Welcome to the press briefing of the UN Information Service here in Geneva.
Today is Tuesday, 7th of April, and I would just like to start this briefing, very short briefing, by the way, by reminding you that today the international community commemorates the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
We've sent you the message of the Secretary General who says that 32 years ago, Rwanda endured one of the darkest chapters in human history.
In just 100 days, more than 1,000,000 people were murdered, primarily Tutsi, but also Hutu and others who opposed the genocide.
Entire families were brutally erased.
On this day, we mourn the victims in our own or they are stolen dignity.
We pay tribute to the survivors whose resilience shows the strength of the human spirit.
And we recall with humility and shame the international community's failure to heed warnings and take immediate life saving action.
The Secretary General says it's not enough to remember the dead.
We must learn from past failure and protect the living by rejecting hatred, inflammatory rhetoric and incitement to violence, by investing in the social fabric to deepen community resilience, and by strengthening institutions that help prevent mass atrocities.
And the Secretary General to call on all countries to become parties to the Genocide Convention without delay and to implement it fully.
the United Nations stands with the people of Rwanda and we stand with all those everywhere who refuse to surrender our future to fear, division or silence.
Let this day reaffirm our commitment to remember, to listen and to act with history as our guide and the prevention of genocide as our goal.
And to commemorate this very important day.
We are going to organise.
We are going to held a a solemn commemoration at 4:00 in Assembly Hall, to which you are all invited, where we will hear not only speeches by authorities but also, as we do every year, the testimony of a victim of the Rwanda genocide.
And that is what I have for you today.
As I said, it was brief briefing, but you may have questions for which I'll open now the floor in the room.
Yes, Olivia, we have a few colleagues listening, so please go ahead.
Just a question please for the World Health Organisation just following the attack that killed a contractor for the for the World Health Organisation in Gaza and any update on the situation and what that means for the Rafa crossing for medical evacuations.
And we have online Christian.
Thank you very much, Olivia.
I have a statement from our Director General, Doctor.
W Joe is devastated to confirm that a person contracted to provide services to the organisation and Gaza was killed yesterday during a security incident.
2 W Joe staff members were present but were not injured.
We extend our condolences to the family, loved ones and colleagues of the deceased.
The incident is under investigation by the relevant authorities.
Following the incident, WHO suspended yesterday's medical evacuation of patients from Gaza via Rafa to Egypt.
Medical evacuations will remain suspended until further notice.
We're deeply grateful to our colleagues who work day and night to despite the risks, to ensure that the deep people of Gaza can access the health care they need.
We call for the protection of civilians and humanitarian workers.
Peace is the best medicine.
Olivia, is that the hand?
And this is actually a separate question, so thank you very much, Christian.
Do we have any details on which countries that the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, personal envoy Jean Arundel is visiting and perhaps some more details about what his role is concerning the Middle East crisis?
Yeah, No, I don't have the detail of the countries, just the fact that he's heading to the region.
In fact, yesterday was heading to the region.
So I guess he's already there.
We'll be able to report more details soon and I'll try to get something today to to come back to you on this Olivia.
Also question Sunny, thank you comment on this looming deadline tonight.
What is EU NS hue and level of concern concerning threats to target civilian infrastructure in Iran?
I I will read to you the statement about this.
We were alarmed by the rhetoric seen in that social media post that threatened American attacks on power plants, bridges and other infrastructure should Iran not agree to a deal.
The Secretary General has been very clear on issues regarding international law and he urges yet again all parties to abide by their obligations regarding the conduct of these hostilities.
And he recalls that civilian infrastructure, including energy infrastructure, may not be attacked.
Even if specific civilian infrastructures were to qualify as infrastructure, sorry, as a military objective, international humanitarian law would still prohibit attacks against them if they may be expected to cause excessive incidental civilian harm.
Once again, the Secretary General reaffirms that it's high time for the parties to stop this conflict, as there is no viable alternative to the peaceful settlement of international disputes.
My question is for Babar.
I would like to know if UNHCR has updated figures on displacement in Iran, Lebanon and other parts of Middle East.
Lucky we are because we've got back.
Indeed, we have the numbers for Lebanon that we have been updating you IS, has as we said, has crossed the 1,000,000 mark.
So these are ID, PS who are displaced inside Lebanon.
Plus with that we also have had two nearly 200,000 Syrians that have left Lebanon and arrived into Syria and with those also nearly 32,000 Lebanese that have arrived also in Syria.
For inside Iran, we we don't have yet an updated figures.
Remember the last one that we spoke about or kind of shared was at 3.2 million people who were internally displaced and these were according to official numbers or sources from the local authorities.
We can kind of try to see if there's an update to give you in the coming days or during the next briefing.
Thank you, Thank you, Baba, and yes, yes, hi, thank you.
It's a question to WHO on this incident that happened in Gaza.
I saw yesterday the evening the statement from the DG, but I wanted to know if you have more details about the circumstances on on this incident of what happened exactly.
What can you tell us about that?
No, indeed the the statement is all we have so far.
It's as it's, as the statement says, it's under investigation and for now everything is suspended, Mussa.
