Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the UN Office of Geneva for this press briefing.
Today, the 18th of July, we have two briefers, 3 briefers, I should say, with us today.
We have Olga of UNHCR, and we're happy to have on the podium with me here.
Dominique Kite, as you know, is Director of External Relations at UNHCR.
Have some updates on aid cuts and then afterwards we will turn to Ravina from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, who has a number of topics for us.
So first, I'll turn over to Olga for a brief introduction.
So as Rolando mentioned, we have today with us Dominique Hyde.
She's UNATR, Director of External Relations.
We, she's going to present the devastating toll of the impact of, of the funding cuts on people forcibly displaced.
We will be releasing shortly.
You'll, you'll receive it in your mailboxes, a report that reflects the figures and some of the data and information that she's going to be presenting.
And you will also have some B roll available in case you you need it and also a photo package for any reporting that follows the briefing.
And over to you, Dominique.
Thank you, Olga, and good morning, everybody.
As Olga mentioned, I'm here today to brief you on a report that will be coming out or has come out today called On the Brink.
And obviously, it's focusing on people who are on the brink, especially refugees and displaced populations.
We are right now facing a deadly cocktail of a mixed of forced displacement which is on the increase and at the same time financial aid cuts that are happening.
And we are incredibly concerned for refugees and displaced populations around the world who are at the forefront of this situation and are the ones really impacted the most.
We have focused on 7 countries but that doesn't mean that the needs are not huge.
Globally, these are the most.
These are the countries that are the most impacted by the financial cuts and notably countries in sub-Saharan Africa where we are seeing ODA cuts in 2025 and the projections even for 2026 for sub-Saharan Africa are incredibly concerning.
Countries also like Afghanistan that many of you are covering, where people are being compelled to return home and push back by their host nations because we simply don't have the resources to support them in their host countries are going home in huge numbers and that is of increasing concern to us.
And at the centre of this are women and girls and we are seeing women and girls even more impacted than the rest of the population and that is a a growing concern for UNHCR at this point of the year.
Our funding situation is is is dramatic.
We fear that up to 11.6 million refugees and people forced to flee are losing access to humanitarian assistance provided by HCR.
And this means that 1/3 of the people that we usually assist will not be getting the services that we are usually able to provide.
And behind these numbers lie families lie lives that are hanging on a very, very thin balance.
Families are seeing their support that they have relied on just vanish and they're forced to take decisions that for any of us would be dramatic and for them even worse.
And this goes from medical aid to education to how to feed their families.
Though the consequences of these cuts are are immediate, they have left millions in what I would call undignified circumstances, conditions and they are at heightened risk of exploitation and abuse and their lives are filled with uncertainty.
We were still till a few months ago until last year, trying to actually balance with some hope and we are seeing any hope for many of these populations simply diminish.
The figures are a conservative calculation, however we know that the true impacts are having knock on effects on families, on communities in each of the sectors that we work in.
So whether we're talking about shelter, education, nutrition, medical care and the fundamentals of protection, all of these sectors are massively impacted and we are needing basically another extra $1.4 billion to keep our essential programmes to continue.
So basically 1.4 billion of our programmes have stopped cuts have left refugees stranded in remote border areas without access to the bare minimum assistance.
Health and education services are gone or at the bare minimum.
In many countries we are struggling.
There's about a 60% cut when it comes to financial aid to refugees and emergency relief supplies.
So we're having to take decisions, our colleagues on the ground are taking decisions that have life saving consequences for refugees and, and, and these are, are, are having impacts at all levels.
We're concerned about resettlement, we're concerned about voluntary returns of refugees and putting any of the gains that we've been able to have on protection at risk at this point.
Ongoing funding cuts are also worrying.
We're seeing malnutrition rates increase.
We've observed especially among refugees fleeing Sudan, where the reduced food rations of the World Food Programmes and the reduced malnutrition screening and nutrition support and limited medical follow up support is having devastating impact for children who have fled to Chad.
I think that what I've heard and what we've been told from our colleagues on the ground is that one in 10 Sudanese refugee in Chad and that are under 5 arriving in Tini are suffering from malnutrition and severe and acute malnutrition.
And the numbers for women who are pregnant is this is, is quite similar.
One in 10 arriving in Tini are also suffering from acute malnutrition, so therefore having consequences on the babies that are yet to be born.
We're simply not able to to support these families.
If you take South Sudan as well, which I've spoken to you about, and in rank A transit centre, which is just at the border with Sudan, the malnutrition rates among children under 5 have exceeded what is our threshold, which is 15% emergency threshold.
So how does this translate into in terms of of reality for refugees?
This has a tremendous impact on stability, on stability for the communities.
It has an impact on stability for the countries where they're hosted.
And there's a consequence as well for countries that are further afield.
This translates into refugees who would usually have opportunities to contribute to that community, to be able to actually economically thrive, send their children to school, maybe get a decent pay, take the decisions of going on onward journeys that are dangerous and trying to seek safety elsewhere.
I think we would all do the same if we were put in that situation and that was the only solution for us and our families.
Globally, UNHCR has cut 1/4 of our support to gender based violence protection and prevention and response programmes.
So women and girls, again as I stated at the beginning, are the hardest hit.
