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Bi-Weekly Press Briefing 28 February 2023
PRESS BRIEFING BY THE UNITED NATIONS INFORMATION SERVICE
28 February 2023
Human Rights Council
Rolando Gomez, for the Human Rights Council (HRC), informed that the 52nd session had started on 27 February, hearing from the Secretary-General, the Human Rights High Commissioner, and the President of the General Assembly. The high-level segment was continuing for another two days. This morning, the Council was discussing the death penalty. Mr. Gomez reminded that at the end of 2022, a record 125 Member States had voted in the General Assembly for abolition of the death penalty. At 4 pm today, there would be a panel discussion on the 35th anniversary on the Declaration of the Right to Development.
More details on the ongoing 52nd session can be found here.
Urgent assistance needed in the Horn of Africa
Olga Sarrado, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), stated that, as the Horn of Africa entered its sixth consecutive rainy season with no rain, displacement continued to climb, and millions from Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya struggled to survive amid scarce water sources, hunger, insecurity, and conflict.
With no immediate end in sight to one of the longest and most severe droughts on record, UNHCR was appealing for USD 137 million to provide life-saving aid to 3.3 million refugees and internally displaced people who had been forced to flee their homes in search of safety and assistance, as well as affected local host communities. While famine had so far been averted in Somalia, mostly due to a stepped-up humanitarian response, people continued to battle life-threatening food and water shortages resulting from massive losses of harvests, livestock, and income. According to UNHCR data, over 1.7 million people had been internally displaced in Ethiopia and Somalia due to the drought, most of them last year. More than 180,000 refugees from Somalia and South Sudan had also crossed into drought-affected areas of Kenya and Ethiopia.
Full statement is available here.
Responding to questions, Ms. Sarrado stated that the UNHCR expected to reach 3.3 million refugees, internally displaced people, and local communities in Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia. Over 8 million Somalis were expected to experience high levels of food insecurity in the first quarter this year.
Arbitrary deprivation of nationality by Nicaragua
Replying to a question, Olga Sarrado, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), stated that UNHCR was seriously concerned by the arbitrary deprivation of the Nicaraguan nationality of over 300 people. Full UNHCR statement is available here.
Humanitarian and funding needs in Yemen
Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service (UNIS), said that more than 21 million people in Yemen needed protection and assistance, and the pledging conference hosted by the UN Secretary-General, and the governments of Switzerland and Sweden in Geneva the previous day had raised around USD 1.2 billion.
Sami Fakhouri, Head of the Delegation of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in Yemen, speaking from Sanaa, stressed that the collective commitments of the international community remained especially important for the people of Yemen. However, at the pledging event in Geneva the previous day, the commitments covered less than a quarter of the humanitarian funding ask. Yemen still lay the tragic claim to be one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises and aid operations, where two out of three people needed humanitarian assistance.
IFRC remained committed to Yemen, which was one of its largest operations. The Yemen Red Crescent remained one of the largest local humanitarian organisations, still operating as one entity serving vulnerable people throughout the country. Mr. Fakhouri said that he was hopeful that a peace settlement would be the result of the ongoing negotiations between the parties, as the country and its people were beyond tired of the conflict. He thanked all humanitarian workers in Yemen for their unwavering daily work despite all the challenges and the difficult operating environment. Mr. Fakhouri, who had been the IFRC Head of Delegation in Yemen for over 18 months, said he was amazed by the generosity of its people, despite the dire conditions in which they were living.
Answering questions, Mr. Fakhouri said that regrettably Yemen was now on the downside of funding, after eight years of the crisis. Media could help by keeping Yemen in the news to fight the donor fatigue. IFRC was not scaling back on its services this year, he explained.
World Wildlife Day
David Whitbourn, for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), said that 3 March would mark the World Wildlife Day (WWD) and the 50th anniversary of CITES. He reminded that 3 March had been made the World Wildlife Day by the General Assembly in 2013. CITES had been working for 50 years now to make sure that there was sustainability in global trade.
The theme this year was partnerships for conservation and sustainability. On this occasion, CITES was sharing several stories showcasing successful partnerships from around the world. The focus for this year’s WWD would be a live event at the National Geographic Society’s Grosvenor Auditorium in Washington, DC on 3 March. There would be an invited audience of 400 and an opportunity to watch the event via the livestream on the WWD YouTube channel.
Announcements
James Elder, for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said that a joint UNICEF-ILO report on the levels of social protection for children worldwide, More than a Billion Reasons, would be released on 1 March. The report would be shared at 3 p.m.