Medical on general, in population on animal.
I don't know if you want to answer the question about the situation, medical situation in Lebanon.
Thank you very much, Musa.
I indeed have a few things I can can update on the humanity and access to areas in the South of the country where thousands of people have who have chosen to remain in their homes continues to be a major logistical and security issue.
And mind you, these are data as of I think 6 April, so yesterday's data.
The MOH, the Minister of Health is reporting at least 1461 deaths, including one 129 children with more than 4400 injuries.
Deaths have been rising sharply by over 50% in just one week since 2nd of March.
92 attacks on health care were verified resulting in 53 deaths and 137 injuries.
As a result of the IDF evacuation orders, 51 primary healthcare centres and six hospitals are now closed.
W Joe has verified over 88 attacks on healthcare since 2nd of March, resulting in more than those steps mentioned.
Displacement remains massive with over 1,000,000 self registered internally displaced people with some nearly 140,000 hosted in 674 collective shelters, placing significant pressure on services, particularly in Beirut and Mount Lebanon.
Displacement is driving rising risks of infectious diseases including measles, hepatitis A and acute diarrheal diseases, particularly in overcrowded shelter situations.
Children are disproportionately affected, making up around 1/3 of the displaced people, with 10s of thousands already living in shelters under increasingly fragile conditions.
Women, girls make up 53% of displaced people in shelters, which are also hosting 10s of thousands of children, older people with and people with disabilities, highlighting the growing protection and health risks as according to the Ministry of Public Health, mental health needs are surging with thousands seeking support as trauma, fear and the uncertainty deepen across affected communities.
And maybe a final word, health services remain and continue under pressure but remain operational.
Some facilities reporting occupancy rates to up to 95% or over consultation have been provided to displaced populations and people have received medications for acute and chronic conditions.
That is in the north because in the South you have these many impacts as mentioned.
Thank you very much, Christian.
So regarding the the killing of the contract worker is would we, would he be then a local worker contracted in, in Gaza?
Do we know his, his, his or her nationality?
And then regarding the medical evacuations, how have those been proceeding recently and how many people are still expecting to be evacuated or, or or on the the waiting list to be evacuated?
Yeah, on the staff, I have no further information on typically a contracted staff is, is a local, but I do not have more information than what I gave you on evacuations.
Well, that one was now halted until further notice.
I for the further evacuations and what's still what's still out there, please send an e-mail and I'll try to get back to you because we did not do not have further information much what's going on right now.
Thank you, Christian Muhammad Alessandra, thank you so much.
My question is about the Middle East.
And for you, as you may have seen, it is reported that the efforts are under way to secure four to five day ceasefire between the US, Iran and the regional mediators.
My question is, is the United Nations being informed about these negotiations and what would you like to say about these claims?
The the at the moment I don't have any particular information about the the to the best women knowledge the UN are not involved in those efforts yet.
But as the secretary general says, we are ready to support any any efforts towards peace I have.
Imogen Hi, thanks for taking my question.
This is for Christian as well, about the incident in which the driver was shot and killed.
Because even as you were answering my colleague from AFP, we Geneva correspondents got a message from the Israeli mission which has what they say happened, which is that an unmarked car accelerated towards IDF forces and the IDF forces opened fire.
So just to be clear, if this was a medical evacuation by The Who, were there or were there not marked vehicles?
I imagine I have no further information, so I can neither confirm nor deny what what the vehicle is.
Typically they would be WHO marked vehicles, but I again I do not have further information at this point.
Thank you for giving me the floor.
And I'd like to come back to Lebanon.
The 1st is Babar mentioned the fact that many Syrian went back return to their country.
Could Babar give us some numbers and also tell us where these people are?
In fact, what are the conditions of their return in their country?
And I have also a question regarding also Lebanon, regarding the fact that Israel announced and is destroying villages in the South of the country.
And I would like to have if there's a reaction about these announcements of different countries, meaning United States of America, Israel or even Iran, about destroying civilian houses and areas.
And also the fact that Israel forces destroyed cameras linked to the United Nations peacekeepers 2 two days ago, if I'm not mistaken.
Thank you for answering these questions.
How about you want to start?
The, the number we have so far, and this is since the start of, of the conflict with the evacuation orders and also strikes inside Lebanon.
So those that have arrived in Syria, Syrians themselves, that number is nearly 200,000.
The exact number that I got was 100, more than 190,000 Syrians.
But also as we have been mentioning, there are also many Lebanese that have crossed into Syria and that number is 32,000 right now.
And many of the of the the Syrians who are arriving back to into their country, some of them were probably already kind of weighing their options, but many have been affected by the recent conflict.
We understand they're trying to go to their places of origin, to the extended family network, but just let's not forget that Syria also has gone through so much in, in, in, in the past many years.
So it's not easy for them to to restart their life over there.
That's why my colleagues working with the local authorities, with other humanitarian agencies, we are there to to support them.
But that number, we have seen that it has been increasing day by day as this conflict intensifies and escalates.
Yeah, Kathleen, I think what we, I mean, we have, as I said, we have seen all this rhetoric.
We, we are, we are looking at the actions, especially in Lebanon, as has been said by colleagues.
