Welcome to the press briefing of the Information Service of the UN in Geneva.
Today is Friday, 7th of November.
We have a long list of speakers for my Thank you in advance for being with us.
And I'd like to start immediately with the with a colleague of the World Food Programme.
Annabelle Symington has brought us to Cynthia Jones, who is the country Director at Interim for DRC and I believe getting to us from Kinshasa to tell us about the latest food security situation in the DRC.
So I, I like to give you the floor immediately.
Please start with your introductory remarks.
I don't know if Cynthia, you want to maybe to start and then we give the floor to your colleague.
Good morning to all and on behalf of the World Food Programme team on the ground in the in the DRC, we're grateful for your time and everybody's time.
As you said, I'm here to speak about the deepening hunger crisis that is unfolding in the East.
And what we have is the latest food security analysis report, the IPC, which has been released a few days ago.
And it shows that the numbers of, of people that are facing emergency levels of, of hunger is surging.
It has almost doubled since last year.
And this has been driven by the various conflicts in Eastern DRC and it demonstrates this major shift in the Eastern DRC contacts that we've experienced this year.
An area the size of Switzerland has fallen under the de facto control of a non state armed group known as M23, which is called massive population movement, including large scale force returns of all of the displaced sites were broken up and people were forced to return home with nothing finding their houses destroyed, their fields looted or being farmed by others.
And new displacement continues as the fighting continues.
So people have been forced from their home over and over again.
In the eastern part, there's about 5.2 million displaced people, including 1.6 million that have been displaced this year alone, making DRC one of the world's largest displaced person crisis.
Now we coupled that with all of these major disruptions of the setup of the de facto authority in the fall of Goma and Bukaboo brought disruption to markets, national services like education, health and the banking system.
I mean, the banks are closed.
There's no money available.
And this has just had a major impact on the population and on the humanitarian response.
And of course, it has devastated livelihood and really with the food security of the affected people and dire, dire circumstances.
So what does this mean in terms of the numbers and affected and the number of people that are in a dire need of life saving food assistance?
We have one in three people in Eastern DRC, so that's in North and South Tivos a Turi, Tanganyika and this at this crisis and emergency level of food insecurity, what we know is IPC 3 and IPC 4.
That's over 10 million people, if you can imagine that amount.
However, of this, an alarming 3 million people are in that emergency category.
For families, it means that they're skipping their meals, they've depleted all of their household assets, they're selling off their animals, their last goats.
And as I said, this figure has doubled since the last one since last year, last year's report, so the report a year ago.
And coupled to that, malnutrition amongst children is alarmingly high.
In some areas, reports are indicating that 60% of the children are malnourished.
I myself have seen the difficult choices that women are making to feed themselves.
I was also based out in Goma for about a year and a half as WF PS Emergency coordinator.
However, in spite of all of these, all of these challenges, population movements, humanitarian access issues, physical access issues, the poor roads, the rainy season, our teams on the ground have reached this year 3.4 million people with emergency life saving food assistant and that has been both in kind food distribution and cash.
We've also reached almost 1,000,000 malnourished children and mothers through our nutrition programme.
However, as the hunger is deepening and getting worse, funding is running out and we will only be able to support a fraction of those in need.
We have been forced to cut our assistance greatly in the lead up after, you know, after the fall of Goma and the status of the de facto authority, we've been able to reach about 1,000,000 people per month.
But since October, we've had to reduce that down to 600,000, and we need almost $350 million to be able to continue the emergency food and Nutrition Assistance in the next 6 months.
Without it, we will have to make further cut, reduce even further down to 300,000, originally 10% of the three million in need.
And potentially by February, March, we may even have a complete break.
So that's is really the situation on the ground.
What else is needed to help us, the partners, the humanitarian community respond is improved access.
The two airports and M23 areas have been closed basically since since the end of January.
And we're urgently calling on calling for a humanitarian air corridor should be established.
And so that is either for the partial reopening of the Goma airport to allow humanitarian flights only.
And if this is too difficult and too challenging, there are also the options to consider, cross-border flights from, you know, eastern DRC into airports close to the border in Rwanda.
