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UN GENEVA PRESS BRIEFING
26 August 2025
High Commissioner calls on Egypt to end “rotation practice”
Thameen Al-Kheetan, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk had called on Egyptian authorities to put an end to a practice that allowed Government critics to be held arbitrarily and for prolonged periods, even after serving their sentences or completing maximum pretrial detention. Human rights defenders, activists, lawyers, journalists, peaceful protesters and political opponents had been targeted by the strategy, known as “rotation”. The practice entailed the authorities bringing new charges against individuals when they were about to complete their prison sentences or as they reached the maximum legal period of pretrial detention, thus preventing their release. These fresh charges, often under counter-terrorism laws, were usually similar to those for which they had already been charged or convicted, and often lacked substantive foundation.
The latest case concerned poet Galal El-Behairy, who was arbitrarily detained after completing a prison term on 31 July 2021 for writing songs and poetry critical of the Government. Since then, he faced similar charges in two different cases under the counter-terrorism law and the penal code. The latest charges were brought against him on 19 August 2025 and extended his detention for at least 15 more days. “The Egyptian Government must immediately stop this practice of ‘rotation’ and release all those who have been subjected to it,” Türk said. “This practice has become a tool by which the Egyptian Government represses those perceived to be critical of, or in opposition to, its policies.”
OHCHR was closely following a number of cases of “rotation”, including of several writers, activists and lawyers. All of them remained in arbitrary detention.
The full statement is available here.
Attack on Nasser Medical Complex in Gaza
Responding to questions from the media regarding yesterday’s attacks on the Nasser Medical Complex in Gaza where five journalists were killed, Thameen Al-Kheetan, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said the killing of journalists in Gaza should shock the world into action. In the case of the strike on the Nasser Medical Complex yesterday, the Israeli military reportedly launched multiple strikes, including two strikes within a short period of time. One of the five journalists appeared to have been killed in the first airstrike while three others appeared to have been killed in the second. This was unacceptable. The killing of all civilians must be thoroughly and independently investigated, and justice must follow.
OHCHR had seen and documented many attacks on journalists. At least 247 of them had been killed in Gaza since 7 October 2023. These journalists were the eyes and ears of the whole world and needed to be protected. All of these incidents needed to be investigated and those responsible held accountable. OHCHR colleagues were continuing to corroborate information about yesterday’s strikes. Targeting journalists and hospitals was forbidden. In the past, the Israeli authorities had announced investigations into such killings, but so far there had not been any results. OHCHR called for accountability and justice.
Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service (UNIS), said the Secretary-General’s statement yesterday had strongly condemned the killings of both medical personnel and journalists in yesterday’s attack, and extended condolences to the families and colleagues of those killed. The protection of journalists was clearly stated under Security Council Resolution 2222, and everyone was expected to abide by this resolution.
Announcements
Alessandra Vellucci for the United Nations Information Service (UNIS), said the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (33rd session, 11-26 August) would conclude its 33rd session this afternoon, at 5.30pm, and issue its concluding observations on the countries reviewed during the session: the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Kiribati, Maldives and Finland.
Ms. Vellucci also said on Wednesday, 3 September at 10:30 a.m., the UN Human Rights Council would hold a press conference on the upcoming 60th regular session, with Council President, Ambassador Jürg Lauber.
On Wednesday, 3 September at 2:30 p.m., the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) would hold a press conference on asylum policy and law and UNHCR guidance to states, with Ruvendrini Menikdiwela, the Assistant High Commissioner for Protection.
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OHCHR Thameen Al-Kheetan, spokesperson of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
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As world’s water reserves change, countries must prepare for a new reality: WMO
New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
- 2025 was one of driest years for river discharge in 35 years
- Past seven years have seen abnorfmal river flows
- Water storage on Earth’s land surface has decreased in past decade
- Widespread glacier loss across all regions for fourth consecutive year
- Asia and Africa are regions most affected by water-related disasters
- Water data availability has improved, but gaps remain in hard-hit areas
Highlighting the long-term decline in the Earth’s freshwater storage and glacier melt, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explained that the planet’s water reserves used to act as a planetary “savings account” that absorbed the occasional dry season, avoiding a water crisis. “One of the central stories of the 2025 report is what is happening to that savings account? And the simple answer is that we are depleting it,” she told journalists in Geneva.
Groundwater reserves are equally stretched and have been in decline since 2014, WMO’s report states, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide showing levels lower than the historical norm and indicating a shift “further toward deficit…not recovery”.
“At the same time, we are seeing more water-related disasters,” Ms. Saulo said, while also stressing that the currently strengthening El Niño “will increase the risk of drought in some areas, and flooding in others”.
Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
“All 19 glacier regions around the globe lost ice; in Central Asia, Iceland, the Russian Arctic and western Canada and the United States, it was among the three worst years on record,” said Wayne Jenkinson, WMO’s Director of Hydrology and Cryosphere.
Some regions with smaller glaciers such as Central Europe, the Caucasus, the western Canada and the United States may already have reached “peak water”, Mr. Jenkinson warned.
“After this point, the glacier gives less meltwater each year simply because there is less ice left to melt. That matters for every community downstream that relies on water during hot, dry summers,” he explained.
Narelle van der Wel, WMO’s Head of Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services, stressed that while some further glacier loss is unavoidable, the eventual scale of the decline is not predetermined.
“Some glacier loss is inevitable, but total loss of glaciers is not yet inevitable,” she said, pointing to emissions reductions as central to limiting future losses.
Preparing for moving baselines
The report does not attribute every observed change to climate change alone. WMO says pressure on water resources and natural variability also contribute.
Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
ends