UN Geneva - Multimedia Newsroom : UN Geneva Press Briefing

OK, so let's continue on this briefing with two other speakers who are going to introduce us to their new global report.

This is the report of Aiello we have with us.

Dana Ward was brought us to distinguished colleagues of Aiello.

Caroline Friedrichson was the Director of Research and Statistics, I did ILO and Hannah Lipman was the economist at ILO and lead author of the day report that they are going to present to launch with us this morning and its own skills and lifelong learning.

And I'd like to say more.

I'll start maybe with you or Zaina.

You want to say something or at the beginning or?

No, thank you very much.

You don't have the mic on, but thank you very much, Alessandra.

As Alessandra mentioned, we're here to launch our new report.

It's a global report on skills and lifelong learning, where we look at digitization, green transition and demographic changes and how all of this is shaping the labour markets and skills.

The report is called Lifelong Learning and Skills for the Future.

And the embargo is lifted.

It's supposed to be 1030, but it will be now as soon as I hand over to our Director of Research and Statistics.

[Other language spoken]

Caroline Frederickson, over to you.

[Other language spoken]

Good morning, everyone, and thank you all for being here today.

I'm going to start with a simple observation.

Learning does not stop when we leave school, and today it cannot afford to.

The world of work is undergoing profound change.

Digital technologies and artificial intelligence are reshaping how tasks are performed.

The green transition is transforming entire sectors and creating new types of jobs, and demographic shifts are changing the structure of our labour markets.

Taken together, these forces are redefining what it means to work and what it means to be prepared for work.

And this brings me to the central message of our new report.

Skills are becoming the defining factor in how people access opportunities and navigate the labour market.

This was not always the case.

In the past, many workers could lot rely on a single qualification to carry them through most of their working lives.

They would enter a profession, build experience, and remain in relatively stable employment over time.

That reality is changing rapidly.

Today, workers are increasingly expected to update their skills, learn new ones and adapt continuously throughout their careers.

At the same time, institutions and economies must evolve to support them in doing so.

This is precisely why the International Labour Organisation has developed this flagship report on lifelong lifelong learning and skills for the future.

At the ILO, our mandate is to promote decent work and social justice, and skills are central to that mission.

Because without the right skills, people struggle to access quality jobs, businesses cannot innovate or grow, and inequalities risk becoming more entrenched.

However, until now, one key piece was missing.

We lacked a clear, comprehensive global picture of how people actually acquire skills throughout their lives.

The available evidence was fragmented, often focused narrowly on formal education, and did not fully capture the many ways in which people learn, whether at work, in communities, or through everyday experience.

This report aims to fill that gap.

It brings together a wide body of international evidence to provide a much more complete understanding of lifelong learning, and its conclusion is clear.

Lifelong learning must become a strategic policy priority.

Let me highlight three key findings from the report.

First, access to quality training remains limited and highly unequal across the world of work.

Globally, only 16% of adults report participating in training each year, a strikingly low figure given the scale of change we are facing.

And access is far from equal among workers in stable, full time jobs.

In formal enterprises, about half or 51% receive training from their employers.

But for all other workers, the majority opportunities are limited or simply do not exist.

This is especially true for workers in informal employment or those with lower levels of education.

These workers often rely on learning by doing without structured support or recognition.

This imbalance is deeply problematic because those who would benefit most from the training are often the least likely to receive it.

Second, the skills that matter in today's labour markets go far beyond technical expertise alone.

There is a strong and understandable focus on digital skills and artificial intelligence, but our analysis shows that employers are not simply looking for highly specialised technical profiles, they're looking for workers with well-rounded skill sets.

This means combining technical abilities with foundational competencies such as communication, teamwork, problem solving and critical thinking.

In fact, in many countries, socio emotional skills account for 40 to 50% of skills demand, making them among the most sought after capabilities in today's labour markets.

The message is therefore clear.

Success in the labour market increasingly depends on a balanced combination of skills rather than any single capability.

And, importantly, these combinations are associated with better wages, more stable employment and improved working conditions.

Third, training can deliver real results, but only under the right conditions.

Drawing on a large body of global evidence, the report shows the training programmes are most effective when they are well designed and closely connected to labour market realities.

In particular, training works best when it develops a mix of technical, cognitive and social skills, combines classroom based learning with hands on work experience and leads to qualifications that are recognised and valued by employers.

In other words, training must be practical, comprehensive and linked to real opportunities.

When these conditions are met, training not only improves employment outcomes but also helps reduce inequalities, including for women and other disadvantaged groups.

Let me add one more point that illustrates the scale of change ahead.

The report shows that the global need for long term care workers alone is expected to nearly double, from 85,000,000 today to 158,000,000 by 2050.

This is just one example of how labour markets are evolving and how urgently we need to ensure that workers have the right skills and that those skills are properly recognised and valued.

So what does this all mean for policy?

It means that we need to rethink how we approach learning and skills development.

We must move away from seeing education as a one time phase early in life and instead build systems that support learning across the entire life course.

However, in many countries today, lifelong learning systems remain fragmented, under resourced and difficult to navigate.

To address this, the report highlights the need for stronger governance and coordination, sustainable and equitable financing, and meaningful social dialogue between governments, employers and workers.

Lifelong learning is not the responsibility of 1 actor alone.

It requires a shared effort across society.

Let me conclude with one final thought.

The transformations shaping the future of work are not distant.

They are already happening, and they carry both risks and opportunities.

If we fail to act, these changes are likely to widen existing inequalities, leaving many workers farther and farther behind.

But if we invest in skills and build inclusive and effective lifelong learning systems, we have an opportunity to make labour markets more resilient, more dynamic, and more fair.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much, Caroline, for for this introductory remarks.

And I would like to say a few words to compliment or I think that was very comprehensive.

Thank you so much, Caroline.

Just to add that we'll have an interactive web port that brings together not only the report itself in three languages, but also all the accompanying materials.

So information on the new big data analytics, new worker survey tools and so on.

Thank you very much.

Thanks for this complimentary information.

Let me open now the floor to question.

Can I, Yeah, can I just add one thing and I maybe just Hannah, because I think the journalists here might be interested in actually very brief on the methodology and the new approach to understanding what the needs are.