This is important because at a time when resources are going down, we need to be able to effectively and efficiently respond.
And the opening and improving the air access into these Airs would be a great enabler of this.
So really behind all of these stark statistics, you know, the women, children, men, they've just been suffering devastating consequences of, of the violence perpetrated by the non state armed groups and, and fleeing from conflict.
They're tired, exhausted and need peace.
Let me be clear, we at WFP, we're doing all we can, but we can do more.
And we, we ask for support to do more in one of the world's largest hunger crisis, largest displaced person crisis.
And underneath it all, there is a protection crisis.
So we're calling on donors, partners, international community to assist and help the people of the RC and help bring some hope for them.
So I'll stop there and back to you.
Thank you very much, Cynthia and thanks also for the appeal to funds that would unless given really drag a terrible more even more terrible situation.
So let me open now the floor to questions.
Thank you for this briefing on DRC.
Just wanted to clarify, you're saying there, sorry, just the audio was a little hard to hear.
Did, did you say you'd have to break food aid assistance by kind of between January and March next year if funding doesn't come through?
And is that like a pause or is that a complete like stop?
And if you could just clarify whether it's January or March or yeah, just the time scale would be helpful.
And you're mentioning the $350 million figure.
I mean, how much of that has been funded so far?
And so I'm sure you did mention it, but I just wanted to check because you're talking about emergency food resistance but also malnourished people.
Did you have a figure there to hands on how many people currently and the latest IPC assessment are facing my nutrition?
Yes, thank you for your question.
So what we've done is we're trying to stretch out the resources that we have.
We're at historical historically low levels of funding.
This is the two we've we've probably received about $150 million this year on top of the some of the resources that we had carried over from the year before.
Though we're at historically low funding, funding level.
We're trying to stretch out our resources and that comes with very challenging trade-offs such as reducing further the number of people.
We're talking about going down to 600,000 people per month.
We could go down to 300,000 a month, you know, let's say by December, January, to stretch this out further and further.
But really if we were even to continue reaching 600,000 people per month, we would break completely by February, March.
And that's the reality, that's how dire the situation is.
We're starting to close downtown offices.
We're reducing our footprint, the number of staff and juggling how to maintain the operational capacity to deliver in a very complex environment.
So with with I think the last question was on the numbers of malnourished children, you know, and others, it's got one of the highest numbers.
There's about about about 5 million people facing malnourishment in the East.
I mean you're saying historically low levels just be helpful to have a figure of what you would usually have expected.
If this is historically low, just for me to compare to would be helpful.
What kind of money you would normally have previously expected to, to, to receive for the the need on the ground?
Historically I've been here since 2000 and three.
So in 2003 we got $600 million and and 2024 it was about close to 400 million, closer to maybe 380, eighty million.
So adding that together we've been operating at a level of about 400, you know, being able to to use well $400 million a year to reach the people in extreme levels of need.
This year we're in an around we're we've only received 150 million that have been contributed to WFP this year, a much a huge lower.
Let me see if there are other question for you, Cynthia, in the room or online.
But there is a, there is a note in the chat for you, Cynthia from our correspondent of France Van Cat, asking if it would be possible to send your notes as soon as possible to the journalist.
Oh, I see that Catherine has put her hand up.
Good morning, Alessandra, and good morning, Cynthia.
Thank you for briefing us.
Sorry, I, I, I went, I came in a little bit late.
Cynthia, how do you deal with the regions occupied by the 1D's army, meaning the region of Goma?
Are you active in in the region?
Are you able to see what's happening?
Yeah, Catherine, I think this was really the the the most of the briefing from Cynthia.
I see that Annabelle is saying that she is sending out the notes now, but I don't know if Cynthia, you want to add something to the question of Catherine, what you said before.
When there was the takeover and you know the fall of Goma, our teams never left.
We, you know, we downsized to emergency levels.
All of our staff have returned and we have maintained our operations both in North and South TiVo.
We've got large teams on the ground both in Goma and bookable.
We have some challenges to get in and out.
Sometimes we work with OCHA, you know, to, to negotiate humanitarian access and try to push back on any administrative requirements that the de facto authority is asking for.