And I want to highlight that because I feel as if we don't speak enough about the impact of these aid cuts, especially on women and girls, but we are seeing especially vulnerable women and children without life saving and life saving medical care, legal aid and safe spaces.
If I just hone in on a few examples, I'd like to speak about South Sudan, where 75% of safe spaces for women and girls supported by UNHCR have closed, leaving up to 80,000 refugees, women and girls, including survivors of sexual violence without access to medical care, psychosocial support, legal aid, material support or income generating activities.
Without these, the support, they will simply not be able to to move on with their lives and they will, it will take that much more time on their path to recovery.
But even just that simple shelter where we're not able to support Afghanistan, the cuts that are hitting women and girls in Afghanistan, they are the hardest hit.
Protection activities have been slashed by over 50%, undermining programmes on women's empowerment, mental health and prevention and response to gender based violence.
This year, we're expecting only to reach about 45,000 of the the women that we are trying to support and that's over a 50% cut in many areas.
I could go on into other, other countries, but I can, I can keep that for other questions and answers.
But over the past months, we've established transition arrangements across the world to hand over some of our services to other local partners because we can simply no longer sustain.
But what we're finding is when it comes again to support for women, our, our, our, our local partners are also not able to simply pick up the pieces.
They are as well impacted by shrinking humanitarian support, limiting their their capacity to provide services.
These women LED organisations are being hit.
Governments that are hosting refugees are being hit.
I said it at the beginning, that's a deadly cocktail.
That is not good news for the world.
Due to our financial situation, we have also had to move quickly to implement significant reductions of our workforce.
You have heard about this.
I didn't start with this because the most important impact is on refugees and on displaced populations.
That does not mean we are not worried about our workforce.
We are and it also means a reduced presence, which also means a reduced protection system in some locations with severe cuts being made to headquarters and regional offices.
The impact has been felt across our operations as well.
In most contexts, UNHR will continue to operate at country level, albeit at a very scaled down level and in a restructured manner and limiting what we can actually do in many contexts and doing our best to work in coordination with our UN sister agencies, with host governments and as I mentioned before, with the NGO community and local partners.
The cuts of field staffing are of of real concern.
Obviously, we have been able to establish over years trust with refugee populations.
The moment the refugees start seeing UNHCR colleagues leave, partner colleagues leave that trust and and losing that trust just as well of host governments is another concern that is maybe not always well explained.
And my last point, the gap between resources and needs is just increasing.
The decision to scale down, suspend or in some cases discontinue our programmes has been driven solely by the funding situation and the funding constraints that are facing UNHCR and many other organisations.
Our funding requirements for 2025 are of $10.6 billion.
At this point in the year.
We're usually at about, and I've done these types of briefings before, we're usually at maybe about 50%, forty, 8% at this point we are at 23% of of the needs.
That is, you know, with the backdrop of our teams are focusing on what they can do to save lives, to protect lives for people who continue to be forced to flee, forced to return home with emergencies that continue to increase.
It's, it's a real concern.
We are thankful to all of our donors who have stood by us.
And there are many that have stood by us.
Some have increased, but simply it's not sufficient.
So we're urging governments, institutions, the private sector to step up.
Notably, we need them to come urgently to us with funding that is flexible, so we can actually provide the funding where it is most needed, but also in some of these seven operations that are highlighted in this in this report.
And what will we do if there is any new unforeseen emergency that takes place?
And actually they are taking place as we speak.
As you know, the needs remain immense.
We have the systems in place, we are able to scale up if the funding comes in, but at this point our main concern is just the dire situation refugees are finding themselves in.
Thank you very much, Dominica.
Very sobering, but incredibly important that we communicate this.
So we'll turn for questions now starting in the room, if any.
Yes, I, I was wondering on the, on the finance, we have talked a lot about the US cuts, but your agency and others are also mentioning that other donators are have decreased their support.
Could you have some figures to qualify those decrease from other countries?
Because over the months we talk a lot about those decrease, but we don't have figures.
So it would be good to have figures.
So what I can do right now, I can come back to you with percentages of decreases, but I can tell you just generally which governments where we have seen a decrease, but we've also seen increases.
So obviously you are all aware of the, the, the, the large decreases from the US that's obviously a, a large percentage, but they still remained our largest donor in 2025.
Sweden has reduced, France has reduced, Japan has reduced, the UAE has reduced.
And for example, also the surf, the surf, the OCHA mechanism and, and of course because they have also received a reduced, reduced envelope of funding.
So those are those are some examples.
We have seen increases from the European Union, from the African Development Bank and Canada as other examples as well as from the MasterCard Foundation.
And we are, we are very grateful to them and others where we're hoping by the end of the year we might see a a shift depending on budget decisions that are taking place.
Thanks a lot for the briefing, Nina Larceny FPL.
So I just wondering you mentioned so 11 million people will be losing, losing aid because of this.
How is that going to translate in, in terms of deaths or, you know, the serious consequences if you have any way of, of quantifying what the actual impact will be?
You know, I think in terms of in terms of deaths, I can't quantify.
I of course have given you statistics in terms of malnutrition.
So the impact in those cases is that some of those children will die of malnutrition.
It also means that many of these children will be born stunted, which means that they will have a lot less opportunities in life to continue.