[Other language spoken]

So we studied skills demands and contemporary labour markets and we relied on online vacancy data for this purpose, going beyond the the countries that are are normally the focus of analysis.

So going beyond the United States and and European countries.

And we elicit the skills demand focusing on cognitive, social, emotional and manual skills in addition to green skills.

And we find what Caroline emphasised that when we look, for example, at artificial intelligence and the demand for this, it's surprisingly low at the moment and we expect this to still grow.

But what is also behind this is that many workers, they actually use ready, readily available AI tools that don't require expert programming knowledge.

And what these workers then instead need are social abilities, the ability to judge critically the content that they're exposed to.

And so these foundational skills really need to be combined with more expert knowledge.

And importantly, you won't be surprised that this is this matters to us at the ILO.

Such rounded skills profiles are linked to better quality jobs.

Now related to this, the first finding that Caroline highlighted that quality training is out of reach for most adults and that access is highly unequal.

That of course, also man matters for what I highlighted on skills because if people don't have the ability to improve their skills and acquire new ones, we are really facing the risk that the green and digital transformations will leave behind many workers.

And this is precisely where our report comes in and identifies also the building blocks for policies to improve the situation.

Thank you very much, Jenna, for this complementary methodology.

Any question for ALO on this report, which as then I said this now I mean the embargo is over so you can report on it.

Robin, AFP, thank you.

Just on that subject of, of artificial intelligence, if, if digitalization changed the, the labour market, So what is artificial intelligence going to do for the labour market?

And how can, how can workers be prepared not just for the AI that we have now, but for the AI that we are going to have in one year, 2 year, 345 years time?

I speak more generally and I think Hannah will speak to the actual question around skills and adaptation that you asked.

But I did want to mention another stream of, of research and publication at the ILO, which has to do with AI in the transformation of the labour market in terms of the occupational structure.

And so I would recommend to all of you to to go to our website to look for the AI observatory in in which the the research can be found.

But just to to the main finding is that at at this point AI is is more a question of how much different occupations are being transformed rather than complete abolition or disappearance of certain occupations.

And so by analysing occupations by the composition of the tasks that make up those occupations, you can actually see how much each task is is likely to be either done by AI or what could be what, which occupations can be augmented through the use of AI.

That is.

And you see that when there are jobs that have many routine tasks, they're more likely to have AI transform them more rapidly rather than actually assist the worker in in doing a more interesting job.

Whereas other jobs, there are tasks that can be more easily offloaded, making the main component of the occupation more interesting.

So there's a greater impact on clerical workers as you can imagine, a certain professions unfortunately highly dominated by women that are more likely to be affected.

And you see that with already with, with clerical work with, with work of call centres and that kind of work that is more easily replaced by in certain components.

But again, the the issue is not hold jobs being eliminated at this point, but really the transformation of the labour market.

So I don't know how enough you want to.

Yeah, I'll, I'll add 3 points to this based on our report.

And so first of all, following up on what Caroline just said that for to a big extent, existing tasks will be changed.

So the type of work that workers perform will change, and what is really important for the ILO in this regard are work quality considerations, right?

So if AI can be beneficial for workers, but it can also not be so, for example, if it leads to a loss of autonomy for the worker, that would be an issue and that needs to be dealt with proactively.

Then since you asked, how should workers prepare for the AI of the future?

And that brings me back to the point I made earlier that foundational skills are really so important.

So foundational cognitive abilities.

And also I think that social emotional skills will remain highly important because those cannot be replaced by machines.

One aspect that we add in this regard in the report is that when it comes to socially emotional skills, they will be extremely important.

But there's an interesting dimension that socially emotional skills are actually highly valued and so-called business services, but when it comes to broadly defined care work, they tend to be undervalued.

So this is one of the points we also make because it's not only about reskilling and upskilling for the workers, but there's also an issue of inadequate valuation and remuneration by societies and economies that needs to be taken into account, especially when it comes to care work.

And finally, I think there's an important debate right now concerning entry level workers and whether so there may be some evidence that white collar entry level workers are less hired at the moment.

And this is still an open question because it's not 100% clear that this can be causally linked to AI.

It could also be due to other trends that we observe at the moment.

And I think what's very important in this regard from an ILO perspective is that I think also for enterprises themselves it's beneficial to have a longer term perspective.

So it's not only about maximising short term profits, but the people that these enterprises higher today, the entry level people, they will be the mid level and high level professionals of the future.

So I think this also relates to training and our report that it is, it's a joint investment for the workers, but also for the enterprises to foster a productive change.

Thank you very much.

Let me see if there are other questions on the platform in the room.

[Other language spoken]

Thanks, Alessandra.

My question is about the military AI.

Do you cover this in your report?

Because it's becoming more and more a huge concern for people who are under attack in countries like Lebanon OR other places, Palestine or otherwise, who are under attack because of some AI programmes that are used.

Do you cover this also in your report?

[Other language spoken]

That's not that's not an element of the report.

[Other language spoken]

I thought I had also, so I don't see other questions.

So thank you very, very much to Caroline and to Hannah and to Zaina to for coming and presenting the report here.

So let's go to the next speaker and I'll let you go.

[Other language spoken]

I think he's stuck somewhere in the pallet because he sent me a message to let's wait for them to arrive.

But in the meantime, I like to go to Nairobi where Saif Magango for OHCHR is waiting to tell us about the situation in Mali.

So say if I think you are connected, let's go to you and hear your briefing on on the situation of civilians in Mali.

[Other language spoken]

We can hear you, but we cannot see you.

[Other language spoken]

Not really sorry.

I'm I'm start the video good.

So if maybe you want to reconnect and in the meantime, I see that we have online another speaker from the field and I like maybe to ask Babar to come to the podium.

Let's go to Lebanon and Tomaszo so that we can go because I see that your colleague Carolina Lindo billing is online.

So let's play by ear according to the availability and the links.

[Other language spoken]

We have so the UNHCR and IFRC to speak about Lebanon and when Maria arrives with Christian, we will switch to them.

[Other language spoken]

You want to say something or go directly to Carolina?

[Other language spoken]

You, you have the floor.

[Other language spoken]

So, yeah, greetings from Beirut, where, you know, despite the announced ceasefire that's been in place since the 17th of April, the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon is far from over.

