UN GENEVA PRESS BRIEFING

Michele Zaccheo, Chief, UNTV, Radio and Webcast Section, United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives from the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, International Telecommunication Union, World Health Organization, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the World Food Programme.

Further Calls for a Ceasefire in Lebanon

Jeremy Laurence for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said the United Nations human rights chief Volker Türk said today he was gravely concerned by the escalation in Lebanon in recent days, reiterating his call for an immediate ceasefire to put an end to the loss of life and destruction.

Dozens were reportedly killed in Israeli airstrikes between 22 and 24 November, including eight children and 19 women. On 22 and 23 November, at least seven paramedics were reportedly killed in three separate Israeli strikes on the south of Lebanon. This added to the 226 healthcare workers killed as a result of the conflict in Lebanon between 7 October 2023 and 18 November 2024.

These were further indications of just how brutal this war had been on civilians. The High Commissioner repeated his call for an immediate ceasefire to put an end to the killings and the destruction. 

Israeli military action in Lebanon had caused widescale loss of civilian life, including the killing of entire families, widespread displacement and the destruction of civilian infrastructure, raising serious concerns about respect for the principles of proportionality, distinction and necessity.

The Lebanese armed group Hezbollah had also continued to fire rockets on the north of Israel, which has resulted in civilian casualties. Most of these rockets were indiscriminate by nature, prolonging the displacement of many Israeli civilians, which was unacceptable.

The only way to end the suffering of people on all sides was a permanent and immediate cease fire on all fronts in Lebanon, in Israel and in Gaza.

UN Urges De Facto Authorities in Afghanistan to Protect Media Freedom

Jeremy Laurence for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said a joint report issued this morning by the United Nations Human Rights Office and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) painted a disturbing picture of the media landscape in the country since the Taliban takeover. United Nations human rights chief Volker Türk said measures introduced by the de facto authorities flew in the face of international human rights treaties to which Afghanistan was party.

The report, which covered the period from 15 August 2021 to 30 September 2024, detailed a range of human rights violations, as well as worrying trends for media freedom in Afghanistan. Journalists, media workers and media outlets were operating under a worsening environment of censorship and restrictions in accessing information. Women journalists and media workers faced particular restrictive and discriminatory measures profoundly limiting their ability to do their work.

Media workers deemed to have crossed so-called “red lines” imposed by the de facto authorities had been arbitrarily detained for periods ranging from several hours to multiple months, without due process, and in certain cases were convicted and imprisoned.

The report stated that since August 2021, many media outlets had been forced to cease their operations, whether as a result of direct pressure on them or the country’s general economic decline and the withdrawal of much donor funding. Furthermore, many media professionals had sought futures outside, creating an increasing dearth of experience in the media sector.

On 19 September 2021, the de facto authorities issued an “11-Point Guidance” to media, forbidding, among other things, the publication of content deemed contrary to their own assessment of Islam and Afghan culture, or more broadly deemed to be against vague notions of “national interest”. Other restrictions included a prohibition on broadcasting music or movies deemed against Sharia religious law, including those showing women. At offices of media outlets, men and women needed work in segregated workspaces, and men and women broadcasters could not appear in a programme together. In some provinces, women were not even allowed to call into radio programmes, the only exceptions being for those on health or religious issues concerning women.

Some representatives of the de facto authorities had reportedly refused to be interviewed or speak to women. They had favoured the attendance of male journalists at press conferences, while female journalists were either not invited, barred from entering the events upon arrival, or, if present, asked to move to the back of the room. On 3 May 2023, in Nili city in Daikundi province, the de facto authorities commemorated World Press Freedom Day with an event to which women journalists were reportedly not invited. On 19 March 2024, the de facto ministry of education invited journalists to attend an event marking the start of the new academic school year. No women were invited, due to alleged lack of space.

The High Commissioner said such all-encompassing control of the public space – or what was left of it – was suffocating, not just for the journalists who try to do their essential work at great risk, but for all the people of Afghanistan.

He stressed that the Taliban de facto authorities needed to uphold Afghanistan’s State obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to ensure the right to freedom of expression without distinction of any kind, including gender. Central to this was respecting the vital role of journalists and media workers, including women, and facilitating the exercise, in safety, of their essential profession.

Read the full press release here.

