OK, so let's start again. This briefing here at the event in Geneva
today is Friday, 8th November
and I would like to start immediately this press
briefing by giving the floor to the colleagues of
we have with us Jeremy, Jeremy Lawrence and
the head of the UN Human Rights Office for the occupied Palestinian territory.
Ajit is coming to us from Amman.
I don't know, Jeremy, you want to start and then we give the floor to Ajit.
Yes. Uh, thanks Alexandra.
This morning the UN Human Rights Office has
published a report detailing the horrific reality that
has unfolded for the people of Israel and Gaza since the seventh of October 2023.
This report provides a detailed analysis of grave human rights violations
over the six month period from November 2023 to April 2024
and broadly examines the killing of civilians and breaches of
international law that in many instances could amount to war crimes
as part of a widespread or
systematic attack directed against a civilian population
further to a state or organisational policy,
these violations may constitute crimes against humanity
and if committed with intent to destroy
in whole or in part a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.
They may also constitute genocide, the report warns.
The report shows how civilians have borne the brunt of the attacks,
including through the initial complete siege of Gaza by Israeli forces,
as well as the Israeli government's
continuing unlawful failures to allow,
facilitate and ensure the entry of humanitarian aid,
the destruction of civilian infrastructure
and repeated mass displacement.
This conduct by Israeli forces has caused unprecedented levels of killings,
Palestinian armed groups have also
conducted hostilities in ways that have likely contributed to harm to civilians.
Justice must be served with respect to the grave violations of international law
that have been committed.
have an obligation to prevent atrocity crimes,
and we urge them to support the work of accountability mechanisms,
including the International Criminal Court, in
relation to the current conflict,
universal jurisdiction, to investigate and try crimes under international law
in national courts consistent with international standards,
and to comply with extradition requests pertaining to suspects of such
crimes to countries where they would receive a fair trial.
The high Commissioner calls on member States,
consistent with their obligations under international law,
to assess arms sales or transfers and provision of military,
logistical or financial support to a party to the conflict
with a view to ending such support.
If this risks serious violations of international law,
the trends and patterns of violations
and of applicable international law,
as clarified by the International Court of Justice
must inform the steps to be taken
Thank you. I would now like to call on my colleague.
The D UN Human Rights Office continues to monitor with grave concern
the documented patterns of violations contained in this report continue unabated
over one year after the start of this current escalation
and despite the awareness within the community of states
that this horror is unfolding,
our monitoring indicates that the unprecedented level of killing
an injury of civilians is a direct consequence of Israel's
failure to comply with fundamental
principles of international humanitarian law.
Basic standards necessary to preserve the bare minimum
of humanity during times of armed hostilities.
The report details concern over repeated mass displacement
and forcible transfer of the Palestinian people
and attacks on so called safe zones.
It also looks into the killing of medical personnel,
humanitarian actors, civilian police and journalists.
Our report also points to the reported use of white phosphorous.
Israel's conduct of hostilities
has destroyed Gaza's civilian infrastructure,
its homes, hospitals and schools, its electricity, water and sewage systems.
Gaza is now a rebel strewn landscape.
Within this dystopia of destruction and devastation,
those alive are left injured,
men Children do not have access to adequate water, food or health care.
People have left in cramped, unsanitary conditions
ridden with illness and disease.
Women are left without access to basic hygiene
Children are separated from their parents.
the personal details of those killed in Gaza by strikes,
shelling and other conduct of hostilities.
we have so far found close to 70 per cent to be Children and women,
indicating a systematic violation of the
fundamental principles of international humanitarian law,
including distinction and proportionality.
Given the pattern of strikes throughout Gaza
and the fact that they have not only killed and
injured so many people but also destroyed fundamental social structures
and support networks of Palestinians in Gaza.
They raise serious concerns that Israeli forces have intentionally attacked.
The very basic fabric of Palestinian society
had disseminated the cohesion of Palestinian communities within Gaza.
The situation in north Gaza is getting worse and worse.
The killing of civilians and destruction
of civilian infrastructure continues daily,
including through Israeli strikes
internally displaced people,
killing whose families crammed together
as well as other unlawful killing by Israeli ground troops.
We are seeing attacks on and raids on hospitals,
arresting staff, displacing patients, damaging life saving medical equipment.
Awan Hospital in Beit Lahiya,
the arbitrary detention of hundreds of Palestinians
and allegations of ill treatment continues.
Israel continues to prevent humanitarian aid and
medical assistance from entering this decimated landscape.
Hardly any UN entity has had access for the past month.
So think of the resulting absence of basic essentials necessary to maintain life,
food, water, hygiene, shelter, health care.
