Thank you for joining us for this long briefing of the United Nations Information Service here in Geneva.
We have a a lot of colleagues that want to speak to you on the situation in Sudan, and then we will go to the other topics of the day.
And yes, let's start immediately with Sudan.
Three years of relentless fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces has set off the world's largest and most devastating humanitarian crisis, inflicting untold suffering for civilians.
Sudan, as we have said already many times at this podium, is the largest hunger and displacement crisis on the planet.
And in order to discuss this terrible situation, the Secretary General's personal envoy for Sudan, Pekka Harvesto, has arrived in Berlin yesterday.
And we remained to attend the third International Sudan Conference, which is scheduled for Wednesday, 15th of April, which is the day of the start of the fourth year of this terrible conflict.
And about this, we have a few statements from there and we will hear also from many other colleagues.
But I'd like to start with Yentz, who has a statement from Tom Fletcher, which I, who I believe is also in Berlin at the moment.
Yentz, I give you the floor.
Indeed, I'm going to read a statement from the Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher, who is indeed in Berlin this week to attend the conference as other UN officials and other humanitarian officials from outside the UN.
Tomorrow marks three years of war in Sudan, years in which a country of immense promise has been torn apart.
Nearly 34 million people, or almost 2 out of every three, need humanitarian support.
It is the world's largest humanitarian crisis.
Hunger is tightening its grip as the lean season is approaching.
Hundreds of thousands of children are acutely malnourished and millions are being deprived of an education.
Women and girls are facing systemic and brutal sexual violence.
Nearly 700 civilians were reportedly killed in drone strikes in the first three months of this year alone.
1,000,000 have been driven from their homes across Sudan and beyond its borders.
With entire communities emptied and families uprooted time and again, the risk of wider regional instability remains very high.
Last year, humanitarians reached 17 million people with vital supports.
We pay tribute to the courage of these frontline workers.
This year we aim to support 20 million people.
We need action now to stop the violence, protect civilians, ensure access to communities in greatest danger and funding for the response.
Tomorrow's grim anniversary marks another year when the world has failed to meet the test of Sudan.
Thank you very much, Jens, for this statement by Tom Fletcher.
I'd like now to go to Rome where we have connected Ross Smith, the WFP Director of Emergency Preparedness and Response.
Ross, you are going to tell us more about the the situation of hunger and famine in Sudan after three years of conflict, please.
And I'll, I'll echo some of the points that Yen has has made as well.
It's this week marks three years since the civil conflict erupted in Sudan and it remains the world's largest humanitarian emergency.
It's a crisis that continues to deepen with no end insight.
We are two years into a famine in parts of the country and this is simply unacceptable in this day and age.
Millions of Sudanese are trapped in a daily struggle to secure food safety, basic dignity.
Families have exhausted every coping mechanism.
Parents are skipping meals so the children can eat and children are going hungry.
Communities have been uprooted again and again, often fleeing with nothing and and and displacing multiple times.
Violence, displacement and economic collapse grind on in Sudan with no injured sight for us.
For the World Food Programme, it is our most complex and demanding operation in the world.
Our teams are operating amid active conflict, shifting front lines, bureaucratic hurdles and severe access constraints.
Humanitarians, including our staff and our partner staff, are being targeted by perpetrators of this conflict.
And yet we continue to deliver.
Each month this year the BFP has reached three and a half million people across Sudan with emergency food and nutrition support, including families in the hardest to reach areas and communities that are newly displaced by fighting every month.
2/3 of these are in the Darfur's and the Court of Funds where famine is confirmed and where the fighting is heaviest.
To continue this work, we need all parties to this conflict to allow humanitarian aid to move freely, safely and at scale.
We need far more international funding to increase urgent, vital humanitarian assistance.
But we need much more pressure on the solutions that exist to protect civilians.
And that pressure is now needed now, and it's needed today.
We have the tools, we have the teams, we have the experience to alleviate the suffering if our work can be facilitated.
I will note here that the the crisis in, in, in Sudan does not exist in isolation.
It's being dangerously compounded by the wider global instability and the recent escalation of conflict in the Middle East.
So that means disruption to trading routes, to shipping routes, especially through the Red Sea.
And these are driving at the cost of food, fuel and fertiliser, core commodities that Sudan imports at scale and is heavily reliant on.
Fuel prices have already increased by over 24% on average in some remote areas.
This will have a knock on effect on all the price of all staple goods and food commodities, pushing more people into hunger.
So I'll conclude and say that media attention, political will and funding have clearly not kept pace with the realities on the ground in Sudan.
Our message is simple and it's urgent.
Do not let Sudan be a come forgotten emergency.
Don't let the global crisis elsewhere eclipse the suffering of millions of Sudanese families.
Thank you and I'm happy to take questions afterwards.
Thank you very much, Ross.
And indeed, we hear your appeal.
Let's now also remain on Sudan and look at categories of people of of victims that are particularly vulnerable.
I'd like to start with women and girls with the briefer of UN Women, Anna Mutavati.
Anna is the UN Women Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, and she's calling in from Berlin.
Anna, yes, thank you very much.
Good morning, colleagues.
As we enter a fourth year of war in Sudan, it is important that we we we be clear about what this means for women and girls because ultimately this is a war on them.
Widespread killings, mass displacement and most definingly, the use of sexual violence, as my colleagues have highlighted before me, have been embedded in the blueprint of Sudan's war.
These atrocities have been compounded by blockades and continued instability, and they are being carried out with widespread impunity.
More than 17,000,000 women and girls are in need of humanitarian assistance this year.
More than 4.3 million women and girls remain displaced inside the country.
There is no safety in displacement, which has further exposed women and girls to violence, including rape, abduction and killing.
Women and girls have been targeted as they flee, as they search food, search for food and water, or as they try to reach healthcare.
UN Women Today has published a new gender alert highlighting that sexual violence has continued to surge across Sudan, with a number of women and girls requiring support for gender based violence, nearly doubling in the past two years and quadrupling since the start of the war three years ago.
2/3 of women frontline responders that were surveyed by UN Women reported a significant increase in sexual violence in 2025 and have reported further escalation in 2026.
Sexual violence as a tactic of war is being used to inflict terror, to inflict humiliation, pain and control over women and girls, and to oppress entire populations.