Relentless Increase in Health Needs Across the Eastern Mediterranean

Dr. Rick Brennan, Regional Emergencies Director for Eastern Mediterranean Region, World Health Organization (WHO), said it was hard to imagine a more difficult time for the Eastern Mediterranean region than the present. There had been many deaths in Gaza and Sudan, levels in violence in Lebanon and Syria that had not been seen in decades, and there were reports of an uptick in violence in Somalia. In almost none of these settings was there political progress, with no warring parties showing willingness to compromise. The decision makers had put policies and power ahead of serving basic humanity. The parties to the conflict were being aided by international backers. Vulnerable civilian families, including children, continued to be killed, maimed and held in horrendous conditions.

These were political crises that needed political solutions. Humanitarians could not stop the crises, but they were there on the ground to pick up the pieces. WHO was calling for more support and resources, as it had continued to show that if it had resources, it could make a remarkable difference.

Earlier this month in Doha at the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) 2024, WHO presented a report on attacks on healthcare. The report showed that since 2018, there had been over three attacks on healthcare every day, with an average of one death a day as a result of those deaths. 

The impact on healthcare of these attacks was enormous. Only 47 per cent of hospitals in Gaza were functioning, and those hospitals were only partly functioning. In Khartoum, only 12 per cent of over 900 facilities were functioning to some level, and most of them were only partially functioning. The reason why polio had not been eradicated in Afghanistan, in Pakistan and globally, was because of attacks on healthcare.

None of the mechanisms to prevent attacks on healthcare were working. Impunity was rife and neglect of international humanitarian law in conflicts today beggared belief. Not one person had been held accountable for the attacks on healthcare that had been documented by WHO.

WHO was calling for a global alliance and a Special Rapporteur on protection of health in conflict and had made seven other related recommendations.

Communities were tired of being called resilient, but that’s what they were. They wanted an end to the fighting. What continues to inspire WHO was the communities the organization served and their irrepressible human spirit. Humanitarian workers continued to serve these communities under unimaginable conditions. It was the people in power who were preventing an end to attacks on healthcare.

Michele Zaccheo, Chief, UNTV, Radio and Webcast Section, United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, said the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres had spoken today at the Tenth United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Global Forum. He stressed that these were very difficult times where we were seeing the social fabric under serious strain. Everywhere, tensions were mounting and human rights were under attack. He specifically called for peace in Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine, and said that we needed to uphold the values of the United Nations Charter and international law, including the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of all States.

In response to questions, Dr. Brennan said a study done in Khartoum by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine demonstrated that the level of mortality was 50 per cent higher compared to before the conflict.

WHO started a surveillance system on attacks on healthcare in 2018. It included a verification system. It had documented almost 7,400 attacks, and over 2,000 deaths associated with those attacks. Parties to the conflict could be governments, and there had been a reluctance to bring perpetrators to justice.

WHO’s role was documentation and advocacy. It was not mandated to investigate and identify perpetrators. It was documenting the impact on healthcare of attacks. It was up to others to identify perpetrators and bring them to justice.

WHO did not have good historical data on attacks on healthcare prior to 2018. Since 2018, the highest level of attacks had occurred in the past two years, most of which in Gaza, Ukraine, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Syria and Afghanistan. Recent reinterpretations of international humanitarian law by people in power were very concerning.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) needed to be sustained. There was no Plan B for filling the role that they played at this stage.

Current Needs in Ukraine

Jaime Wah, Programme and Operations Manager for Ukraine, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said she lived in Kyiv. Due to electricity cuts, after 4 p.m., her team worked in complete darkness in the office. When she left, she walked home through streets with no lights and no working traffic signals. At night, she woke up repeatedly from the sound of air alerts and explosions that had become an all-too-familiar part of life.

Temperatures were falling below zero, but millions of displaced people in Ukraine did not have heating. They had lost their homes and basic security. For these families, survival was now a daily struggle.

The armed conflict in Ukraine had been ongoing for almost three years, turning into a long-lasting and protracted humanitarian crisis. Missile strikes continued to hit urban areas, claiming lives, leaving people with life-changing injuries, and destroying infrastructure. 

In the last few months, Ukraine’s energy crisis had worsened dramatically: two-thirds of the country’s energy capacity had been destroyed, as electricity points and powerplants were targeted in airstrikes. Even Kyiv faced widespread power outages, following aerial assaults on 17 November, where substations essential for operating the country’s three remaining nuclear power plants—Rivne, Khmelnytskyi, and South Ukraine—were hit, further destabilising the energy grid. Electricity and energy costs for consumers had more than doubled, and heating shortages could trigger a new wave of displacement, with people fleeing both from hard-hit regions to other parts of the country and migrating abroad.