And we really want to highlight how fragile this moment is.

It's marked by ongoing air strikes, shelling, demolitions, evacuation orders, bounds on return to certain areas and movement restrictions that continue to drive displacement and and rapidly growing humanitarian needs.

And I wanted to do this briefing today to highlight that even though the capital Beirut hasn't been struck in in recent weeks and the situation in Lebanon features less in the media, civilians in the South of Lebanon and parts of the Becca are are really living with the same fear for their lives as before the ceasefire and more are being forced to flee.

Just to recall that since the 17th of April, at least 380 people have been killed despite the ceasefire and widespread destruction continues across large parts of the country, affecting homes, belongings to hundreds of thousands of people, as well as civilian infrastructure.

According to the National Council of Scientific Research in Lebanon, 428 housing units have been destroyed and another 50 damaged in just the first 3 days of the ceasefire.

So civilians continue to be directly affected, and insecurity continues to shape people's decisions about whether to return to their home villages or to stay put in relative safety for now.

And many of the displaced are not even allowed to return by the Israeli army in areas it controls in the South.

So even though all displaced people, I mean, that especially, you know, we speak with, are longing to return to their homes, and thousands of families have tried to do so since the ceasefire, we see that these movements are very tentative, partial.

They're often reversed.

Many are checking to see if it's safe to go back.

But so many are finding their homes destroyed, their neighbourhoods unsafe and the basic services not available.

So we see that families, you know, they flee, they try to return briefly again, flee again.

So there is now this repeated and and really exhausted cycle of uncertainty.

And many of those who return and have tried to go back since the ceasefire have witnessed widespread destruction of their homes of infrastructure, no electricity or water damaged or nonfunctional healthcare facilities and schools, and ongoing risks from unexploded ordinance.

Just last week, I I I met inside up with some of the families who had tried to return to their homes in Nabati and Tir after the ceasefire and then had to come back to the school that has been turned into a collective shelter.

And they were even more devastated than before after seeing their homes completely destroyed.

One man, he showed me a photo on his phone of his demolished house.

And he's now back inside a sleeping on the floor in a classroom that serves as a collective shelter with nothing to return to and a very uncertain future.

Simultaneously, the cross-border movements into Syria continue.

So following the renewed escalation of conflict on the 2nd of March, over 310,000 Syrians have crossed from Syria to into Syria from Lebanon reporting that they had no viable alternative but to leave.

But at the same time this is still continuing.

The Lebanon Flash appeal remains critically underfunded with only 38% of the funds needed received so far, which is really limiting the ability of humanitarian partners to scale and and continued life saving assistance.

But despite these challenges, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, together with others continues to support the government LED response, working closely with the national authorities and partners to provide protection services, emergency shelter, cash assistance and core relief items.

But the very fragile ceasefire, which again is not a ceasefire on the ground, must be upheld to enable safe returns for displaced families and be also matched by sustained international support.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much, Carolina.

And I forgot to say that, but you, you will explain that you're the UNHCR representative in Lebanon.

You are calling from Beirut.

So Masu, you also have a point on Lebanon, briefing point from Lebanon for IFRC.

Yeah, Yes, thank you.

Thank you, Alexander.

[Other language spoken]

Last Saturday, I returned from a very intense mission in Lebanon where I met our volunteers, the communities we serve and visited our operation in Beirut as well as in the South in Tierra and Saida.

As you already heard from UNHCR colleague, the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon is deepening, and in Beirut it's impossible to ignore.

Families are living in makeshift tents, struggling every day without reliable access to clean water or basic services.

Today, one in five people in Lebanon, around one point million people, are affected by displacement.

Families force from their homes to speak not only of loss but of their dignity being taken away.

I met people living on the streets and others sheltering in the Sport City Stadium in Beirut, where the Lebanese Red Cross with the IFSC support, is hosting around 1300 people and expecting more arrivals.

Dignity is central to the response.

It is not only about delivering aid, but about listening, involving people and enabling them to support one another.

Even those displaced, including Lebanese Red Cross volunteers who lost their who lost their homes, are already helping others.

The ceasefire remains fragile.

It does not restore arms or livelihoods, nor does it guarantee basic needs such as water, food or healthcare.

People do not know what will happen tomorrow and this uncertainty is taking a heavy toll on mental health.

The IFRC emergency appeal for Lebanon is only 12.5% funded.

This means critical support may soon be reduced when is needed most.

We call on the international community to show urgent support and solidarity.

We cannot feel communities already facing crisis after crisis.

And before concluding, I want to share 1 clear message from Lebanese across volunteers.

They are asking for protection.

Every time they go on an ambulance mission, they hug each other and say goodbye to one another and sure if they will return safely.

When while in Tear, when we were there last Friday, 3 strikes happened in the area.

We witnessed colleagues said in how to rescue people.

It was hard breaking to see them going out.

In a normal word, Red Cross volunteers would not need flak jackets or helmets in ambulances.

The emblem should protect them.

But this is not a normal word in Lebanon.

Youssef and Hassan were killed while saving lives.

The emblem did not protect them nor their protective equipment, a volunteer in Beruto told us, and I quote him.

Rescuing a person you don't know is the highest act of love.

Sometimes we are the last one that a person will see before passing away.

People count on us and we would not stop, but we need protection and safer access.

This emblem must be respected.

From Beirut to Tierra, every volunteer told us the same thing.

Tell the word.

We must be protected.

That is why I'm here today, to carry their voices and ask you to amplify their message.

The FRC will continue to demand what should never have to be asked, respect and protection for humanitarian personnel.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much to both Carolina and Thomas.

Let me open the floor to questions in the room first.

And if there are none, Mousasi al Mayadin, do you have any information about the presence of civilians still in the war zone South of Fritani or so-called yellow zone by Israel?

And I have another question concerning the people, the displaced people, if they receive financial assistance in lieu of rent from the UNSCR or from the Lebanese government.

[Other language spoken]

I think it's for you, this Carolina.

[Other language spoken]

So I mean, the information we have as humanitarians that we're trying to triangulate is that, yes, there are thousands of people still remaining in that area under control.

And we continue the humanitarian community delivering also convoys with humanitarian assistance to people in those hard to reach areas.