I really it's the air access that that is a very painful part that right now we've got to fly from Kinshasa, which is 2000 kilometres away to either Addis or Nairobi, Kigali, go by road to get in.
So we have been able to reach despite, you know, the contested areas in North Kivu quite effectively.
S Kivu is a real challenge essentially due to that.
That's where a lot of the fighting is.
The physical access is really difficult and we've noted that the number of people in IPC 4IN S Kebu has gone up 7 times compared to last year though it's gone up from about about 135,000 people in that emergency almost famine level to just under over 900,950 thousand.
But this is really alarming because both of these provinces are divided by two sets of authorities, the government and the de facto just making making cross line access challenging and cross-border access challenging.
And again, Annabelle, thanks for sending out the notes.
Yes, thank you, Alessandra.
Cynthia, I know that previously most of the humanitarians, UN humanitarians and NGOs where as you, I mean mentioned a certain way where flying out or driving from Rwanda, Kigali to Goma, which was very convenient and the shortest and the safest way.
So now that you are in fact acting from Kinshasa, very far from the region, how would you qualify the impact of the occupation by the army of Rwanda?
And the fact that you don't use anymore the airport of Kigali, does it mean that the one DS government did forbid you to have access to it?
Or how come that you changed?
I think you have let me just kind of repeat and be clear.
So if you were going from Kinshasa to the east, you would fly into Goma.
As you know, WP, we run the humanitarian air service on behalf of partners.
So that was our air hub and you could fly to Goma, get to Bukovu, get to Beni, get to Bunya, all of the different provincial capitals in the east since the.
Since the fall of Goma, that airport has been closed.
It's been, you know, some of the systems have been damaged.
So that that was our reality before the setup of the de facto authority situation.
Now we have to fly around to different countries to get in.
So for instance, to get into the southern part of South Kebu, we have to fly into Bushenburra and go by road to Ubira, which is a an area that has rising emergency levels of food insecurity.
We can fly to Benin, which is inside DRC and we can drive cross line.
It's possible, but it takes two to three days, two armoured vehicles to be safe and, and you know, and such and to go and come back it's about $12,000.
So going cross line inside DRC indoor Kivu is possible, but it's, it's it's risky, time consuming, expensive and not effective.
Between, in South Kibo, between Bukaboo and Urbira, it is not possible to drive.
There's it's too much fighting back roads.
And This is why we have to be able to access the this eastern part through other, you know, through the neighbouring countries.
Thank you very much, Cynthia.
I think it's quite clear I don't see other hands up for you.
So we're waiting for your notes and hoping your appeal for funds will be heard very, very soon so you can continue your indispensable work.
Let's stay in Africa and let me turn to my left.
Eugene has brought us his colleague, sorry, his colleague Abdul Rauf Gunan Conde, who is the Director of the Regional Bureau for Western Central Africa of UNHCR and who's calling in from Nairo Beauty.
Thank you very much, Alexandra.
So we're bringing it's very rare occasion that we're bringing the good news that that our director of Western Central Africa will talking about the voluntary repatriation meaning that refugees in the region going home, going at return home.
So I'm glad to introduce our director of Western Central Africa, who will give you the picture of how the voluntary repatriation works and how it's one of the the most favourable solution for displaced, displaced population.
Thanks a lot, Edie, and good morning to all of you.
Imagine a family, a refugee family who has 10 years in refugee camp trading, growing up far from home, parents struggling to provide even the basics.
But this year, agent, as you mentioned, more than 42,000 people like them have been able to return home voluntarily across the region, across the West and Central Africa region, bringing the total to over 272,000 since 2021.
Most have returned to Nigeria and the Southern African Republic and Abu that 10,000 are expected to go home before the year ends.
For these families, returning home is more than crossing a border.
It's about rebuilding a life, finding a safe home, access to land, schools for children and the hope that comes with stability.
UNSC surveys show that more than 80,000 of Southern African refugees living in Cameroon and Chad are ready to go home as soon as these conditions are met.
Next year we aim to help 60,000 people to the sun threat to go back to the Southern African Republic as part of a big plan to bring back home 300,000 South African refugees in the coming years.
But progress like this is only possible because government and communities are working together.
