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UN GENEVA PRESS BRIEFING

10 June 2025

WFP expands footprint in Khartoum as families start to return

Laurent Bukera, World Food Programme (WFP) Country Director in Sudan, speaking from Port Sudan, said that he had just returned from the Khartoum State, where the WFP had established an office, bringing its services to the people whose needs were immense. In parts of Khartoum, life was returning, but many neighborhoods were still abandoned. WFP was reaching nearly one million Sudanese with food and nutrition support. Displaced Sudanese communities were now at a breaking point, and returnees were particularly vulnerable. Urgent action was needed to restore basic services and coordinate humanitarian efforts with all actors. Funding shortfalls were affecting WFP’s services across the country, warned Mr. Bukera. Some items had to be removed from the WFP food basket because of the lack of resources, and some other reductions would be needed unless additional funding was received. Without urgent support, it would be impossible to deliver much-needed support to those who returned to Khartoum.

Foundations would now need to be laid for a long-term recovery, said Mr. Bukera. WFP was reaching some four million people across Sudan, almost four times more than at the beginning of the year. As access became easier in some parts of the country, WFP now aimed to reach as many as seven million people in need, and with sustained support, much more could be done. Indiscriminate, unacceptable attacks on humanitarian personnel and operations were escalating, including an attack on the WFP-UNICEF convoy approaching Al Fasher the previous week. Five humanitarian personnel had been killed in this attack, and more injured, reminded Mr. Bukera. Such attacks had to stop immediately. Current needs were outpacing the funding received, reiterated Mr. Bukera; WFP was running more than USD 500 million short for what was needed over the coming six months. The international community had to act now to stop famine in the hardest-hit areas and to invest in recovery efforts. This was the moment to show that the world stood with the Sudanese people and to show there was light at the end of the tunnel.

Replying to questions from journalists, Mr. Bukera said that WFP was reaching one million beneficiaries in the city of Khartoum and seven other localities in the State. The levels of hunger, destitution and despair were severe, and WFP was doing its best to avert worsening of the situation. Despite receiving contributions, the needs were still much larger than the funds available; more than USD 500 million were needed for emergency supplies in the coming six months, or USD 700 million when all programmes of the operation were included. On another question, Mr. Bukera said that the International Organization for Migration was taking the lead with the internal displacement figures. As WFP was scaling up assistance and increased access was possible, there was hope that more people in need could be reached. The US remained the largest donor for the WFP in Sudan, and its funding had not been cut; WFP acknowledged this generosity while working hard to expand the donor base. WFP was hopeful to receive further support from the US for its Sudan operations, stressed Mr. Bukera.

Second UN Virtual Worlds Day

David Hirsch, for the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), said that the Second UN Virtual Worlds Day would take place in Turin, Italy on 11 and 12 June. The event would be open for participation in person and online. A press release would be issued by the closing of the event.

Cristina Bueti, Study Group Counsellor, Telecommunication Standardization Bureau at the ITU, said that this conference, co-organized by 19 UN agencies, was a flagship event in this field, bringing global leaders, academia, NGOs, and private sector, that would explore challenges and opportunities that the new technologies bring. This event served as a platform to advance discussions on how AI and virtual technologies could drive sustainable development, foster inclusivity, and shape the future of digital public infrastructure. Virtual worlds were spaces where people and technologies could meet and cooperate, providing services in real time. This was not science fiction, said Ms. Bueti, but something that was already being used today. For example, humanitarian agencies were using virtual trainings for its field staff, and schools were also using such platforms for education purposes. Foresight exercises would also be part of the two-day event, said Ms. Bueti.

Responding to a question, Mr. Hirsch said that the ITU supported digital access for everyone on the planet.

International Labour Conference

Isabel Piquer, for the International Labour Organization (ILO), informed that during the second week of the International Labour Conference, discussions continued on a new convention and recommendation on biological hazards, with adoption expected by the end of the week. The discussion was still ongoing at the Standard-Setting Committee on Decent Work in the Platform Economy.

On 12 June, the Global Coalition for Social Justice would hold its annual Forum. Luis Abinader, President of the Dominican Republic, would open the Forum. He would give a keynote speech alongside the Coalition’s Coordinating Group members: Gilbert Houngbo (ILO Director-General and Vice Chair), Luiz Marinho (representing the government of Brazil and Vice Chair), Luc Triangle (ITUC General Secretary), and Roberto Suárez (IOE Secretary-General). The sessions would explore six critical themes: promoting living wages; responsible business conduct; just transitions through social dialogue; advancing a Human Rights Economy; empowering youth; and harnessing artificial intelligence for social development. There would be over 20 ministers from all regions, alongside heads of international organization and other leaders.

All the information was on the ILO website and you could be followed live.

Giga Photo Festival

Sandra Bisin, for Giga Initiative, said that today more than 2.6 billion people around the world were still not connected to the Internet, which made the digital divide one of the defining equity challenges of our time: urgent, global and impossible to ignore. Nearly half of the world’s six million schools remained offline. As a result, some 500 million children and young people were being left behind, not just in terms of digital learning, but in the chance to connect, to grow, and to seize the opportunities of tomorrow’s digital economy.

On 12 June, the Giga Photo Festival, organized around the theme “The Joy of Connection”, would hold its official inauguration and award ceremony at the Parc des Bastions in Geneva. In collaboration with the City of Geneva, this event would be much more than a celebration of photography. It would put a human face on the digital divide and offers a powerful sense of hope. 30 winning photographs, chosen from over 3,400 entries across 89 countries, would be presented.

Ms. Bisin reminded that Giga was a partnership launched in 2019 by UNICEF and the International Telecommunication Union, with a bold goal: to connect every school on the planet to the Internet and give every young person access to the information, skills, and opportunities they need to shape their futures. Since the start, Giga and its partners had mapped more than 2.1 million schools and helped bring better Internet access to over 24,000 of them - mostly across Africa - benefiting nearly 11 million students.

The festival’s photo competition featured three categories: Single Image, Young Visual Storyteller, and Multiple Images. Each category invited photographers to tell powerful visual stories about how Internet connectivity can transform lives. The 30 winning entries, selected by a student jury from HEAD Genève and professional judges, advocated for the right to digital connectivity as a basic human right.

Announcements

Eujin Byun, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), announced that the UNHCR’s Global Trends Report 2024 would be launched on 12 June. This flagship report would include data up to April 2025. The High Commissioner would not hold a media briefing as he was traveling this week, but other UNHCR high-level officials would be available for interviews upon request. Embargoed report would be shared shortly.

Rolando Gómez, for the United Nations Information Service (UNIS), said that on 11 June at 1:45 pm, there would be a press conference with Ambassador Jürg Lauber, President of the United Nations Human Rights Council, ahead of the 59^th regular session of the Council, which would take place from 16 June to 9 July.

The Secretary-General was currently giving a press conference in Nice, where he was attending the 2025 UN Ocean Conference. His remarks had been shared with the press.

Secretary-General’s Spokesperson had asked for a de-escalation of the situation in Los Angeles, said Mr. Gómez in a response to a question. The Secretary-General had also condemned an attempt at the life of Miguel Uribe, a Colombian presidential candidate.

There were no treaty body meetings this week, while the next meeting of the Conference on Disarmament would be announced later.

Finally, today was the first-ever International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations, on which occasion the Secretary-General had issued a message.

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