On 7 March, UNICEF would release its global report Undernourished and Overlooked, which found that the number of pregnant women and girls suffering from malnutrition was on the increase around the world.
Alessandra Vellucci, on behalf of the Office of the Special Envoy for Syria (OSE), said that the Special Envoy would brief the Security Council at 4 p.m. Geneva time today. The transcript would be shared afterwards.
Responding to questions, Margaret Harris, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body was now discussing the zero draft of the pandemic treaty, after which detailed drafting of individual chapters would commence. Media would be informed if there were press opportunities at the end of the week. There would be no regular press conference by Dr. Tedros this week, she informed. He would hold a press conference in Türkiye this afternoon.
Dr Harris also said that today at 1:30 p.m., the World Health Organization (WHO) would hold a press conference on prevention and response to sexual misconduct: update on support for victims, survivors and their families. Speakers would be Dr. Gaya Gamhewage, Director, Prevention of and Response to Sexual Misconduct at the WHO, and Dr. Eugene Kongnyuy, UNFPA Representative to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Alessandra Vellucci reminded journalists that today at 12 p.m. noon, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) would release 2022 global data for international intellectual property filings, including patents, trademarks, and designs. The speaker in this virtual press conference would be Carsten Fink, Chief Economist.
Also today at 3:15 p.m., Csaba Kőrösi, President of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, would hold a briefing on the 2023 UN Water Conference and other issues.
On 2 March at 2 p.m., there would be a launch of the First Report of the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua. Speakers would be Jan Simon, Chair of the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua; Alexandro Álvarez and Ángela María Buitrago, members of the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua
On 3 March at 9:15 a.m. CET, the Interparliamentary Union (IPU) would launch the IPU’s annual Women in Parliament report. Speakers would be Martin Chungong, IPU Secretary General, and Zeina Hillal, IPU Manager, Gender Partnership Programme and Youth Participation Programme.
On 7 March at 1:30 p.m., there would be launch of the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan’s latest report. Speakers would be Andrew Clapham and Barney Afako, Expert Members of the Commission.
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights would close its 73rd session on 3 March at 5:30 p.m. and issue its concluding observations on the reports of Panama, China, Portugal, Yemen, Cambodia, and Lithuania.
The Human Rights Committee would begin this afternoon its review of the report of Egypt.
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As world’s water reserves change, countries must prepare for a new reality: WMO
New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
- 2025 was one of driest years for river discharge in 35 years
- Past seven years have seen abnorfmal river flows
- Water storage on Earth’s land surface has decreased in past decade
- Widespread glacier loss across all regions for fourth consecutive year
- Asia and Africa are regions most affected by water-related disasters
- Water data availability has improved, but gaps remain in hard-hit areas
Highlighting the long-term decline in the Earth’s freshwater storage and glacier melt, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explained that the planet’s water reserves used to act as a planetary “savings account” that absorbed the occasional dry season, avoiding a water crisis. “One of the central stories of the 2025 report is what is happening to that savings account? And the simple answer is that we are depleting it,” she told journalists in Geneva.
Groundwater reserves are equally stretched and have been in decline since 2014, WMO’s report states, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide showing levels lower than the historical norm and indicating a shift “further toward deficit…not recovery”.
“At the same time, we are seeing more water-related disasters,” Ms. Saulo said, while also stressing that the currently strengthening El Niño “will increase the risk of drought in some areas, and flooding in others”.
Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
“All 19 glacier regions around the globe lost ice; in Central Asia, Iceland, the Russian Arctic and western Canada and the United States, it was among the three worst years on record,” said Wayne Jenkinson, WMO’s Director of Hydrology and Cryosphere.
Some regions with smaller glaciers such as Central Europe, the Caucasus, the western Canada and the United States may already have reached “peak water”, Mr. Jenkinson warned.
“After this point, the glacier gives less meltwater each year simply because there is less ice left to melt. That matters for every community downstream that relies on water during hot, dry summers,” he explained.
Narelle van der Wel, WMO’s Head of Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services, stressed that while some further glacier loss is unavoidable, the eventual scale of the decline is not predetermined.
“Some glacier loss is inevitable, but total loss of glaciers is not yet inevitable,” she said, pointing to emissions reductions as central to limiting future losses.
Preparing for moving baselines
The report does not attribute every observed change to climate change alone. WMO says pressure on water resources and natural variability also contribute.
Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
ends