Early this year in January, agreement with Chad and Nigeria has helped make returns safe and dignified.
Talks are also advancing within Asia in the Great Lakes, as we just heard from DRC, situation renew peace commitment between Congo, DRC and Rwanda mean that more returns there will remain voluntary and safe.
But this, this kind of progress is very fragile.
Without urgent and sustained funding this return could stall, leaving millions, thousand families, refugee families stuck in camp or in asylum countries.
Unhi is calling for flexible multi year support to make sure these returns are not just a journey home but a true new beginning one once where once the families at back home, it means student can then go back to school and communities can then recover with hope and dignity.
Thank you very much Director.
And I see that our correspondent of the German news agency has a question.
Thank you very much for the briefing.
Could you give us an, first of all, can you share your notes because there were so many figures in it?
But can you give us an idea of how this compares to other years?
Was it a especially successful year or do you return people to the tune of the same numbers every year?
I thank you for the question.
Last year if you take 2024, we have seen 19,000 return, refugee return in the region.
So compared to the 40,000 that I have just indicated plus the 10,000 that we could get by the end of the year.
So it means that we are not at that scale.
But there are reasons for that because first we have elections, presidential election coming very soon in December in Southern Africa.
And we know by experience that when there are elections, then you know refugees are a bit existent.
They want to wait and see and make sure that because of election we don't have a renew balance.
So that is maybe probably one of the reason.
If I also take maybe IDP's last year we have like close to 251,000 IDP's who have returned home.
This year we see an increased number of of Idps going back home.
But our concerns, if I can put it that way, you know, is still how do we make those return sustainably?
How do we ensure that when people go back home, they go back home and they can have access to renew, you know, renew access to services, they have access to administration services, they have access to documentation.
So those are the big challenges.
But you absolutely right in a nutshell, return was not at the same pace as we have seen it in the previous years.
And and Christian, I see that the notes are already in our mailboxes.
In the notes there is the number for 2024 because I didn't get that.
The number for 20/24/90 thousand refugees were able to go back home and for the ID PS close to 251,000 ID PS were also able to go back home.
Other questions to UNHCR, I don't see a hands up.
But before I let you go, first of all, thank you very much to upgrade to come in brief the the journalist and Eugene before I let you go, you have an announcement.
I know that you already received our media advisory on the COP 30 as COP 30 is approaching next week.
Just to inform you that our High Commissioner Filippo Grandi will attend the the the COP 30, which is his last one because it's his last year.
And then he will have conference on 10th of November, 2:30 PM local time, which I think it's 4 hours behind us.
It's going to be live streamed.
And then you can find the link on the media advisory and then PR press release and then embargoed press release and then report will be shared today.
I promise it will land yesterday, but I promise you again that it will land today.
And also that you will have a link to the B roll and photo as well.
And that gives me the opportunity to remind you that the Secretary General is still in Belem for the climate summit and he will speak today at 2 thematic session, one the energy transition round table and the other one, he will pronounce remarks at the COP 30 thematic session titled 10 Years of the Paris Agreement, Nationally Determined Contributions and Financing.
And we will, of course, share his remarks with you.
So thank you very much, Eugene.
And let me now turn to OHCHR.
We have not one but two spokesperson today, Tamin is with me on the podium to tell us about Syria.
And I think safe is online.
Yes, I can see him from Nairobi to talk about Niger.
So I don't know who wants to start as you wish I can start whatever.
11 months since the fall of the former government in Syria, we continue to receive worrying reports about dozens of abductions and enforced disappearances, in addition to the more than 100,000 people who went missing under the Assad regime.
Since the fall of Assad, some families have been reunited with their loved ones, while many still live with the distress of not knowing where they were, where they are or what happened to them.
The fate and whereabouts of all those who have gone missing, both before and after the fall of the former government must urgently be clarified.
In this regard, we support the work of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic.
One recent emblematic case is the disappearance of the Syria Civil Defence Volunteer Hamzel Amarin, who went missing on the 16th of July 2025 while supporting A humanitarian evacuation mission during violence in Seweda.
He remains unaccounted for.