But access is a challenge and umm, the ability of the people remaining there to umm, have umm, their basic needs met are, are extremely challenging.

On the, uh, cash assistance, yes, the government uh, when the crisis started, launched a so-called shock responsive safety net, providing cash assistance to displaced Lebanese families and affect directly affected by, by the, by the conflict and UNHCR.

And this funding has also been supported by WFP.

Complementing that, UNHCR provides emergency multi purpose cash assistance to refugees who are equally impacted by the hostilities and displacement.

So as of now, around more than 490,000 Lebanese have received half assistance through this government programme and around 100,000 vulnerable refugees affected.

And this is helping to pay for rent or other basic needs in displacement for people who have left everything behind.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much, Reuters.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much everybody for briefing.

Just a question, please, if I may, for Tomaso, you mentioned that the emergency appeal for the IFRC is only 12.5% funded.

And what is the the total amount that you're trying to fundraise?

And secondly, you mentioned that critical support could be reduced.

Are you able to kindly detail what that support would be and how soon are you looking in terms of time scale that you might have to reduce that support?

Thank you, Olivia for for the question.

So the appeal is for 100 million Swiss franc and actually it was extended when the recent escalation happened because we already had this appeal before to support the activities in in Lebanon.

And now in terms of activities, the the focus of our emergency appeal is really to support the life saving work of Lebanese across.

Just to give you an example, Lebanese across is running ambulance service, emergency medical service all around, all across the country.

And I also want to mention that is 99% done by volunteers 24/7 every day of the week.

And, and, but of course it is some running cost as well as the relief items in shelters and tents, the psychological support, the different relief distribution even in the South.

So basically we are there to support all the different activities of the Lebanese across and the 12.5% means that some of these activities in the, in the midterm could be, I mean our people could be put in front of this impossible choice of deciding which of these activities to put on hold.

Of course, we do hope that this will not happen.

So in terms of timeline, we are working harder with partner donors and also with our across the national society to get these funds as soon as possible.

And if I may add to that also the UN Lebanon flash appeal, it remains significantly underfunded.

We had received up to yesterday, we had received only 38% of that means $117 million of, of the 308 millions that had been required, demanded because that's what we need.

And obviously this is limiting our ability to support the most vulnerable people in the country.

Robin, thank you.

Apologies if I may have missed it, but question for UNHCR, do you have a a new number for the number of displaced people within Lebanon and also a figure for those who have fled abroad?

[Other language spoken]

So the number of internally displaced that the government has reported still is around 1,000,000.

But the situation is, is very fluid because people are, as I mentioned, some are trying to go back to their homes, then they return to the areas of displacement or to another area within Lebanon where they, you know, try to find accommodation.

So we don't have, currently the government has not reported an updated exact figure because the situation is so fluid.

So we say around 1,000,000 people remain displaced within the country and cross-border movements to Syria as of the 2nd of March around.

I will just look at the figures.

Sorry to get the latest ones for you.

Over 310,000 Syrians have crossed into Syria according to the Syrian authorities and almost 66,000 Lebanese have crossed into Syria since the 2nd of March.

Thanks, sorry, sorry.

Today is the day.

So I like to thank very much both Carolina and Babar from unit CR and Tomaso.

But Tomaso will have another, another point afterwards.

You, you want to say something?

Yeah, just thank you, Carolina for you dears.

We have also shared the notes that Carolina just used.

So they should be in your e-mail.

[Other language spoken]

And same for IFRC.

So thank you very much.

And Tomas, will you come back afterwards?

And now I would like to invite our guests from WHO who are now in the room and to come to the podium.

Christian has brought us.

Well, I don't need to introduce Maria very, very known face from from the pandemic times, but we are always happy to see you here.

And this time is not about that, but it's about the if she can sit here with OK, just like this is fine if it's fine with you.

[Other language spoken]

So Maria, Maria Funkerkova, the director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness and preventions on this cluster of antivirus.

We've heard about the last days.

You start immediately or you want to go ahead.

[Other language spoken]

So hello everybody.

So no, I'm here for a very different reason.

I hope you don't associate me only with Kovid, but we do I, I hope to be able to brief you more on different things that are happening, you know, around the world.

So thank you very much for the invitation to be here and thanks for those of you in the room and online.

[Other language spoken]

So good morning, everyone.

First of all, so I'd like to update you on the situation involving Hantavirus on a cruise ship that is currently stationed off the coast of Cabo Verde in the Atlantic Ocean.

As of today, 7 individuals of the 147 passengers and crew have been reported.

I'll sadly, 3 have died.

One patient is in intensive care in South Africa.

Although we understand that this patient is improving well, two patients are still on board the ship and are being prepared for medical evacuation to the Netherlands for treatments.

In our disease outbreak news that we published late last night, we did mention 1/3 suspected case who reported a mild fever at one point making and that would make this the total of 7 cases, 2 confirmed and five suspected.

This person, I'm happy to say, is currently doing well and is asymptomatic, so typically when we have these ongoing investigations, our case numbers will change, they'll go up or they'll go down, so we will update you as necessary.

At this stage, there are no additional symptomatic people on board.

That said, the situation is being closely monitored and as a precaution, passengers have been asked to remain in their cabins while disinfection and other public health measures are carried out.

Medical teams from Cabo Verde are providing support on board the ship.

Hantavirus infection was confirmed by laboratory tests in two of the patients by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases in South Africa and further tests including sequencing of the virus is being conducted by an ICD as well as testing of the symptomatic patients on board those two individuals with the support from Institute Pastor of Dakar in Senegal.

Hantaviruses are viruses that are carried by some types of rodents.

They can cause severe illness in humans and they can be fatal.

While we don't often hear about them, there are thousands of infections that are estimated to occur globally each year.

People are usually infected through contact with infected rodents or their urine, their droppings, or their saliva.

[Other language spoken]

The limited spread among close contacts has been observed in some previous outbreaks with one of the viruses, the Andes virus.

WHO is working closely with authorities in Cabo Verde, the Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom and the ship's operators to coordinate actions to ensure the safety and health of all people on board, while also limiting further spread.

WHO has informed all of our Member States through our channels, our our international health regulation channels.