It means about 800,000 children will not have access to education in eastern Horn of Africa.
It translates into 80% in some cases of lack of shelter, which means that there's much more increase of sexual violence that is possible.
The lack of education means that we'll see early marriages taking place.
And the report will will give you much more, much more details.
But what you want is not people to die.
And of course, I'm sure that's not what you're saying.
You want people to thrive and now it's just about survival and what we are seeing the the numbers of, if I take again, Sudanese arriving in Libya is on the increase.
And that also means that they continue to travel and they're going through very dangerous journeys.
So what we're trying to do is trying to stabilise.
And this is where the big issue is, is that we are no longer able to stabilise the populations because we simply don't have enough support.
So just in terms of of regional stability, I don't know if you could could say something about what the impact, what you expect the impact will be and and what kind of contingency planning are you able to do given the, the, the dramatic lack of resources.
So I mean the the High Commissioner speaks of the belt of crisis, speaks of the from West Africa, North Africa, up to the Middle East, around Ukraine, surrounding surrounding Europe and the concerns and the concerns there of onward movement towards, towards Europe because we are not able to stabilise.
Obviously stabilisation and RA programmes are not the only reason that people continue to be on the move, but we are very clear that it is an element of stabilisation.
So it's, I would say it's not always the best decision to cut overseas development assistance and increase investments in defence.
And I think there's a direct impact, of course on the decrease of ODA budgets across the board for all of the larger UN agencies.
Contingency planning, I think we've all been trying to prioritise what we're, it's, it's, we're not in a position to do so much contingency planning.
What we're able to do is, is make decisions on priorities.
And at this point the priorities, as I mentioned are dramatic.
Sanitation, but we're having to take decisions when it comes for example to shelter where have people arriving on a daily basis from Sudan, from the Darfur regions where you know what's happening, arriving in Chad not able to be give any shelter to.
And if we just had a bit more support we would could get them to settlements.
The government has been very open in that case and we're simply not able to provide even the basic shelter to over 60% of the of the population that is coming in.
We have a couple of questions, Olivia from Reuters.
I actually think Christine had her hand up before me, so maybe you want to go to her first.
We can yield do go to Chris Tianan of DPA German news agency over to.
My question was on the countries that increased, but you mentioned them already.
So my second question is you just mentioned on Parson that the number of Sudanese arriving in Libya is on the increase.
Can you get us a bit more on that?
I don't know whether you have numbers of what you see happening in Libya from Sudan or other countries?
I I'm not in a position and I'm not sure if, if Olga is to answer a bit more on specifically on Libya.
My understanding is well, no.
What we're observing now is that in terms of arrivals in Europe of refugees mainly from from Libya, actually of Sudanese refugees has increased since the beginning of the year of to about about 170% compared to the first six months of 2024.
So indeed, we are seeing an increase in in this in this movement.
The situation is getting dire not only in in Sudan, but also in Libya.
So there are some refugees arriving in Libya from Chad.
We see arrivals in Libya from Egypt as well.
But we need to put this into context.
The number of Sudanese that are part of the MET crossings is still minimal.
It's about 5% at this moment.
So indeed we see an increase on that.
And, and as, as as Dominique was mentioning, it's, it's a direct reflection as well of the, of the, of the dire circumstances in, in the, in the main host countries of Sudanese refugees where the very minimum assistance that we were providing now is also at race core being diminished and the quality is well reduced.
So it's pushing some to take these, these dangerous journeys and and difficult decisions.
And maybe if I can just add, we estimate, just specifically, we estimate about 350,000 new arrivals to Libya of Sudanese since the beginning of the year.
And so I, this comes back to my point before, just Europe should see this as investment in its security as well.
There are areas that Europe should be mindful if not properly resourced.
I think that's a message that the High Commissioner said earlier this week, also in Ireland.
Thank you both very much.
Christian as a follow up.
350 new arrivals to Libya from Sudan since the beginning of the year that compares to what figure last year same.
Hi Christian, Maybe I can send you later on the the concrete figures because I don't have the daily arrivals in mind.
It's a bit difficult to to calculate them for Libya specifically because as you know, we don't have access to the borders and it's it's a little bit challenging.
And with the the tensions since the beginning of the year, I think since around February, more Sudanese are taking the desert route are going also through chat.
So let me come back to you in writing, if that's if that's OK, OK.
Let's see if there are further questions room online.
I think Olivia had your hand up, but I think maybe you're OK.
Thank you very, very much for this briefing.
A couple questions from me on this related topic, but also just one on Syria, but maybe we can circle back to that once we've finished everyone else's questions.
I just want to check how many cuts have been in the field specifically because you raised understandable concern about that.
And I was also just wondering why specifically have women related programmes being so badly affected?
Is that just because of the the because you were doing so many of these programmes and then the cuts came and were kind of across the board?
Or is that because of specific kind of requests that certain women's programmes had to be shot versus others?
Just curious about the explanation about why, why that is.
So in terms of how, how much our field has been cut, it's about it's across the board, it's about a third of the staffing.
So it's that's how how much has been cut.
So about 30% of our staffing has been cut at country office level and and we've seen about 185 of our country presences impacted.
So out of 550 country, not countries, but presences, so sub offices, office space, we have about 185 that are impacted.