There are documented cases of rape in front of family members, often accompanied with other forms of severe physical abuse, as well as violence against those attempting to intervene.
Women and girls are living in conditions that are increasingly incompatible with basic survival.
For many, especially in active conflict areas, there is no access to food, no access to shelter or healthcare due to ongoing blockades and fighting, one woman working in West Kodofan told us and I quoted.
In Babanusa we have a medical centre which has only two rooms, one room for delivery and one room for consultations.
However, most of the women arrived dead at the medical centre because it is too far to reach.
And of course, some 13.6 million women and girls need food and livelihood support.
Women are reporting going without food for days and nights at a time.
The risk of famine persists in Dafu and Codofan, as my colleagues have highlighted.
I've met survivors of these atrocities, including a young girl who was carrying an unwanted pregnancy following rape when a village was attacked by armed men.
I met a 45 year old woman who suffered horrific violence under siege in our dealing in South Kodofan last year and a 25 year old woman who survived the Ophasia siege.
Another equally defining feature of this war is the role of Sudanese women in the humanitarian response and local peace efforts.
They're on the front lines delivering life saving supports to other women and to their communities.
They are working in women LED organisations that are running community kitchens, supporting survivors and helping displaced families find shelter.
Women are also leading local efforts local peace efforts including mediating disputes, countering hate speech and negotiating humanitarian access to keep the much needed aid coming in.
But these efforts are under strain.
Most women LED organisations face severe funding shortages and insecurity.
UN Women is working across Sudan with more than 45 of these organisations that are delivering protection services, psychosocial support and essential supplies while supporting women's leadership in the response.
Despite their leadership, Sudanese women remain largely excluded from formal peace processes and decision making spaces.
Therefore, equal and meaningful participation is essential to any sustainable path towards de escalation and peace.
It should be clear that there can be no recovery while women continue to be invisible, while they continue to be excluded and underfunded.
The international community must act now to matching the courage and leadership demonstrated by the women in Sudan.
We call for the protection of women and girls.
We call for accountability for sexual violence and other violations and we call for a significant increase in direct funding to women LED organisations and woman's full, equal and meaningful participation in all peace processes.
I thank you, thank you very much and and staying also with the vulnerable.
I'll give the floor now to Eva hints with the Chief of communication in Sudan from Port Sudan for UNICEF.
After three devastating years of war, children in Sudan continue to bear the heaviest toll withdrawals, responsible for nearly 80% of all reported child killings and injuries.
As this conflict enters its fourth year, the reality for children in Sudan is growing darker by the hour.
In just the first three months of this year, at least 245 children were reportedly killed or injured.
This is a sharp increase compared to the same period last year.
Most of these children killed or injured were in Darfur and Quotafan states, where violence has become a constant part of daily life, underscoring A worsening situation for children.
Attacks in Sudan today are increasingly indiscriminate.
Drone attacks now account for a vast majority of child casualties reported this year.
And none of this is confined to battlefields.
Drones are killing and wounding girls and boys in their homes, in markets, on the roads, near schools and health facilities, all places that should never be targets.
People were killed in front of us.
I was so afraid to die, explained 13 year old Nuha to my colleagues.
She hid under her bed with her siblings.
Since the war began, the United Nations has verified more than 5700 grave violations against children across Sudan.
More than 4300 children have been killed or maimed, with Darfur and Port of Arm states again accounting for the highest numbers.
And these figures are staggering.
Yet they still don't reflect the full scale of harm occurring to children in Sudan.
Continued insecurity and access constraints mean that many attacks on children go unreported and unverified.
Alongside the drones and the violence, displacement is reshaping childhood across Sudan.
Over the past three years, more than 5 million children have been forced to flee their homes.
Many have fled repeatedly.
As frontline shifts and violence spreads, Families are now living in overcrowded, fragile conditions, struggling to meet even the most basic needs.
Humanitarian access remains a major challenge.
Large part of the country are still cut off because of fighting, damaged infrastructure and administrative obstacles.
These constraints are especially severe in Darfur, Kordofan and parts of Blue Nile state, leaving many of the most vulnerable children beyond reach.
At the same time, hunger, disease and the risk of famine are deepening and spreading.
Years of conflict and repeated displacement have destroyed livelihoods, disrupted markets and hollowed out basic services.
Saline has been confirmed in Alfasher and Kadugli, with conditions worsening in Umbaru and Karanoy.
And this year alone, an estimated 4.2 million children across Sudan are are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition.
More than 800 and 2500 thousand of them will be severely malnourished, a condition that can be fatal without urgent treatment.
Education has also been devastated.
Nearly half of school buildings in Sudan are no longer functioning as classrooms, with many closed or repurposed as shelters or occupied by armed actors.
As a result, at least 8 million children are currently out of school.
Despite the insecurity and access challenges, UNICEF and its partners are still delivering lifesaving health, nutrition, water, education and child protection services wherever possible.
But the response is under enormous strain.
In 2026, UNICEF needs $962.9 million to reach 7.9 million children across Sudan with life saving assistance.
If that sounds like a lot, consider this.
It's around $120.00 per child at this time in our lives.
It may be worth comparing that to filling up the tank of a fuel in a car just once in Sudan.
As of March, only 16% of that funding has been received.
Without urgent and sustained support, programmes that keep children alive will be forced to scale back.
Scaling back means being forced to do less.
And for children, doing less can have deadly consequences.
Protecting children in Sudan is not optional.
It requires respect for international humanitarian law, safe and sustained humanitarian access, and predictable funding for life saving services.
The cost of failure is already painfully clear and it's being paid by children.
Thank you very much, Heather.
And staying on the vulnerable.
I'll go now to the people on the move, please.
And I think you also have a colleague connected.
Thank you very much, Alessandro.
So I will read a statement from IOM and then I have my colleague, Dr Mohammed Rafat, our Chief of Mission from Sudan, on the line for questions.
The scale and complexity of population movements in Sudan today is immense.
Conflict, environmental shocks and operational constraints are placing extraordinary pressure on humanitarian systems.
As we mark three years of conflict, nearly 9 million people remain displaced across Sudan.
We see large scale displacement continuing in parts of Darfur, Kodovan and Blue Nile state where insecurity persists.
