UN Geneva - Multimedia Newsroom : UN Geneva Press Briefing

[Other language spoken]

Welcome to the press briefing of the UN Information Service here in Geneva.

Today is Friday, 17th of April, and I would like to start immediately by reading you the statement of the Secretary General that we have issued last night's Europe time.

It was yesterday in New York, yesterday evening in New York, where the Secretary General welcomes the announcement of a 10 day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon and commenced the role of the United States in facilitating the ceasefire.

He reaffirms the support of the United Nations to all efforts to end hostilities and alleviate the suffering of communities on both sides of the blue line.

The Secretary General hopes that this ceasefire will pave the way for negotiations and for the full implementation of the Security Council Resolution 17 O1 towards a long term solution to the conflict.

He urges all actors to fully respect the ceasefire and to comply with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law at all times.

The Secretary General father hopes that this agreement will contribute to the ongoing efforts towards a lasting and comprehensive peace in the region.

He has also tweeted.

You can find this tweet on the platform.

And remaining in the Middle East in the region, we have Sophia Caltrop with us this morning to tell us about a new UN Women data analysis on the impact of the war.

And now we're speaking about Gaza on women and girls, including in the massive death toll.

Sophia, thank you very much, Alessandro.

Good morning, everybody.

Today, UN Women sheds further light on the enormous cost of the war in Gaza on women and girls.

Our new analysis shows how the war has affected every aspect of life, with its most horrific toll seen in the scale of death.

Between October 2023 and December 2025, more than 38,000 women and girls were killed in Gaza, the result of Israeli air bombardment and land military operations.

This includes over 22,000 women and 16,000 girls, amounting to an average of at least 47 women and girls killed every day.

Women and girls accounted for a proportion of death far higher than those observed in previous conflicts in Gaza.

Those killed were mothers.

They were daughters, sisters and friends, deeply loved by those around them.

They were individuals with lives and with dreams.

During my visit to Gaza in November, I met with their loved ones, their children, their husbands and their grandchildren who haven't been forced into extreme suffering.

And this is a suffering that continues despite the ceasefire announced in October 2025.

More than 730 people have been reportedly killed and more than 2000 people have been injured over the past six months.

We know that women and girls are among those killed, but there is a huge lack of sex and age.

Disaggregated data and on top of a staggering death toll, nearly 11,000 women and girls in Gaza have sustained injuries so devastating that they survive only with lifelong disabilities.

This war has reshaped families.

10s of thousands of households are now headed by women.

Having lost their husbands, they are sustaining their families without income, without support or access to essential services.

Nearly one million women and girls have been have been displaced repeatedly.

Access to water and food have been severely limited with nearly 790,000 women and girls experiencing crisis level or catastrophic level of food insecurity.

Extensive damage to infrastructure has made it almost impossible for women and girls in girls that access their basic needs like healthcare, a situation that is worsening due to the recent military escalation in the Middle East.

As border crossing closures and humanitarian access constraints further reduce access to life saving support.

UN Women calls for the ceasefire to be fully implemented.

Respect for international law must be upheld and there must be an accountability for violations and the protection of women and girls must be insured.

Humanitarian assistance must must reach those in need at scale and without obstruction and women and girls they must be placed at the centre of response and recovery efforts.

As UN Women we continue to work on the ground in Gaza with Women Lead and Women Rights organisation supporting the efforts to deliver life saving support.

Ensuring that these organisations are funded, supported and included in decision making is critical to any meaningful recovery.

IT national humanitarian and human rights law have not failed.

It is this failure that lies with those who choose to ignore these laws, with those who hold the power to enforce them and with the profound lack of humanity that has allowed this horror in Gaza to continue.

Thank you very much.

Thank you very much, Sophia.

I'll open the floor to questions, if any.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much to Sophia for that briefing.

Could you give some more details about the inability for women and girls to access health healthcare?

What, what kind of services are they needing and seeking, what constraints they're, they're facing And just to that point as well about humanitarian access constraints.

Yeah, that would be helpful to get a few more details and what kind of what the picture is.

