UN Geneva - Multimedia Newsroom : UN Geneva Press Briefing

UN GENEVA PRESS BRIEFING

6 May 2025

New Human Development Report – UNDP

Heriberto Tapia, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Head of Research, presented the 2025 Human Development Report: “A matter of choice: People and possibilities in the age of AI”. The report, he said, showed that the meagre rise in global human development projected for this year was the smallest increase since 1990 – but also that AI could reignite development.

The report analyzed progress in the Human Development Index (HDI), encompassing achievements in health and education, along with levels of income. Projections for 2024 revealed stalled progress on the HDI in the world and widening inequalities between rich and poor countries. As traditional paths to development were squeezed by global pressures, decisive action was needed to move the world away from prolonged stagnation on progress.

In this context, the report contained the results of a new survey that showed people were realistic yet hopeful about the change AI could bring. Half of respondents worldwide thought that their jobs could be automated; however, six in ten also expected AI to impact their employment positively, creating opportunities in jobs that may not even exist today.

In this regard, the report outlined three critical areas for action: building an economy where people collaborate with AI rather than compete against it; embedding human agency across the full AI lifecycle, from design to deployment; and modernizing education and health systems to meet 21st-century demands.

Soaring Protection Needs Amid Sudanese Influx to Chad from Darfur – UNHCR

Eujin Byun, for the UN Refugee Agency, introduced Magatte Guisse, UNHCR Representative in Chad. Speaking from N'Djamena, Mr. Guisse pointed to an alarming situation in northern Chad, where nearly 20,000 people – mostly exhausted and traumatized women and children – had arrived in the past two weeks. This sudden influx reflected the escalating violence in Sudan’s North Darfur region, particularly in and around El Fasher, which was triggering mass displacement.

The latest movements followed brutal attacks by armed groups in North Darfur, where assaults on displacement camps – including Zamzam and Abu Shouk – and El Fasher town had caused widespread terror. Refugees arriving in Chad reported that over 10,000 people were still en route, desperately trying to reach the border to escape the violence.

Many of the newly arrived refugees reported experiencing grave violence and human rights violations that had forced them to flee. They had described men being killed, women and girls subjected to sexual violence, and homes burned to the ground. Their journeys to safety were perilous, with refugees facing robbery and extortion at checkpoints and repeated threats along the way.

Despite extraordinary efforts by local communities and authorities, the capacity to absorb the new arrivals was severely overstretched: Chad already hosted 1.3 million refugees, including 794,000 arrivals from Sudan in two years. The country showed remarkable solidarity in hosting refugees, but it could not bear this burden alone. UNHCR and partners were delivering life-saving assistance at border points and relocation sites, but current efforts remained far from sufficient given the scale of the crisis.

UNHCR urged the international community to urgently step up support: of the $409 million required to respond to the refugee crisis in Chad in 2025, only 20 per cent had been funded to date, Mr. Guisse regretted.

Mr. Gómez reminded that the Secretary-General had strongly condemned the fighting in Sudan and had called for an urgent dialog between the parties to end the conflict.

Answering questions from journalists regarding the recent attacks on Port Sudan and their impact on UN operations, Jens Laerke, for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, stressed that Port Sudan was a lifeline for humanitarian operations, serving as the primary entry point for aid, personnel, medical supplies and other life-saving relief into Sudan. Such attacks further increased the already severe access and logistical challenges facing humanitarian access across the country.

Escalating Attacks on Health in South Sudan – WHO

Margaret Harris, for the World Health Organization, introduced Dr. Humphrey Karamagi, WHO Representative for South Sudan. Speaking from Juba, Dr. Karamagi warned against an escalation of tensions in the Upper Nile State, with clashes between the Government forces and armed groups. This had led to deaths and the forced displacement of an estimated 80,000 persons, including as many as 23,000 refugees fleeing to Ethiopia.

The violence against health facilities during the conflict was very concerning. Since January 2025, WHO had documented eight separate incidents of attacks on health facilities, with health workers killed, facilities and essential supplies looted or destroyed. There had been assaults on humanitarian convoys, and the destruction of cold chain infrastructure hampered the capacity to deliver essential services. An aerial bombing of the main hospital in Old Fangak town, on 3 May, had led to multiple deaths, and the closure of this critical hospital that was serving over 110,000 persons.

This was all happening as the country was grappling with a large cholera outbreak: from 28 September 2024 to 27 April 2025, WHA had identified 55,688 cholera cases, and 1,076 deaths. The insecurity and population displacement made the management of cholera, malaria, mpox, measles, anthrax, hepatitis E, and other disease outbreaks more complex.

WHO was responding to the crisis in South Sudan at all levels, grading it as a highest-priority emergency. The activation had enabled rapid provision of direct operational support: deploying rapid response teams, prepositioning medical supplies and coordinating outbreak response.