At the same time, we are seeing significant return movements, particularly to Khartoum.
Almost 4 million people have begun returning to their communities.
But these returns are rarely simple.
They're often driven by a complex mix of factors.
Perceived improvements in security, economic pressures, the need for family reunification, limited services and displacement sites, and the growing challenges faced by Sudanese families living in neighbouring countries.
When people return, they find broken water systems, destruction, and a lack of basic shelter and healthcare.
Millions more continue to seek refuge in nearby countries.
Chad and South Sudan alone have each recorded nearly 1.3 million arrivals, a significant number of returning nationals, further increasing pressure on already fragile systems.
For millions of people caught in this war, the combined impact of violence and climate shocks has made daily life unbearable.
Families are trapped in a constant cycle of displacement, often with no means to meet their most basic needs.
Humanitarian operations are also facing mounting challenges.
Funding gaps and logistical constraints are disrupting regional supply chains.
These challenges have been compounded by the escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, which has affected the movement of humanitarian goods and personnel.
The result is delays, rising operational costs and increasing difficulty in reaching vulnerable communities across Sudan and the wider region.
And yet the needs continue to grow.
What is required now is sustained attention, coordinated action and the resources necessary to ensure that humanitarian actors can continue delivering life saving assistance to those who need it most.
The people of Sudan deserve a better future.
Thank you very much, Zoe, and thanks to your colleague for being connected.
And our last but definitely not least, speakers come to us from the Red Red Cross and Red Crescent Committee and Federation.
So I'll start with ICRC with James Reynolds.
James, you are the deputy regional director for the ICRC in Africa, please.
Three years after the fighting broke out in Khartoum, so Sudan finds itself in the grip of what's perhaps the world's most serious humanitarian crisis today.
The last three years there's been too much suffering for the civilian population and too much essential infrastructure has been damaged.
Drones and new technologies are deepening suffering, harmering civilians and destroying vital infrastructure, as well as disrupting humanitarian work.
Over the last year, the conflict has moved from Darfur to the Kordofans, causing new, fresh suffering.
In addition to the plight of these three years of conflict, the Sudanese population may now suffer even more with the impact of the Middle East crisis generating increased cost of fuel, food and other essential goods.
You already know there are more than 11 million people displaced internally and externally and that 70 or 80% of health infrastructure in conflict areas have become non interpirational or critically under resourced.
What you may know less is that according to the International Committee, the Red Cross, the number of missing persons cases continues to rise with many communication networks destroyed.
Countless families have lost contact with their loved ones.
Not knowing about their fate is causing deep and lasting psychological suffering.
The number of missing persons cases recorded by the ICS in Sudan has reached more than 11,000, and that's an increase of more than 40% in the past year alone.
These figures, and they're probably only a fraction of the real numbers, illustrate the human cost of prolonged conflicts like this.
The the identification of bodies remains an enormous challenge for the country.
In Khartoum alone, some 15,000 bodies have been recovered and buried, often by volunteers of the Sudan Red Crescent Society.
Families have the right to know about the whereabouts of their loved ones.
Such figures illustrate not only the human cost of prolonged conflict, but more importantly, the disrespect for basic humanity.
Today we need a frame, a set of rules to limit the negative effects of conflict.
This is what international humanitarian law should bring.
We need to have a humanitarian space in order to be able to discuss issues like the missing.
Today the ICRC is publishing a report that shows the cost of inaction from parties to the conflict in Sudan in their in their failure to respect humanitarian law, the cost of inability of the international community to convince parties to the conflict to respect IHL.
The report focuses on three areas where we see the protection of civilians is both urgently needed and possible, safeguarding critical infrastructure that enables the provision of basic services, the situation of separated, missing or detained persons, as well as the dignified handling of the deceased, and last but not least, the prevention of and response to sexual violence.
Actions today will shape the future of Sudan.
Either there's action for the respect of of international humanitarian law or we'll meet again in one year's time, take stock of an even worsening humanitarian situation.
Today's choices will shape the future of Sudan.
Thank you for your attention.
James And Tommaso, you've brought Barakat Elkani, who is the IFRC humanitarian diplomacy and resource mobilisation delegate from Port Sudan.
So Barakat, I'll give you the floor for your short initial remarks.
OK, thank you and welcome everybody.
Connecting from Port Sudan here with the working closely with the Sudanese Federal Society of course Federation IRC has been continue supporting the National Society of direct President of Sudan over the three years of the conflict.
So during this three years, we, we have been observing a combination of people being moved, huge population movement from Darfur and Kordofan to the some safe area.
And also at the same time also we are, we are observing the huge number of people who try to return to Khartoum State, for example.
And in the, in this case, those who are fleeing the, the, the, the home areas in Kordofan or Darfur that are seeking assistance and also that seeking security, of course, and also for those who are trying to retain back home, they are blocking the infrastructure at their homes where the infrastructure has been destroyed.
And there is a huge slap also in the, in the, in the public service that's really been observed by the federation operating here in Sudan, helping the national Society of the Earth president of the country.
A few days ago I have a poll with a colleague in in a Dabba IDD camp where the people who flee Al Fasher has been hosted there and then there is also we also introduce a lady from the IDP community.
She recently flee Al Fasher to adopt ID becomes where she report to us a very horrible situation regarding her and her family.
She told us that when they clear farship, they.
She said that my small home has been destroyed, my part of my families have been killed, I have to clean my home to Adobo without my children and mainly sons and daughters and I already arrived to Adapa where I received some essential service.
But it is not that sufficient.
We are still lacking a lot of of service.
So it is quite terrible situation for those who are staying there in the very crowded IDP camp in Adapa and then Federation considering this consequence imposed by the conflict where there is and sufficient resources, you know, insufficient resources to the to the Sudan context in general.
And that's maybe due to the also there is no enough attention from international media to the Sudan situation and this silence affecting the funding of ports for Sudanese people.
Regarding the operation of the federation currently in Sudan, we support the National Society of the Red Crescent providing technical and also financial support to enable them to respond to the high need people in in Sudan.
Currently, federation provides through the International Society of the Red Crescent different assistance, mainly cash distribution and also food security support and WASH and health including mental health support to the affected population.
Just to conclude on that, I would say that federation facing challenges regarding insufficient funding.