This takes an unimaginable, ever greater toll on Palestinian population
and winter is now approaching.
Israel continues to order the displacement of
Palestinians from their homes in the north
that nowhere is safe in Gaza.
The patterns of violations documented in our report
are continuing throughout Gaza. As I speak
there are strikes on agricultural land, cultural sites, including mosques,
schools now sheltering internally displaced people, hospitals and homes.
Under these circumstances, we must again warn of the risks of atrocity crimes.
The trends and patterns of violations
and of applicable international law,
as clarified by the International Court of Justice,
must inform the steps to be taken to end the current crisis.
Every day we stand at Crossroads,
it is time to take the path
that leads us towards justice,
equality and security for both Palestinians and Israelis.
for this and and Jeremy for this important briefing.
I'll open the floor to questions and I'll start with Nina
Yes. Um, thank you very much for taking, uh, my question.
I was wondering if you could say a bit more about the breakdown or the proportions of,
women and Children that you're seeing and also how
you were able to verify the these deaths.
I know there's a very, very difficult access.
If you could explain a little bit how the verification happened.
also wondering if you think that the proportions are representative of the entire,
That's, uh, that's much larger, according to the Health Ministry. Thank you.
Did you would like to take this?
Sure. Thank you for that question.
Um, look, I mean, uh, we follow global, uh, methodology of OC HR in verifying,
uh, civilian casualties. And that's exactly what we have done in Gaza as well.
You're absolutely right. It's not easy. Access is difficult.
However, we have different sources,
and our procedures require at least three independent sources.
up until the end of drafting the report we had about 8000
But as of now, we have about 10,000 fatalities
4700 Children. That's about 45%
and 2461 women. That's about 25%.
So the overall 70% women and Children remains for now,
you know, uh, vis a vis 10,000 fatalities.
Um, it's very hard to say what will happen and if we can extrapolate to 42,000,
I think for that we need to wait and continue to do our verification.
I would say what we have now is for the verified numbers, and that's about 10,000.
Thank you very much. Jeremy
report says that the high Commissioner calls on member states to
exercise universal jurisdiction to try crimes under international law.
Does it mean that the High Commissioner does not
believe that Israel is capable of trying those crimes?
Uh, yes, I can take that one.
listen, it's always incumbent upon the state in the 1st 1st instance,
there is as mentioned in the in the report,
there are other avenues which B whereby you can take, uh,
whereby action can be taken.
So whether it be a national court in the first instance, and then you can go to
accountability mechanisms,
so that could be the IC C in all universal jurisdiction.
Uh, I think it's important to say that, uh,
we don't want to necessarily jump the gun on that, Because at the moment,
what we're presenting is a report which provides analysis and information.
and, uh, this is based on on on what O
Ajit and his team has been, uh, doing.
uh, on the ground in Gaza as well as staff, uh, operating remotely.
Uh, they've been working 24 7,
to to gather information.
Uh, it's public information now,
Hi. Good morning. Um, it's just to press a little bit more on Nina's question.
If you don't mind, Could you elaborate on, uh,
which sources you are using and, um,
do the kind of challenges verifying the toll. Um,
explain why it's only 10,000, only 10,000.
Um, I say that just because the Palestinian toll is so much higher.
Um, finally, could you just say a word on the Palestinian toll?
Do you still believe that to be the true reflection of the losses in Gaza? Thank you.
Yeah, maybe I'll I'll give the floor to a
Um uh, maybe uh, the sources. Yes.
I mean, our sources are, uh, the sources that we have used in past escalations.
Um, that includes our partners NGO S on the ground.
The family members of the deceased, uh, neighbours. That's individuals,
uh, hospital records, uh, so on and so forth.
So and also our own people on the ground UN entities.
So we have some very reliable partners that we've worked on,
And what we need is three. And it could be any of the three that I have listed. Uh, now,
the overall numbers, uh, of Moh. Uh, we have consistently said that
Figures compared with ours in the last escalation,
several escalations have matched, and they come very close.
Um, so we do not have, uh reasons to believe that this time it's very different.
The numbers are, of course, massive compared to previous years. So we do need time to
catch up, uh, and verify now, why does it take time
to be very fair and honest?
compared to any other place that OH HR has been verifying despite the challenges,
I think what we have achieved so far verifying 10,000 is quite
Overall figures are massive, and we have only done probably 1/4.
But this is the nature of, uh, verification.
We not only verify the numbers,
we verify the circumstances under which they were killed,
uh, whether it was a house, A family together, Uh, the time, the dates on and so forth.
Nina, I've got a long list. You wanna
OK, Go ahead. A short follow up and I'll go to the platform.
