The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence on the risk of famine in Gaza
“The projected imminent famine in Gaza can and must be prevented.
The alarm bells sounded over the past months by the UN, including our Office, have not been heeded. This catastrophe is human-made and was entirely preventable,” the UN Human rights spokesperson said.
“The situation of hunger, starvation and famine is a result of Israel’s extensive restrictions on the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid and commercial goods, displacement of most of the population, as well as the destruction of crucial civilian infrastructure,” Laurence stated.
“Dangerous coping strategies are already emerging, in the face of starvation. Law and order is breaking down as people become increasingly desperate, and children have reportedly been sent to make the dangerous journey from northern to southern Gaza, unaccompanied in the desperate hope that they will find food and support among the 1.8 million people already displaced there,” he said.
Israel, as the occupying power, has the obligation to ensure the provision of food and medical care to the population commensurate with their needs and to facilitate the work of humanitarian organisations to deliver that assistance.
“Israel, as the occupying power, has the obligation to ensure the provision of food and medical care to the population commensurate with their needs and to facilitate the work of humanitarian organisations to deliver that assistance,” Laurence said.
“There needs to be full restoration of essential services, including the supply of food, water, electricity and fuel.
And there needs to be an immediate ceasefire, as well as the unconditional release of hostages,” Laurence said.
“It's heart-breaking, preventable and must stop the suffering, and you've heard us say this before, the suffering of the people in Gaza is unconscionable. It really is. It is a collective stain on humanity,” he said.
Laurence added “We've watched malnourished children suffering. We know of amputations without anaesthesia. Children, as the high commissioner said, I've been heading south and unaccompanied. Could you imagine the fear? Can you imagine the desperation?
ENDS
In Geneva:
Ravina Shamdasani - + 41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org or Jeremy Laurence - + 41 22 917 9383 / jeremy.laurence@un.org or Marta Hurtado - + 41 22 917 9466 / Ravina Shamdasani .hurtadogomez@un.orgor Thameen Al-Kheetan - + 41 76 223 77 62 / thameen.alkheetan@un.org
Tag and share
Twitter @UNHumanRights Facebook unitednationshumanrightsInstagram @unitednationshumanrights
STORY: UN Human Rights Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence on the risk of famine in Gaza
TRT: 03:14
SOURCE: UNTV/OHCHR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: English/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 19 March 2024 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
1. Exterior shots : Palais des Nations
2. Wide shot : Briefing room
3. SOUNDBITE (English)— Jeremy Laurence, UN Human Rights Spokesperson (OHCHR): “The projected imminent famine in Gaza can and must be prevented. The alarm bells sounded over the past months by the UN, including our Office, have not been heeded. This catastrophe is human-made and was entirely preventable.”
1. Cut away: Briefing room
2. SOUNDBITE (English)— Jeremy Laurence, UN Human Rights Spokesperson (OHCHR):“The situation of hunger, starvation and famine is a result of Israel’s extensive restrictions on the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid and commercial goods, displacement of most of the population, as well as the destruction of crucial civilian infrastructure.”
3. Cut away: Briefing room
SOUNDBITE (English)— Jeremy Laurence, UN Human Rights Spokesperson (OHCHR):“Dangerous coping strategies are already emerging, in the face of starvation. Law and order is breaking down as people become increasingly desperate, and children have reportedly been sent to make the dangerous journey from northern to southern Gaza, unaccompanied in the desperate hope that they will find food and support among the 1.8 million people already displaced there.”
4. Cut away: Briefing room
SOUNDBITE (English)— Jeremy Laurence, UN Human Rights Spokesperson (OHCHR): “Israel, as the occupying power, has the obligation to ensure the provision of food and medical care to the population commensurate with their needs and to facilitate the work of humanitarian organisations to deliver that assistance.”
5. Cut away: Briefing room
6. SOUNDBITE (English)— Jeremy Laurence, UN Human Rights Spokesperson (OHCHR):“There needs to be full restoration of essential services, including the supply of food, water, electricity and fuel.
7. Cut away: Briefing room
8. SOUNDBITE (English)— Jeremy Laurence, UN Human Rights Spokesperson (OHCHR):“And there needs to be an immediate ceasefire, as well as the unconditional release of hostages.”
9. Cut away: Briefing room
10. SOUNDBITE (English)— Jeremy Laurence, UN Human Rights Spokesperson (OHCHR):“It's heart-breaking, preventable and must stop. The suffering, and you've heard us say this before, the suffering of the people in Gaza is unconscionable. It really is. It is a collective stain on humanity.”
11. Cut away: Briefing room
12. SOUNDBITE (English)— Jeremy Laurence, UN Human Rights Spokesperson (OHCHR): “We've watched malnourished children suffering. We know of amputations without anaesthesia. Children, as the high commissioner said, I've been heading south unaccompanied. Can you imagine the fear? Can you imagine the desperation?
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
The UN human rights office (OHCHR) on Friday called for an end to continuing expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, where “unchecked” settler violence has surged since the war in Gaza began more than two years ago.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
The crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to worsen amid ongoing fighting that has driven tens of thousands of people from their homes and created acute hunger, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
Gaza: One million receive food parcels as humanitarians race to ‘push back hunger’
Food is slowly returning to the shelves in Gaza amid “apocalyptic scenes” but supplies are still desperately inadequate, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday, as they issued fresh calls for wider access and continued financial support.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Seif Magango today told the bi-weekly UN press briefing in Geneva of more details that are emerging on the atrocities committed in El Fasher, in Sudan during and after its takeover by the Rapid Support Forces.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Seif Magango made the following comment on Friday at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani made the following comment on Friday at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , WHO
Sudan: UN Raises Alarm Over Mass Atrocities in El Fasher as Survivors Report Executions, Killings and Rapes
More details continue to emerge about atrocities committed during and after the fall of El Fasher to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan on 23 October. Since the powerful paramilitary group made a major incursion into the city last week, the UN Human Rights Office has received “horrendous accounts of summary executions, mass killings, rapes, attacks against humanitarian workers, looting, abductions and forced displacement,” said Seif Magango, spokesperson for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA
Ukraine: Russian attacks on energy terrorize population as winter starts; could trigger major ‘crisis within crisis’
The UN’s top aid official in Ukraine expressed concern on Friday about “continuous attacks” on energy production sites and distribution facilities.
1
1
1
Edited News | HRC
Navi Pillay Retires After Decades Defending Human Rights and Pursuing Justice
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The telecommunications shutdowns in Afghanistan in September had serious and far-reaching impacts on people’s lives, according to a briefing paper published today by the UN Human Rights Office and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Jeremy Laurence at the UN Geneva press briefing made the following comment on the ASEAN declaration on the right to a healthy environment.
1
1
1
Edited News | IFRC , OCHA , WMO
‘Catastrophic’ Hurricane Melissa hours from landfall in Jamaica as humanitarians rush to save lives
Millions in Jamaica and across the Caribbean are bracing for massive impact from Hurricane Melissa on Tuesday as the UN and partners are warning of a “severe” and “immediate” humanitarian threat.