As I said, we need we call for flexible fund for Sudanese people and also we call for more support in kind to support the national associate who is providing the the assistance.
I need to bring also here the the suffering of the humanitarian workers, including the Sudanese Red Car volunteers whom they lost 22 of their members during this conflict.
The last one was killed a few months ago in South Kordofan.
He's a very young, he's only 24 old and that this volunteers he killed upon.
She's doing the duty, she's supporting the newborns and mothers in the hospital in South Kordofan and she was killed in front of the the patient.
So we call for the all for the protection of the humanitarian workers, including all those who are providing assistance to the people on the ground.
And maybe colleague Tomaso can add regarding this.
Thank you very much, Barrick, for this.
And thank you for reminding us of the suffering also of the humanitarian workers.
And I'd like to conclude this briefing on Sudan by reiterating the call of the Secretary General for an immediate cessation of hostilities, his demand for the protection of civilians, the facilitation of safe, rapid, unhindered and sustained humanitarian access, and for the safe and unhindered passage for people seeking to flee.
And I'll open the floor to question Now.
We have told you so many times, so many things that maybe you don't have questions, but let's see if there is any hand up in the room.
Nina Larson, AFP, if you can just say to whom is your question, please.
I had a question for Mr Reynolds from ICRCI.
Was wondering if you could say a little bit more about the people who are missing and what ICRC is doing.
Are you able to help assist with that with with finding them?
Have you set up, I know that you've if for Ukraine for instance, you'd set up a service to try to help with that.
Have you done something similar for Sudan?
Just and, and just on the numbers, the the 11,000 I think you said, is that a total number since the start of the war?
Thanks for the question, Nina.
11,000 is the total that we've collected since the start of the war indeed.
And that's an increase of 40% in the last year.
In essence, we rely very heavily on, on the network of National Red Cross and Red Crescent Society.
So there's the Sudanese Red Crescent first and foremost.
If something of the order 4 million people have left the country to to to chat to South Sudan, to Egypt, to the Gulf.
That's also a factor in, in worsening the numbers of of, of of separated persons with the Sudan Red Crescent in country in, in Darfur, in the quarterfans in, in, in the east of the country, in Khartoum.
They have we facilitate Internet charging points, Wi-Fi connection points where people can register missing.
And the idea is that those Red Cross messages or calls between family members that we facilitate and the Red Crescent facilitates have a preventive effect and sort of mean that fewer people get separated.
But clearly large numbers have.
And the idea is we with, with our networks, we do our best to sort of try and try not to locate them.
Some of them we do not very many for the time being.
I think it's still clearly a country where being able to sort of move around and, and, and collect information everywhere all at once is, is simply not, not feasible.
So it is, it's, it's a long term process.
And I think there's an element of doing everything we can to find people who are already missing and working very closely with with the parties of the conflict, with civil society more generally to make sure that those numbers don't increase too much any any further.
I just wondering you say the people that you're able to to help or that you've do you have any numbers for how many people we've managed to to help find?
I'd have to check and get back to you on that one.
Sorry, my mic was on the Christian Rick, the German news agent.
It's a question to ICRC, but maybe to the others too.
We are all abhorred at everything that is being said and we are all talking from the same sheet.
What is going to change the situation on the ground?
Is the ICRC in any way involved in trying to talk to the actors who are responsible for the atrocities or who else should be?
Because it doesn't seem to get us any further to to repeat on how horrible everything is and appeal to powers that be if if there's no concrete action.
So what needs to happen to change the situation on the ground?
Yeah, I, I'll give the floor to James now, but maybe other colleagues who want to interview him.
But just just as, as we said, Christian, the that's the personal envoy is working.
Special envoy, sorry, is working on this.
And he's bringing that request of the SG to the parties which are in the region, all the other countries who have an influence on this terrible conflict and those who are now gathering in in Berlin.
But maybe, James, and if there is any other colleague, there are so many that if those on the ground wants to say something, just raise your hand so I can give you the floor.
James, we certainly document issues of, of violations of IHL against the civilian population happening in different parts of the country.
And we have a confidential bilateral dialogue with those different parties around what can you do to what to, to punish those who've misbehaved?
What can you do to prevent things like that happen in the future?
That's certainly something we do from our side.
It's a, it's a process we we engage in.
So we, we continue, we, we, we do our best to make sure that, that, that respect improves.
I think the situation is such that there's, as long as the conflict goes on, there's an absolute need to, to make IHL better respected.
And that's our priorities.
ICRC, clearly the character of the conflict with, you know, the massive displacement, the disruption to services, it's also a conflict that's going to have an immense negative impact on the civilian population as a whole.
As long as it goes on now, I hope events such as the conference in Berlin will slowly sort of bring around situation where actors in Sudan, first and foremost, and international actors outside of Sudan at a secondary level can help build a situation conducive for some kind of ceasefire and peace negotiations.
But that that's the work that Alessandra referred to.
I think the Secretary has been appealing very clearly to the parties to return to the negotiating table and pursue the lasting the request of the search for a lasting ceasefire and a comprehensive inclusion Sudanese own political process.
I really want to stress the work that the personal boy has been doing as he engaged actively with all the relevant stakeholders.
And I see that Anna also would like to add something.
Anna, thank you very much.
I think also to respond to the question, UN Women is in Berlin as part of the delegation of the personal envoy in support of the women of Sudan.
For one big reason that what is going to take is an inclusive civilian LED process rights where groups that have been left behind, women, youth are part of resolving or resolution to this conflict.
And the more that they are excluded from such processes, the less and less guarantees that peace we will result and peace will be sustained.
So I think being here with Sudanese women is a very clear call to say that they cannot be peace that is negotiated when it leaves huge parts of the population behind, civilians who are working hard to drive peace efforts at the community level, but also in the regional processes and in international processes like this.
And I see that Mohammed as racist and Mohammed Rifat, as Zoe said, is the chief of mission in Sudan, of IO Emmanuel calling in from Khartoum.
No, I just want maybe to address this question in a very frank way.
I think what we are seeing in Sudan, similar to other conflicts, is a pandemic of lack of accountability to those who are taking actions against international Internet law.
I give an example what we have seen in with the North village when 250 were killed in one day.
There was no action or anyone was taken accountable for this.