I, I was wondering if you could say just, uh, on the fact that, um I understand, Uh,
about 80% of the the deaths that you've verified are in residential buildings.
Um, do you think, uh, that that could possibly skew the proportions?
Um, if you could just say something on that,
I mean, I think I we would definitely have to wait and see as we, uh, move forward.
That's exactly why I'm a bit reluctant to say that if we can extrapolate
what we have now for 10,000,
um, I am very careful when we put out ver
verified numbers, so we would come out with more details as we move ahead.
But, uh, it's entirely possible.
OK, let's go to the platform. I'll start with Christian
Uh, yes, thank you very much. I'm also puzzled about the figures.
I my When I first read this report,
I thought the 8119 refer to the first six months as the report does.
Can you clarify that? No. This actually refers to the total until today.
Or is it is it the first six months?
And I'm also trying to work out whether this
is representative of the total number or what?
Your estimates are what the total number
that is not verified yet.
Um, the total verified numbers are from October to August,
but it is not complete. I mean, there are several. We are still verifying.
Um, it does not mean that we have covered everything. The process is ongoing,
so I'll be very careful in saying this is a complete picture.
so that's that's, uh, a message that I would want to pass.
Uh, thank you. Good morning.
Um, I I'd like to know whether you think,
uh, what's going on is a genocide
and also have the Israeli authorities seen the report.
from the Israeli authorities regarding the report?
Jeremy. Thank you, Lisa. Jeremy?
Yes, I. I can answer that one, Lisa.
So, yes, as per normal practise,
we we share our reports with the the States concerned the parties concerned
we have not received anything. Uh, any feedback from the Israelis on this report
with respect to the, uh, the issue of the where, uh,
genocide and and as you're correct with genocide is mentioned in in the report,
as are war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Uh, all all all of them are particularly egregious crimes, uh,
and fall under the the banner of what we call atrocity crimes.
as I, uh, uh, said to you before it would be for a court,
as Jeremy asked whether it be a local court or, uh, an international court or,
uh, some other uh, international mechanism.
uh, to make the determination,
uh the necessary intent existed for the international crimes under the genocide,
conventions or Geneva Conventions, for that matter.
Uh, it's It's not up to our office,
uh, to make a determination on whether a crime has been committed.
That is, for a judicial, uh, body such as the I CJ or or or the, uh, IC C
is that you have a follow up
It's hard moving the arrow around sometimes.
Uh, I, I do a quick follow up. Uh, this This concerns the report that I've
that I've heard. I don't know if there's any truth to it or not.
Perhaps you can enlighten me.
that Israel intends to E essentially construct a wall around Gaza.
I I've got a lot of walls on my mind these days concerning the United States,
have you heard about this?
Is there any truth to this that, uh, essentially enclosing the population within,
git. You wanna take this one about the wall. A possible wall?
Sure. Thank you. I haven't heard that information. Uh, but, uh, so far at least.
But the fact of the matter is that Gaza has been under a blockade for 17 years,
so that's already a fact.
that has a major impact on people's rights even before
Um, but then we have also seen since the beginning of the war,
There's been massive siege on Gaza
which has impacted massively on the humanitarian aid that's needed for people.
Um, unfortunately, on your specific question on the wall,
I do not have further information.
Yes, we can hear you. Yeah, sure, sure. Go ahead.
thank you for doing this.
Um, I have a question about what's happening in the northern Gaza right now.
Um, do you think that the so called generals plan
is being carried out in the north Gaza,
which is basically the population of the north by any means.
And if you could give us some insight of this. Thank you.
I mean, what I can say is I mean, it's a fact that from the since the sixth of October,
the UN has struggled to go to the north of Gaza.
That is, uh, Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun
Israeli defence forces have been asking people to move from there, uh, to south,
there were further evacuation orders for people in what
we call as the beach camp in Gaza.
So there's clear, constant push of the people to move down southwards.
Like I mentioned in my remarks earlier. At
there's a strangulation of humanitarian aid that's desperately needed
for life saving, whether it's water food, uh, you know, shelter, et cetera.
So with those two combination,
there's a clear message to the people in the north of Gaza to move southwards,
and that's going to be terrible.
And not to mention that there are no guarantees of return back to those places.
Thank you, uh, question for Jeremy.
Um, just if you have any reaction on the, uh,
incident in Amsterdam last night,
uh, the violence surrounding the the football match between Ajax
and, uh, Maccabi Tel Aviv which the Dutch Prime Minister
has described as, uh, completely unacceptable anti
Semitic attacks. Thank you.
Yes, II, I can take that one.
Yes, we have seen, uh, these very troubling reports.
