panic distress
and just continue also to spread.
today and you will see our statement after this briefing.
urge and call the parties.
and the Israeli authorities
to make sure they protect civilians,
What does this mean is that civilians
should be spared from attacks?
Civilians should be able to
and go to more security if they can find security.
Respecting the rules of war also means that hospitals must be protected,
must be spared from attacks.
We've repeated that again and again over the last years, obviously,
but this is unfortunately
once again the situation that we are facing and now in another place.
the use of explosive weapons in populated areas should stop
because of their dramatic effect on the civilian population.
and called for respect of the basic
rules of humanitarian law protecting civilians.
and as we have seen in many other regions,
many other places in conflicts of different nature,
that respecting these basic rules
is definitely a good could facilitate
the road to de escalation.
Respecting the basic rules of international humanitarian law
can facilitate the road to de escalation.
So more than ever today in the region in the Middle East region,
those fighting I mentioned Hezbollah.
I mentioned the Israeli authorities, but of course Hamas and many others
should respect these basic rules. It's the moment and it's also the moment for those
having an influence on them
to respect. I just wanted to end on what we are trying to do
in very difficult conditions again
very much focused today on the health response.
We've been working, of course for months in preparing health facilities,
health workers to a massive influx of injured people.
This is already happening after only a few days, unfortunately,
but that's where we put the energy.
is on its way. A cargo plane is on its way
to Beirut with lots of medical assistance again.
And that's just the start of a response that we are stepping up.
But that cannot be unlimited. I've heard colleagues before,
Let's be very clear that if the situation continues to spread,
in the way we respond and how we can
We can respond. Thank you very much.
Thank you. And welcome once again, Mayor
OK, we'll start with questions in the room. We have two. Then we'll turn online.
And if colleagues if you could specify to whom you're pointing your question
Ok, we'll take a question from John Zaro,
I was wonder if you could bring us up to speed on the
number of hospitals and medical centres that the is
supporting with material support you mentioned a plane is flying in
if you could give us details on the supplies that it's carrying
and if you also have ICRC
emergency teams on the ground doing trauma
if that could be and if any of the facilities that you support have been attacked.
The WHO mentioned yesterday that 28 health personnel were killed in just one day.
we are supporting health facilities as you mentioned across the country.
But obviously these days, with a clear focus on the south of Lebanon
and also Beirut in particular the Rafik Hariri
hospitals but tens of medical structures in the whole country when it
comes to the cargo plane at the moment and good news,
probably the only positive news is that all actors are still present on the ground.
The stocks are still there.
medical materials rather than medicines that will be sent because
obviously we are preparing for the wars and we know that
this won't necessarily last in terms of the capacity of the medical sector to cope
with the current situation when it comes to attack on our facilities at this stage,
the facilities that we are supporting have been spared from attacks.
OK, we'll go online. We have a few questions, uh,
of Ro de France International. And if you can direct your question To whom
Uh, I've got two questions. Uh, um, maybe I will ask the first one
in in French, uh, as it is for for IOM and Mathieu.
um The second question will be in English, maybe more for, uh, UN HCR. Um,
you talked about, um, MM.
I mean, talked about, uh, the the refugees, Uh, the the returnees. Sorry. In Syria,
they fled to, like, the Syrian returnees. Uh, they fled to Lebanon for a reason.
Uh, because of the civil war, And some of them might, uh,
be, uh, subjected to, uh, detention or torture
when they got back to Syria.
So I was wondering, are you concerned about the fate of those returnees in Syria?
They don't have anything waiting for them in Syria, but they also might be arrested.
So, yeah. Can you comment on that?
Thank you. Um, Jeremy, I think Matthew,
uh, he's still connected. I know. He had to leave.
uh uh uh. Personnel. Uh, medical.
uh, the second question for ruler.
you know, before this conflict started,
Syrian refugees in Lebanon and elsewhere in the region
were telling us that they still had many concerns or what we
call obstacles that is preventing them from taking the decision to return.
And this did include safety and security, lack of livelihood, lack of housing,
lack of basic services and access to these services.
