UN GENEVA PRESS BRIEFING
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations at the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons and representatives of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Refugee Agency, and the Office of the Special Envoy for Syria.
Situation in Goma
Jens Laerke, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), stated that thousands of people were leaving sites for internally displaced people in and around Goma and moving to areas where there was no fighting. More than 110,000 displaced people had left sites in Goma and started to move to villages in the Masisi, Rutshuru and Nyiragongo territories. UN teams had carried out humanitarian assessments in Rutshuru the previous week and would continue assessments this week in return areas to inform the response.
Partners remained concerned by the 72-hour ultimatum given by M23 representatives two days earlier to displaced people living in sites and collective centres in Goma to leave and return to their villages. Just the previous day, M23 had issued a statement explaining that “it fully supports and encourages voluntary returns but does not compel anyone to return without firm security guarantees”. OCHA reiterated that all returns had to be voluntary and take place under safe, informed and dignified conditions in accordance with international humanitarian law.
Later today, Bruno Lemarquis, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, and Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Democratic Republic of the Congo would brief reporters virtually on the situation in the DRC, which could be followed live at UNTV.
Rolando Gómez, for the United Nations Information Service (UNIS), said that the UN was working to support the Luanda peace process and emphasized the need to protect civilians.
Situation in Gaza
Answering questions from the media, Jens Laerke, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that full visibility over the pipeline and ceasefire compliance indicators should be available to the guarantors of the ceasefire deal: Egypt, Qatar, and the United States of America. Under the conditions generated by this deal, the UN had been able to scale up humanitarian operations significantly, bringing in food, medical supplies and shelter materials, among others, which had enabled the UN to provide people across Gaza with a range of services. Responding to another question, he confirmed that the UN had been able to bring in shelter materials during the ongoing ceasefire period. Mr. Laerke stressed that the UN had been able to significantly scale up humanitarian operations. It was imperative that the ceasefire continue, expand and be made sustainable.
Rolando Gómez, for the United Nations Information Service (UNIS), quoted the UN Secretary-General, who had stressed that the resumption of hostilities in Gaza had to be avoided at all costs, as it would lead to an immense tragedy. The Secretary-General appealed to Hamas to proceed with the planned liberation of hostages. Both sides had to fully abide by their commitments in the cease-fire agreement and resume serious negotiations in Doha for the second phase. (See statement)
Suspension of operations in Yemen
Replying to questions, Rolando Gómez, for the United Nations Information Service (UNIS), said that, following the recent detention by the Houthi de facto authorities of eight additional United Nations personnel, including six working in Sa’ada governorate, which had impacted UN’s ability to operate, the Secretary-General had instructed the agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations, in the absence of the necessary security conditions and guarantees, to pause all operations and programmes in Sa’ada governorate, Yemen.
Jens Laerke, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that the UN was looking into the effects of the decision to halt activities in Sa’ada governorate.
Groundbreaking international delivery of childhood cancer medicines
Dr. Andre Ilbawi, Technical lead, Cancer control programme at the World Health Organization (WHO), started by stressing that no child with cancer should die because they lacked access to life-saving medicines. Today, ahead of International Childhood Cancer Day, WHO and St Jude Children’s Research Hospital were delighted to share a ground-breaking announcement: the first countries were now receiving essential medicines through the Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines. This marked the beginning of a global movement to provide children with cancer the medicines they needed, regardless of where they lived or their ability to pay. Mongolia and Uzbekistan had already received their initial shipments. Ecuador, Jordan, Nepal, and Zambia were set to follow this month.
This milestone was possible because, in December 2021, WHO and St. Jude had announced a partnership to transform the market for childhood cancer medicines by increasing access, providing greater predictability, and offering quality-assurance. St. Jude had made a six-year, USD 200 million investment to launch the platform, providing medicines free of charge to countries in the pilot phase. This was the largest financial commitment ever made for childhood cancer medicines globally.
Hope was needed. Each year, around 400,000 children worldwide were diagnosed with cancer. Tragically, most of these children lived in resource-limited countries where medicines were either unaffordable or unavailable. This disparity led to an estimated 70 percent of children succumbing to cancer. In contrast, high-income countries reported survival rates of over 80 percent. The Platform was set to close this gap, building on the implementation of the WHO Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer. The initiative’s goal was ambitious but achievable: to reach 50 countries and provide medicines to treat approximately 120,000 children in the next five to seven years. Bringing together governments, the pharmaceutical industry, and non-governmental organizations, the initiative was working to ensure no child was left behind. Every child, no matter where they were born, deserved a fighting chance against cancer.
WHO press release is available here.