We've heard a lot about shortages elsewhere and other parts of the region, but would be interested to get more details on Gaza.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much.

I might ask my OTRA colleague to come back in terms of, of the systematic human turn access issues.

But looking at at women and girls and their their access to, to healthcare and other basic services, obviously there is a complete lack of, of, of most services.

In particular, I would say those services that are, are needed for women that is sexually reproductive health and rights, that's access to sanitary pads, that's access to, to, to the most basics.

I mean, when, when I was in GSA in November, I met two women who had to deliver on the street because they were no transportations to bring them to any functional hospitals.

So, so the access issue in terms of women being able to to meet their basic needs is I would say systemic throughout Gaza, but maybe Gensweiss online can say something more concretely about about about the systems humanitarian access constraints at this moment.

[Other language spoken]

Let me see if Yens is connected as the I've seen Yens, you are Yens.

I don't know if you want to add anything on this particular point.

Don't see his camera going on here.

[Other language spoken]

No, I don't have anything particular to add to that one.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much.

Any other question to Sophia in the room or let me see online if there's any hand raised?

My computer is slow.

This one.

[Other language spoken]

No, I don't see other hands up.

So thank you very much, Sophia.

Let's continue bringing the light on, on what's happening in Gaza.

It's it's very important.

Let me turn now to my left to Babar.

Babar, you were have a, you has a, oh, sorry, you have a point on Rohingya.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much.

[Other language spoken]

As you all heard the sad and tragic news of a latest shipwreck in the Andaman Sea, we have some data to share with you said from last year, year 2025.

In 2025, nearly 900 Rohingya refugees were reported missing or dead in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal, making it the deadliest year on record for maritime movements in South and Southeast Asia.

According to data from Unit CR, the UN refugee agency, more than 606,000 and 500 Rohingya refugees attempted perilous sea crossings in 2025, with one in seven reported missing or dead.

This is the highest mortality rate worldwide of any rate for refugee and migrant sea journeys.

Someone who has been following these developments in Dhandaman Sea and Bay of Bengal over the last years.

Personally, if we just do a rough calculation and estimate of the number of Rohingya refugees taking these desperate sea journeys, it's nearly 200,000 Rohingya refugees that have taken these dangerous sea journeys.

And again, rough estimates suggest more than 5000 Rohingya refugees have lost their lives during these dangerous sea journeys.

This makes sadly the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal an unmarked graveyard for thousand of desperate Rohingya refugees.

In recent years, over half of those attempting these crossings have been women and children.

The trend continues in 2026, with more than 200 and 2800 Rohingya undertaking dangerous sea journeys between January this year and 13th of April.

The severity of the data has been underlined by the most recent and tragic incident in the Andaman Sea, where an extremely overcrowded boat that departed Bangladesh on 26th of March reportedly capsized due to rough seas, leaving an estimated 250 people missing.

9 survivors were rescued on 9th of April near the Andaman Islands.

Unitya is providing counselling and referrals for medical and psychosocial support for Rohingya survivors and stand ready to support local authorities.

Despite the extreme dangers, including trafficking, exploitation and death at sea, thousands of Rohingya refugees continue to undertake these journeys.

Boats, often overcrowded and unseaworthy, typically depart from Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh or from the Rakhine State in Myanmar towards Indonesia or Malaysia.

While most Rohingya refugees wish to return to Myanmar once conditions allow for a voluntary, dignified and safe return, ongoing conflict, persecution and the absence of citizenship prospects leave them with really little hope.

At the same time, severe funding shortfalls have significantly reduced humanitarian assistance in Bangladesh, compounded by insecurity in the camp and limited access to education and livelihoods, pushing refugees towards dangerous onward movements.

Unit CR, the UN Refugee Agency, calls on states to address the root causes of displacement, expand safe and legal pathways, and strengthen regional cooperation to save lives and combat smuggling and trafficking.

Just a reminder, over 1.3 million Rohingya refugees and asylum seekers remain displaced across the region, including 1.2 million in Bangladesh, requiring increased international support.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much.

[Other language spoken]

Questions on this point on the Rohingya.

[Other language spoken]

Obviously really stark figures there.