We stress that all armed actors, both exercising state power and otherwise, must respect and protect humanitarian workers at all times, everywhere, as required by international human rights law and applicable humanitarian law.
Accountability and justice for all human rights violations and abuses, past and present, are essential for Syria to build a durable, peaceful and secure future for all its people.
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Tamim, could you just align some of the challenges that you're facing into and people on the ground are facing in terms of actually then trying to track what happens to their loved ones?
And also any kind of idea about why this is still happening?
We're very familiar with what happened under the Assad regime, but but is that linked into communal violence or retribution or yes, just any idea of why this is happening still?
Yes, thank you for that, Olivia.
Obviously the security situation is very volatile since the the change of government in Syria and there are many parties and factions who are trying to grab power or who are still at conflict with each other.
One of the main challenges for our office is that, especially when we're talking about abductions and disappearances, is that people are frightened to speak.
So some people have said that they have been threatened if they would speak to to us.
Sometimes we we obviously managed to document cases of abductions.
In fact, we have managed to document at least 97 people who have been abducted since January 2025.
But of course, many people do not report these cases to us because they are afraid of what would happen to their loved ones.
Also, we we know that several abducted individuals have been released, but this might not have been reported to our office because people are still afraid for their loved ones.
So basically it is very difficult for us to determine a real figure of how many people are in a situation of abduction or enforced disappearance at the moment.
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Thanks, Tammy for the briefing.
So would you say that we still observe every month abductions and disappearance, disappearances or is it just around big violences like the one in the coastal areas or the one in in Sweda or is it a more regular pattern?
You mentioned that a few people could be reunited with the close one.
How many people nearly roughly are we talking about Single digit, dozens of peoples, hundreds of people?
And finally, do you, do you already see any concrete effects of the new institution as a game changer in that regard?
First of all, we are talking about dozens of people who have been abducted.
It is very difficult, for the reasons I mentioned, to know exactly how many or even to have an estimation of how many have been released.
We know that some have been released, but it's very difficult to have a figure.
I can check again with my colleagues and get back to you if we have more on that.
The institution for missing persons, it is a very important institution that our office took part in its foundation in its launch process and it had been planned for even before the fall of the Assad regime.
What happened is that when the when the Assad regime ended, the teams of the institution had to work even more and quicker to to put their, the whole process in place.
Obviously it's a very challenging process.
You can ask the the teams, our colleagues at the institution who have started their work of course and I imagine they are, they are having a lot of work, especially with all what's going on in Syria today.
So This is why it is crucial to support the work of this institution and for the authorities also to Co operate with the mechanism.
There was just a question also about whether there is a regular trend throughout the month or whether is is the, the these new disappearances are only related to big events like the coastal areas.
And yes, yes, sorry, I missed that.
Of course, we can imagine that many of the abduction cases occur during violence events, such as the ones that happened on the coastal areas and in Sweda, but we still receive reports of abductions happening up until the present time in Syria, So I do not have an exact timeline of that.
I can also check with my colleagues if necessary, but what I know is that we are still receiving reports of abductions going on in Syria.
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I mean don't see other questions for you.
So stay on the podium, please.
And I'll give the floor now to your colleague in Nairobi.
Say if you have the floor and you are telling us about Nigel.
Yes, indeed, that is right.
You'll already have received this statement.
The arrests of at least 13 journalists in Niger over the past year on allegations of defamation, undermining national security and conspiracy against the state authority under the revised criminal cyber crime law are very worried.
The revised law was adopted in June last year.
6 journalists were arrested on the 1st of November, among them Moussa Kaka, the Director of Radio Television, Savonia Ibro Kakao and others were subsequently released on bail, but three others, Ibro, Chaibu, Yusuf Sariba and Umarukane from other local media outlets remain in custody today.
All six are accused of vague charges of complicity in the dissemination of information likely to disturb public order.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Work attack calls on the authorities to release all the journalists still being held and to discontinue all proceedings that exceed the strict bound set out under international human rights law.
More generally, the authorities should take steps to review the cyber crime law and ensure its full alignment with international human rights law, in particular, Article 19 of the International Covenant on C1 political Rights, which guarantees the rights to freedom of opinion and expression.
