The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Press Conferences | UNHCR , OCHA , WHO , UNOG , UNITED NATIONS , IOM
UNOG Bi-weekly press briefing 23APR2021
Humanitarian delivery in Ukraine
Jens Laerke, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), stated that on 22 April the United Nations had organized a humanitarian convoy to the non-government controlled areas of Ukraine, a second such convoy to cross the contact line since the reopening of the humanitarian corridor a week earlier. The convoy had carried 23 tons of hygiene items. The first convoy since the reopening, with 18 tons of equipment primarily for the treatment of COVID-19, had crossed the contact line on 15 April. This reopening was very much needed, as there were as many as 1.7 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. Mr. Laerke reminded that, due to the pandemic, the civilian crossing points on the contact line had been mostly closed since March 2020, which had severely affected civilian movement and the capacity of the UN and partners to deliver aid to people in need. The humanitarian plan for Ukraine remained only 13 percent funded for the time being, stressed Mr. Laerke.
Leaders’ Summit on Climate
Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service, reminded that the previous day the Secretary-General had participated at the Leaders’ Summit convened by US President Joe Biden. The commitments and actions announced, stressed the Secretary-General, provided a much-needed boost to the collective efforts to address the climate crisis ahead of COP 26 in November in Glasgow. To avert a permanent climate catastrophe, the world had to urgently build on the momentum delivered, in this make-or-break year for people and planet. The Secretary-General looked forward to convening leaders in September to make a final push towards COP 26.
Informal Cyprus talks in Geneva
Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service (UNIS), stated that an informal five-plus-one meeting on the Cyprus issue would be held at the Palais des Nations in Geneva from 27 to 29 April. The Secretary-General would be coming to Geneva to convene this informal meeting following consultations conducted on his behalf by a senior UN official, Jane Holl Lute. Those consultations had been done over the previous several months.
As these talks were informal, there would be no official media opportunities. The talks would be covered by UNTV and a photographer, along with a small media pool. If there was to be a press conference, it would be held in a hybrid manner and the media would be duly informed.
Shipwreck in the Mediterranean
Responding to questions, Safa Msehli, for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said that the NGO SOS Méditerranée reported that as many as 130 people had died when their rubber dinghy had sunk in the Mediterranean this week. The NGO had sent distress signals to States asking them to send rescue vessels; however, when the NGO’s Ocean Viking vessel had eventually arrived to the area, it had found dozens of bodies floating around the rubber dinghy. It was not the first time that States had refused to respond to distress calls, which was their international obligation. Ms. Msehli added that another boat had been returned to Libya, and there were also reports of a third boat reportedly carrying 40 people, which remained missing.
Ms. Msehli, in an answer to another question, said that there had been 523 recorded deaths in the Mediterranean in 2021; this number rose to 650 deaths if the reported deaths from the previous day were added. The IOM’s ability to monitor the deaths in the Mediterranean was limited due to the inactivity by States, and the true number was likely to be higher.
Tensions in Chad
In an answer to questions from journalists, Alessandra Vellucci, for the UN Information Service (UNIS), stated that the UN priority was now on helping to defuse tensions and sustain peace as part of our conflict prevention mandate. The United Nations was consulting with African partners, primarily the African Union, on how to achieve those goals and support Chad in the best way possible. The UN was also looking forward to supporting Chadian stakeholders to work towards a peaceful and inclusive election leading to the appointment of a new civilian leadership.
Geneva announcements
Tarik Jašarević, for the World Health Organization (WHO), informed that today at 1 p.m. there would be a virtual press conference by the World Health Organization (WHO), on the disruption to essential health services globally over one year into the COVID-19 pandemic. Speakers would be Dr Jim Cambell, Director, Health Workforce, and Dr Patrick Zuber, Lead Health Systems Connector.
Alessandra Vellucci said that the Committee on Enforced Disappearances would conclude today at 12 noon the review of the initial report of Mongolia.
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination would conclude its 103rd session on 30 April.
The Committee against Torture would open on 25 April at 12:30 p.m. its three-day 70th session.
Ms. Vellucci also informed that 23 April was the World Book and Copyright Day, the English Language Day, and the Spanish Language Day. 24 April would mark the beginning of the World Immunization Week.
24 April was the International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace, on which occasion an in-depth conversation had been recorded with the UN Geneva Director-General, the Special Envoy for Syria, the UN Representative to the Geneva International Discussions, the new Director of the Graduate Institute, and researchers from the Graduate Institute of Geneva and the University of Geneva.
Ms. Vellucci finally informed that 256 UN Secretariat cases had been tested positive to COVID-19 since March 2020.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IOM , OHCHR , UN WOMEN , UNFPA , UNHCR , UNOPS , WHO
UN Geneva briefing: Yemen crisis worsens, urgent aid needed across multiple sectors.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | HRC
Press conference on the latest report of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the UN Human Rights Council
1
1
1
Press Conferences | OHCHR
Victims Still Waiting: A Global Briefing on Transitional Justice Around the World
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | WMO
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
1
1
1
Press Conferences | WMO , OCHA , WHO , UNICEF , UN WOMEN , OHCHR , IOM , UNHCR
Update on Ebola from WHO and OCHA, update on the situation of children with the beginning of school in Ukraine from UNICEF, UN Women on the impact of the settlers and restrictions on women and girls in West Bank, OHCHR on the recovery of extensive human remains in Gaza, IOM and UNHCR on the new wave of displacement in Yemen
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | WFP
‘Super El Niño’ and converging crises worsen hunger in South Sudan and across the region - WFP
South Sudan’s hunger crisis is becoming increasingly catastrophic as violence, extreme weather and dwindling aid leave millions without enough food, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | HRC
Update on the human rights situation in Belarus by the UN Group of Independent Experts on the Human Rights Situation in Belarus
1
1
1
Press Conferences | HRC , OHCHR
Update on the human rights situation in Syria by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNOG , IOM , UN WOMEN , UNCTAD , WHO , UNECE
IOM Yemen's Western Coast displacement; UN WOMEN on Gaza; UNCTAD Strait of Hormuz disruptions impacts; WHO Ebola logistics in DRC; WHO smoking and infertility; UNECE Data centres and energy.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNITAR , WMO
UNITAR: GA resolution on the merger of the United Nations System Staff College into the United Nations Institute for Training and Research; WMO: Air Quality and Climate Bulletin released; WHO: Ukraine update
2
2
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | WMO
Powerful El Niño heightens extreme-weather risks through 2027, as countries brace for impact - WMO
Fuelled by extraordinarily warm waters across the tropical Pacific Ocean, the El Niño climate pattern is expected to intensify in the coming months. Forecasters are almost certain that it will persist through February next year, with unusually warm conditions expected across the globe.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IFRC , UN WOMEN , WFP , WHO , WMO , OCHA
UN WOMEN/IFRC: Update on the impact of the floods in Nepal, WFP: Food assistance in the West Bank, WHO: Gaza’s rehabilitation needs and continued spread of diseases