UN GENEVA PRESS BRIEFING

12 November 2024

1,000 days of full-scale war on Ukraine

Kelly Clements, Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees, said that she had visited Ukraine the previous week, where the war was continuing with vengeance and civilians caught in the middle. Since August, some 170,000 people had been forced to flee their homes in the east, with many evacuated from areas experiencing hostilities, joining the nearly four million who remained displaced within Ukraine and 6.7 million more who had sought refuge outside the country. This included 400,000 new refugees who had crossed into Europe from the beginning of 2024 to August 2024 to seek safety from the war and bombs.

UNHCR had invested heavily in local capacities, and 92 percent of its resources were being distributed through local partners. With 65 percent of the energy infrastructure impacted, there were serious concerns about the upcoming winter. In western Ukraine, communities were hosting many internally displaced people, while in the east the focus was on immediate humanitarian response in the midst of the hostilities. Alternatives to heating based on energy were being explored, such as home insulation. The full-scale invasion was showing no signs of abating, said Ms. Clements, adding that one of the challenges coming from it was how to continue education for children under abnormal conditions. Funding remained a huge issue, not only for the UNHCR, but for other organizations. Only half of the UNHCR’s USD 1.1 billion refugee response plan was funded; inside the country, USD 3.1 billion humanitarian response plan was 59 percent funded. The most difficult part of the year was ahead, and more funding was urgently needed, concluded Ms. Clements.

Full statement is available here.

Replying to questions from the media, Ms. Clements said that energy was a huge concern for the authorities, as the energy infrastructure was very fragile and continued to be attacked. On another question, Ms. Clements said that with the limited funding, the UNHCR was forced to prioritize and decide how to use its resources. Winterization programmes and cash support, for example, could be applied quite fast, and with additional resources those could increase quite quickly.

Also answering questions, Ms. Clements said that UNHCR aimed to work constructively with the incoming US administration; the United States had been an extremely valuable partner and supporter over the past 75 years, she reminded. She spoke of the renewed support for Ukraine from Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Norway, and others. Speaking of the status of Ukrainian refugees in Europe, Ms. Clements said that the EU temporary protection directive had been extended to March 2026, which was a welcome development. At this stage, it was too early to delve into discussions on whether there were areas within Ukraine that were safe enough for return. If anything, due to the continuing hostilities and the incoming winter, it could be expected that more people might be leaving the country.

Socioeconomic impact of armed conflict on Sudanese urban households

Luca Renda, United Nations Resident Representative in Sudan, speaking from Port Sudan, said that the war in Sudan had been raging for more than 18 months, with tens of thousands killed or injured or experienced the worst sexual violence. The report UNDP was launching today looked at how this terrible conflict had affected people in urban areas across the country.

Based on a phone survey of people in 3,000 households conducted between May and July, the report found that full-time employment has halved and almost 20 percent of urban households said they had no income at all; nearly half the urban population could not regularly get enough to eat; access to full health services had dropped to just 16 percent; and in two-thirds of households, no children went to school anymore. Mr. Renda said that the scale of the immediate humanitarian crisis was obvious, but the findings of this report also pointed to a longer-term development crisis that had to be addressed if Sudan was to secure its future as well as its present. What was Sudan going to look like in five or ten years from now, asked Mr. Renda. It was the people of Sudan who would rebuild their country. The job of the development community was to provide the tools, equipment, infrastructure, and services to help them rebuild wherever and whenever the situation allows. The new report called for an array of development solutions that could be implemented or scaled up right now, in parallel with humanitarian assistance. In parts of Sudan, he informed, that work had already begun, proving what was possible even in the current circumstances.

Full report is available here.

Answering questions from the journalists, Mr. Renda said that the food situation was especially dire in the states of Darfur and Kordofan. UNDP was advocating for both an increased food supply and the ability of families to afford food through regular income. Mr. Renda reminded that certain parts of the country were particularly affected by the active conflict, while other parts remained relatively peaceful. People needed to be supported to become self-reliant even while the war was still raging, he stressed. Khartoum was an active conflict area, with regular bombardments, shelling, and enormous destruction of infrastructure and critical services. There was no humanitarian access to Khartoum at the moment, and it was difficult to estimate the number of people remaining there; some reports were indicating that as many as 60 percent of people there were displaced.

Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service (UNIS), reminded of the reports of widespread gender-based violence in Khartoum. The Security Council was going to discuss the situation in Sudan and South Sudan today, she said.

Situation in northern Gaza

Louise Wateridge, Senior Emergency Officer at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), speaking from Nuseriat in Gaza, that the situation in the north of Gaza was nothing short of catastrophic. After 13 months of war, there was a looming famine with winter approaching and inadequate shelters, which were not waterproof, and sewage could be seen all over the place. What would happen to hundreds of thousands of people when rains started, asked Ms. Wateridge. Sometimes families were sheltering in damaged schools which were on the verge of collapse. The aid entering Gaza was at its lowest in months; the October average was 37 trucks per day. The Nuseirat area had been under heavy bombardment the previous day, leading to more civilian casualties. One week earlier, an IPCC report had warned of imminent famine, reminded Ms. Wateridge. United Nations had had very limited to no access to the besieged areas in northern Gaza, said Ms. Wateridge. Acute malnourishment was ten times higher than at the beginning of the war. People were losing the remaining hope and the suffering continued to worsen. Ms. Wateridge said that an UNRWA school-turned-shelter in Beit Lahiya had been forcefully evacuated by Israeli troops.

Replying to questions, Ms. Wateridge emphasized that no food had been permitted to enter the besieged northern Gaza for over a month. The UN, humanitarians, and journalists had all been denied access to the north; only pleas and testimonies from those besieged there were being heard. There were no sufficient medical supplies in the north, and the ambulances stopped functioning. Humanitarian missions to Gaza City were also being denied. Ceasefire was necessary, Ms. Wateridge stressed. For 13 months, the UN had been consistently calling for a ceasefire and a release of the hostages. People needed to go home. Thousands of people had been killed senselessly because of the bombing, lack of food, and the inability to reach them under the rubble.

Responding to another question, she spoke of increasing restrictions against UNRWA, but when there was political will, humanitarian actions could go ahead, for example as with the polio vaccination campaign. It was uncertain what the coming weeks or months would bring, but UNRWA staff remained on the ground and committed to continue helping the people of Gaza. There was no alternative to UNRWA, the backbone of the humanitarian system in Gaza, stressed Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service (UNIS). All Member States were called to continue supporting UNRWA so it could continue to conduct its indispensable work for the Palestinian refugees.

On another question, Ms. Wateridge said that as the largest humanitarian presence on the ground, any impact on UNRWA’s funding or its ability to operate would have dire consequences for the people of Gaza. The aid supplies had worsened, they had lessened to 37 trucks a day for 2.2 million people who needed absolutely everything. Forced displacements were continuing, and some people were being displaced for the 14^th or 15^th time. Thousands of people were waiting to be medically evacuated. People needed more of everything. What was happening was not acceptable, she stressed.

UNRWA’s call to Hamas was for a ceasefire; Hamas had been party to the war for 13 months, after having conducted the horrific attacks on 7 October 2023. The hostages needed to be released and returned home, and a respite needed to be given to the exhausted people of Gaza. Ms. Wateridge also spoke of her mission to Gaza City the previous week, when she had waited at a checkpoint for an approval for 6.5 hours, and the mission had to be cut short. The humanitarians were trying their best to do their job, and were often denied access or forced to cut their missions short.

Food security assessment in Nigeria

Chi Lael, for the World Food Programme (WFP), speaking from Abuja, made a joint statement

on behalf of the three UN agencies most involved in food security and nutrition in Nigeria - the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the WFP. Record inflation, climate shocks and ongoing conflicts were projected to push the number of food insecure Nigerians to 33 million in 2025, a sharp increase from the 25 million who needed assistance today. Never before had there been so many people in Nigeria without food. The data showed that immediate support was needed to avert a potential food and nutrition disaster in Nigeria, where the combination of triple-digit increases in food prices, the aftermath of devastating floods, and 15 years of insurgency in the northeast were stretching families to the limit.