We are supporting the medical evacuation of the two sick patients who are stable on board and we're coordinating with the Dutch and Cabo Verde authorities and the ship's operators.

This is currently underway.

Epidemiologic investigations are also underway to better understand the source of exposures of the suspected cases.

Contact tracing is ongoing.

Further laboratory testing continues.

We are also coordinating information exchanges and Africa and actions across all of the Member states that are involved.

As you know, there are more than 20 nationalities are represented by people that are on board.

We are providing technical assistance.

We're ensuring appropriate public health measures are in place on board.

We are also conducting risk assessments and have released emergency funds for our contingency fund for emergencies to support immediate actions.

Collaboration has really been excellent.

I can't think that enough.

I think all of the member states who have been involved, the NICD, the institute, Pastor Dakar, the ministries, this is what WHO does, this is what we want to see happen in each of these outbreaks.

So we're extremely grateful and and I, I don't apologise for thanking them even though that's what they're meant to do.

So thank you to everyone involved.

Based on the current information and what we know about previous outbreaks, WHO assesses the overall risk to the public as low.

We will continue to monitor the situation.

We were actively engaged in working with countries and we will provide any updates as necessary.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much, Maria for this update.

It's important that we understand better this what's happening there.

So and I see quite a few hands, So I'll start with AFP.

Robin, thank you.

[Other language spoken]

Those people who are on the flight from Saint Helena to Johannesburg, are they at risk and what should they do?

Secondly, should the Cape Verde authorities let the passengers disembark in Cape Verde?

Would they have the capacity to manage the situation and testing, how long does the process take to get results?

And does that involve testing for the Andes virus?

How long would that take to determine and and is that underway already?

And and also do you have any theories at the moment as to how the situation may have come about?

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much for for the question.

So the first question related to the flight, So contact tracing has been initiated on the flight there.

What we know typically about hantaviruses, I just want to put this in context.

Typically the exposure and the infection comes from contact with rodents.

We have seen with one of the viruses, the Andes virus that there has been some limited human to human transmission.

Now I know that means different things to different people, but just to say that's really among very close contacts, which is what we're, I'll come to your later question later.

What we actually think is happening has happened in the current context on the ship itself.

So contact tracing is initiated.

So what will happen is the authorities in the countries will contact those who are on board, they will be asked to monitor their symptoms and then they will follow up accordingly.

Not just because you're on a plane doesn't mean that you have a high risk of exposure.

So what they'll do is they'll look at high risk contacts, low risk contacts.

We'll do that actually in all different types of settings.

So that is underway.

I don't have any feedback on on that right now.

We're also doing that just to say it's not just the people who are on the ship that of course we are concerned about.

We're also working with authorities for anyone that has left the boat, the ship I'm, I was told to say ship that has left the ship in different ports along the cruise in terms of the authorities, in terms of disembarking.

So right now the ship is off the coast of Cabo Verde.

The plan is, and our highest priority is to medically evacuate these two individuals to make sure that they have the care that they receive.

So the plant that is currently in the works, it's underway.

The plan now is for the ship to continue on to the Canary Islands.

We're working with Spanish authorities who will welcome the ship, have said that they will welcome the ship to do a full investigation of full epidemiologic investigation, full disinfection of the ship and of course, to assess the risk of the passengers that are actually on board.

As I said, there are no other symptomatic patients who are on board, so that that is planned.

So once the two sick individuals on board are medically evacuated, then the ship can move.

So that that's in progress.

In terms of testing, it depends on the type of test.

They can either do PCR test, they could do serology.

So it can take a day, it can take a couple of days.

It's depending on what what is done.

It also matters how quickly the samples can get to a lab that can actually do the testing.

So again, NICD in South Africa has done a fantastic job with the patients that have arrived there.

Sequencing is underway by NICD in South Africa.

We're hoping to get those results as soon as possible.

We were hoping this morning, but they're working very hard on it.

So perhaps tomorrow.

We are working under the assumption that it's the Andes virus.

So from a precautionary point of view, we feel that this is the best approach to make sure that we have the right precautions in place.

[Other language spoken]

And once we have that result, we will we will let you know.

We are also awaiting further laboratory results of the two patients on board and that is being conducted by IP Dakar.

So they actually flew to Cabo Verde to support and that testing is underway.

I don't have those results yet.

And in terms of theories, so there are we don't have a full picture yet, but we have some working assumptions.

And any of you working in science or following us over the last couple of years, you know, you have assumptions, you find some answers and then you make new assumptions or you have new hypotheses to test.

So our working assumption given the timeline of the, the cases, the suspected cases that we know those six or seven if we count the, the one that's doing well, the initial patients, the initial case and his wife, they are they, they joined the boat in Argentina.

And with the timing of the incubation period of hantavirus, which can be anywhere from one to six weeks.

Our assumption is that they were infected off the ship, perhaps doing some activities there.

This was an expedition boat and many of the people on board were doing bird watching.

They were doing, you know, a lot of things with with wildlife.

So our assumption is they were infected off the boat and then joined the cruise.

The cruise did stop at many different islands up the coast of of Africa and again seeing a lot of different wildlife on those islands.

There are birds, some islands have a lot of rodents, others don't.

So there could be some source of infection on the islands as well for some of the other other suspect cases.

However, we do believe that there may be some human to human transmission that's happening among the really close contacts, the husband and wife, people who've shared cabins, etcetera.

So again, our assumption is that has happened and that's why we are operating and working with the ship to make sure that anyone who is symptomatic, you know, anyone caring for patients is wearing a full personal protective equipment.

The medical personnel who have boarded the boat have brought additional PPE as well.

So that's that's our working assumption.

But just again, contextually, hantaviruses don't typically transmit that way.

It's really a rodent infection.

Thank you very much.

That was really clear.

Jeremy launch Radio France international.

[Other language spoken]

Doctor Vankakov, 2 questions just to make sure I get that right on the on the number you meant 5 suspected cases, 2 confirmed, but we have 3 dead.

So that means that one person who has died has not been confirmed to be positive, right.

[Other language spoken]

So that's that's a yes, that was an easy one.

The second question is more on, on when was the last time you had to monitor such a cluster of antivirus And question on treatment, is there any specific treatment for this Andes virus?