Nobody should be subjected
to discrimination or violence
on the basis of their national, religious, ethnic
We understand, as you point out,
that authorities have launched an investigation into this incident.
I don't see other question for you,
Ajit and and And Jeremy, thank you very,
very much for bringing us this important report and for
the briefing from the field.
I'd like now to go to another to our second guest here in the room.
Um, Dominic and Olga. Maybe you want to come to the podium
and then we will go to IFRC
I don't need to introduce you to
director of extended relations.
Another crisis, Another terrible crisis. You want to shed more light on Dominique?
Thank you. Uh, Alessandra. And, uh Good morning, everybody.
I'm here to speak to you about my recent trip to Eastern Chad.
This week we have reached a devastating milestone
Since the war broke out 19 months ago,
over 3 million people have been forced to flee Sudan,
seeking safety in neighbouring countries and further
It's been over a year and a half of unimaginable suffering,
brutal atrocities and widespread human rights violations.
Every day of every minute,
thousands of lives are shattered by war
and violence away from the world's attention.
A year ago, I was here briefing you on my trip to, uh, the White Nile in Sudan.
Uh, and today I want to share with you some of the harrowing stories, uh,
of unspeakable violence, desperation
and of lives lost by the war.
Uh, that I heard from the refugees I met in Chad, fleeing Sudan.
As I said, II, I visited,
uh, Eastern Chad last week. Well, actually, yes. Uh, I just came back from there.
And Chad has become what I would call a sanctuary a lifeline for these refugees.
The 700,000 Sudanese refugees who have fled since the
beginning of the war in April of last year,
the majority of them are women and Children close to 90%.
And they've been forced to flee their home
since the brutal and indiscriminate civil war started in Sudan.
This is the largest refugee influx in Chad's history.
And new arrivals come in addition to the already 400,000 Sudanese,
UH, who are already living in protracted situations in Chad,
bringing the total Sudanese refugee population in
Chad to 1.1 million and counting.
And the daily outflow is just extraordinary.
In the month of October alone, we saw 60,000
refugees cross the border, Uh, a huge increase.
And that's following the escalation of what's happening in the Darfur.
People are arriving not just in squalid conditions.
They're carrying nothing, nothing but their memories.
Their memories of unimaginable violence that they've witnessed and survived.
Civilians are once again paying the highest price to this violent conflict.
Those who managed to escape to Chad
recounted to me the atrocities that they have survived.
I heard first hand accounts of the inhumane violence.
Sudanese refugees have survived
houses, looted people and livestock killed.
watched while their families were murdered.
People are targeted on the basis of their ethnicity.
Men and boys are killed and their bodies are burned, women raped while fleeing
people told me, uh, over and over again. How they remember the bodies they saw
abandoned by the road as they were fleeing.
a dangerous and inhumane route to safety.
I'd like to share with you one account. I met a young woman, Aisha,
Uh, 17 years old. She fled, uh,
genina her home after her house was ransacked.
She fled with 100 and 80 people,
As they fled towards Chad,
they were all massacred. Other than 17
all of the women were raped.
the, uh out of the others who passed away. They were also raped.
gave birth on the side of the road As she gave birth, she died in labour.
Aha Took the baby to safety with the nine other people who survived
just to repeat. They were 100 and 80 when they left
They were only 10 that arrived safely in Chad.
And this is just one story among so many I could tell you,
I just wanted just for the for for um, the news. I
aha is not her real name for protection reasons. I, I, uh, gave her that name.
Um, I just wanted to to let you know that
these are unfortunately not rare.
71% report surviving human rights violations in Sudan while fleeing
The levels of trauma are devastating
with families that are shocked after fleeing the horrors of war,
still living in fear even without an immediate threat.
I am appalled by the impunity
and the lack of action that is etching permanent scars on millions of lives,
causing unbearable suffering and shattering a whole generation
will not be able to get out of my mind.
Is that these horrifying?
This horrifying situation that is happening in our
four is happening without witnesses.
Many of the refugees I spoke to,
uh or with in Chad shared heartbreaking stories like the one I mentioned,
but also of relief relief,
having crossed the border in safety,
not hearing bombs at night and not being scared for their lives.
is really the first time they felt safe in months.
And that's why I've been saying that for me, Chad is a sanctuary.
Other countries neighbouring Sudan,
Egypt uh Central African Republic have gone above and beyond
their means not only providing safety for people to flee,
but extending a chance to refugees to start rebuilding their lives while in exile,
ensuring Children can go to school, giving refugees the right to work.
Some cases start new businesses and the chances
to contribute to the communities hosting them.
This crucial support is helping Sudanese refugees to try
to maybe not forget about what happened to them.