And why are women and girls more impacted?
So I'd say it's it's twofold.
You kind of answered your own question in some way.
But the first part is that the US was one of our largest donors when it came to flexible funding for child protection and gender based violence.
And although funding has come back from the US, it hasn't come back for these specific areas.
And their funding was highly flexible, which helped us to actually earmark that.
We've had a bit of good news earlier this year with Norway.
We've asked for extra support in this area.
We've seen Norway come back to us.
We've seen Sweden and Echo support us in different areas.
So we're hoping that with more advocacy, we have more donors providing very much support in this area.
But fundamentally what's happened is that we've had to use our very precious and earmark money in across into more operations.
And the amount of funding that has come is, is, is so small compared to the needs that we've had to take decisions and, and, and, and these have been incredibly difficult decisions.
But that's why we're also really trying to advocate for more resources to come that is targeted towards women and girls or on your mark funding where we can then allocate these resources as a priority to to women and girls.
Don't make this very clear, Olivia.
But we'll, we'll, as you say, we'll circle back to that afterwards.
Ravine is here also going to address that subject.
If there are any more in the room or online, I don't see that's the case.
So on that note, I'd like to thank you very much.
Dominique and Olga, of course, immensely important and colleagues, thank you very much.
Free reporting to address in remedy this this difficult situation.
OK, that's I think that's on Syria.
So maybe if you is that on Syria, just do you.
Want us to answer something on Syria?
No, I think maybe William or I don't know, William may be jumping up here, but if you wanted to say something.
OK, absolutely, Dominic, maybe William, if you can join me then I think again, Ravine is also addressing the human rights situation.
But if you can, you can join me on the podium, William, and then if you can pose your question and Dominic and William could respond on Syria, go ahead.
So very much it's it's a question about the aid situation in Sweda.
Has UNHCR or any other agencies for the UN been providing aid since the clashes have been happening there?
We've had some reports that there is perhaps some difficulty getting some supplies in.
I just wanted to confirm if that is true or not and if you could just describe in detail really what the picture is and, and, and if you are trying to, yeah, supply some aid there given the situation?
That's a very good question.
I'll, I'll answer as best as I can and then I'll hand over to William to add anything.
What we have seen is the number of people displaced has continued to increase since the 16th of July and I think OCHA is estimating some 60,000 people that have been displaced.
We're the only organisation that actually has an office in rural Sueda, UNHCR, but we've had to actually move our colleagues to a safer place.
We stand ready to support with any emergency supplies.
And I know that the authorities have established some collective centres where where they're able to accommodate some of these displaced people.
But I'd say at this time, it's quite challenging for us in that specific area to be able to support.
But William, I'd appreciate if you have anything to add.
Yes, the situation in in Sweda is very concerning and that we echo the statement that the Secretary General made yesterday regarding that situation and humanitarian impact.
It's very difficult for us to operate there.
As Dominique said, we have an office there but at the moment our capacity to deliver aid is very limited and that's why we are calling on all parties to allow humanitarian access so that we and other humanitarian organisations can help the people who have been affected.
The needs are considerable.
They range from access to health.
Many of the hospitals have been overwhelmed by the number of people who have been injured in the recent fighting.
Many of the people who were displaced had to leave a very short notice, so they need things like blankets, like Jerry cans, like solar lamps and so on.
We have this in stock and we are ready to deliver them as soon as the security allows it.
For now, this has not been possible.
Water shortages are also a great concern because electricity outages have disrupted the water supply so and people cannot even buy bottled water, food or other items because of the insecurity.
As I said, the hospitals are overcrowded and there's a lack of medical personnel.
Rd closures because of the continued fighting are also restricting access to the affected, but also the possibility of people to move out of areas of conflict and getting out of dangerous way.
So we are very concerned about the impact of the hostilities on our operations and the infrastructure and personnel as well.
We know that humanitarian infrastructure has been affected, including a warehouse of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, which was severely damaged on the 15th July by shelling.
We reiterate the need for protection and safety guarantees for all humanitarian personnel and the families, and we call on all parties to the conflict to respect and protect humanitarian premises, personnel and assets in accordance with international humanitarian law.
Thank you both very much.
And indeed the Secretary General did share, we did share a statement of the SGU with you the night before at last where he obviously expressed his alarm over the continuing escalation of violence.
And there was a statement we also shared with you from Mr Peterson, a special envoy for Syria, echoing the same messages.
And of course, you have the Archer updates and colleagues are online.
Should you have specific questions on the humanitarian situation?
No, because maybe if perhaps I can call you up here just in case, maybe we could switch the order a little bit in case you wanted to chime in on the human rights situation.
Dominica, if you want to say or up to you.
Maybe a follow up for that and then and then we'll go ahead.
You mentioned your office in Sweda and I was wondering how many people you have there, how specifically they have they may have been impacted you, I think they have they all been evacuated to somewhere else and how long do you expect that to last?
And you also mentioned the impact on humanitarian infrastructure.
Have you see, have there has there been looting as well or and what have you been doing to sort of protect your, your offices there?
Our office in Suede had 18 staff, but at the time of the beginning of the hostilities, there were 15 people on the ground.
They we have not been able to relocate them all yet, although that is being explored at the moment.
So I'm not sure what the latest situation is.