Yeah, thanks very much.

So yes, no, we as I nodded in your first answer, one of the sadly the patients who died, we didn't have a lab test from in terms of when we investigated clusters like this in the past.

We haven't had something like this on a on a ship before, but there have been some clusters of of Hantavirus in the past.

There's a really good paper that has been sent to me multiple times over the last couple of days, which I did know about.

You know, there are thousands of cases of hantavirus that do occur each year from exposure to rodents.

But there is one cluster in Argentina that happened a few years ago that we often refer to.

[Other language spoken]

It's definitely uncommon.

And again, when you have an enclosed settings, you have people that are spending a lot of time together, you know, these types of things can happen.

And then your last question on treatment.

So right now there aren't any specific treatments for hantavirus, but care is supportive.

Typically people will develop respiratory symptoms.

So respiratory support is really important, particularly oxygen.

[Other language spoken]

So what we want especially if patients are deteriorating, we want to make sure that they they have appropriate level of care, they have intensive care then they have respiratory support.

But no, there is no specific treatment.

There are some that are in development, but at the present time care is supportive.

So those if there are people that are on the boat.

So if I may, we have heard from quite a few people, you know, on the boat.

We just want you to know we are working with the ship's operators.

We are working with the countries where you are from.

[Other language spoken]

We know that you are scared.

And we're trying to make sure that the ship has as much information as they can, which is I know is being communicated through the captain, and to have a really proper plan to make sure that you're cared for and of course, that you get home safely.

[Other language spoken]

Olivia Reuter, hello, thank you very much for this comprehensive briefing.

[Other language spoken]

I just want to understand you just to triple check, you were saying that your working assumption is that there has been some human to human transmission among the really close contacts.

I think you mentioned the the the the couple.

Has there been any testing in terms of the strain of the virus?

You did mention there was mention of the Andes virus, but I just wasn't clear whether that testing has actually been that's occurred.

And if you have had and the results and given you're suspecting human to human transmission, are you therefore suspecting as a kind of working hypothesis hypothesis that this strain is the Andean strain?

And also you mentioned that PPE has been sent onto the ship.

I'm just wondering is the World Health Organisation patients sending any mouse experts, for example, traps to try and take a rat and and and sample, take sample tests and see if they're carrying any infection?

[Other language spoken]

Yeah, thanks very much.

So yes, to say again, we are definitely looking at, you know, what virus is actually infecting the individuals.

To do that we need sequencing.

So the sequencing is currently underway by the South Africans and we hope to have a result soon.

What we are, our working assumption is that it is the Andes virus.

It could not be, but we're assuming that it is until we're we determined otherwise because we do know that in the past there has been some limited human to human transmission with this virus.

The point being, regardless of which virus it actually is, we do know that some of the cases have had very close contact with each other and certainly human to human transmission can't be ruled out.

So as a precaution, this is what we are assuming so that we could take the necessary further precautions, precautions to limit onward spread.

And I do want to remind you that we don't have aside from these two sick individuals on board, there are no other symptomatic patients or symptomatic people on board.

And that's a good thing.

But we are monitoring that closely.

In terms of trapping, I don't, I'm not aware of of what's actually being done in terms of trapping.

Rodents are everywhere.

So there is testing that does happen routinely in some countries.

But in this case, you know, to identify a, you know, rat that would do this I think would be quite difficult.

There will be environmental studies that will be done, though.

We're looking at a full exposure history of everybody who is on board, you know, where they were, what they were doing, if they came into contact with wild animals.

We had lots of different hypotheses in the beginning.

[Other language spoken]

You know, so all of these things needed to be worked out.

So with this confirmation of hantavirus, it's very, very helpful.

And again, having that so quickly was really helpful for for authorities.

[Other language spoken]

I just wanted to check, sorry and forgive the the simple question, but when you say close contact, do you mainly could you perhaps specify what you mean by that exactly what does close contact mean?

Does that sort of mean people who have been in physical contact kind of within the same room or the same kind of dining table?

And just a bit of detail on how therefore it would, would, would.

[Other language spoken]

Yeah, because of how here is is quite important too to understand.

[Other language spoken]

What we are first of all what we will do is we will look at all of the different type of contact people had.

Some people on the ship were couples, they were sharing rooms.

So that's quite intimate contact, physical contact for long periods of time of spending, you know, in close proximity to one another.

Certainly they're on a ship and so they would have shared rooms or shared dining facilities.

But again, when we say close, we mean like there's a physical distance and I'm not going to give a specific metre because, you know, obviously people come in close contact, they move far apart from one another.

There are some respiratory symptoms.

So if somebody is symptomatic, they can obviously spread through these infectious respiratory particles.

I won't say droplets or aerosols, but that can happen.

But this is not typically how hantavirus spreads.

So we are trying to determine actually that.

So what I don't want to come away with this briefing is that, you know, everybody on board is at the same risk.

That would not be the case.

But when we do see couples that have spent a long time together and both of them are infected, either they had a common source infection and one incubated quicker than the other or one infected the other.

So for us, what we want to do and we, we know, you know, the people, the number of people on the boat, so we can treat the people on the boat in a very specific way to maximise, you know, our support to them and lower the risk.

But of course it's not the same.

The risk to general public is low.

It's this is not a virus that spreads like flu or like COVID.

[Other language spoken]

And Albert Otti, TPA.

[Other language spoken]

I have one question regarding the addition, the 7th 7 suspected case that you mentioned at the beginning.

If this person is not systematic, not symptomatic, sorry, why is it a suspected case?

And can you specify whether it's a crew member or a passenger?

[Other language spoken]

I'm not sure if I, I'm supposed to say if it's a crew member or a passenger for privacy purposes, it's a person on board.

If I could say this individual did report a mild fever.

This is what we've been told a mild fever.

So that's why I initially considered a suspected case.

There were samples that were taken from this individual.

So we, we will look for the lab results as well.

But I, you know, I'm just very happy to say this person is, is, is feeling well, is healthy, you know, so and I'd wanted to distinct which between those who need to be medevacked and those you know who who are doing well.

[Other language spoken]

That was so clear and comprehensive.

Oh, sorry, Robin, just last question because we have abused of your patients.

[Other language spoken]

Is there anything that can be done on board to kill the virus?

