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UN Geneva Press Briefing - 13 January 2026
UN INFORMATION SERVICE GENEVA PRESS BRIEFING
13 January
Ongoing deadly dangers for children in Gaza 90 days into the ceasefire
From Gaza City, James Elder for United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), presented the latest situation.
More than 100 children have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire of early October — roughly one girl or boy killed every day. Bombings and shootings have slowed but not stopped. Severe restrictions on essentials persist, including medical supplies and fuel.
The ceasefire enabled progress: expanded primary health services, removal of 1,000 tons of solid waste monthly, distribution of nearly one million thermal blankets and winter clothing kits, repairs to water and sewerage networks, and addition of 70+ nutrition facilities. Education remains critical: 130,000 children in temporary learning spaces, but 700,000 still in need of support.
Asked whether the children were killed due to Israeli army attacks, Mr. Elder said most deaths were from military means (airstrikes, drones, tank shells, live ammunition) and noted six children died of hypothermia.
In response to a question on humanitarian access, he stressed that bans on NGOs obstruct lifesaving aid. He also called for more pressure to allow international journalists into Gaza.
Replying to a question on medical evacuation, Mr. Elder said over 4,000 people require evacuation, including 2,000 children, but approvals remain blocked; WHO later explained the process is extremely slow and often lethal.
Iran protests
Jeremy Laurence for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) conveyed the High Commissioner’s concern over mounting violence against protesters in Iran, with reports of hundreds killed and thousands arrested. Internet shutdowns severely hamper verification, though some telephone services were partially restored.
Asked whether OHCHR could verify casualty figures, Mr. Laurence said reliable sources indicate hundreds killed and thousands arrested, but precise verification is impossible without access. He warned of possible death penalty as seen after 2022 protests.
In response to a question on US intervention, he stressed protests must not be instrumentalized and dialogue is the way forward.
Read the full statement here.
Sri Lanka: Report on conflict-related sexual violence
Jeremy Laurence presented the findings of the new OHCHR report highlighting that conflict-related sexual violence in Sri Lanka remains largely unaddressed, with survivors still denied justice. The report underscores long-standing impunity, stigma, and the need for survivor-centred reforms and reparations.
Asked whether sexual violence has stopped, Mr. Laurence said it remains a concern beyond the conflict context.
Read the full report here.
In response to a question about the use of force by U.S. security forces during recent protests, including events in Minneapolis, Mr. Laurence recalled that, under international human rights law, the intentional use of lethal force is permissible only as a measure of last resort against an individual posing an imminent threat to life. He said that OHCHR takes note of the FBI investigation and urged a prompt, independent and transparent investigation into the killing of Ms. Good.
Launch of the 2026 UN-coordinated humanitarian response plan in Ukraine
Jens Laerke for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced the launch of the 2026 Humanitarian Response Plan amid reports of new strikes in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa. The plan seeks US$2.3 billion and aims to reach 4.1 million people with life‑saving assistance, including food, health care, shelter, protection and cash support. Overall, an estimated 10.8 million people across Ukraine will require humanitarian aid in 2026.
He added that winter disruptions “create a crisis within a crisis”.
Asked about access in areas of Ukraine currently under the control of the Russian Federation, Mr. Laerke said the United Nations does not have the access it would like, noting that around one million people there are believed to need assistance they are currently not receiving. He added that some NGOs operate in those areas, but not at the scale required.
Read the full plan here.
Announcements
Christian Lindmeier for the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that WHO will hold a virtual press conference today, Tuesday, 13 January 2026 at 13:30 CET, with Director-General Dr. Tedros.
The briefing will launch new reports on taxes on sugary drinks and alcoholic beverages and provide an update on cervical cancer prevention and control.
Jeremy Laurence for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) announced that High Commissioner Volker Türk will visit Sudan from 14 to 18 January.
During the visit, he is scheduled to meet with authorities in Port Sudan, as well as civil society representatives and the UN country team. The High Commissioner will also visit Northern State, including the Al Afad gathering site, and engage with people displaced by the conflict in Darfur and Kordofan, along with meetings with humanitarian partners.
Clare Nullis for the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced that on 14 January, WMO will issue a press release on the consolidated global temperature figure for 2025.
The release is prepared in collaboration with eight data set providers, including Copernicus Climate Change Service, the UK Met Office, NASA, NOAA, and the Japan Meteorological Agency.
The press release will be under embargo until 15:00 CET on 14 January, coordinated with NASA and NOAA releases.
Michele Zaccheo, for the United Nations Information Service, said that the Committee on the Rights of the Child, which opened yesterday its 100th session (12-30 January, Palais Wilson), is concluding this morning its review of the report of Maldives. It will begin this afternoon the review of the report of Ghana. He added that the review on Uganda had been cancelled.
***
TOPICS
UNICEF James Elder (From Gaza City)
- Ongoing deadly dangers for children in Gaza 90 days into the ceasefire
OHCHR Jeremy Laurence (PR)
- Sri Lanka: Report on conflict-related sexual violence
- Iran protests
OCHA Jens Laerke (PR)
Launch of the 2026 UN-coordinated humanitarian response plan in Ukraine.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
WHO Christian Lindmeier (Zoom)
- Virtual PC on Global Health Issues with DG Dr Tedros - New reports on taxes on sugary drinks and alcoholic beverages will be launched, and WHO will update on cervical cancer prevention and control – Tuesday, 13 January 2026 at 13.30 CET
WMO Clare Nullis (Zoom)
- Global temperature press release on 2025
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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”.
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