Since the escalation of the conflict, the IFRC and the Ukrainian Red Cross Society had been working tirelessly to meet the growing needs of people in Ukraine. As winter set in, these organisations had ramped up their efforts. They were delivering over 500 generators to power hospitals, shelters and other critical services. Solar panels, power banks and flashlights were being sent to communities left without electricity. Thousands of displaced families would also receive emergency housing materials, blankets and hygiene kits to help them survive these winter months.

Despite these ongoing efforts, the Red Cross could solve all the problems alone. Along with other humanitarian organisations operating in Ukraine, it had managed to provide assistance to seven million people. Unfortunately, over a third of the people receiving IFRC support through cash assistance said that they relied on this as their main source of income. This was not enough, nor a long term, sustainable solution. The scale of the needs was overwhelming, and with each passing day, those needs continued to grow.

As international support declined, the most vulnerable were at risk—particularly older people, those with disabilities, and families in frontline areas. These were the people who needed our help the most.

As the harsh winter approached, where temperatures could drop as low as -20 °C, our actions would determine how bearable this season would be for families in need. We needed to continue to support people affected by the conflict. The IFRC was calling for significant new investment to address the immediate needs and commit to long-term recovery goals. Now was not the time to turn a blind eye - global attention and resources were waning for the IFRC emergency appeal, but the humanitarian needs remained.

Together, we could ensure that no one was left behind, in the dark or in the cold.

Surge in WFP Operations across Sudan

Leni Kinzli, Communications Officer for Sudan, World Food Programme (WFP), said WFP food trucks arrived in North Darfur’s Zamzam camp last Friday, where famine was confirmed earlier this year. These were the first WFP food items that it had been able to transport into the camp in many months, carrying emergency food aid for 12,500 people.

Getting WFP trucks into Zamzam camp on the edge of El Fasher, which had been embattled since April, was a critical step. WFP had been pushing to reach all isolated conflict zones across Sudan. These were the areas where hunger was the highest and access the hardest.

In Zamzam camp, people lined up on the road cheering as the WFP convoy arrived. People in the camp were resorting to extreme measures to survive because food was so scarce. To survive, families were eating crushed peanut shells, which was typically used to feed animals. Across the camp there were parents who were mourning the deaths of their children who passed away from malnutrition.

While the amount of aid on this convoy was just a drop in the ocean compared to the need, these trucks were delivering hope to people in Zamzam who had been battling famine on their own, cut off from aid for many months.

WFP and partners had been providing locally sourced food to around 100,000 people in Zamzam camp over recent months, while it had been pushing to get access for trucks to reach North Darfur from other routes. The routes from Chad via the Tine and Adre border crossings and from Port Sudan via Al Dabbah and onwards were the main corridors to transport aid into the Darfur region.

More than 700 trucks carrying WFP food aid were currently on route to communities across Sudan. This included to 14 areas that either faced famine or were at risk of famine, and was part of a scale-up effort to reach millions of people in the country’s most needy and isolated conflict areas. In total, the trucks would carry about 17,500 tons of food assistance, enough to feed 1.5 million people for one month.

Currently, another convoy was on the way to Zamzam. It had been on the road from Port Sudan for two weeks, having already travelled 1,400 kilometres across rough terrain, dozens of armed checkpoints and conflict lines. It was now 300 kilometres away from Zamzam. The last part of this dangerous and long journey was the most risky and unsafe.

Another convoy had been on its way to Kadugli and Dilling in South Kordofan from Port Sudan for two weeks. It would be departing Kosti in White Nile in the coming days for the final leg of its journey to locations in South Kordofan that had received little or no assistance since the start of the war 19 months ago.

All parties to the conflict, militias, and armed groups or tribes needed to allow these convoys to pass safely. Safe passage and unfettered access were critical for WFP to be able to halt famine in Zamzam and prevent it from spreading to other areas.

Since September, WFP had delivered food assistance to an average of two million people each month across Sudan – a number that would grow with this latest surge effort. In total this year, WFP had reached over seven million people in Sudan and aimed to support over eight million of the most acutely hungry by the end of 2024.

Michele Zaccheo, Chief, UNTV, Radio and Webcast Section, United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, said that without sustained support, we would see a spike in mortality in Sudan. Humanitarian access was key.