Is there anything that is known to eliminate this?

Secondly, remaining in your cabins, is that the, would that be the optimal thing to do or is it just the, the best available thing to do in these, in these circumstances?

And finally, yesterday the operator said there were 149 people on board, including passengers and crew, but including one fatality.

So I'm, I'm just trying to see if I can figure out what the discrepancy is.

[Other language spoken]

Say, I'll start with the last one, so I'll have to come back to you on that.

I'm reporting what, what information that we have, but I don't know if they were counting the medical professionals who boarded the the the ship to I I'm not, I'm not sure, certainly not our intent to say we're missing people by any means.

But yes, someone, someone did pass away on, on board and we're making, we're working with the authorities on that to, to make sure that the remains are sent home properly and in a dignified way in terms of on board.

So yes, as a precaution because we don't know the extent of the, the circulation on board.

And again, I will remind you, we have no other symptomatic patients on board.

The recommendation is for people to remain in their cabins.

Obviously that's not very pleasant for for everyone for a long period of time.

There is, we understand plenty of food, plenty of water on board.

So, you know, people are being are being fed and they are doing some decontamination on board, disinfection in the cabins themselves.

So we've asked about any rats on board.

We've been told there are no rats on board.

So there are lots of different things that are happening.

And right now what we want to do, because we have an enclosed space and we have these individuals who are still off the the coast of Cabo Verde and will go to the Canary Islands, want to make sure that we minimise their risk.

So these are precautions that are being put in place.

Just to limit any potential onward risk.

Thank you so very, very much.

Thanks for answering all these questions.

I really happy that you could give us this update and that you're back to the press briefing come anytime, anytime, vision to update us on this and other and other situations.

[Other language spoken]

So let me go back now to Nairobi where our colleague Saif Magango is waiting to tell us about the situation of civilians in Mali.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you so much, Alessandra, and good morning, everyone.

We are deeply troubled by the worsening human rights situation across Mali following coordinated large scale attacks by armed groups on several cities and towns on the 26th, 25th and the 26th of April, which resulted in heavy casualty.

And I'll take that again.

We are deeply troubled by the worsening human rights situation across Mali following coordinated large scale attacks by armed groups on several cities and towns on the 25th and 26th of April, which resulted in heavy casualties reported among civilians and forced many more to flee their homes.

Subsequent clashes between the Malian security forces on the one hand and Toric LED as the Wide Liberation Front and Al Qaeda linked JAMA at Nusrat al Islam or Muslim in militants on the other, were reported in on Bori and Guma rules over the weekend, with yet more disastrous consequences of civilians.

The UN human rights chief Volcker Turk calls for an immediate end to the fighting and edges all parties to uphold international humanitarian law and international human rights law, including by ensuring protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure.

There have been grave concern concerning reports of extrajudicial killings and abductions allegedly carried out by members of the security forces following the 25 and 26 April attacks on On 2 May, lawyer and politician Montaga Tal was abducted from his house by two wounded men and taken to an identified location.

His wife was physically assaulted as she tried to record the abduction on her phone and her phone confiscated.

33 relatives of the Exide politician Omar Marico were also reportedly abducted at the area.

Their whereabouts remain unknown.

The Malian authorities have announced an investigation into the 25 and 26 April attacks, saying they are committed to bringing those responsible to justice.

We call for these investigations to be comprehensive and address all allegations of related violations and abuses, and to be undertaken in full compliance with international human rights law and norms.

Arrest and detention of suspects must be conducted in line with due process and without discrimination.

There have also been worrying reports of hunger.

On the 3rd of May, the mayor of Jafarabe village in the Mopti region called on the authorities to act within 48 hours or people would start dying of hunger as the village had run out of food.

Jafarabe and the capital Bamako are currently under genem blockade.

Such blockades have unacceptable consequences for civilians and must end immediately and the High Commissioner urges the Malian authorities and all non state armed groups to allow and facilitate safe and sustainable and unfettered humanitarian access to all those in need.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much for this update.

Important to put the spotlight on this safe.

Any question to HCHR in the room or online?

I don't see any hand up and I think you you have already distributed your notes or it's coming.

If it hasn't, then it's coming.

[Other language spoken]

So thank you very much.

Thanks for your patience and thanks for this briefing.

So let me now go to UNECE and also Thomas will come to the podium.

We'll have you both.

So maybe I'll start with Thomas Cronite.

You have a point on water cooperation in Central Africa.

[Other language spoken]

Good morning everybody.

Indeed, another update on water corporation in Africa with some good news this time.

Central Africa is warming faster than the global average and extreme floods and droughts are becoming increasingly frequent.

Against this backdrop, representatives from 11 states have affirmed their commitment to reinforcing cross-border Water Corporation.

The Yaounde coal is a political declaration that sets a road map for the region.

It urges the 11 member states of the Economic Community of Central African States to accelerate accession to the UN Water Convention, to integrate water corporation international climate policies and to mobilise innovative financing for shared basin management.

It also aims to reinforce Central Africa's collective voice ahead of the UN Water Conference, which is taking place in December 2026.

As you know, reminding you that the UN Water Convention is a global legal framework to help countries cooperate on shared water resources.

Now this treaty, which is serviced by UNECE helps concretely by allowing countries, enabling them to to establish agreements to manage those resources which are increasingly under threat and for and for more more robust and more resilient basin management.

Now since 2018, fourteen African countries have acceded to the convention.

So there's a strong momentum.

This is further adding to that 90% of freshwater in Africa is in shared basin, so increasingly critical there.

So the 11 member states of the Economic Community for Central African States are Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, DRC, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome and Principi and Rwanda.

Now of these, only Chad and Cameroon are so far parties to the water convention.

However, DRC, Republic of the Congo, Central African Republican, Burundi actively engaged in the process of becoming members to this treaty.

So this call is expected to further spur this momentum towards joining the the treaty.

Now, Central Africa, which has contributed minimally to emissions, is disproportionately affected by rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, and the degradation of freshwater resources such as the Congo Basin, which is the second largest river basin in the world.

Now, despite hosting 16 major transboundary rivers, 5 transboundary lakes and 17 aquifer systems, much of Central Africa still lacks solid frameworks to cooperate on these resources.