What we're saying today is that with the risks these people
with the refugees are facing in Lebanon due to the bombings,
lack of adequate shelters, lack of access to services,
um, is is making refugees move
very, very difficult choice.
So it's either staying in Lebanon with that
growing risk on their lives or taking the decision
to go back and cross the border to Syria
with all the other risks in mind.
But it seems from the numbers of people we have been seeing is that at this point
they felt that the risks from the bombings is higher.
So it's I think it's a very good reminder of all the hardship
and the suffering that Syrian refugees had faced throughout the past 13 years.
Now they are reliving that experience.
They're traumatised, they have to be displaced again.
They left all their belongings and their homes again,
and they are making very difficult choices now, as UN HCR,
we are trying to follow up with them in the destinations where they go.
Uh, any reports we get, we try to follow up with the authorities,
We have been working in the past few years with the different stakeholders,
including Syrian authorities, including international donors,
what the obstacles and the challenges that the refugees are are facing
We are very focused on trying to give assistance
and support and relief to those who are crossing,
and who many of them have no immediate plans. They are all they want to feel is
protected from the bombings. So we're following up with them.
Much humanitarian assistance is needed as well as addressing the other concerns,
Thank you so much, Rula. OK, we'll we'll I know we have a couple
more questions in the room,
but let's go online first because Emma has been waiting Emma, Reuters.
And if you can direct your question to
Yeah, I had a couple of questions for the panellists, and then I had, uh,
a broader question for anyone.
Um or maybe Jens might wanna jump in. Uh, I can see him in the room, uh, if available.
But, um So the broader question is,
how many UN workers have been killed in Lebanon since the escalation in fighting?
are you concerned that they're actually being, um,
aimed at and is this following the Gaza playbook? And what can the UN do about it?
That's the general one. And then the sort of more targeted ones, Um,
for UN HCR, Please. Uh, you mentioned that most of the 900 government she
shelters were full in Lebanon.
Are there other non-government shelters available Or can you build more shelters?
And also with the Syria road being cut off?
Are there any other routes for people to flee? Or are they kind of, um,
trying to find other routes? What are they doing?
And and finally, I, I would like to invite, um,
IOM to say a little bit more about the migrant
workers who are trapped and and and where they're from.
It may be ruler. We can. Perhaps we can start with you on that question pointed to you
so I can start in regard to the Masa
There were two strikes and a huge crater was created in the no man's land between
the, uh, the Syrian and the Lebanese side.
it was very it's I think it's very hard for vehicles still to go through this road.
However, just before this briefing started, our representative was on the ground
and we could see that some people were taking, uh, walking,
desperate to flee Lebanon.
And so they walked actually through that destroyed
route and trying to cross into Syria.
We have to also remember there are another three
border crossings that are still open and still operational.
masa, as you know, is the main entry point, uh, that people have been using.
what was your second question?
Uh, the thing. It was a broader question, but maybe, uh, if there was something, it
about the, um the shelters. Are you
So the established shelters seem to be at
and there are, of course, all the other issues.
We are working with other humanitarian partners and
the government to try to find alternative solutions.
Lebanese civil society. Local initiatives have also started.
You know, some hotels had opened their doors.
Uh, we even saw some clubs opening their doors to post people. But this is not enough.
uh, for the refugees who don't have this.
As you know, there are no refugee camps for Syrian refugees, and, uh,
except for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, there are the informal settlements.
We're trying to find ways to find a makeshift shelters and and in in different, um,
working with the municipalities and other
local governments to find such solutions
but no plans to establish refugee camps. If that is something that I can assure you.
Um maybe on the broader question,
just to say we don't have those specific numbers of those killed.
Uh, of course, it's a paramount importance.
The protection of civilians,
as you've heard from all our speakers here is is obviously the priority.
Our peacekeepers in the south of Lebanon, you from UNIFIL,
remain in position in doing what they can to deliver their
their very lofty mandate under these very dire circumstances, but
providing you with these specific figures, uh, we cannot at the moment,
but maybe we can double back to you, as as this situation is fluid and, uh, as some
numbers do become available.
paramount importance is the protection of civilians and our own staff.