And a couple of months later, we saw the attacks on Zam Zam camp where we saw hundreds or thousands of used displacement and human rights violation, killing of dozens of humanitarian workers that was not taken at any action later about.
And then a couple of months later, we saw the attacks with and Fasher and we have all seen the videos and the atrocities that were conducted in and Fasher and again, massive displacement and massive flow of people running from those violations.
So if there is a common factor here we can track is that human rights violation is being used as a factor for displacement.
No accountability is being taken for those who are conducting this and then we continue to see the same trends.
So back to your answer, I think it's the same what we are seeing in other conflicts this year and the year before is that lack of holding any party accountable for what they are doing in Sudan.
Yeah, thank you very much.
And I just on this particular issue of accountability, just want to draw your attention.
To a statement that the UN human rights expert on Sudan, his name is Raduan Nuiser, who has been designated the UN Expert on Human Rights in Sudan by High Commissioner for Kartuk in 2022.
He has just issued a statement on the issue of accountability.
So anything in your mailboxes?
You wanted to add something on this too?
And thank you, Christian, for, for the, for the question, which is rather philosophical in a way.
I think what I hear is like, how come is it that after three years we're still where we are, that we haven't gone any further?
You've heard seven briefers now who said essentially the same thing.
It must be frustrating for you that the reporting that you do appears to fall on their fears.
Is it so that the world has just decided that the Sudanese people is are not important enough?
It's highly frustrating but there are things that can be done.
We represent the organisations who can actually save lives.
As I mentioned, or rather Tom Fletcher mentioned in his statement, we reached 17 million people last year.
We are, you know, forcing ahead.
We have a hyper prioritised plan.
We're trying to raise $2.9 billion this year to reach 20 million people.
Our level of ambition has not gone gone down a notch.
It's rather gone up, right.
But as of today, and I just checked, that appeal for almost $3 billion, which is actually not a lot of money, is only 17% funded.
So there is a concrete thing that member states can do to alleviate the suffering that we see today.
Absolutely, Ian, thank you very much for this.
And I see Barakat as also something to add.
I, I, I just want to bring one or two points.
One regarding the, the rule of the federation operating in Sudan, supporting the Red Crescent Society.
Here also we consider working with the with the national organisation and we also consider highly the localization agenda.
And, and here we observe that the national actors mainly, they have a lot of, I would say access and also acceptance on the ground, but they don't, they lack also the sources.
And on the other hand, we saw that international ones, they have a lot of resources, but also they might also facing the challenge of, of access.
So I think convention of, of, of like partnership between the international ones and the local actors might be more and more efficient to reach more people.
Another point to bring here is also federation has launched and appealed and millions of key to support Sudanese people.
But unfortunately due to also insufficient funding, only 35% has been funded from the from the media's appeal.
And that's as I said, due to the maybe the not fully consideration of the situation in Sudan.
If you compare the situation in Sudan with other conflict areas like Gaza and also Ukraine, Sudan considered to be the biggest crisis in term of displacement.
But that doesn't mean that there is a lot of resources being allocated for the for the Sudan context.
And then if tomorrow peace is coming, I think still we have a huge job to do.
And then without enough resources, without sufficient resources, I think for humanitarian access, like red present family, Red Cross, red present family who deeply working with the national Society of the country.
It is very difficult to operate with the, with the, with the, with the little and insufficient resources so far they have on the on the ground.
I think there's some points I need to bring here for.
But of course, as UN colleagues, they, they, there is a lot of challenges on the ground.
And we have also to bring more attention to the suffering of the Sudanese population on the ground.
For example, the National Society of Direct present has reached 14 million people in different areas of assistance with the support of the of the of the of the federation and also other movement partners who are currently supporting the national society.
And this is quite a big #14 million.
If we talk about, you know, more than 30 million people in need.
14,000,000 is this huge number to be reached by the National society with the support of federation.
So having this kind of information should be highly also spreaded and also highly disseminated among actors who are supporting an international donors who support situation in Sudan.
Thank you for the briefing.
It it's a question for UN women, please, for Anna, you said you've issued a new gender alert in Sudan.
So I was just wondering if you could explain a bit more what exactly that means.
And is, is sexual violence really at at its worst at at any stage since the war?
And just more broadly, can you talk about how much support you're able to get from, from donors for victims of sexual violence in Sudan at this time, where there's a lot of funding pressure and also political pressure not to fund abortions and contraception?
Thank you very much, Emma for the question.
So the agenda alert that we issued today is our attempt to show the gendered dynamics of this war, to show the impact, the gendered impact of this war on women and girls.
But the gender alert also brings heightened attention to women and girls because of their vulnerability to sexual violence, because of their vulnerability to hunger, because of their vulnerability when they are not able to access services, because of their vulnerability, when they are being threatened for doing the work that they do, because of the role that they play in driving peace efforts at home.
It's a community level within their own communities in displacement, but also how they're engaging in the regional processes to drive for meaningful and inclusive peace processes and at the international level, such as the Berlin conference that that will be taking place this week in Berlin.
So this is what the Agenda Alert seeks to do and to highlight.
Of course, as I mentioned in my statement, the issue of the systematic use of sexual violence is a tactic of war.
We say this with a lot of confidence because we have over 45 women LED organisations on the ground that are responding to these cases on a daily basis even when they are at risk themselves for doing so, even as they are being threatened for doing so.
And according to these partners and many other sources as well that are working in various parts, especially in the court of funds, as earlier mentioned, we are seeing increase the demand increase search for GPV or conflicts related sexual violence services.
And that's where we are getting aware basing our session that the war is a war on women and girls and that sexual violence has continued to be used as a tactical for.
And with that, if I may also add that the core from Sudanese women is for their protection, is also for these hostilities to end and is a clear call for the issue of conflict related sexual violence to be on the agenda of humanitarian discussions, of peace discussions and political discussions.
Because it is all of that.
So and then finally to the agenda that is also highlighting the issue, the need for inclusive this processes because women are more than victims of this war.
Women are also active agents, active participants in the core and in the demand for peace, for the war to end and for civilian LED peace processes.
So the agenda that is highlighting all of that attention to the issues and also requesting you to use your platforms to highlight all of these issues.
On the issue of funding, sadly we have not managed to receive the funding that is needed to respond to all of these issues, including and especially for conflict related sexual violence.