I'm just wondering if you could give some explanation about what's driving people to take these perilous journeys and also why you think that is continuing into this year as well?

Thank you very much.

Sadly, almost around the same time last year in early May, we saw two boat tragedies in which more than 400 Rohingya refugees lost their life.

So this sad trend and tragic trend continues.

There's a sense of desperation among the Rohingya population.

Imagine you being a refugee in Cox's Bazaar in Bangladesh with funding cuts, with no kind of sense of hope in in their lives and inside Myanmar, the desperate situation that the Rohingyas are facing.

These are all driving factors for for them.

What we have seen is and which is really adds another sad layer to it is that the number of people, when we compare this data to 2013 when more than 51,000 Rohingyas took these dangerous journeys that sadly resulted in in the lives being lost more than 800 Rohingya refugees then in in, in the seas.

What is alarming is the rate that Rohingya are dying or losing their lives in the high seas right now, as it was mentioned.

I mean, when you look at the figures for last year, that's 6500 Rohingyas that took those journeys and you have 900 Rohingyas that have lost their lives.

So the rate of mortality is really, really high.

The the hope is that the world realises or recognises what the Rohingyas are going through inside Myanmar and in the refugee camps and in the wider region as well, and step forward to come up with solutions for the desperate Rohingya refugees that we don't see 2026 becoming another deadly year.

But sadly the reality is what happened just recently.

It just indicates that that sense of desperation is there.

[Other language spoken]

Just a follow up, you mentioned there about funding cuts.

What exactly do you mean by that?

Do you, do you think funding cuts are again driving or increasing pressures on, on, on, on the Rohingya, which is forcing them to take, to take that decision?

And, and perhaps you can just detail exactly where those funding cuts are are hitting and, and, and hurting refugee populations.

1 clear example is Bangladesh.

It's over 1,000,000 Rohingya refugees that Bangladesh has generously hosted over the year.

The funding is going down.

I mean sadly even for this year, our requirements are 200 million U.S.

[Other language spoken]

For this year so far it's just 32% funded.

And when you look at the previous year, it's the same story, it just continues.

So being a Rohingya in the refugee camp, many have been born there.

Remember when more than 700,000 Rohingyas arrived in 2017 in in Bangladesh, With that, the number of Rohingya in the country went up.

There was some recognition in terms of global support then.

But certainly we have seen that that trend has has been downwards since then.

And there are other factors as well.

There is a lot of exploitation in a sense of traffickers kind of playing their roles.

We keep saying for human traffickers and smugglers, human lives don't matter.

It's just the money that they are looking at.

They are a factor.

And also, many of these Rohingya may have broken families in many locations.

I have visited many of them in Indonesia.

In Malaysia, you have separated families and if there is no way to be reunited with with them, that creates another layer of sense of urgency or emergency for them.

And majority of those who are taking these risky trips or or sea journeys, they are women and children.

This is a trend that we are seeing and which means these are families.

No one would put their family on a risky boat knowing that the chances of survival are really low.

If the sense of desperation is not there, if there's no hope, we fear more people may lose their lives.

The question in the room now.

I'll go to the platform.

[Other language spoken]

I would like to also raise maybe the other side of the this tragic story.

And if you can never tell us about how many people, for example, this year on the period that that you mentioned, 1st January to 13 April arrived to countries, I mean Rohingya people, refugees who arrived maybe to Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, that I think are the main destinations.

And what are now, according to the last information you have the, the position of the, of the governments that in the last few years have consistently rejected also the refugee, the Rohingyas refugee, especially in Thailand.

I think if you can just develop on, on all these aspects.

[Other language spoken]

What we are seeing in terms of a trend, once the sea journeys start, many do not end up reaching their destination.

Also remember we're mentioning Indonesia and Malaysia being one of the destination, but they cross many coastal countries on the way as well.

So many when attempts are unsuccessful, either they end up back in Bangladesh or in in Myanmar.

There are others who are rescued many times.

Remember we have been telling you since last years where people have have been rescued.

Indonesia, one example where the fishing communities have stepped forward.