And I really would like to reiterate that our call to everyone remains urgent.
We need respect to international humanitarian law.
The belligerent must protect civilians, including humanitarian and health workers.
We need to make sure that whoever is involved in the fight ensures safe and impeded access for humanitarian delivery.
And also we need funds and that is something that we may we have not mentioned until now.
As of yesterday, less than $100 million of the 308 million required under the March appeal for Lebanon has been received.
These are all elements that we need to reaffirm when speaking about the situation in Lebanon.
As a follow up and maybe we'll, I'll take Catrine first.
Thank you so much, Alessandra for what you just mentioned.
I'd like also to go back to the financial needs for Syria and to know where are the, the place where Lebanese people are crossing the most.
Is it in the South, the side of Becca Valley or is it in other regions of Lebanon that in fact Lebanese are crossing the border to find a safe place in Syria?
And if is there anything organised to, to welcome them over?
There is, does UNHCR has the financial capacity to register them and to to help them or is there any financial needs?
Are there any financial needs?
Thank you, Catherine, as our colleague came and briefed last week from Damascus, I can try to look up the notes and share.
Indeed, I mean, there are financial needs and as Lisandra was saying, situation inside Lebanon is alarming, but also for those who are arriving to a country like Syria where displacement has already been huge.
And also we also have seen millions of Syrians who are either internally displaced or who are refugees that are also coming back now because of what is happening inside Lebanon.
For Syrians, some may be able to join their extended family members.
I mean, for them, they have just left their own country, Lebanon, and have arrived in Syria.
So we are in touch in coordination with the local authorities in terms of how to see best support them.
I can try to get the exact notes for you and share those.
And maybe Katrina, just to add, because you were asking questions about the strikes in the Southern Lebanon.
What I can tell you is that we remain deeply concerned by the ongoing escalations between Hezbollah and Israel, including Israeli strikes in Beirut, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL peacekeepers reporting their area of operations, continued exchanges of rocket and artillery fire, air strikes and clashes on the ground, alongside an increased presence of Israeli forces and assets inside the Lebanese territory.
Again, we urge all actors to uphold their obligations and international law and to ensure the safety and security of civilians and of UN personnel at all times.
Alessandra, my question is for Christian and I would like to know, I mean we saw what Israel did in Palestinia, No, they destroyed the place.
So my question is, they are as you mentioned in they are not sorry.
They are not obeying international human humanitarian law, OK.
My question is, what are you thinking about mental health of Palestinian, of Lebanese?
Because civilians are under extreme circumstances and mental health of the people is so important.
So my question is if you are planning something to help the people regarding mental health of civilians.
Yeah, thank you very much, Gabriela.
There's multiple aspects here.
Only I think the human rights situation, obviously, I, it's not for me to to comment on, for WHL to comment on.
But as I stated just before, the mental health needs are surging extremely, with thousands seeking support as trauma, fear and uncertainty deepen across the affected communities.
And who is supporting the response to the delivery of trauma in emergency surgical kits, which is of course, more the physical damages and physical injuries, essential medicines and medical supplies with consignment expected to support thousands of trauma patients and 10s of thousands of people requiring care alongside the support for the coordination, surveillance and mental health services.
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I don't know on accountability, full accountability regarding these attacks.
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My question is for you, according to United Nations Charter, as as as I remember, a country that does something like Israel is doing maybe should be suspended of being part of the United Nations.
Is that any possibility that United Nations Secretary General or that General Assembly suspends Israel of being part of the United Nations?
What we can say on the part of the Secretariat is that we condemn every action that undermines the, the, the, the, the, the, the peace in the region and threatens and endangers civilians lives.
The political and consequences and, and measures that the member states can take is of their resort.
What I can tell you is that today there is a meeting on the Middle East and, and that should be at 11:00 in New York time at the Security Council.
So I invite you to follow the discussions there.
I don't see other questions and I don't have other announcements for you today except that made I don't know if Christian, you would like to say anything about World Health Day since we were speaking about international days.
My question is regarding I don't know how to express no.
OK, Thank you very much, Gabriella.
So, Christian, you want to say anything about what that day since it's today, I believe it is indeed Alessandra.
And that's maybe a good moment because it's the only good news, as it looks like for for the day.
It's the World Health Day and the birthday of West Joe.
We had a lot of communication over the weekend.
There's a press release out since yesterday.
W Joe calls faction together for health, stand with science There is one health summit in Lyon today, or it started actually 2 days ago until today, which is led by the hosted by the French government as one of the flagship events of the G7 French presidency.
And this summit will convene heads of states or did convene heads of States and government, international organisation, scientists, civil society, youth and local actors to advance global action on one health.
And then there is the the Global Forum of WHO collaborating centres, that is from today.
So from 7 to 9 April in Lyon, it's collaborating.
This, the motto is collaborating for a healthier future.
And thank you for giving me your unity to share this.
Thank you very much for this good news.
So I thank you all very much.
And I really wish you your presence at the Rwanda commemoration.
It's an important day and we hope that you will be there at 4:00 at the Assembly Hall for this solemn commemoration.