The food security and nutrition reports showed that Nigeria faced a monumental hunger crisis in the second half of 2025, particularly in the northeastern states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe where five million people were facing acute food insecurity, but the risk included other areas too, notably emerging hunger hotspots in Zamfara, Katsina, and Sokoto states. There were 5.4 million children and 800,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women at risk of acute malnutrition or wasting. The most worrying elements included the speed of deterioration over the past year, the scale in terms of number of people at risk, the geographic scope of food insecurity, and the very real risk of a significant worsening in the coming months. UN’s collective response had to be immediate and massive in scale; and it had to span prevention, mitigation, and life-saving assistance. Ms. Lael stressed that international partners, Nigerian civil society, private sector, and government at state and federal levels had to work together to avert the risk of famine. Urgent investments in food security would save lives, concluded Ms. Lael.

Answering question from the media, Ms. Lael explained that the economic policies of recent years (such as the removal of fuel subsidies) and the continuing conflict (ongoing for 15 years in northeast Nigeria) had both contributed to the current situation. Recent floods had also played a part, she said. The people the WFP was assisting had one to two months of food reserves available, so they needed to be helped in the coming months. The number of people who were food insecure in Nigeria was way too large to ignore: everyone should be concerned that 33 million people were hungry.

Announcements

Olga Sarrado, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), informed that the UNHCR was releasing today a new report called “No Escape: On the Frontlines of Climate Change, Conflict and Forced Displacement ” which showed how climate shocks were pushing refugees and displaced communities even into further danger. Some three-fourths of the 120 million displaced people lived in the countries heavily impacted by the climate change, and it was projected that the situation would only get worse. Climate financing was failing to reach refugees, internally displaced people and their host communities. By 2040 the number of countries facing extreme climate-related hazards was expected to rise from 3 to 65, the vast majority of which hosted displaced people. Similarly, most refugee settlements and camps were projected to experience twice as many days of dangerous heat by 2050. More details on the report are available here.

Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service (UNIS), informed that the UN Secretary-General was at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, where he had delivered remarks at several events.

She said that today at 3 pm, the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights was organizing a panel discussion on the safety of journalists in crisis, which would be webcast live at UNTV.

On 14 November at 6:45 pm in Cinerama Empire in Geneva, the documentary movie “State of Silence” on the perilous conditions of brave Mexican journalists would be shown. Following the screening, there would be a panel discussion with Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights; Diego Luna, actor and executive producer of the documentary; Santiago Maza , the movie’s director; Gunilla von Hall, journalist, Svenska Dagbaldet; and Thibaut Bruttin, Director-General, Reporters Without Borders. The same day, at 2 pm, a press conference on freedom of the press would be held at the Palais des Nations with Luna, Maza, Bruttin, and Renaud De Villaine, an OHCHR expert on freedom of the media.

Adriana Quiñones, for UN Women, informed that on 14 November at 6 pm in the Auditorium Ivan Pictet, Maison de la Paix, there would be a screening of the documentary “Norma – Aquest for justice”, followed by a discussion. The documentary was the true story of Norma Andrade, a Mexican mother who became a "madre buscadora" (fighting mother) after her daughter Alejandra had been murdered in Ciudad Juarez in 2001, a city where thousands of women and girls had been assassinated since 1993. Welcome remarks would be by Corinne Momal-Vanian, Executive Director, Kofi Annan Foundation; Koen Van Acoleyen, Minister Counselor, Permanent Representation of Belgium to the United Nations in Geneva; and Brigitte Leoni, film director. The film (in Spanish with English subtitles) would be followed by a panel discussion moderated by Corinne Momal-Vanian with Norma Andrade; Adriana Quinones; and Claire Somerville, Lecturer, International Affairs, and Executive Director of the Gender Centre, Geneva Graduate Institute. More details are available here.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

UNWOMEN Adriana Quiñones (Zoom)

• Screening and panel discussion on femicide: Norma - A quest for justice

UNHCR Olga Sarrado (PR)

• UNHCR Climate Report and UNHCR COP updates

SPECIAL GUEST

UNHCR Kelly Clements, Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees (PR)

• 1,000 days of full-scale war on Ukraine: urging solidarity with innocent victims.

TOPICS

UNDP Luca Renda, Resident Representative in Soudan (From Port Sudan)

• New report: "The Socioeconomic Impact of Armed Conflict on Sudanese Urban Households"

UNRWA Louise Wateridge, Senior emergency officer (From Gaza)

• Northern Gaza update

WFP Chi Lael, WFP Spokesperson for Nigeria (From Abuja)

• The Latest Cadre Harmonisé food security assessment on Nigeria