The needs are immense, and neighbouring countries are feeling the pressure.
Just a few other points. Uh, Alessandra
uh a bit over a day used to be a small border
town that hosted 40,000 or has 40,000 people living in it.
Now it has over 230,000 refugees. In addition, you can imagine what that feels like.
We're in Geneva. It's a population of 500,000 about in Geneva.
It's as if all of a sudden in Geneva we had 2.8 million
refugees arriving in a very short time.
they're living in makeshift shelters. Uh,
Andre is one of the largest refugee camps right now.
And what we're trying to do is relocate the people, uh,
more inland into settlements with both the host communities.
working in under under a lot of strain to move quickly to
move and return them to areas where they can really rebuild.
So since the start of the war,
over 370,000 refugees have been relocated to six new
built settlements and 10 extensions of pre existing settlements,
all completed in absolute record time.
But tens of thousands of families are still
waiting for that opportunity to start over.
This is the most basic protection support we can offer.
Moving people far from the border from horrors they fled and
provide some basic but dignified support to start rebuilding their lives.
But unfortunately, we simply don't have the resources.
Uh, the resources are not there.
Our teams on the ground are overstretched.
And when I say our teams, the rest of the UN, the I NGO S, the local NGO S,
working day and night to deliver life saving aid
innovate to make the most with minimum resources available
while at the same time trying to ensure sustainable
solutions for the refugee populations and their hosts.
efforts, the health care system is severely under resourced,
with only one doctor for every 24,000 patient,
surpassing the emergency standards of one doctor per 10,000 people.
Access to water is also inadequate.
Education remains a top priority for families arriving from Sudan,
out of school for nearly two years now.
96% of families in Chad have school age Children.
The the the future of a whole generation is at risks,
Family told me of scarce resources of food in Sudan.
Uh, we've heard about this, of course,
and we're seeing numerous numbers of Children crossing the border malnourished.
And we've seen generous support as well from donors
in 23 and 24 and that has saved countless lives
and funded the establishment of these 370,000
uh, shelters or the for 370,000 refugees.
the refugee response plan is funded at 29%
out of 1.5 billion required by 86 partners,
uh, Chad and its people as I've said have been more than generous.
More than welcoming. I heard over and over again that
they felt one with the the Sudanese community.
But we need that separate. Uh, we need
now. Peace is what is mostly needed. We need peace desperately.
This is a tragedy that a ceasefire could stop.
But as people continue to flee the escalating violence,
we urgently need more resources to offer Sudanese refugees the
opportunities to restart their lives in safety and dignity.
Yet the same dynamics are unfolding again in front of our eyes.
This violence must end. It's time to listen,
and to bring justice for these survivors. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Dominique, for this appalling, uh, report.
This is a living nightmare for these people.
I'll open the floor to questions in the room
take this massive, uh, information and, uh,
terrible information on two conflicts, but
yes, let's start with me.
I just have a question like,
Do you think that the negotiation that took place here in Geneva.
Geneva a few weeks or months ago. Now
Like, got any effects? Or have you seen some improvements or
some changing dynamics among the the parties in conflict? Thank you.
Thank you for the question.
I think that from what I saw last week in Darfur,
for the moment the violence continues.
We are continuing to see the outflow. We encourage the dialogue to continue.
And and and as I said, we are hoping for peace. We are hoping for a ceasefire.
But for the time being, we haven't seen the results.
And there is also, of course,
is doing is continuing to do with the parties.
That, of course, as you know,
I had seen another hand in the room.
Mora. I will go to the platform.
Yeah. Good morning. Thank you for that.
Um, I just want to check the kinds of trust as you're describing. Um,
largely concentrated in Darfur,
or are you describing a situation that is more prevalent around the country?
in In the in the case that you reported with, um did you identify perpetrators?
Was it RSF? Was it, um, affiliated militias did? Is there
some pattern to this violence that you could elaborate on?
And secondly, I also just wanted to ask, you know,
whether there has whether you're seeing any
improvement in the cross border flow of humanitarian assistance. Thank you.
Thank you very much for the for the the the very good question for the people I met.
They were mostly fleeing,
atrocities and the stories that I heard, uh, were,
uh, almost a I would say 100% coming, uh, from, uh, Darfur.
what I What I do know is that relevant bodies are documenting war crimes accounts,
violence Jurors, brutal stories, refugees and displaced communities telling us
we're facilitating this for the
aside OHC HR Amnesty International.
But it is really up to, uh, the courts to declare,
what what happens to these, uh, to these stories and how this moves forwards.
Um and I think our colleague from OHC HR, uh, said something similar as well.