Any question on Niger and the work of journalists?
Don't see any hand up on the platform either.
Thank you very much safe for for spotlighting this.
It's it's really an important plea.
But I know Kuna had a question for any of you actually who wanted to take it.
I think he's on Gaza, right?
Yes, Thank you so much Alessandra.
Yes, I have actually three questions on Gaza.
The first one about the international stabilisation forces from in the US plan on Gaza.
Do you think that this, do you have any comment on that and if that comply with the international law or not?
And the second thing is about the air strike that the occupation forces carried out this morning in Hanunis and in Gaza City, and this also systematic demolition of building behind the Yellow Line, if you have any comment on that.
And the last question about the West Bank, if you noticed an increase of the attack of settlers after the ceasefire and if you have any figures in victims in West Bank and in Gaza after the ceasefire.
Iman, first of all, I'm sorry if I've missed any question.
You remind me on the suggested force to to stabilise the situation in Gaza.
Any force that works, operates or will work or operates in the future must respect international law and international humanitarian law.
It is very important that in any sort of process for the future of Gaza and the whole occupied Palestinian territory that the Palestinian people are involved and that the right of the Palestinians to self determination is respected.
On the strikes that have happened since the ceasefire, we have, we have noticed a number of air strikes, and I would like to be clear on something.
First of all, our office does not monitor the compliance of different parties with the ceasefire agreement per SE.
Whether there is a ceasefire or not, international human humanitarian law and international human rights law must be respected and civilians must be protected.
And human rights of people of Palestinians in Gaza do not change whether there is a ceasefire or not.
Of course, we call on everyone to respect the ceasefire.
This is something we have been calling for since they won.
The ceasefire is needed and it's crucial and it must be respected.
But in any way, in any military operation, civilians must be protected.
When it comes to the West Bank, attacks by settlers are continuing.
Unfortunately, we have verified that since the 7th of October 2023 and as of the 5th of November 2025, Israeli security forces and settlers killed 1010 Palestinians in the West Bank, including E Jerusalem, and this figure includes 215 children.
The attacks have been increasing.
We have seen that recently, especially with the olive harvest season.
These must stop and there must be accountability.
I can also give you a figure of 757 attacks recorded in the first half of 2025 alone, which is a 13% higher figure than the same period last year.
So this must stop and there must be accountability for settlers and for members of Israeli security forces who are involved in these attacks.
And of course, we refer back to the ruling by the International Court of Justice that it's very crucial for the unlawful Israeli presence in the occupied Palestinian territory to end.
And I would like to just add that as we have said on several location, the West Bank is on a dangerous trajectory that if not reversed will make the two state solution impossible, physically impossible.
The Secretary General has been calling regularly for an urgent escalation of this unilateral elections that Tamil was referring to including settlement expansion and violence against civilians.
And he has asked for stopping this expansion and calls for annexation, which would constitute the most serious violation of international law.
And I would also like to call your attention to the statement of the West Bank that Tom Fletcher made on the 4th of November, also calling for the end of these attacks.
OK, I don't see other hands up for UNHCR.
Let me see, just sorry, I want to just have a look at the platform there known.
So thanks a lot to both colleagues and Tamin on my left we go to UNICEF.
Do you have an update on Melissa?
Yes, but before I go to Melissa, just to add on on the West Bank, we know that just this year 47 children were killed so in in 2025 and then the West Bank, including E Jerusalem.
So again, just to reinforce that whatever is happening in Gaza, the horrors of the war in Gaza that have been enduring for two years and now we have a very fragile ceasefire which has been somewhat disrespected over the past two weeks, including with children being killed very rapidly in a period of 24 hours.
Reportedly, whatever is happening there cannot allow the West Bank to be back.
It's very serious what's happening there.
Children have been dying since the war started.
And again, just this year, 47 children have been killed, including in East Jerusalem.
And as my colleagues said and Alessandra reinforced, this needs to, this also needs to end.
And international law must be respected and children must always be protected civilians and the infrastructure they rely on.
I'll try and go as quickly as possible.
We know that it has now been one week since Hurricane Melissa tore through the Caribbean, leaving behind the path of destruction across Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
One week on, thousands of children still lack safe water, healthcare, schooling and protection.