In other instances, there have been boats out there for days or weeks and we have been kind of appealing urging all the coastal states to save human lives, make that their priority in, in, in terms of of the numbers that we have large number of Rohingya for them in terms of seeking safety has been Bangladesh as as we have shared numbers.

But also you have Rohingyas who have arrived in Indonesia, who have arrived in Malaysia, who have arrived in Thailand and Sri Lanka as well.

So the data set I'm looking right now is from February 2021 and that those numbers that I have over here is you have Thailand 57,000 and these are people from Myanmar that that have arrived over over there.

And then you have Thailand, Thailand I mentioned and you also have Malaysia 24,000.

Then you also have Indonesia which is 20 or 2100.

Sri Lanka is a little bit less 200 and and 20.

So those data sets are available on our data portal and we have been keeping an eye on the development since 2013.

As far as our unit CR data goes back to.

I can share the links if needed.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much, Babar.

Let me see if there are other hands up.

No, thank you very much.

[Other language spoken]

Also another crisis we have not been speaking about for a long time.

[Other language spoken]

We have with us Anani Afrawi, who is the Programme Officer for the Global ABC lead of Unet.

Anani, I think you have an announcement for us on the summit of on Sustainable buildings and construction.

I'll give you the floor.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much for giving me the floor.

I just need, I have an issue with my laptop.

If I can just have half a second, please go ahead.

[Other language spoken]

So UNAP is really excited to host these Sustainable Buildings and Construction Summit 2026 happening from the 20th to the 22nd of April in Lausanne, Switzerland.

It is a summit that will convene government officials alongside academics, private sector leaders, financiers and civil society.

We will make sure that the conversations help converge policy makers, researchers and practitioners around the set of agreed practical solutions for the building sector.

It is Co organised with the ECHOL, Polytechnique, Federal de Lausanne, EPFL and really led by the UNAP hosted Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction.

The summit builds on the success of the first Global Forum on Buildings and Climate held in Paris in 2024.

We will put a strong focus on emerging markets and developing developing economies where the built environment growth is most significant in the decades to come.

And the summit will ensure that we try to translate global sustainability commitments into practical solutions.

We have a set of pledge we had, we have a set of commitments at the high level that have been negotiated with different countries and UNIP and the point of this summit is to to translate them into practical solutions.

The programme includes also the first in person meeting of the Intergovernmental Council for Buildings and Climate, which and as well as a set of cross disciplinary workshops, academic showcases and solution focused roundtables.

I'm available for any questions on this summit.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much.

And then any question to UNEP on this summit.

Don't see any hand up in the room or on the platform.

So thank you very much for the announcement.

And Annie and I do have a lot myself of announcements, so bear with me.

First of all, let me remind you that yesterday the Secretary General arrived in The Hague to participate in the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the International Court of Justice that will take place today at the Peace Palace.

He, the Secretary General, will address the solemn sitting to celebrate this 80th anniversary in the Great Hall of Justice of the Peace Palace.

We are sharing with you the remarks under strict embargo.

That's going to be at 3:00 PM The Hague time.

And you will also meet with a number of officials, bilateral meetings with the Prime Minister and Minister for General Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Rob Jettin, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Tom Berinson.

And we'll also meet the Council of Ministers of the Netherlands and Judge Graciela Gatti Santana, who is the president of the International Residual Mechanism for Crime Criminal Tribunals.

We have one of our colleagues who is with the secretary general.

If you have any questions we can ask her, we can address it with her.

Next week is going to be really packed with events.

Last Tuesday I already announced you the first Digital World conference AI for Social Development, which is going to be organised by increased on Tuesday.

That's going to be in room Tuesday, 21st of April in room 11 and the the theme Digital technology for Social development.

You have the information we've shared with you last week.

The press briefing on on Tuesday will be quite packed.

You may remember that the in accordance with the UN General Assembly Resolution 79 to 325, the Global Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence Governance has been established as a global platform to discuss international cooperation, share best practises and lessons learned, and facilitate open, transparent and inclusive discussions on AI governance.

The inaugural Global dialogue, as you may have heard already, I just reiterate here, will take place at Palliixpur on six and seven July back-to-back with the AI for Good Global Summit.

