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UNOG Bi-weekly press briefing 08 January 2021
UN75 final report
Mr. Hochschild announced that the final report on the UN 75th Anniversary would be formally launched this weekend. A “global reality check”, the report was an unprecedented effort by the UN to capture the world populations’ hopes for the future, as well as their expectations of international cooperation “to better address the gap between the world they want and the world they think” we risk ending up with.
The report also endeavored to capture the world’s post-COVID-19 recovery priorities. Among them, there was a clear call, in the short term, for much better access to basic services such as health, education, water, and sanitation; as well as, in the longer term, for the reduction of violence in all its forms, and for better international cooperation. In this regard, the COVID-19 crisis had induced a greater support for international cooperation, Mr. Hochschild remarked.
Answering questions from journalists, Mr. Hochschild stressed the importance of better communicating the actions of the United Nations. He noted that, according to the UN75 report, in all but one region the biggest concerns for the future were environmental degradation and climate change. The Assistant Secretary-General also deplored gaps in the availability of COVID-19 vaccines.
The final report, entitled “Shaping Our Future Together”, is available on the UN75 website. Its formal launch will take place in London this weekend, during an event entitled “We the Peoples”. More information will be forwarded to the journalists on how to take part in this event.
Geneva announcements
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service, announced that the World Health Organization (WHO) would hold a global COVID-19 press conference, with Dr. Tedros, this afternoon at 5 p.m.
Rosalind Yarde, of the International Labour Organization, said the ILO would soon launch a new report about homeworkers worldwide, whose numbers have increased significantly since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Journalists will be sent embargoed copies of the report and its executive summary today or by next Monday at the latest; ILO experts are also available for interviews. The report will be officially published on 13 January.
Ms. Yarde also mentioned the launch of the new ILO multimedia platform called “Voices”. More information will be shared next Monday.
Clare Nullis, from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), said the Organization would publish, next Thursday – subject to data availability –, a press release on the 2020 global temperature figures. “2020 [was] on track to be one of three warmest years on record”, along with 2016, Ms. Nullis noted.
Vietnam: convictions and sentencing of journalists
Ravina Shamdasani, of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said that, on 5 January, three independent journalists in Viet Nam had received sentences of between 11 and 15 years imprisonment after being found guilty of national security offences, a development that appeared to be part of an increasing clampdown on the freedom of expression in the country.
Despite assurances given by the Government that due process had been followed, there were serious concerns about whether their rights to a fair trial were fully respected. Particularly concerning was the use of vaguely defined laws to arbitrarily detain an increasing number of independent journalists, bloggers, online commentators and human rights defenders.
Ms. Shamdasani added that the High Commissioner for Human Rights and UN human rights mechanisms, including the UN Human Rights Committee, had repeatedly called on Viet Nam to refrain from using restrictive legislation to curtail fundamental freedoms and to uphold its international human rights obligations. Also concerning was the fact that individuals trying to cooperate with the UN’s human rights bodies were subjected to intimidation and reprisals, potentially inhibiting others from sharing information about human rights issues with the UN.
A briefing note can be found here.
In response to journalists’ questions, Ms. Shamdasani explained that other journalists in Viet Nam had been charged with “crimes against national security” after having published articles, in the press or in social media, regarding human rights or corruption. Some journalists were detained incommunicado.
Elections in the United States
Ms. Shamdasani said the High Commissioner on Human Rights, Ms. Michelle Bachelet, had been “deeply troubled by Wednesday’s attack on the US Capitol, which demonstrated clearly the destructive impact of sustained, deliberate distortion of facts, and incitement to violence and hatred by political leaders.” Ms. Bachelet had called on “leaders from across the political spectrum, including the President of the United States, to disavow false and dangerous narratives, and encourage their supporters to do so as well”.
Ms. Shamdasani stressed that the OHCHR was also concerned by the display of overtly racist symbols during the US Capitol events, as well as the targeting of media professionals yesterday – it was dangerous to call journalists “enemies of the people”, Ms. Shamdasani added.
Ms. Bachelet’s comment is available here.
Rhéal LeBlanc said the Secretary-General had expressed, on 6 January, his sadness over the events at the US Capitol in Washington, D.C. In such circumstances, it was important that political leaders impress on their followers the need to refrain from violence, as well as to respect democratic processes and the rule of law, Mr. Guterres had insisted.
Uganda: concerns over deteriorating human rights situation ahead of election
Ravina Shamdasani said the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights was also deeply concerned by the deteriorating human rights situation in Uganda ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled for 14 January, and by the challenges this situation may pose not only for voting day itself, but also for the post-electoral period.
In the run-up to the election, numerous human rights violations have been reported, including of the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and participation, as well as arbitrary deprivation of life, arbitrary arrest and detention, and torture. Between 18 and 20 November, at least 54 people were killed during riots and protests in at least 7 districts across the country over the arrest and detention of two opposition presidential candidates, Robert Kyagulanyi (also known as Bobi Wine) and Patrick Oboi Amuriat, and members of the political opposition.
In light of the Presidential Directives on COVID-19 issued on 18 March 2020, mass rallies were initially prohibited during the electoral campaigns, the rule being subsequently reviewed to allow campaign meetings with a maximum of 70 and later 200 people. In a further development, on 26 December, the Electoral Commission suspended general election meetings in 16 districts.
Human rights law may allow for restrictions to mass gatherings and physical campaigning for public health reasons, Ms. Shamdasani noted. However, OHCHR had observed that the COVID-19 restrictions have been enforced to curtail opposition electoral campaign activities in a discriminatory fashion. COVID-19 measures were being used as a ground to restrict public freedoms and political participation during the electoral process.
A more detailed press briefing is available here.
Reacting to journalists’ questions, Ms. Shamdasani said that the Office had a global mandate to promote and protect the human rights, and that it would “speak out publicly and alert the international community to violations that might be taking place, or speak on behalf of victims, especially in situations where (…) the freedom of expression and opinion [was] at risk”. The Office had acted accordingly after the arrest of 53 political activists in Hong Kong.
UNHCR: Central African Republic: Central Africans flee to neighboring countries
Boris Cheshirkov, from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), expressed the United Nations refugee agency’s concern about over 30,000 Central Africans having fled election violence, and taken refuge in neighboring Cameroon, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and the Republic of Congo, and tens of thousands more displaced inside the country. Some 24,196 crossed the Ubangui River into the DRC’s provinces of Bas Uele and North-Ubangui. At least 15,000 arrived in Ndu village following attacks on the towns of Damara and Bangassou on 2 and 3 January.
Nearly a quarter of the Central African Republic’s population of 4.7 million had been forcibly displaced by the end of 2020, including 630,000 refugees in neighboring countries and 630,000 displaced internally.
Responding to journalists’ questions, Mr. Cheshirkov stressed that the UNHCR had its main presence along the Ubangui river, where it dispatched immediate assistance while planning temporary relocation further inland.
A full briefing note is available here.
Mr. Cheshirkov finally said he would get back to journalists with more information regarding the situation of Eritreans refugees in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.
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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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