I'm I'm a bit drowning in the numbers.
I wonder whether Mathieu and Ruler can confirm the number of people who have crossed
Can you, um, can you specify?
And I very much wanted to ask the same question as Emma about the domestic workers.
a bit more light on on the numbers on the countries they come from
and maybe situations that you have actually seen. Desperate situations
of people that you've seen. Maybe you can flesh this out a little bit for us.
Yeah, indeed. The numbers are always, um it's such a fluid situation. Of course.
Christiane and colleagues,
if you could share your the numbers in writing with qualifications,
that would be of enormous help.
Um, but in terms of yes, So maybe Rula you can expand on the the numbers you shared, Um,
and maybe our call from IOM if you're still there.
Um, So yes, Over to you, Rula.
So we do have, you know, different figures because we rely on different sources.
So our figures are the minimum,
and we are getting these figures from the Syrian Red Crescent.
the colleague mentioned These are the Lebanese government figures,
and we have to remember also that people
are crossing through the official border crossings,
but also, they are crossing through other ways,
and this figure has not been captured. It's only assessed.
Um, I need to try. And if they would like to add anything
Thank you. Ru uh, Matthew,
Now, on the discrepancy between the figures, I think yes, the, uh,
the source is the reason why,
uh, as I said, our figures on the border crossings are currently, uh,
come from the Lebanese authorities and not not from the Syrian side.
Um, so the the latest we received yesterday evening was indeed, uh, 235
people who have crossed Let me just double check again.
But that's what I That's what I said.
We do have the breakdown, actually of, uh, regular and irregular crossing,
Um, which I'm happy to, uh, to share.
Uh, I'm happy to hear with me, but I'm happy to share the instagram
if I may, Then just to go back on the on the, um, MS question, but also the
question on migrant workers. But before just I wanted to go back to,
uh, Emma's question on the on the shelter.
shelter, government led shelters in the, uh, in the in the country.
And, uh, and 75% off full. There's a live dashboard,
uh, which So that's the information from an hour ago when the briefing started.
updated on a regular basis, But, uh, so they're not all, uh, at full capacity, But,
uh, but but most of them are
and for sure, As I said, I mean, all of the shelters in Beirut and Mount Lebanon are,
um, in terms of And as as you
said, uh, one of the, uh, one of the priorities, um, is to work with the government
to identify new sites which could be used as a shelter.
So then effort from the government
to identify, um from all ministries to identify which facilities they own,
which could be used as a shelter.
For now, it's mostly the Ministry of Education,
which, uh, which provided their facilities.
that's why you know most of the shelters of schools, but that's not great,
because that distracts as well.
and and schools should be used as the last result for, uh, for a collective shelters.
So since yesterday, the day before the Ministry of Agriculture as, um,
some sites of technical and educational training schools and other ministries
are also following suit to make sure that we can,
um, potentially, uh, accommodate a larger number of displaced.
We also relocate people, uh, from the existing schools to, uh, to others.
So a lot of work ongoing and unit
is leading on, uh, on this is to, uh, assess those
potential sites, see what repairs
are, uh, are needed and cooperates with, um
uh, colleagues. UNICEF from was
letter as well to see what's what's upgrade.
And, uh, and installation has to be, um, made so that these sites can be can be used.
So this is indeed a priority.
Uh, as well as I said, identifying new sites and preparing new sites for, uh for, uh,
In addition to those, uh, 800 shelters.
You also have, um, spontaneous what we call spontaneous shelters.
Uh, where you know, which is not cool.
But I mean, other places, private facilities, hotels, uh, private schools, uh,
where ID PS, um, went So there's an effort currently,
and and IOM is working on that with the government to track those as
well to make sure that they feed into these dashboards master list so that we
know actually where people are and are able
to assess their need and response to their,
Um, the country, you know,
relies Lebanon relies heavily on the on the on migrant workers,
especially for domestic work.