If nothing was done, cholera cases could double in six weeks, and measles deaths could go up by 40 per cent, Mr. Karamagi warned. What was needed was a strong political support to protect health workers and facilities, through diplomatic engagement and accountability mechanisms; as well as investments in frontline capacities and community-based surveillance. WHO needed support to sustain its essential health response operations throughout the coming rainy seasons, until November this year.

Mr. Gómez said that Marie-Hélène Verney, acting Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan, had echoed the same sentiments as WHO, deploring the deadly airstrikes in the Jonglei state on the hospital, and calling for the end to fighting and access humanitarian teams – as the UN had been asking for many years.

Road Safety – UNECE

Jovana Miocinovic, for the UN Economic Commission for Europe, said that on the eve of 8^th UN Road Safety Week (12-18 May 2025), UN Special Envoy for Road Safety Jean Todt, with support of the Permanent Representation of Malaysia in Geneva, would launch the UN Road Safety Exhibition on Friday, 9 May (Palais des Nations, E Building, 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.; registration here). The main theme of the 8^th UN Road Safety Week was “making walking and cycling safe”.

The exhibition aimed to raise awareness about the risk factors on the road and to demonstrate the importance of applying the existing solutions that can improve road safety and save millions of lives. Hence the exhibition would feature the “Helmets for Hope” project: these were 17 helmets that were compliant with UN safety standards that had been negotiated at UNECE. The helmets were painted by refugees and artists from all over the world.

Ms. Miocinovic also mentioned the #MakeASafetyStatement campaign (in partnership with JCDecaux), part of UN efforts to raise public awareness of life-saving behavior on the road: by the end of 2025, the campaign would appear on billboards and in public places in 80 countries; it would be broadcast in about 1000 towns and cities in 30 languages. Cyclist Tadej Pogačar was one of the champions of the #MakeSafetyStatement campaign.

Stephanie Schumacher de Weck, for the Office of the UN Special Envoy for Road Safety, said the campaign had already been displayed in more than 50 countries and would continue next year, thanks to the support of celebrities and the Olympic International Committee. UNECE was also engaging with the sport community to raise awareness about road safety.

State of Climate in Africa Report – WMO

Clare Nullis, for the World Meteorological Organization, said WMO would be continuing its publication of regional reports with the launch, on Monday, 12 May, of the State of Climate in Africa report. The main launch would take place in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia); a technical briefing would be organized online on 8 May, with a scientist from the regional office.

Humanitarian Situation in Gaza

Answering other questions, Jens Laerke, for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said that the Israeli authorities had provided the humanitarian country team working in the occupied Palestinian territory with a verbal update on their proposed plans [It was later mentioned that a meeting with COGAT over the proposed mechanism took place 2 May]. The Humanitarian Country Team statement reacting to the proposal was issued 4 May. What the UN agencies and NGOs were presented with appeared designed to further control and restrict supplies, which was the opposite of what was needed.

The 15 UN agencies and around 200 NGOs – who had, for a very long time, been struggling to provide aid in Gaza – did not accept a proposal that did not respect the three core humanitarian principles of impartiality, neutrality and independence, Mr. Laerke stressed. In particular, impartiality was needed because there was a risk of retaliation should one party to a conflict think that the provider of aid was providing only to the other side of the conflict.

People need water, health care, and shelter: they were getting bombs instead. There was no aid to distribute any more, because the aid operation had been strangled by the closures. OCHA had heard from its partners that all food available had been distributed and that people in Gaza were rummaging through garbage to find something edible.

Aid must be provided on needs alone. Also, aid should not be weaponized, especially to move people to a particular place.

Mr. Gómez reminded that UNWRA was backbone of UN’s work in the Gaza Strip and in the occupied Palestinian territory. The organization was mandated by the UN General Assembly and by Member States to provide public services like education, social support, primary health care. There was no “plan B” for UNRWA.

Margaret Harris, for the World Health Organization, added that the chaotic situation meant that some children did not get access to the health care they needed. Since the beginning of 2025, nearly 10,000 children with global acute malnutrition, including 1,397 with severe acute malnutrition, had been admitted for outpatient and inpatient treatment. There was also a lack of clean water.

Announcements

Rolando Gómez, for the United Nations Information Service (UNIS), said the Secretary General was in Denmark, where he would chair the biannual session of the UN System Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB).

Mr. Gómez also reminded that the Secretary General had issued, yesterday, a statement on the very concerning situation in India and Pakistan.

Regarding treaty bodies meetings in Geneva, Mr. Gómez informed that the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination would close next Friday its 115^th session and issue its concluding observations on the five countries reviewed during this session: Ukraine, Mauritius, Republic of Korea, Gabon and Kyrgyzstan.

The second part of the 2025 session of the Conference on Disarmament would start on 12 May under the presidency of Kazakhstan.

The Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) was still underway: Türkiye and Guyana would be reviewed today, and Kuwait tomorrow, with the proceedings ending at the end of the week.

Finally, on Friday, 9 May, at 12 noon, the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Convention Secretariat would be briefing journalists.

***

UN Geneva Press Briefing - 06 May 2025

Similar Stories