But all our staff are thankfully well unaccounted for and the families.
Regarding the infrastructure, I think I have already mentioned that it has been damaged both civilian and government property, but also that of humanitarian organisations such as the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and the the situation continues to escalate as you know.
So it's very difficult for us and other organisations to operate in that situation, but we are ready to start our response as soon as the conditions allow it.
Thank you very much, William.
And I'd like to thank Dominique again for for your very, very thoughtful and important briefing, including your your comments on Syria, which will stay on this subject because we do have a continuing briefing.
But so we'll start with the Ravina who has a note from the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Excuse me, good morning everyone.
You will have received a press release from the High Commissioner a short while ago on Syria.
Immediate steps need to be taken to ensure the protection of people in Soweda and across Syria.
Sorry, sorry, I've got a problem with my notes.
Immediate steps need to be taken to ensure protection of people in Sueda and across Syria.
The bloodshed and the violence must stop, and the protection of all people must be the utmost priority in line with international human rights law.
Credible reports that our office has received indicate widespread violations and abuses, including summary executions and arbitrary killings, kidnappings, destruction of private property, and looting of homes in the southern city of Soweta.
Among the reported perpetrators were members of the security forces and individuals affiliated with the interim authorities, as well as other armed elements from the area, including the Druze and Bedouin.
This has led to mass displacement of the population and the predominantly Druze governorate.
Syria's interim authorities must ensure independent, prompt and transparent investigations into all violations.
All those responsible must be held to account in accordance with international standards, and incitement to violence and hate speech, both online and offline, must also be stopped.
It is crucial that immediate steps are taken to prevent the recurrence of such violence.
Vengeance is clearly not the answer.
In one incident on the 15th of July that we have documented the unlawful killing of at least 18, sorry, the unlawful killing of at least 13 people when armed individuals affiliated with the interim authorities deliberately opened fire at a family gathering on the same day, they reportedly summarily executed 6 men near their homes.
In two separate incidents, we've also documented the public humiliation of a Druze man, including the forcible shaving of his moustache, which is an important cultural symbol for the Druze community.
In all, hundreds have been reportedly killed since the 12th of July.
Our office has received accounts of distressed Syrians who are living in fear for their lives and those of their loved ones.
The deployment of state security forces should bring safety and protection, not add to the fear and violence.
We're also concerned regarding reports of civilian casualties resulting from Israel's air strikes on Sueda Dara and in the centre of Damascus.
Attacks such as the one on Damascus on Wednesday pose great risks to civilians and civilian objects.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for Katurk has called for a thorough, urgent and independent vetting process to ensure that those responsible for human rights violations and abuses are not integrated into Syria's official security or military structures.
We call on the interim authorities to publish the results of a National Fact Finding Committee's investigations into the violence in coastal areas earlier this year.
Impartial and thorough investigations into the recent violence would also strengthen the ongoing wider transitional justice process to ensure accountability for past violations and abuses.
Syrians deserve truth, accountability and guarantees that such violations will not be repeated.
OK, we'll stay on this subject for a bit.
I'm just wondering what opportunity you have to to verify what's happening on the ground.
And in terms of the numbers killed, I know you're we're talking about hundreds reportedly killed, but do you have any way of, of verifying that?
And also in terms of the impact of the Israeli strikes, if you could say a little bit more about that.
As you can see, we've highlighted one incident on the 15th of July where at least 13 people were killed.
The death toll overall is reported to be in the hundreds.
We've been trying very hard to verify.
We do have contacts on the ground.
The, the, the, the incident that I shared with you, we've relied on primary sources for this.
So this is families of people who were killed, eyewitnesses, and we're in touch with a lot of families, but it's very difficult to get reliable estimates of the death toll at the moment.
There's also electricity cuts as well as very slow or in some places no Internet and that makes it difficult as well.
There have been developments this morning as well and people are continuing to flee the area in search of safety, so documenting figures is extremely difficult.
Questions in the room or online on Syria?
New York Times Yeah, Thank you for taking question.
Ravina, you mentioned the incident going on today.
Could you just tell us a bit more about what you're hearing about what's happening today?
And secondly, you, your statement references the national enquiry into the violence that occurred earlier in the year.
What do you know about that inquiry?
Have you, have you been able to evaluate the extent to which the authorities are able to act in any credible way on this?
I spoke to colleagues this morning, and they said what they're hearing is that some clashes are continuing and that a lot of people are trying to flee or have fled the area.
There's a lot of misinformation out there.
So when I spoke to my colleague this morning, I mentioned things that I had read in the news, and I was told it's not true.
And there's been no official statement on so.
So there's a lot of misinformation and disinformation out there about what's happening.
There are lots of videos circulating.
Some claim to be, you know, fighters who are in the area filming the abuses and violations they're carrying out.
We are trying to verify some of these videos, but there's a lot of disinformation out there and a lot of it is being used to incite further violence to inflamed tensions.
So we're being very careful about the information that that we can put out there.
On the investigation that the National Fact Finding Committee, we are aware that it has concluded its work and it's submitted a report to the President, Al Shara.
We're waiting for publication of the report.
We were in touch with the committee.
We provided advice on best practises in relation to the fact finding work and we do encourage the authorities to make public the findings.