So women's rights organisations have received I think less than 10% of what they've asked for.
So that gives a big gap in the services that they are providing.
But they continue to do so with the very little that they have and therefore calling attention to the issue of the underfunding, but also in terms of what the international community can do is to increase dedicated funding to main LED organisations to be able to provide this services.
And I am sure this is the message you bring in Berlin.
And last question, Mohammed Altar, the Turkish news agency.
Thank you so much, Alessandra.
As you mentioned, a Sudan conference will take place in Berlin tomorrow.
I wonder if any Sudanese officials or any representative representative of RSF will join this meeting as well.
I, I didn't hear representatives of RSF.
I I'll have to refer to to the government of Germany who are the ones inviting to the conference.
OK, So thank you very much for this extensive briefing.
Again, I think we have underlined not only the call for a negotiation for, for ceasefire, but also the need, absolute need for the international community to fund the assistance, whether it's of the UN or of the Red Cross and Red Crescent movements to the people of Sudan.
I think we really need to bring these two messages back and we continue to, to cover it and to to bring them to your audiences.
So I'd like to thank all the speakers, keep Tomaso on the on the, on the podium and we go now to the rest of the briefing.
Thanks very much to all the colleagues in the field and in the headquarters.
Thanks to Ross Smith, to Mohammad Rifat, to Anna Mutavati, to Evahind, and of course, to the colleagues who briefed from here from Geneva.
So let me now go to Anandita Philippos, who is the UNFPA Lebanon representative.
Anandita, you are joining from Beirut to tell us to, to, to speak up on a very important issue again, women and girls and this time in the, in the context of the Lebanese on the conflict in Lebanon and your response to their needs.
So I'll give you the floor now on, on this important subject, please and thanks for your patience.
Thank you so much, Alexandra and good morning everyone.
Exactly 1 month ago, on the 13th of March, I addressed all of you here at the Palais.
I spoke to you of Lebanon's escalating crisis and its impact on the most vulnerable women and girls.
And today I returned for a further update following one of the most devastating attacks in the country's history on 8th of April.
Last Wednesday, over 100 bombs were dropped in less than 10 minutes.
This was done without warning and it was on a Wednesday afternoon hitting busy residential and commercial neighbourhoods.
It was complete devastation.
The casualty figures are still coming in as teams are clearing through the rubble.
As of 12th of April 1355, women have been killed or injured since the start of the conflict.
On Wednesday alone, 99 women and 31 children were killed.
Across Lebanon, grief, fear and exhaustion hang heavy in the air.
Families are still desperately looking for loved ones.
New mothers cradle newborns, uncertain if safety will ever return.
Healthcare workers, already exhausted, are working through their own trauma to save others.
These attacks push an already fragile health system to the very brink.
Hospitals, maternity wards and clinics have been destroyed, 62 Primary Health care centres are partially or fully damaged and 20 public hospitals are closed or damaged.
This is no longer just a humanitarian emergency, it is a full scale protection and health crisis and women and girls are playing the paying the highest price.
An estimated 13,500 displaced pregnant women need urgent maternal and reproductive healthcare, including 1700 that are still in southern Lebanon which is under constant attack.
620,000 displaced women and girls are at risk of gender based violence.
They account for more than half the displaced people in shelters.
These numbers continue to rise every day.
As the escalations continue, UNFP colleagues have been impacted themselves.
Some have seen bombings first hand, watching buildings being flattened and debris flying through the air.
Others are displaced or hosting displaced family members.
And yet, in the midst of this collective shock to the entire team, UNFP continues to respond to the unprecedented and growing health and protection needs.
We are providing integrated services across Health Protection and psychosocial support.
This is critical to ensure that women and girls who have survived trauma and violence receive an integrated continuum of support.
Our teams are on the ground inside and outside of shelters deep in the South of Lebanon and in hard to reach areas.
We're restoring essential care, deploying mobile health units, providing safe spaces and delivering kits to ensure safe births and menstrual hygiene.
We are supporting midwives and doctors working under unimaginable conditions.
The scale of this crisis far exceeds current resources.
In light of the recent escalations, UNFP is revising a flash appeal aligned with the UN revising Flash appeal.
The initial estimates are now severely updated, and yet even UNFP's initial flash appeal of $12 million remains only 16% funded.
Every day without adequate support means more women giving birth without skilled assistance, more survivors of violence left unprotected, and more preventable deaths.
UNFP remains steadfast in its commitment to the women and girls in Lebanon, but this commitment must be matched by global solidarity and resources.
We echo the Secretary General's call for all parties to immediately stop hostilities and respect international humanitarian law.
At all times, the world cannot look away.
The lives of thousands of women and girls in Lebanon depend on urgent collective action, and they depend on it now.
And indeed, that's so important to think about this vulnerable people in this context of this conflict.
Let me see if there are questions for you in the room or online.
So thank you very much for for updating on on, on this impact, this very important impact on the women and girls of Lebanon.
Let's stay in the Middle East.
Yeah, no, I don't see any hands.
So let's stay in the on the on the Middle East and, and let me read you some information about the work we are conducting there in the region.
And then we will hear also from IFRC to Mazo has some news on the 1st shipment of supplies to Iran.
So I like to inform you that that in fact, as we have heard, the disruption of fertilisers and its inputs further exacerbate food insecurity for millions of vulnerable people around the world, adding to the rising cost of living due to impacts from fuel, transportation and supply chain disruptions.
With that in mind, the Executive Director of the UN Office for Project Services, Jorge Moreira da Silva, working with the UN Trade and Development, the International Maritime Organisation and the International Chamber of Commerce, continues engaging extensively with relevant parties to design and operationalise the mechanism that we have announced for the Strait of Hormuz on the 27th of March.
On this, I'd like to call your attention on a tweet that Mister de Silva has put out where he says, I echo Secretary General Antonio Guterres call for resumption of talks, ceasefire to absolutely be preserved, full respects of the freedom of navigation, including in the Strait of Hormuz.
And we can't delay the operationalisation of a confidence building mechanism of the UN focused on fertiliser and related raw material to prevent massive food insecurity for millions of vulnerable people around the world this week, says Mr de Silva.
I will continue extensive discussions with member states in the context of the task force.