Uh, so that's that's, um that's what we're doing. But I can.
Although I didn't hear the accounts, I am sure that
similar issues are happening across the country
and in particular, the special advisor to the
to the Secretary General on the prevention of genocide warned
that the situation in the whole of Sudan
bears all the marks of risk of genocide.
till your hand is still up.
Yeah, I wasn't unmuted, but I am now. Um, yeah.
I was asking also about the cross border flow of humanitarian assistance. Um,
has there been any improvement at all? If not, why not? Um,
so I think our concern right now is whether the border will remain open after, uh,
Uh, and, uh, when I was there, we, uh I did meet the colleagues who are doing, uh,
cross border operations, which continue, but that's our main concern.
Is what will happen after the 15th of November.
any other question to Dominic,
you send out the notes. Or maybe it's already done.
OK, so you'll have the notes from Dominic.
Thank you very very much for coming
and briefing us again on this
incredibly awful situation. And good luck with your important work. Thank you.
Let's go back to the Middle East. We have online Lotte Rupert, the
head of operations in Lebanon. She is getting to us from Beirut.
And I would like to welcome
and we'll hear from a lot about the emergency appeal for Lebanon that the
Lotte. You have the floor.
Good morning. And, uh, greetings from Lebanon.
So more than 1 million people throughout Lebanon have now been forced
to flee their homes following the severe escalation of violence in September
and recognising the immense amount of aid
that is needed to respond to this situation
and also considering the many challenges that lie ahead
in the coming months and the coming years.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red
Crescent Societies has launched an emergency appeal this week
asking for a total of 100 million Swiss francs,
and this support is desperately needed to be
able to address the humanitarian needs in Lebanon,
which are still rising day by day,
and the situation is particularly concerning
given that winter is on its way
and that many people are now homeless or living in overcrowded conditions
and the Lebanese Red Cross had already skied up its response in the past year.
But we now find ourselves in a completely new reality
where staff and volunteers are responding nonstop
to the dramatic needs across the country.
And it's important to emphasise that Lebanese
Red Cross is responsible for around 80%
of all the ambulance services in the country as
a key local actor mandated by the Lebanese government.
teams from the Lebanese Red Cross are delivering essential relief items every day
to the vast number of people who have been forced to leave their homes.
So we are saying that more funding is critical to ensure that
the staff and volunteers can continue carrying out their life saving work.
I would also like to highlight that this week our secretary general at the IFRC
came to Beirut mainly to express his solidarity with people in Lebanon
and to launch this emergency appeal together with
the secretary general of the Lebanese Red Cross,
and together we visited an aid distribution
at one of the temporary shelters here in Beirut,
and it was devastating to witness the trauma
of people who've had to leave everything behind,
Many people have lost their belongings, their livelihoods,
and some of them have even lost their loved ones.
And one of the people we spoke with, uh, was
a 14 year old boy who fled his house in the middle
of the night after his neighbourhood in southern Beirut was heavily bombed,
and he and his family told us that they had
to move three times before they could reach safety,
and he told us that he even had to sleep on the beach during the first few nights.
Ahmed can't go to school anymore because many of them
are still closed and or use as temporary shelters.
But he's committed to try and study himself.
he's told us that he's really missing his friends and his classmates,
all he wants is is to go home back to a life that he had that he had to leave behind.
But right now the situation is too dangerous in southern Beirut.
So the Lebanese Red Cross has provided his family with mattresses, food
and other supplies that they urgently need.
And we are also giving them medical support and psychological support.
so this support has given his family one less
thing to worry about during this incredibly difficult time.
Another story I heard this week is from Re,
uh, a Lebanese Red Cross ambulance volunteer from Nabati,
which is a city not far from the border.
Her city and the ambulance centre that she volunteered at for years,
and with tears in her eyes, she shared what being a volunteer means to her.
And she and many other brave volunteers will never lay down their Red Cross vests,
even though they are sometimes affected or displaced themselves.
17 of our Lebanese Red Cross volunteers have been injured
in the past weeks while they were on duty,
and three of them have been injured multiple times.
they keep going and they are risking their own lives to help others in need,
and their dedication to the Red Cross
and to humanity enables this organisation to continue
and This is why I would like to reiterate one very critical
message that civilians and humanitarians must
be protected under all circumstances.
And our staff and volunteers must be unhindered
when they carry out their life saving work.
So let me close by saying that this is a marathon. It's not a sprint.
Even if the hostilities in Lebanon were to end in this very moment,
which is something we're all deeply hoping for,
the needs will still be there.
Houses and livelihoods will need to be rebuilt.
And this is why international solidarity with
Lebanese people is so urgent and critical.