Transparency is crucial and then follow up to the findings will be crucial to re establish trust and to try to stem the cycles of vengeance.
Further questions on Syria?
No, I oh, maybe a follow up from Nick over oh doing another hand went up.
So Nick first, yes, sorry, just to check.
I mean, are you aware of of account any accountability proceedings since the the violence earlier in the year?
The investigation the the National Fact Finding Committee, as I said, we're aware that it has concluded its work, but again, the transparency is key and so far that is lacking.
We have your hand back up, Nick, and then there's.
So then let's go back to you, Nick.
Maybe there's a quick follow up and then I'll go back to you.
I appreciate that the the report has been submitted, but are you aware of anybody being prosecuted or punished for this?
I will double check though.
I need to be sure that there aren't proceedings ongoing that I'm not aware of.
I'll double check that with colleagues and get back to you.
Going to you now, Olivia Reuters.
And so happy to circle back.
It's actually a question for Ravina on Gaza.
Let's first wrap up with with Syria.
And I see there are no further questions.
So maybe, I guess, I mean, you're welcome to stay as oh, as long as you're like William.
But I'd like to thank you, of course, for for chiming in on Syria.
I mean, how do we want to do this?
We have Afghanistan and we have Bangladesh announcements, but do you want to take the question out of Gaza first or maybe come back into that at the end?
And then because I have a feeling that Gaza may trigger further questions.
So let's let's turn to Afghanistan and then another announcement of Bangladesh and then we'll come back to you, Olivia, if you don't mind holding off on that.
So back to your veena on Afghanistan.
In fact, that the situation regarding returns to Afghanistan is extremely dire and it's not getting the attention it deserves, which is why I asked if we could please proceed with that first.
And then and then of course, I'll take the questions on Gaza and I'm going to tell you in advance, this note is a bit long.
I tried to shorten it, but you know what, it is very important information.
So please bear with me there.
On our note on Afghanistan, the surge in the number of Afghans forced or compelled to return to Afghanistan this year is creating a multi layered human rights crisis requiring the urgent attention of the international community.
Many have been either directly forced to return by states where they have been residing and others have felt compelled to do so because of threats, harassment and intimidation.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for Kotok calls for an immediate halt to the forcible return of all Afghan refugees and asylum seekers, particularly those at risk of persecution, arbitrary detention or torture upon their return.
Countries in the region must ensure that returns to Afghanistan are voluntary, safe, signified and consistent with international law.
In just over seven months, over 1.9 million Afghans have returned from Iran and Pakistan to Afghanistan.
From Iran alone, over 1.5 million have arrived since the start of this year.
Of these, 60% were deported, including 500,000 since the 13th of June.
More than 300,000 Afghans have been returned from Pakistan since the 1st of January this year, on top of the many hundreds of thousands more who have been returned since the Taliban takeover and the government's adoption in 2023 of an illegal foreigners repatriation plan in Tajikistan to a group of Afghan nationals, including refugees and asylum seekers were reportedly summoned in Badat on the 8th of July by security forces and informed that all Afghan nationals must leave the country within 15 days.
The scale and frequency of deportations from the country had already sharply increased in recent months.
From October 2024 to July 2025, at least 485 Afghan nationals have been deported, among them 334 who were refugees or asylum seekers.
Many Afghans have also been forced to leave or issued ultimatums from several other countries, and a number of countries are also considering reversing their asylum policies, granting protection for Afghan refugees.
Sending people back to a country in which they're at risk of persecution, torture, cruel, inhuman or degrade, degrading treatment or punishment, or other irreparable harm violates the core international law principle of non reformal.
People also have a right to make such a claim and have it fairly considered by state authorities.
Before any action to forcibly expel an individual, deportation and violation of these basic rules must stop immediately.
At the same time, given the particularly severe situation on the ground, especially for women and girls, we call on states to increase the availability of legal pathways for Afghans to find a safe place to live.
People returning to Afghanistan, whether by compulsion or of their own volition, find a country facing an acute humanitarian and human rights crisis.
The first priority must be to ensure their immediate needs are met, including the provision of food, water, shelter and access to health care.
They also face structural and systemic discrimination, gender persecution, issues related to ethnicity, obstacles to fully reintegration into society, and a dearth of work and livelihood as a result of a struggling economy.
Women and girls who are systematically deprived of their rights in Afghanistan are particularly at risk upon their return, with the extreme institutional discrimination and undue restrictions imposed on them.
The cumulative effect of these restrictions has been to almost erase women and girls from public life and to prevent them from accessing basic services.
Others among those deported are journalists and former civil servants or employees of the previous Afghan government, who are particularly vulnerable to reprisals and torture by the de facto authorities upon their return.
We implore states to do everything in their power to help those who have already endured decades of warfare, poverty and hardship, as well as extreme discrimination and threats.
Thank you very much for being a incredibly important briefing.
We'll start in the room if any questions.
So maybe I'll turn right to Cristiano, DPA for a question.
Germany has deported 13 Afghans today, this morning.
And they they are said to be people who committed crimes.
What should happen with these people?
What is your message to the German government that took this decision to send these people back?
People should not be sent back to Afghanistan.
As I said, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Walker Turk, has called for an immediate halt to the forcible return of all Afghan refugees and asylum seekers, particularly those at risk of persecution.