And just a note that the Secretary General's Personnel Envoy, John Arnon, remains actively engaged in the region, consulting closely with key stakeholders and continuing his outreach in support of a comprehensive and durable agreement on the work of Mr De Silva.
I just remind you that our colleague and friend, Juliet Tuma is available in case you have questions.
You can reach directly to her and Tomas, maybe on the 1st shipment that I ever see has been able to bring to Iran.
Thank you, Alessandra, and good morning, Ola.
Today I'm bringing you some news that for us are a sign of hope.
The International Federation of the Crescent Society is in collaboration with the Turkish Crescent is delivering life saving medical supplies and humanitarian relief items from Turkey to Iran as humanitarian needs in the country continue to grow sharply on Sunday where the shipment of aid crossing into Iran after travelling across Turkey having left Ankara on Friday.
The shipment contain relief items from the Turkish Crescent and advanced trauma kits from the IFRC, marking one of the first cross-border shipments of medical supplies since the start of the conflict.
These trauma kits contain essential equipment to treat serious injuries and stabilise patients designed to to provide immediate life saving care in critical situation.
The operation is key as humanitarian supply chains into Iran have been severely disrupted in recent weeks due to the conflict, making increasingly difficult and more costly for essential medical and relief items to reach those in need.
As a result, the supplies are being transported over land from eastern Turkey into Iran.
The operation highlights how humanitarian supply chains are adapting in real time under significant pressure, with sourcing shift to Turkey to prioritise speed and ensure that urgent medical needs can be met.
These are our IFRT global supply chain in action, adapting, searching, activating partners and maintaining delivery even under pressure in highly constrained environments.
Beyond the first shipment, we hope that this will be the start of getting more aid into Iran.
We have plans for further shipments, so this could prove to be an important aid corridor since we don't know what will happen next and when more conventional routes will reopen.
This operation is a critical first step to support Iranian Re Crescent life saving activities while the humanitarian situation remains remains very difficult.
Needs are high, medical needs in particular, but also the psychological toll on people is in men's.
Our partners at the Iranian Re Crescent have been providing psychological care in addition to the work they did throughout, literally digging people out of buildings.
They also lost four relief workers in the line of duty while saving life.
Humanitarian workers must be protecting and respected at all times.
And recently even we lost a second colleague in Lebanon last Sunday, killed during a life saving mission with an ambulance in southern Lebanon.
Finally, we call on the international community to show solidarity and to support our emergency appeal and the relief operations in Iran.
Needs are growing rapidly.
Additional funding is needed for the IFRC to continue to provide critical financial support to scale up operation.
We recently increased the emergency appeal to 120 million Swiss francs to support the Iranian Crescent Society to scale up life saving assistance for 5 million people affected by the ongoing hostilities focused on emergency shelter, essential relief items and household supplies, health services, water and sanitation and community based mental health and psychological support.
The appeal is currently heavily underfunded.
Thank you very much, Tomas.
And before closing an open floor to questions, I just would like to reiterate to recall that we have sent you yesterday evening the statement attributable to the spokesperson for the Secretary General in the Middle East, which contains part of what I've read, and also the call again of the Secretary General on the talks to continue constructively for an agreement to be reached as soon as possible and preserve the ceasefire.
Absolutely, all my relations must cease.
I'll open the floor to questions now, first in the room.
Tomaso, I was wondering, so this was the first shipment you've managed to get in since the start of the war.
Is there, have there been other age UN agencies who've who've brought in aid that you know of and what plans you have for further shipments?
When do you think the next ones will come in?
Yes, for us it's been the the first aid shipment and the plan is that hopefully in the next couple of weeks, we hope in the next three weeks, we will continue importing other trauma kids and other medical supplies for the, for the Crescent as far as I know is basically one of the first, if not the first shipment international shipment entering in Iran on the UN side.
I'll leave it to Alessandra and colleagues to answer.
So I don't know if you have any update on this.
And we have spoken about that.
Other questions in the room, so I'll go to Laurent.
Laurent Seattle Yeah, Thank you.
Tomezzo So the convoy entered the the Iranian territory, but has the the aid which was in the trucks already been dispatched or when do you plan to start with distributed completely the assistance?
And would it be only in Tehran or in other cities?
And, and if you could give us some figures about the, the, the, the weight of the, the, the aid which was in the truck.
Thank you very much, Lauren for the, for the question.
So the aid actually is currently reaching Tehran.
Logistic colleagues told me that it would take at least 48 hours from the border and the aid entered the mid Sunday.
After the aid will arrive to the Iranian Crescent supply chain, it will be dispatched based on the on the needs of the first aid teams and all the other teams that are working in Tehran, but also in the rest in the rest of the country.
At the moment we are talking about a small quantity, we are talking about 200 advanced trauma kids and on the Turkish Crescent side, 48,000 kilogrammes of of humanitarian relief, including tents, blankets and hygiene kids.
But for us it's very, very important because it was a way to try a new route to bring humanitarian aid inside Iran.
And we're very hopeful that we'll be able to scale up the entrance of humanitarian in the country.
We need to bear in mind that for instance, our global humanitarian and logistic hub in Dubai, we have their preposition stocks and in other situation like other disaster that it Iran in the past at that time was very easy to take a flight or a boat and bring aid directly to Iran in a couple of hours.
At this time this was not possible.
So we had to procure again all the different items, find a different route, the logistics of course thanks to the Turkish request and nothing would have been possible without them.
And then from now on we do open to scale up operation and bring in more goods inside Iran.
And Matt, you have a few more issues on that.
I could just add, add airline to Thomas.
In terms of Unhcr's assistance inside of Iran, so far we have been relying on pre-existing stocks that were in the country that were deemed sufficient for the immediate needs.
We have been assisting primarily Afghan refugees in the country.
Of course, as you've heard from other briefers, there have been significant logistical challenges in in moving supplies around, particularly in the Middle East.
We're aware of that and we're looking at measures to mitigate that.
And of course, we're looking at the situation in Iran.
We do have supplies in our global stockpiles, particularly in terms in Uzbekistan, which can be mobilised as needed.
And so we're looking at the logistics of that.
But also in the case of Iran, we have been able to complement in kind assistance with augmented cash assistance as well in that country.
Thank you very much to both other questions.