Responding to questions from the journalists, Dr. Ilbawi said that at this point there was no threat that the cooperation would be affected by the US decision to withdraw from the WHO. The market for cancer medicine had been unstable and unpredictable, which put governments in a difficult position to evaluate and purchase best products available. This platform brought planning and predictability to the market, which should have tangible effects, stressed Dr. Ilbawi. WHO’s specialized institute for cancer, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, was based in Lyon, France, informed Dr. Ilbawi. It was hoped that the joint platform would scale up in the coming years so at least 50 countries from around the world could join within five to seven years. Dr. Ilbawi emphasized the trend of expanding partnerships with critical partners and key stakeholders from different sectors, including private companies and family and patient associations.
Answering further questions, Dr. Ilbawi explained that the initiative had more than 300 implementing partners around the world. One of the eligibility criteria was that the government had already marked childhood cancer as one of the top issues to address. Countries would also need to be ranked as low- or middle-income countries in order to be eligible. Moldova, Senegal Ghana, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and El Salvador would soon be joining the initiative. A child with cancer needed support from many actors and access to adequate health care, said Dr. Ilbawi responding to another question. No child should die of cancer at the dawn of life, he stressed.
Discovery of mass graves in Libya
William Spindler, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said that the UNHCR was deeply alarmed by the discovery of two mass graves in Libya's eastern desert. The discovery was a tragic reminder of the extreme dangers refugees and migrants faced on their journeys. The graves had been found following raids on human trafficking sites in two locations on 6 February and on 8 February, where the bodies of 19 and 28 people had been found, respectively. Among the identified victims were refugees of different nationalities. This latest tragedy followed the rescue of 259 refugees and migrants from a trafficking site initiated by Libyan authorities on 29 January, after which UNHCR had provided emergency relief to survivors who were in a critical condition. UNHCR continues to advocate for safe pathways, urgent humanitarian assistance and access to essential services for refugees and migrants in Libya and along migration routes where criminal networks exploited vulnerable people for ransom and abuse.
The investigation was still ongoing, and the forensic evidence was being assessed, said Mr. Spindler in a response to a question. UNHCR staff on the ground had been in touch with survivors.
Situation in Venezuela
Replying to questions, William Spindler, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said that the situation in Venezuela had not changed, and the UNHCR’s advice still stood that Venezuelans in need of international protection should not be forcibly returned to the country.
UNHCR was continuing to engage with the US, which had been a staunch supporter of the agency for many decades. He reminded that some of the temporary waivers to the suspension of US aid allowed the UNHCR and others to continue some of their lifesaving activities around the world. UNHCR maintained regular communication with various levels of US Government, reiterated Mr. Spindler.
Announcements
Jenifer Fenton, for the Office of the Special Envoy for Syria (OSE), informed that Special Envoy would travel to Paris to participate in a high-level conference aimed at coordinating regional and international efforts in support of Syria’s transition. Following this, he was going to attend the Munich Security Conference, where he would also join a side event on Women, Peace, and Security. Ms. Fenton reminded that this followed his recent visit to the country, during which he engaged with the caretaker authorities and met with a diverse range of Syrian representatives, groups, and individuals from across the country. Mr. Pedersen planned to return to Syria after his international engagements. On 12 February, the Special Envoy was scheduled to brief the Security Council in an open session at 4 pm Geneva time. Ms. Fenton, responding to questions, said that Mr. Pedersen remained engaged with all key actors, including Russia. The situation was fluid, and his travel schedule remained fluid. OSE was focused on supporting the caretaker authorities with the view of achieving an inclusive transition process.
Rolando Gómez, for the United Nations Information Service (UNIS), informed that the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) would host a special concert "Stand Up for Social Justice!" to mark the World Day of Social Justice, on 12 February at 6:30 pm in Room XX. This event, co-hosted with SHAP SHAP and City of Geneva as part of the ANTIGEL Festival, would blend music, art, and activism to raise awareness about social justice issues and inspire transformative change. The event would also feature a short documentary amplifying the voices of youth from the Youth Community Center in Geneva, alongside performances by Swiss R&B sensation Ocevn, Brazilian artist and activist Brisa Flow, and indigenous poet and anthropologist Idjahure Terena. For more details and access, all interested should contact Karima Cherif of UNRISD to receive the access badge. More information is available here and the registration link is here.
A virtual press briefing with the WHO Director-General would be held on 12 February at 3 pm, informed Christian Lindmeier, for the World Health Organization (WHO).
He also informed that on 11 February 9:30 am, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) would hold a press conference to present its fact-finding report on Bangladesh protests. Speakers would be Volker Türk, the High Commissioner, and Rory Mungoven, Chief of the Asia-Pacific Region at the OHCHR.
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women was reviewing today the report of Belize.
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights was concluding this morning its review of the report of Croatia.
The Conference on Disarmament was holding this morning a public plenary meeting, still under the presidency of Italy. This was the last week of the Italian presidency of the Conference, to be followed by Japan.
Today was the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, on which occasion the Secretary-General had issued a message.
Finally, Mr. Gómez informed that the UN Secretary-General was in Paris, where he would attend the AI Summit co-hosted by France and India.
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