This is a time for solidarity with the people of Afghanistan.
The the situation in the country is extremely dire.
I mean, I have set out for you here the various human rights issues that people may face upon their return.
But there's also the humanitarian situation.
70% of people in Afghanistan live in poverty.
Thank you very much for that very important context.
Sorry, just on, on what you're expecting to see, I guess maybe it would be more for UNHCR, but I know that last week we were talking about 3 million people by the end of this year.
I'm wondering if that's still the case and what kind of contingency plans can be put in place on the right situation.
I guess also sort of what, what can can be done by the international community to ensure that these people who are returning, that their rights are not violated to the same extent that we fear.
Babar is online and he'll chime in afterwards.
So on your well, so Babar will speak to you on the figures because indeed that is more for for you in HCR, from our side, I mean the international community, there are several things to do here.
1 is do not return people to a country where they are likely to face serious human rights violations and a situation of of extreme poverty.
2 is to support Afghanistan.
The the economy is struggling, the humanitarian situation is dire.
There needs to be support from the international community to to rebuild.
There also needs to be pressure from the international community to address the human rights violations that are ongoing there.
And this is where we we put it out there.
We publicise what's going on in the country.
We try to give a voice to the victims of these violations.
It is then for the international community to take steps to bring these violations to an end and to apply pressure in whatever way they can.
OK, Babar from UNHCR think I want it on the numbers.
So, so far as it was mentioned this year, we have seen some 1.9 million Avans who have returned from both Iran and Pakistan and and the bulk of this number is from Iran, more than 1.5 million.
And it was being mentioned majority of those, some 60% from Iran are those who have been deported.
As we have been mentioning to you several times in this forum and also publicly that this is putting a huge strain on the humanitarian situation inside Afghanistan, but also on all of those first indeed and foremost on the people who are returning at the in this in such big numbers.
This is something we have not seen, at least as far as Afghanistan is concerned, that in such a short time you get nearly 2 million people who are returning to the country who's who's not able or where there are no mechanism to to support them.
The last time we saw something like this was 2002, early 2002, and that was when Afghans were going back on their own.
This time the picture is completely different.
And indeed, as it was being mentioned, we need international support and solidarity to support Afghanistan who are coming back to their homeland.
Homeland or their own country, as it was being mentioned by our colleague from Kabul when he was briefing you, that, yes, Avrands are welcome back home, but the resources and the mechanism of support are just not there.
Thank you very much, Babar.
Indeed, international support and solidarity is what we need, Nina.
I didn't hear if you answered my question on the 3,000,000 expected to is it he did.
In, in terms of I mean the numbers are still high.
So the daily average remember we have been mentioning that since mid June, the number has been picking up and one day the highest we got was 50,000 on 4th of July.
As far as I understand the numbers are still high that 10s of thousands of people are still returning.
So as as Alfa Jamal, our representative in Kabul was, was saying, as numbers increase as days, it's really extremely becoming difficult to, to, to to support people.
I I'm afraid I need to come back to the situation.
Very topic today returns to Afghanistan.
Does it make a difference in in your view of the situation if the people are those that committed crimes in the host country, does that make a difference to the picture of whether they should be sent back?
I guess your answer is no, but is there any any understanding or sympathy for a country that feels they do not want to host people who commit crimes in their host countries?
I wonder if our colleagues from UNHCR might want to come in again and explain the principle of non rifle more and there is on debt.
The the reason behind this principle.
It is an essential core principle of international law where people fear persecution upon being returned to a country they should not be returned.
But I would defer to my colleagues in UNHCR.
I mean, I think it's, it's very clear, but turn back to Babar in case he wants to add a comment on that, the principle non rufumal in particular.
No, no, nothing to add as explained by Ravina.
Thank you very much, Babar.
Let's just see if there are further questions on Afghanistan in the room or online.
So we do have one other item from Ravina, and then there is a question, of course, on Gaza from Olivia, but this is an item on Bangladesh from the office of the High Commission for Human Rights.
Some positive news to share.
We are opening a new mission in Bangladesh, very important to the our office.
The UN Human Rights Office and the Government of Bangladesh this week signed a three-year memorandum of understanding to open a mission in the country to support the promotion and protection of human rights.
The memorandum was signed by our High Commissioner and the Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh.
Since last August, as you know, our office's engagement with Bangladesh has significantly increased.
We've been working with various stakeholders in advancing human rights reforms and conducting A comprehensive fact finding inquiry into deadly repression of mass protests.
The signing of this memorandum sends an important message of the country's commitment to human rights as a cornerstone of the transition.
It will enable our office to better support implementation of the recommendations made in our fact Finding report as well as to engage directly on the ground with the government, with civil society and with others using our expertise and assistance to help with the fundamental reforms Bangladesh is undertaking.
The new mission will offer training and technical assistance to the authorities across a range of areas towards meeting the country's national and international human rights commitments, as well as undertaking capacity building for government institutions and civil society actors.
It's nice to have some good news amidst all the difficult briefs that we impart to you.
So do we have questions on Bangladesh from you colleagues?
No, I don't see that's the case.
So thank you again, Ravine, and if you can stay here with me.
I just wanted to check if there were any new figures on the number of people killed while trying to access food aid in Gaza.