We cannot leave them alone.
The Lebanese Red Cross, with the support of the IRC,
remains committed to provide critical humanitarian
assistance under very challenging circumstances.
But our response cannot continue without more
international support for a new emergency appeal.
Thank you for your consideration. And I'm happy to take any questions.
Thank you, Lotte, For, uh, this, uh, briefing and, uh,
for telling us of these appalling stories.
Is there any question, uh, in the room? Nina Larson. A FP?
Uh, I just wanted to ask if you, um how much money you've received so far, uh,
the impact you think it will have if you're not able
to raise more because there is a an issue with,
uh lacking, uh, support for these appeals at the moment.
So the IFRC had already launched an appeal last year in October as a result of the
the escalation of hostilities in Gaza
and Lebanon had received approximately 9.3 million of funds through that appeal.
But the situation since September is completely different.
And we're now launching this new appeal to really
address the the severe impact of the hostilities in Lebanon
and to also look at the coming two years.
So for the new appeal, we we haven't received any funding to date.
and we're very much relying on more international support to be able to continue.
we're we're facing a severe funding gap and a lot of
critical services such as ambulances and the blood transfusion services.
They they've had to scale up massively to to respond to the growing demand.
But on the long term, we we're not able
to to continue that level of support without additional support.
Yeah. Sorry. You mentioned an appeal last year. How much was that for?
And what was the percentage covered?
The appeal was for 200 million,
which was for the four national societies responding
to the effects of the crisis in Gaza.
And the appeal was 14% funded.
Clear. Thank you very much.
I don't see any. So thank you very much, Lotte.
Yeah, go ahead. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Lotte, Good luck.
With your work in Lebanon, hopefully European will be heard.
I will now go to the last of our speakers today.
Who comes to us from Rome.
who is the senior economist of?
And she has an update for us on the monthly
update for us on the global food commodity prices.
Good afternoon. Good morning. Still Good morning from Rome.
Thank you very much for the invitation and
the opportunity to present here on this briefing.
My briefing concerns the FA Food Price Index that was released this morning.
The index increased by 2% in October compared to September,
reaching the highest level since
April 2023. That is 18 months
compared to historical levels.
the food price index in October was 5.5%
higher than its corresponding value one year ago,
but remained over 20% below the peak reached in March 2022.
Price quotations for all commodities in the index except meat strengthened.
Now give you I'll give you a brief overview on the commodity groups.
In the order of magnitude,
The vegetable oil price index increased by 7.3% reaching a two year high as
growth for all vegetable oils,
driven mainly by concerns about the production levels
gas index increased by 2.6% amid persistent concerns over the 2425 production
outlook in Brazil following a prolonged period of drive weather conditions.
Sugar prices are related to the crude oil prices due to the linkages to the biofuels,
so the sugar quotation rose
moving to daily dairy price index rose by 1.9%
and it was over 20% higher than the LA
one year ago. International cheese.
And But the price is, though, even as quotations for milk powder decline
going to cereal cereal increased by 0.9% rent by rising wheat and maize prices
on the beach side. The high prices were impacted by AL
conditions in the major northern hemisphere exporters,
as well as the introduction of an unofficial price for
and rising tensions. Continuing tensions in the Black Sea region
world maps prices was due to a strong domestic
demand in Brazil and transportation difficulties linked to La
Water River in the country, which prevents
Finally, the meat price index dropped marginally by 0.3% from September, led by
FA O also released a new serial and supply demand brief today,
which forecast that the global Syria production in 2024
will decline by around 0.4% from the previous year,
but would still be the second largest level on a record
The Syria import needs. However, for the 44 low
countries are forecast to be about 7% above the five year average,
which with this increase is concentrated in East Africa and south
You will recall that I just spoke about the the higher prices.
Well, if the Syria prices are higher,
then the import bills of these countries is going to increase
and the implications for food security are quite clear.
I would also like to mention
that some 45 countries and and above
are assessed to be in need for external assistance of food.
The main drivers here are conflicts and exec insecurity, as we had in the previous,
briefings with the populations in Gaza Strip Ha
Ian and the Sudan facing I PC five,
allowance of acute food in Syria, Security in 2024
and very last bit of information that Agriculture Market Information System,
the Secretariat of which is hosted at FA O, often
released its monthly market monitor day,
which features in addition to regular analysis also and, uh,
and discussion on the devolution of export restrictions on
staple crops. Since 2007,
I'll be happy to answer any questions they might be. Thank you.
Monica, for this update, let me see if there's any question for you.