Um, so you have 100 and 70,000, uh, migrant workers again,
there's a report that IUM publishes every every year.
Uh, which shows, you know, numbers and the graphics and nationalities,
which I'm happy to, uh, to share.
They come mostly from Egypt, Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia.
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, I think are the top five nationalities.
and, uh, and they're mostly women.
Uh, because they're mostly women working as domestic workers or, uh, elderly care,
as you can imagine. And that didn't start, you know, a year ago.
But but migrant workers are partially vulnerable.
Uh, and they've been affected by all different crises that, you know Lebanon faced,
uh, whether it's the Beirut blast, or, uh, or then the, uh, economic crisis in 2019
and then the war Since, uh, I mean,
a year ago when the the escalation in violence in the past, Uh, two weeks.
Um, what we've seen is, uh I mean, significant protection risks.
Um, most of them are, you know, live domestic workers,
which that they live with their employers.
Um, they don't have their own place.
So we've seen in the south, you know that the employers would leave,
uh, but then we either actually leave the, uh,
domestic worker on the streets Wouldn't relocate with them,
um, or actually, even worse.
You know, lock the domestic worker in to make sure that, you know,
the house is actually kept whether you're seeking safety somewhere
else. We have huge issues around,
You know, uh, among among domestic workers and those left on the street,
they also cannot, um, relocate.
They cannot, you know, access consultation to go, um,
uh, to, uh, to to seek, uh, to seek safety.
it's also very complicated for them to access humanitarian assistance.
They don't have papers they he regularly, and as a result, they P
of reluctant to seek humanitarian assistance
because they fear that they may be arrested and they may be deported.
They also don't speak the language.
uh, as as the migration agency is,
we need to ensure and work with all our colleagues I mean H, ER and, uh,
and all the humans and partners and the government to ensure that they're included.
Migrants are included and taken into account
in preparedness efforts and response efforts.
And we coordinate within this the protection sector,
Um, a, um a working group
where all the different NGO S agencies provide assistance to migrants,
Um, can, uh, can can share and and discuss and be and be supported.
Um, I mean, there's there's again more information available on our website,
um, for us again, it's It's a smaller population.
It's It's smaller than the Lebanese and the refugees
and the Palestinian refugees in terms of numbers.
But But what we see on the ground is that, um, they have been affected,
and, uh, and it's and they have barriers when it comes to accessing, um,
Matthew and and Kennedy's in the room as well as a map online
for both IO and H ER For any further clarifications on that.
We'll take the last two questions from the room
and then we'll move on to the next subject.
So Musa and then John Musa,
the situation on the border between
Ah, how ah, the the level of danger for ah, in this border Because I know Ah, Bana
border was not the first Ah, crossing targeted by Israel. Thank you.
Ok, thank you very much. Uh, ruler.
uh, as far as I know, today's strike was the one that was closest to an actual border.
As far as we know and from colleagues who are on the ground,
the other three border crossings are still
operational and people are still using them,
even most now, today, as I said before,
uh, desperate to to leave and cross. So they are walking on on on the
and then getting to the Syrian side. But of course, it's the numbers are not as
huge as we have seen in the past few days. Um,
I think it's a testimony to the fear and panic
that is driving people to just cross into Syria.
Indeed. Thank you very much, ruler for that, uh, John Zaro.
Maybe last question on the subject. John,
the IM. Rep. If you could please clarify
your figures on 400,000. Plus I dp
there, Vance, with the numbers given by the UN in the launch of their
of over a million displaced and the government says 1.2 million displaced.
So can you elaborate how you do your figures in your metrics?
Is that an algorithm, or is that actually verified IDPs on the ground?
What's the differential? And secondly to the UNHCR
processing fee levied by the Syrian authorities? Or are they entering free of cost?
Thank you. John. Uh, Matthieu
Matthew, are you still with us?
don't see him connecting, so maybe we'll just go to you Ruler on the question about,
the processing fee. I believe I understood that correctly Ruler,
the processing fee, the $100.
the government has waived that fee for about one week,
and we are advocating with the government with the government to extend that
waiver so that people won't have won't face any challenges to go in.