No, the the last figure I have is from the 13th of July.
I believe you already have that figure.
But that that was a figure that Tamin had shared on on Tuesday, I believe.
No, we are continuing to to document and to try to corroborate information.
But currently I don't have a new figure for you.
Ravina, do we have any questions?
On, on a separate topic, I was just wondering in the in the US where the Justice Department has now proposed A1 day prison sentence for the police officer who was sentenced for civil rights abuses in the death of Brianna Taylor in 2020.
Do you have any thoughts on the amount of, of, you know, what that says about the, the rights support or civil rights support in the US if you have the Justice Department asking for such a low sentence?
Thanks for the question, Nina.
It's difficult because it's an ongoing judicial process.
So that makes it difficult for us to comment on it.
But generally we have documented over many years systemic institutionalised racism, particularly against people of African descent in many countries, including the United States.
And accountability is key.
We have documented a serious accountability gap, particularly when it comes to law enforcement operations against people of African descent in the United States.
Justice needs to be served.
And maybe just worth noting, it's supporting the important work of the Office of the High Commissioner, Human Rights.
There is this expert group that was created by the Human Rights Council some years ago, I mean reaction to the death of George Floyd, which is looking specifically into these issues, which have issued recommendations and observations on on the situation in the United States and and globally, particularly on the law enforcement.
And then these important issues, which which we continue to report on here.
Thank you very much, Ravina, I think I think you're off the hook.
I just wanted to do you want to add something?
Sorry, I just wanted to confirm to Nick, I mentioned to you that I wasn't aware of any prosecutions in in Syria on the the coastal violence and colleagues have just confirmed that there were some suspects that we heard were captured, but there hasn't been further news.
Thank you for that additional note.
No, I don't see any follow-ups on that either.
So I thank you once again, Ravina, as always, for joining us here.
It's just a couple of notes from me before we wrap up.
Just to keep you on track, we shared with you just a couple of hours ago a press transcript of a press encounter with the Secretary General.
This was following a meeting that he convened yesterday with Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders in New York, which you will recall, that was proposed at the March talks on the Cyprus issue here in Geneva.
And following yesterday's talks, ESG met with the press and he noted progress achieved on four of the six initiatives that they agreed to in the Geneva talks to build trust on.
And Mr Gutierrez stated that, quote, the initiative today have the potential to have a real and significant positive impact on people's lives across the island.
So again, we share that transcript with you earlier today.
Just to give you a heads up for Tuesday, the Secretary General, Antuna Guterres is going to deliver a very important statement called a moment of opportunity.
This is a so-called climate address.
Now this will be addressing a number of important issues, including the transfer from fossil fuel to renewable energy, very important issues which we continue to tackle in the United Nations.
So this is a statement that he will be delivering it 3:00 PM Geneva time, 9:00 AM New York time on Tuesday, the 22nd of July.
And I should also mention that there is a background briefing, colleagues, that on Monday, the 21st at 3:30 PM our time, should you want to dial in on that.
The briefer is Selwyn Hart, who is the UN Assistant Secretary General and special adviser to the UN Secretary General on Climate Action.
So if you're interested in getting the coordinates for that background brief on Monday at 3:30 ahead of this important and statement of the secretary General on Tuesday, do let us know and we'll share that with you.
Meetings there are the Human Arts Committee wrapped up its session yesterday.
There are no treaty body meetings until 11 August, a nice rare window for the treaty bodies, which, as you know, are very, very active.
And then the Conference on Disarmament, as we've noted here before, the 3rd part of its last session for 2025 commences on the 28th of July, so just around the corner.
And just a couple of appointments just to make sure.
You saw the notes we shared with you yesterday, in fact, as she appointed Mr Guang Kong of China as his special envoy for the Horn of Africa.
So we shared with you a note on that.
Another important appointment, another important appointments.
The Secretary General appointed the Independent Scientific Panel on the effects of Nuclear war.
Now this is a 21 member panel which was asked for at the behest of the General Assembly and it's in response to a global environment in which the risk of nuclear war is higher than ever.
So this was, there are details in that note we shared with you yesterday very, very late in the evening.
And today is Nelson Mandela Day, one of my heroes.
I'm sure you share that sentiment.
Very important observation in the UN.
And of course, the SGU issued a message to mark this important occasion.
And among other things, he notes how Mandela's life of service in progress certainly continues to inspire our own efforts at the United Nations and as we celebrate our 80th anniversary.
So on this important day and every day, let us all be reminded by Madiba's lifelong commitment to freedom, justice, equality, and the rights that belong to every person on earth.
Important comments there.
So thank you for taking a look at that message from the SG.
And I think that's it for me.
Well, I wish you a nice afternoon, nice weekend.
There's John Zaracostas online.
Mentioned the the appointment of a scientific panel.
The statement didn't list the panellists that have been appointed.
You're right, there is indeed.
I was actually looking for that information that gives you the background, the mandate, the the sort of scope of of this important development.
Well, we resend the note and then with a link to information where you can find the names perhaps of these 21 members of this important distinguished panel.
So thanks for pointing that out, John.
We'll make sure to share that with you and maybe throw up throw in a link in the the summary to this press briefing.
No, in that case on weekend.