So Tomas, so thank you very much for this update.
And again, please read thoroughly the statements that we have distributed yesterday of the spokesperson to conclude this part on the Middle East.
But now I keep Matt on the podium because you have an item on Venezuela.
Thanks very much, Alessandra, and good morning to everyone.
Always difficult to come at the end of a long session, but obviously a very important series of briefings that you've had today, hopefully bringing you something that's relatively positive or at least could develop into something more positive around Venezuela, which is not a country that we have briefed on for some time.
A significant minority of Venezuelans living outside of their country but in Latin America would consider returning home if socio economic and other conditions there were to improve.
That's according to a survey that has just been released by the UN refugee agency.
This survey shows that Venezuelans in the region are now starting to focus on the question of whether they should return.
But of course, that decision depends on a number of complex factors that are influencing their intentions amidst what are still ongoing displacements within that region.
Just over 1/3 of the people that we surveyed indicated a possible intention to return home, and 9% will consider considering doing so within the next year.
The primary intention of course was driven by hopes for family reunification.
Still, Despite that, almost 2/3 do not currently intend to return.
So the desire to connect or reconnect with their relatives in Venezuela is obviously being conditioned or offset by socio socio economic and security factors, including the recovery or lack of it in the labour market and the availability of available and reliable services.
Just a quick note on the survey, it was conducted between January and March.
It covered 1300 people and it was it took place in six countries in Latin America.
So millions of Venezuelans have been rebuilding their lives and contributing to these host countries outside of Venezuela.
And some of those that we surveyed reported improved security, better employment and essential services in those host countries as they shape their decisions about returning.
However, it should also be remembered that within those countries there remain a lot of pressures and there are still socio economic challenges there.
Around 60% of the people that we spoke to cited a lack of reliable information about the journey home and what the situation would be like once they were to get home.
We always emphasise, and particularly in this case at this moment, that return must be voluntary, safe and dignified, and of course, it must be accompanied by as much information as is possible.
Having said that, we are committed to supporting Venezuelans and to supporting social economic inclusion in the host countries at the same time, as well as voluntary return if funding allows it.
They remain within the region.
Some 6.9 million Venezuelans, refugees and migrants who are hosted in Latin America and across the Caribbean, and of those, some 4 million remain in need of assistance for this year.
UNHCR is appealing for some $330 million to continue supporting those people in the region.
And at the end of March, we were just 12% funded.
I will leave it there, but we're happy to answer of course any questions.
And the intention survey is of course linked to in the notes.
So do have a look at that because it includes a lot of interesting details if you cover that region on land, housing, labour, education and other socioeconomic factors.
Questions to you on HCR on this subject.
No hands in the room or on the platform.
And we encourage you to have a look at the the survey.
Let's now go to our last speaker, Jovana Myoj Yunovic from UNECE.
Jovana, you have an announcement for a forum.
Good morning, colleagues and thanks Alexandra for this opportunity to present Unisys Regional Forum on Sustainable Development, which will take place next week on Tuesday and on Wednesday.
With less than five years remaining to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals, progress in the UNIC region, which spans Europe, North America, the Caucuses in Central Asia, remains uneven, while implementation is lagging in several key areas and continues to be affected by multiple crises.
The UNICY 2026 SDG Progress Report also points to encouraging signs of resilience, with the bulk of targets still moving forward and reflecting substantial development gains.
Against this back backdrop, this year's Regional Forum on Sustainable Development is convened under the theme Transforming Together Innovative and Equitable Actions for the SDGS.
So this forum, taking place in Geneva Paledinacio on 21st and 22nd of April, will provide a diverse multi stakeholder space to assess where the region stands on SDJ implementation and to identify pathways for accelerating progress.
Participants will exchange policy experiences, innovative practises and scalable solutions that respond to current social, environmental and economic challenges.
Particular attention will be given to opportunities arising from digital transformation, technology, local action and stronger partnerships, as well as the role of innovation, youth engagement and civil society participation in driving equitable and resilient transformation.
The focus this year will be on five SDGS through peer learning, round tables, clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, industry, innovation and infrastructure, sustainable cities and communities and partnerships for the goals.
The briefing notes that I shared with you also contain the link with the venues where different sessions and policy high level segment will take place.
Thank you very much, Ivana.
Any question to you, NECE, on this event?
So thank you very much, Ivana.
Good luck with your meeting.
Also starting today, you may remember the fifth session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent here at the Palais.
This is going to started this morning, is going to last until the 17th under the theme Expanding the human Rights of People of African descent under the Second International Decade for People of African Descent.
And then this year discussions, we'll examine preparatory justice through the return of cultural artefacts, the human rights situation of use of African descent, and the 25th anniversary of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action as a moment to reflect on turning existing human rights commitments into concrete action.
Speaking about human rights, I'm under the two committees that are going on now at Polly Wilson, the Committee against Torture, which is reviewing today and this afternoon, I think the report of Tajikistan, sorry, this morning.
And then it will be followed by Italy.
And they will also hold a public meeting on the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture.
That's going to be on Thursday at 10 AM.
And the other committee is the one on the elimination of racial discrimination, which will report, will review the report of Serbia today, followed by Slovenia and Cyprus.
And finally, I've been asked by Karima, our colleague Karima Sharif, the spokesperson of UNRIST, to inform you that the first Digital World conference hosted by UNRIST that will take place at the Paladina show in Room 11 on Tuesday 2120, first of April.
The theme is Digital Technology for Social development.
This event will bring together leading voices from science, policy and international cooperation to explore the transformative role of digital technologies and artificial intelligence in advancing inclusive and sustainable development.
They will feature 2 globally renowned pioneers in artificial intelligence, Geoffrey Hinton who is widely recognised as one of the godfathers of AI and a Nobel Laureate and Terry Savnovsky and other highly renowned scientist whose work has been central to the development of modern I I.
The event will also bring together ambassadors and high level representative from Onears, ITU Angk, Ted, WEF and other international organisation and carrying meds available if you need more information on this event next week.
Next week you will be very busy at the PAL.
I will tell you more on Tuesday.
There will also be a series of meeting on mine action.
I will tell you more at the beginning of next week.
So if there's no other question for me online either.
Thanks for following this long but very important briefing and I'll see you on Friday.