UNICEF will continue working with government and partners to meet their most urgent needs and to help every child recover and rebuild your future after this horrible disaster.
Across these four countries, more than 900,000 children now have been impacted.
So that's that's an addition to the previous figure we had.
It doesn't mean there are at immediate risk, but they do need immediate support and at least 679,000 children are now in urgent humanitarian need.
Our teams are on the ground as as I mentioned and let me just go specifically on each country.
In Jamaica, where the hurricane men made landfall at category 5 storm 281,000 children need urgent help.
Major hospitals have been destroyed or or partially damaged and communities remain flooded.
UNICEF has dispatched dispatched 6 storms of Wash and medical supplies including 1200 and 12,000 and 500 dignity kits and 24,000 water containers.
And we are also supporting the government to restore health, nutrition and education services in Cuba.
Even more 441,000 children are affected.
Over 1500 schools and 287 health centres have sustained damage.
UNICEF has delivered water purification plants, hygiene kits and tarpaulins and is working on re establishing clean water and structuring and schooling infrastructure in Haiti again, a country that has been plagued with violence for many years now caused by armed groups.
The hurricane claimed 31 lives, including ten children, and destroyed or damaged over 6016 thousand homes.
UNICEF is coordinating the WASH nutrition and education and child protection response, providing hygiene kits for 14,000 and 500 people, cash assistance, which is very important on the social protection front for 8000 children and 8000 households.
I beg your pardon and psychosocial support to affect the children and caregivers.
It is a very specific case and and this disaster because as I said, it's been facing or plagued with violence for for many years now.
And it's one of the fastest growing displacement crisis for children anywhere in the world.
In just one year, in the past 12 months, the number of displaced children has nearly doubled and it's now at around 680,000 children that was previous to Hurricane Melissa.
Every one of them has either lost their homes, their routine and and their sense of safety.
So their childhood is literally impacted for an undetermined period of time each displacement.
Event carries a heavy toll.
Children lose their homes again, their education opportunities, their safety and their protection.
Armed group Armed groups in Haiti now control over 85% of Port au Pons, the capital and key transport routes.
So whatever is happening now after Hurricane Melissa, just increase their suffering and, and the urgent need for for support.
We, we have reports of many of them saying they can no longer sleep through the night because they either hear gunfire, they fear being taken, they fear never going back to school.
And now again after this natural disaster, their lives are even more upheld by the unpredictable impacts that that violence combined with climate disasters can bring.
And again, just finally, the Dominican Republic, the last country that I wanted to share updates operational 62,000 children were affected by severe flooding and we are distributing again hygiene kids and supporting health and nutrition services for 20,000 children and caregivers.
And we are asking again, we're appealing for $56 million for our response and and there are still significant gaps to that amount.
OK, so let's see questions in the room.
Don't see any Antonio, Thank you.
Only because you said there is gaps on the response.
Can you be more specific on how many, how much money is is still lacking?
So these assessments are still ongoing and for the time being, we can say that the gap is significant, but I don't have any specific figure, but surely it's it's way below the expected and and urgently required amount.
Other questions to UNICEF, I don't see any.
Ricardo, thank you very much.
And we are now going to our last but definitely not least speaker.
Christian, you have two announcements.
Oh, sorry, just one thing before you go, Antonio saying, you know, just if you can send your notes.
Thank you very much, Alessandra and hi, everyone.
Yeah, 2 brief announcements for next week from my side.
For Tuesday, 11 November, we have the WTO press conference, a virtual press conference for the launch of the 2025 Global Tuberculosis Report.
The time is not exactly fixed yet.
There will be a media advisory coming out later today.
It should be the 2:30 or 3:30 in the afternoon.
The report features data on disease trends and the response to the epidemic from 184 countries and the areas with more than 99% of the world's population TB burden.
It provides A comprehensive and up to That is Tuesday, 11 November, time to be specified.
2nd that's announced an announcement for our colleagues from The Who Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the WHOFCT C the they will have their conference of the parties starting on 17 November.
So that's another cop not to be confused.