Uh, before this fee was waived.
We know we're talking about the Syrian side. Now, I think this was the question,
uh, even people who people who didn't have the means to pay it.
We saw other people crossing who had more resources,
actually chipped in and helped them.
Uh, some of them were exempted,
but now it's official that they don't need to pay it.
But we are advocating for this waiver to be extended
unless you're talking about, uh, a different thing.
Is that right? Uh, John, that's what you're looking for. Yeah.
Yeah, that that that's correct. Ok, great.
Thank you very much. Uh, Rula on this note, I'd like to thank all our briefers.
Um, Rua, Matthieu who I understand, had to leave.
So I think the first question maybe if you can liaise with Kennedy,
And Christian, of course. Uh, Merci.
and, uh, we will share your contact with our colleagues here.
Thank you very much for joining us.
um, we now turn to the last item on the agenda, Monica to
Tova of a senior economist of the Food and Agricultural Organisation, who,
you know, well, who is here to provide
us with a monthly update on global food commodity prices.
Uh, is joining us from Rome. Monica, over to you.
Thank you. At this point, I guess I can wish you good afternoon.
It's it's midday in home.
So after the distressing topics we listened to this morning
and briefing about global food,
commodity pricing might sound a little little ordinary.
But I did want to bring to your attention that the FA O Food Price Index,
which we released this morning,
increased by 3% in September compared to his August run.
And this this increase of 3% marks the largest
month on month increase in the past 18 months.
That is, since March 2022
price quotations for all commodities that are included in the index that is, uh,
cereals, vegetable oils, meat, dairy and sugar
increased in different levels from about half percent
for meat price and over 10% for sugar
compared to the historical levels in September,
the in the index was about 2% higher than its corresponding value a year ago,
but still about 22% below the peak reached
in March 2022 I mentioned earlier.
there are many factors that impact price transmission from the global
reference prices to domestic prices and then along the food chain.
And it's too up for the prices change all the time.
So we shouldn't be deriving any longer term conclusions.
It is to be seen how the situation develops.
and responsible for increases this particular months and both weather and policy
and united issue in the interest of time.
Considering that we are running quite late,
I will not go to the details of the specific commodities.
But the briefing was shared with you earlier.
I will end it here. If there are any questions, I'll be happy to answer them.
Thank you very much. Uh, Monica.
And of course, he is connected and can share this note with you.
Do we have questions for Monica?
No, I don't see. That's the case, Monica. So thank you. Once again for this.
OK, colleagues, Just a couple of notes, as usual for me just to keep you on track.
We have the committee on Enforced Disappearances, uh,
which will conclude its 27th session this afternoon
uh, issuing its concluding observations for Ukraine, Morocco and Norway.
And this coming Monday, the seventh of October,
the Committee on the Elimination of Discriminations Against Women,
will commence its 89th session.
A number of countries to be reviewed, including Laos, Saudi Arabia,
Uh, so that is a three week session starting on Monday.
And lastly, as I mentioned to you already on Tuesday,
uh, the press conference,
um from the World Meteorological Organisation is still
scheduled to take place this coming Monday,
Saulo, the WMO Secretary general, will be sitting here,
uh, to brief you on the state of the global Waters Resource Water Resources report.
And lastly, just to mention that today or no, not today.
Today is the fourth of Sun Monday. I'm sorry Monday, the seventh of October.
Once again, it's a World Habitat Day. There is a secretary general message,
um, on on the, um, this observance World Habitat Day.
It's an opportunity to reaffirm the basic right to shelter
and reflect on the transformation of urban environments.
We talked a lot about shelter during this briefing in the context of Lebanon.
this year's theme highlights the vital role of
young people in creating a better urban future.
And by 2030 60% of urban residents will be under the age of 18.
The message of the SG notes. So that message was shared with you.
That's all I have. Do you have questions for me?
No, that's not the case. So on that note, I wish you bon appetit. Bon weekend.
