The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News , Press Conferences | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence briefing on Greece
“The appalling loss of life in the Mediterranean Sea was an horrific tragedy, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has said,” he said.
“The High Commissioner expressed his condolences to those who have lost loved ones – 78 people are known to have died and up to 500 are missing, among them large numbers of women and children. He stressed his solidarity with the survivors and the families of the victims,” Laurence said.
“What happened on Wednesday underscores the need to investigate people smugglers and human traffickers and ensure they are brought to justice, the UN Human Rights Chief said,” he said.
“The High Commissioner reiterated his call to States to open up more regular migration channels, enhance responsibility-sharing, ensure arrangements for the safe and timely disembarkation of all people rescued at sea, and establish independent monitoring and oversight of migration-related policies and practices,” the spokesperson said in conclusion.
For more information and media requests, please contact:
Ravina Shamdasani - + 41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org or
Liz Throssell + 41 22 917 9296 / elizabeth.throssell@un.org or
Jeremy Laurence + +41 22 917 9383 / jeremy.laurence@un.org or
Seif Magango - +254 788 343 897 / seif.magango@un.org
Tag and share
Twitter @UNHumanRights
Facebook unitednationshumanrights
Instagram @unitednationshumanrights
Tag and share - Twitter: @UNHumanRights and Facebook: unitednationshumanrights
- Exterior shot: Palais des Nations, Geneva.
- Wide shot: wide shot press conference
- Soundbite (English)—Jeremy Laurence, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “The appalling loss of life in the Mediterranean Sea was an horrific tragedy, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk hassaid today.”
- Cut away: briefing room.
- Soundbite (English)—Jeremy Laurence, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “The High Commissioner expressed his condolences to those who have lost loved ones – 78 people are known to have died and up to 500 are missing, among them large numbers of women and children. He stressed his solidarity with the survivors and the families of the victims.”
- Cut away: briefing room.
- Soundbite (English)—Jeremy Laurence, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “What happened on Wednesday underscores the need to investigate people smugglers and human traffickers and ensure they are brought to justice, the UN Human Rights Chief said.”
- Cut away: briefing room.
- Soundbite (English)—Jeremy Laurence, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “The High Commissioner reiterated his call to States to open up more regular migration channels, enhance responsibility-sharing, ensure arrangements for the safe and timely disembarkation of all people rescued at sea, and establish independent monitoring and oversight of migration-related policies and practices.”
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News , B-roll | OCHA
Gaza: ‘Worst-case scenario’ unfolds as two-month aid blockade deepens suffering - OCHA
Two months into a devastating aid blockade of Gaza food has run out and people are fighting over water amid relentless bombing, the UN’s humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA) said on Friday.
/Includes OCHA footage from Gaza City/
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNDP , OCHA , UNHCR
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the United Nations Refugee Agency.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA
Children in Gaza are going to bed starving, says aid agency
The biggest UN aid agency in Gaza on Tuesday condemned the two-month Israeli blockade on Gaza that has left families sharing a single tin of food at mealtime and the sick and injured without lifesaving medical help, amid daily bombardment.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IFRC , UNHCR , UNRWA
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the World Health Organization and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR
Ongoing Russian attacks in Ukraine force frontline areas to empty: UNHCR
With Ukrainian cities still reeling from this week’s deadly Russian missile and drone attacks, communities on the front line continue to be targeted too, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday. “We also see attacks on frontline regions increasing and it's, as always, civilians that are bearing the highest cost of the war,” said Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR Representative in Ukraine.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | BRS
2025 BRS Conventions Conference of the Parties (COPs)
1
1
2
Press Conferences | WFP , UNHCR , WHO
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives from the World Food Programme, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Health Organization.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
Funding and supply shortfalls for the UN World Food Programme (WFP)'s work in Ethiopia will halt lifesaving treatment for 650,000 malnourished women and children at the end of the month. “We are at the breaking point,” it said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | WFP
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, attended by the representative of the World Food Programme (WFP).
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Israeli military operations in Lebanon continue to kill and injure civilians, and destroy civilian infrastructure, raising concerns regarding the protection of civilians, the UN Human Rights Office warned today.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IOM , OHCHR , UNDP , UNHCR , UNICEF , UNWOMEN
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of the United Nations Development Programme, UN Women, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the International Organization for Migration, and the United Nations Refugee Agency.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , UNWOMEN , UNDP
Sudan: Aid teams report massive displacement after latest Darfur atrocity; women’s bodies ‘turned into battlegrounds’
In Sudan’s North Darfur, tens of thousands of people have fled a displacement camp following the massacre of civilians and aid workers as the country enters the third year of a conflict marked by horrific levels of sexual violence, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.