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UNOG Bi-weekly press briefing Ethiopia Update - OCHA UNHCR OHCHR WFP 24NOV2020
UN “extremely concerned” at worsening humanitarian situation in Ethiopia’s Tigray region
The United Nations expressed alarm on Tuesday about the conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, where a communications blackout is making it hard to assess and cope with what is thought to be a growing humanitarian emergency.
“We remain extremely concerned about the safety of civilians in Tigray region in Ethiopia, especially the more than half a million people who remain in the regional capital Mekelle, including 200 workers”, Jens Laerke, spokesperson for UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told a regular UN briefing of journalists in Geneva.
“We have finalised a humanitarian preparedness plan intended to help two million people with assistance in Tigray, Afar and Amhara regions. That includes existing humanitarian caseloads that were already helping and an additional 1.1 million people expected to be in need of assistance as a result of this conflict. To support this plan about $76 million will still be needed to finance it.”
Babar Baloch, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that almost 3,000 people were fleeing across the border every day.
“The number of Ethiopian refugees streaming into eastern Sudan has now surpassed 40,000 since the crisis began with more than 5,000 women, children and men fleeing the ongoing fighting in Tigray region over the weekend.”
Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said that High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet was worried that hostilities in Mekelle seriously imperilled civilian lives.
“The highly aggressive rhetoric on both sides regarding the fight for Mekelle is dangerously provocative, and it risks placing already vulnerable and frightened civilians in grave danger. The High Commissioner fears that such rhetoric will lead to further violations of international humanitarian law. The High Commissioner expresses alarm at reports of a heavy build-up of tanks and artillery around Mekelle, which is the capital city of Tigray province, following the Government's issuance of a 72 hour ultimatum”, Ms. Shamdasani said.
Humanitarian aid in Sudan would be severely stretched by the growing refugee numbers, World Food Programme (WFP) spokesperson Tomson Phiri said.
“The World Food Programme is alarmed at growing numbers of people in need of humanitarian assistance in both Ethiopia and Sudan because of the conflict in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. On Sudan's border with Ethiopia the humanitarian situation is rapidly deteriorating as the influx of people continues. Needs remain very high, and will likely overwhelm the response”, Mr. Phiri told the briefing.
“We have dispatched enough food to feed 60,000 people for one month. However, the food had to be borrowed from ongoing programmes elsewhere in the country. We literally robbed Peter to pay Paul, and the continued influx of new arrivals will strain our ability to respond to existing humanitarian needs in Sudan, as the country's dealing with multiple crises throughout the country”, he added.
- Exterior wide shot, Palais des Nations flag alley, nations’ flags flying, a cloudy day.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Jens Laerke, spokesperson for OCHA (UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs): “We have finalised a humanitarian preparedness plan intended to help two million people with assistance in Tigray, Afar and Amhara regions. That includes existing humanitarian caseloads that we’re already helping and an additional 1.1 million people expect it to be in need of assistance as a result of this conflict. To support this plan about $76 million will still be needed to finance it.”
- Exterior medium shot, Palais des Nations flag alley and building, nations’ flags flying.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Babar Baloch, spokesperson for UNHCR (Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees): “The number of Ethiopian refugees streaming into eastern Sudan has now surpassed 40,000 since the crisis began with more than 5,000 women, children and men fleeing the ongoing fighting in Tigray region over the weekend.”
- Exterior wide shot, Palais des Nations flag alley, nations’ flags flying.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for OHCHR (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights): “The highly aggressive rhetoric on both sides regarding the fight for Mekelle is dangerously provocative, and it risks placing already vulnerable and frightened civilians in grave danger. The High Commissioner fears that such rhetoric will lead to further violations of international humanitarian law. The High Commissioner expresses alarm at reports of a heavy buildup of tanks and artillery around Mekelle, which is the capital city of Tigray province following the government's issuance of a 72 hour ultimatum.”
- Exterior wide shot, Palais des Nations flag alley, road sign in foreground and nations’ flags flying to rear.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Tomson Phiri, spokesperson for WFP (World Food Programme): “The World Food Programme is alarmed at growing numbers of people in need of humanitarian assistance in both Ethiopia and Sudan because of the conflict in the Tigray region of Northern Ethiopia. On Sudan's border with Ethiopia the humanitarian situation is rapidly deteriorating as the influx of people continues. Needs remain very high and will likely overwhelm the response.”
- Exterior wide shot, building, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Tomson Phiri, spokesperson for WFP (World Food Programme): “We have dispatched enough food to feed 60,000 people for one month. However, the food had to be borrowed from ongoing programs elsewhere in the country. We literally robbed Peter to pay Paul, and the continued influx of new arrivals will strain our ability to respond to existing humanitarian needs in Sudan, as the country's dealing with multiple crises throughout the country.”
- Exterior wide shot, garden and UN flag flying, Palais des Nations.
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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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