So this dialogue will feature a multi stakeholder plenary meeting with high level governmental government representative segment, thematic discussion and a presentation of the inaugural report of the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI.

The Permanent Representative of El Salvador to the United Nations in New York, Mrs E Griselda Lopez and the Permanent Representative of Estonia today when in New York, Mr Rhein Tamsar have been appointed by the President of the General Assembly as Co chairs of this global dialogue.

And they are working on an, they've, they've established a, a, a system of a, a road map and a system of consultations with all the stakeholders to prepare this dialogue that will be in Geneva next week.

So we will start next week's briefing of Tuesday with a prequel at 10:00 where you will hear from the two coaches and also by from the tech envoy Amandeep Khel, who will be in Geneva 2 and we will have them at 10:00.

At 11:00, we're expecting to hear from the Deputy Director General of IOM who will be in Sudan just at the beginning of the briefing.

She has a very limited connectivity on that day.

And then they will be followed by the by a couple of colleagues from UNMAS.

And this is because the 29th International meeting of Mine Action, National Directors and United Nations Advisor convened by the UN Interagency Coordination Group on Mine Action and Co organised and Co hosted with the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian.

The mining is going to take place from the 22nd to the 24th of April at the CICG here in Geneva with the support of the Swiss government.

This year's meeting we'll explore the theme one Humanity through a programme of more than 40 sessions, including plenaries, side events and workshops.

Over these three days, meeting participants from more than 80 countries and territories, we'll be able to engage with more than 800 mine action practitioners and national directors from around the world.

We are going to circulate the media advisory with contacts and with people who are available for interviews from the offices, man offices of the whole world.

And there will also be a short programme that will be circulated.

So on Tuesday morning, the directors of the UN Mine Action and the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian the Mining will be here just after the IOM briefing to give you more information about the meeting that will start the day after at the CICG on in order the USG.

The Under Secretary General for the Department of Peace Operation, Mr Jean Pierre Lacroix will be here to address this event and he will give you a press conference on Thursday at noon from this room to give you an update on the UN peacekeeping operations and mine actions work.

So we will have the on Mass and the Geneva International Centre directors at the briefing on Tuesday morning.

Then at noon on Thursday, USG Lacroix will address you on demand action but also on peacekeeping operation with a press conference from this room.

And then on Friday morning, we will have another briefing just before the press, the regular press briefing to address specific mine action programmes in the Occupied Palestinian territory, legacy contamination in the Solomon Islands, Sudan and Ukraine.

And that would be a separate press conference just before the briefing on Friday.

So a little bit complicated next week, but we will send you all the information in writing and you will be able to follow this important event.

And you will see that the list of people available for interviews is pretty interesting.

Also on Thursday before USG Lacroix press conference, there will be another press conference by Uni ECE.

That's going to be at 10:30.

From here, it's going to be on critical minerals, myths and realities given by the Director of Sustainable Energy Division of UNECE, Dario Ligouti.

And finally, a reminder about the treaty bodies that the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination will conclude this morning the review of the report of Cyprus, which will be followed by Uzbekistan, Burkina Faso and Cuba.

And the Committee against Torture is reviewing this morning the report of Gabon, who will be followed by Pakistan.

And on a lighter note, I just would like to remind you that on the 20th of April, the international community comes together to celebrate Chinese Language Day.

And we, the Director General will address the celebrations for this day, which are organised by the Permanent Mission of China and the China Media Group just in front of the ALDEEP Purdue at 1:00 PM.

So you will be able to, to participate and listen to the DG and to the ambassador, of course of, of China, but also many other speakers and celebrate this day.

[Other language spoken]

There are boots of the UN on Chinese language day for selfies.

[Other language spoken]

So I wanted to conclude on this lighter notes and on the celebration of Chinese language.

And I think I've given you all I have.

So if there is there are any questions for me, don't see any.

I wish you a very, very good weekend and let's brace up for next intense week of work here at The Palm.

[Other language spoken]

UN Geneva Press Briefing - 17 April 2026