And the opening press conference for this one, for the WHOFCTC Conference of the Parties and Meeting of the parties to separate events after each other will be on Thursday, 13 November, at 1500 hours, 3:00 in the afternoon.
Representatives from the parties will meet in Geneva over the next the following two weeks to discuss tobacco control measures under The Who Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products.
The COP is the governing body of the WHOFCTC and this 11th session will be held in Geneva 17 to 22 November.
And the follow up is the meeting of the parties to the Protocol to eliminate illicit trade into Bucket Products.
And that's the governing body to the protocol.
And this, the fourth session will take place 24 to 26 November.
The speakers during the press conference will share what will be expected during the COP and the MOP and the key media Moments Connection details to join will be sent with the Media Advisory early next week.
I assume contacts for the the FCTC is in one word.
mediafctc@who.in t.mediafctc@who.in T.
There is one question here that is if the journalist accredited to the pallet can use their buds to go to the COP.
Attendance at the cop will not be possible.
But please details on that one because it's the cop is always a very recommended story with attendance.
So no, there wasn't advisory earlier to how to register and a credit for the cop.
Please get in touch with media FCTC at WHO dot IMT.
Just to clarify our agenda, the press conference on the tuberculosis report is the same day than the report is released or is conference under in marble?
No, the report is embargoed until that very moment.
So until the beginning of the press conference, an embargoed copy.
And thank you very much for reminding me, Antonio.
An embargoed copy of the report will be available 24 hours in advance.
So by Monday noon, we should expect to have the embargoed reports to be shared.
We will send details in the media advisory how to get that report.
Are there other questions for that?
No, Christian, thank you so much.
So a few announcements for you.
Since we are speaking about press conferences, let me remind you the conference, the press conference on Monday, 10th of November at 10:30.
This is the Minamata Convention on Mercury.
There is a new speaker which has been added to the list.
So in addition to the executive secretary of the Minamata Convention and the senior coordinator officer, we will have the legal officer of the convention.
They will tell you about the major outcome of the sixth meeting of the conference of the parties and that, as I said, will be on Monday at 10:30.
So we have the Commission, the, sorry, the Committee against Torture, which is opening next Monday, 10th of November at 10 AM.
This is their 83rd session at Paddy Wilson.
From 10 to 28 of November, the countries to be reviewed are Israel, Argentina, Bahrain and Albania.
Israel will be reviewed 11N in the morning and 12:00 in the afternoon, Argentina 12 in the morning and 13 in the afternoon.
Afternoon Bahrain morning of the 18th and afternoon the 19th and Albania morning of the 19th and afternoon of the 20th.
You also know, because I think you have received yesterday the press release, that the United Nations Human Rights Council will hold a special session on the human rights situation in and around El Fascia in the context of the ongoing conflict in Sudan, and that will be on Friday, 14th of November.
The special session will probably start quite early, at 9:00 AM in the Assembly Hall of the Paladinacion.
It will be webcast live by Eunice Geneva in the six official languages of the UN.
The special session is being convened by an official request submitted on Wednesday afternoon, 5th November.
But the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, jointly with Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway and supported by 24 member states, states Member of the Council.
You have the list of the signatories.
More details in the press release you have received.
Let me also give you 2 other information.
It's also a little bit early, but we would like to invite you all to the opening of this year's 16 Days of Activism against that Gender Based Violence.
The theme of this year is Unite to End Digital Violence against All Women and Girls.
The opening will be on the 25th of November.
We'll have a beautiful activation in the all 14 at 12:30 and this is organised by, you know, together with the EU Delegation and UN Women.
And because we're speaking about bullying and online, just to remind you that today it is International Day against Violence and Bullying at school, including cyber bullying.
It's, it's, it's one of those days where the leads is with another agency.
This particular one is UNESCO.
I just wanted to let you know that the UNESCO colleagues are organising A symposium which will be web live webcast entitled connected, protected and empowered ending online and tech facilitated violence so that all learners can thrive.
On the UNESCO website, you will find the webcast.
I think it's important to remind this is really concerning all of us and our children.
I think I've told you everything.
Let me see if there are any questions to me.
Thanks for following the briefing and all we can do.