Um, with the the cop 29 coming up, Uh, I was wondering,
uh, if you can comment on what you've been seeing in terms of,
uh, the, um of climate impacts on, uh,
food prices over the last few years and food security.
So in terms of, you know, agriculture, by definition,
agricultural production has always been prone to, uh, extreme weather events.
in terms of weather events, there is still
large body of research ongoing that is trying to assess
whether the higher frequency of the extreme weather events is
to what extent is related.
I will not comment on it, but certainly what we are
is this higher occurrence of extreme weather events.
If we look at droughts, if we look at floods,
if we look at at at at storms that are that are present
in terms of the commodities that we have in the food pricing banks,
those are very basic commodities that are produced globally.
So if you have an extreme weather event that is affecting for example,
Uh, a drought in North Africa, which decreases the production
the the production decrease is there while it is
going to be stable and increase somewhere else.
So when we look at the global picture,
it is this nature that the commodities are produced on different, uh,
That kind of mitigates the effect of what happens with
the with the higher occurrence of extreme weather events.
this is different when you then focus
on specific regions or even specific countries.
Thank you very much. Paula. You have a follow up.
Yeah, I guess what I wanted to to know was, uh
to what degree? Uh, has climate change contributed to, uh, food? Um, inflation.
That's a pretty, pretty long fetch question.
But we can, uh, because you don't have, uh, know the impact.
The food price inflation is related to the prices that the consumers are paying.
Uh, what we look at here in this particular case, on the prices of the commodities,
of the commodities, you can have some impact. I'm not aware what it is.
We have not done this particular research,
but this impact eventually
the value change to the price that the
consumers are paying for the particular product.
There are additional costs that are coming into it, right? So
it's not as easy to make the the the direct link between the
climate change or the impact of the climate change and the food prices.
Thank you very much, Monica. Other questions for a few
I don't see any. So thanks very much for this update on the food prices.
have a few announcements for you.
The Human Rights Council colleagues asked me to remind you that the 47th session
of the Universal Periodic Review Working Group is continuing its work
this morning with the review of Brunei Desal
the afternoon, we will see the reports of Norway, Albania,
the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Cote d'Ivoire and Portugal that should be adopted
will continue starting with Costa Rica,
Guinea. That's going to be on Monday,
then Ethiopia and Qatar on Tuesday,
and there will be other adoptions on Wednesday and Friday for more details.
and his team are available,
remind you. I think you have received by now the invitation. But
I remind you that on 14 November, which is
at 645 we invite you all to the Cinema, cinema
to watch the movie State of Silence.
It's a very powerful movie, which shows the plea for free
of expression and freedom of the press,
especially by shedding light on the perilous lives of committed Mexican
journalists who face grave risks while reporting on narco trafficking and
The screening will be followed by, as usual, with our
We will be followed by a discussion with
Turk, the high commissioner for human rights. Santiago Mazel
I think he is a our Oscar winning actor and also executive
producer of the movie and the director general of Reporters Without Border,
and, um uh so that will be at Cinema
and that will be done in partnership with K
and with the support of the EU
and the Office of the Human Rights.
You also have received a media advisory
As you know, building bridges meets every year in Geneva.
That will be the fifth annual summit and action days.
They will meet from the ninth to the 12th of December
The event will focus on aligning financial flows with
global sustainability goals and accelerate the transition to a more
sustainable economic model. This year, the UN Environment Programme
and its 18th Global Roundtable will be
So you will have the possibility to follow the two.
The reason for which I'm telling you already now is that the media accreditation
deadline is 20 November. So please
accredit now if you wish to participate in this important meeting
and I think I have told you everything I had. Paula, you have a question?
Yeah, regarding the the film screening. Uh, will there?
Uh um do we can we reserve spaces? I saw I saw that it's free.
Just wondering, um, if there'll be, uh, a possibility to
to reserve ahead of going
short answer is no. This is an open, an open screening.
Um, so I guess we are hearing a lot of people wishing to come.
I think it's a particular importance that journalists are able to participate,
so let us know and we will see what we can do.
seats like that. But we will
definitely try and facilitate the
participation of accredited journalists and journalists
in general because this is about freedom of the press.
I don't have confirmation yet,
but there is a possibility that we will have interview opportunities with the
people who are coming, which are, as I said, Santiago Maza, the filmmaker, and
Luna. We will confirm this very soon,
but if you are interested in interviews especially, I know with Diego
Luna we have received already some
requests. Just let us know
a reminder that the director general of
Reporters Without Borders is also making the
trip to Geneva for this film.
So don't hesitate to let us know if you have
a particular interest in talking to any of these people.
I don't see other hands up, so thank you very much.
Have a nice weekend and I'll see you on Tuesday. Thank you.