In response to questions, Ms. Kinzli said it was now the dry season in Sudan. Between July and September, it was extremely difficult to deliver aid due to wet weather conditions and route blockages. Authorities had granted over 700 clearances since September. Communities were desperate and armed to protect themselves, so intensive negotiations were needed to create humanitarian corridors. WFP was working to ensure that all actors on the ground were aware that the conveys were delivering humanitarian assistance that was sorely needed by vulnerable communities affected by the conflict.

Announcements

Thomas Croll-Knight for the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) said that fresh from COP29, countries needed to accelerate decarbonisation of economies. However, the increasing scale and scope of industrial activities needed to meet the demands of the energy transition was bringing rising risks of accidents, potentially catastrophic ones.

Governments from across the pan-European region would come together this week – starting tomorrow – for the 13th session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents, known as the “Industrial Accidents Convention.” At the meeting, which would take place from Wednesday until Friday in Room VII of the Palais des Nations, parties would decide on the establishment of an expert body to address these risks.

A dedicated report and seminar tomorrow would highlight risks linked to the massive scaling-up in production, storage, use and distribution of renewables, ammonia, hydrogen and battery energy storage systems. The huge quantities of critical minerals needed for the energy transition brought further risks, but other technologies such as Carbon Capture, Use and Storage would also require increased safety measures, as would new technologies with unknown hazards and risks that needed to be duly considered.

This was backed up by a UNECE survey of 22 countries from across the region, in which 68 per cent of countries surveyed said that they were moderately prepared and four per cent unprepared for accidents in this field. Less than one quarter of responses rated their country’s industrial safety infrastructure and current knowledge in dealing with energy transition challenges as advanced or state-of-the-art.

The Conference of the Parties would also address a range of other topics, including satellite monitoring technologies for mine tailings safety, and disaster risk reduction and natural hazard-triggered technological disasters.

The Convention was signed in 1992 and was negotiated in response to the 1986 Sandoz chemical spill. The spill released a 70km-long toxic red plume in the river Rhine, which travelled to France, Germany and even the Netherlands, highlighting the need for cooperation to address these risks.

David Hirsch for the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) said ITU was inviting reporters to the plenary sessions for the upcoming World Radio Communication Seminar, being held next week on Monday, 2 December and Tuesday, 3 December. The sessions would address topics ranging from how satellite and terrestrial operators file for radio frequencies, to global rules on harmful interference and the inner workings of the international treaty governing radio communication. The sessions could be viewed online in real time or via recordings.

On Wednesday, 27 November at 3 p.m., ITU would hold a press conference at the Palais des Nations to launch Facts & Figures 2024, which provided estimates of the number of individuals that were connected to the internet, and information on a variety of related indicators. The report would be under embargo until 3 p.m. tomorrow.

Michele Zaccheo, Chief, UNTV, Radio and Webcast Section, United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, said that on Tuesday, 26 November at 2 p.m., the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) would hold a press conference at the Palais des Nations to launch the World AIDS Day Report 2024—Take The Rights Path. Speaking would be Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS, among other speakers.

On Wednesday, 27 November at 11 a.m., the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) would hold a press conference to launch the FAO State of Agricultural Commodity Markets (SOCO) 2024: Trade and Nutrition: Policy Coherence for Healthy Diets report. The report was under embargo until 29 November 2024 at 1.30 p.m. Speaking were George Rapsomanikis, FAO Senior Economist and lead author of SOCO 2024; Nancy Aburto, FAO Deputy Director of the Food and Nutrition Division; and Andrea Zimmermann, FAO Economist.

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (114th session, 25 November – 13 December, Palais Wilson) would begin this afternoon the review of the report of Ecuador. This session, the Committee would review Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, Monaco, Armenia, Greece and Kenya.

On 29 November, a special meeting would be held at the Palais des Nations to mark the annual observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. The Director-General of the United Nations in Geneva, Tatiana Valovaya, would provide introductory remarks and read out a statement by Secretary-General António Guterres.

Also speaking would be representatives of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories, the League of Arab States, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Non-Aligned Movement, the African Union, and the State of Palestine. It would be held at 11 a.m. in room XIX of the Palais, concluding at 12:30 p.m. The special meeting was being organized in observance of General Assembly resolution 32/40 B of 2 December 1977.

In response to questions, Mr. Zaccheo said the International Atomic Energy Agency was not a party to nuclear talks related to Iran and talks were not being convened by the United Nations, nor did the United Nations have any information on the premises for the talks at this time. Information on the talks would be shared if it became available.

***