So one of the things the call does is encourage countries without agreements to to establish those to engage in inclusive and transparent negotiation process is supported by the water convention.

I'll leave it there for this topic.

I just want to add as an aside that this week in the Pelly, we have a number of interesting meetings on the water convention going on today and tomorrow that's focusing on new technologies for data sharing, monitoring and assessment in shared basins.

And later in the week on the 8th, we have the Bureau of the Water convention.

So if you're interested in finding out more about this topic, I'm here regularly and, and, and my colleagues too, to update you on water cooperation issues.

Well, here we have experts from all around the world gathering for these meetings.

If you want to find out more, please be in touch and we can put you in touch with with those with those speakers.

Thank you very much.

Gives me the occasion tool to remind everyone that today is World Hand Hygiene Day for which you need water most of the time.

So thank you very much for this.

Thomas.

Let me see if there are any questions for you in the room or online.

I don't see any.

So thank you very much.

Good luck with the events at the Palais Tomaso.

[Other language spoken]

Today is the 107th anniversary of the funding of the IFRC.

But as we mark these and prepare for the word across in a question day later this week, we are confronted with a stark reality.

Humanitarian work should never be a death sentence, yet for many it increasingly is.

I want to draw attention to some figures which tell a clear story of a deadly trend that is putting more humanitarian personnel, especially local personnel, are growing.

Risk 13 volunteers and staff from National Red Cross and Eric Crescent societies have lost their lives only in the first four months of 2026 while on duty.

Nine of them were killed in violent attacks and four died in accidents while on duty, while many others have faced attacks, injuries and threats.

Among them, four members of the Iranian Crescent and two volunteers of the Lebanese Red Cross were killed.

Since the escalation of the hostilities in the Middle East from 2023 to today, almost 100 volunteers and staff from the AFC network dying or being killed while serving their communities.

This is part of a broader global trend with 2024, as you know, marking the deadliest year on the record for humanitarians worldwide.

For context, it's important to say that during the previous five years, over 30 volunteers and staff from our network died in the line of duty.

And since 20233, national recrescent societies have been particularly hard hit, accounting for more than 70% of the death of our network, Palestinian Crescent, Sudanese recrescent and Iranian recrescent.

What is also particularly striking is that this violence is affecting those closest by the communities we serve, and that a greater proportion of humanitarians are dying in violent incidents.

In 2025 alone, 99% of humanitarian personnel killed globally were local and within the AFRC network.

The proportion of those killed in violent incident has also risen sharply in recent years, reaching as high as 92% in 2024.

Each of these numbers tells a story of acceleration, inequality, consequences for humanitarian operation, and lack of accountability.

When a humanitarian worker is killed, it's not only a personal tragedy, it also means fewer services, less access to care, and greater vulnerability for entire communities.

This is not a one off spike caused by a single incident or context, but a dangerous trend that threatens the security of humanitarian workers.

International humanitarian law is also clear.

Humanitarian personnel, facilities and assets must be respected and protected.

The emblems of the across the Crescent and the crystal are symbols of protection.

Attacks on humanitarian workers are unacceptable and they must not be allowed to become normalised.

We call for concrete steps to support measures such as the Declaration for the Protection of Humanitarian Personnel.

The IFRC, together with our Under 91 National Society and 17,000,000 volunteers, stands ready to work with governments, the UN and all partners to turn this declaration to concrete action for real and lasting protection.

It is time this message is aired and acted on.

Is this time to stop the cycle of violence?

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much, Thomas.

It's very important appeal.

No hands up here, no hands up there.

So thank you very much to you too.

I have a few announcements for you.

You can stay here.

I'm just having a few announcements left.

We have spoken about World and 19 Day, but today is also the World Portuguese Language Day.

The Secretary General's statement reminds us that 265 million people speaks this language.

[Other language spoken]

Anything in itself an exercise in dialogue.

As we mark the 30th anniversary this year of the Portuguese Language Day, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries reflects this spirit of dialogue and partnership and the United Nations deeply values it's contribution.

On this day, as the Secretary General, I salute Portuguese speakers around the world.

May the Portuguese language continue to enrich our common humanity and help build a more just, peaceful and united world.

[Other language spoken]

Sorry, I also, where do I start?

Let's speak about the UPR, the UPR, the Universal Periodic Review we have yesterday.

We have started the 52nd session which will last until the 15th of May in Assembly Hall.

14 states will be reviewed by the Working group during this session.

In order of scheduled review are Namibia, Niger, Mozambique, Estonia, Paraguay, Belgium, Denmark, Palau, Somalia, Seychelle, the Solomon Island, Latvia, Sierra Leone and Singapore.

And this will be the 4th time these 14 states have undergone a UPR review.

So of course HRC colleagues are available if you need information.

You must have seen a lot of children around this morning.

They were here for the March days on phone, the traditional March that the children do at the palace in the gardens.

But tomorrow we'll have even more.

Tomorrow we'll have 600 children coming.

They will be aged 4 to 19 years old.

They will come from all across Switzerland and they will be with us tomorrow for the awards ceremony of the Edu Key National competition.

This is a a nation one programme that encourages young people to explore global issues through creative, media based and action oriented projects.

You may remember this is not the first time between this.

In fact, from the very, very beginning, the Director General has been the godmother of this, this initiative, whose purpose is to connect with students, with the work of international Geneva, with the support of the Swiss Confederation, the Canton in the city of Geneva and the Fundasrial.

Edu Key, I think you all know, is the main organiser tomorrow, ahead of the 2:00 PM awards ceremony in temples, which you are absolutely welcome to cover.

The students will be in this room, in fact, taking part in, they will take part in a series of activity in the Paladino show and we will have here in this room a mock press briefing.

So that would be very interesting to see how they take seriously the work of journalists.

We will also have a demonstration by the UN Geneva Security Service Canine Service Canning Unit.

So you will see the dogs at work and there will be a visit to the public exhibition in all 14 featuring selected artworks created for the competition.

And of course, you are very welcome to also go there and cover the exhibition.

Last point comes from Unrest who reminds us that 11 and 12th of May at ITU headquarters, they will be commemorating the UN Virtual Worlds Day.

That will be the 3rd of this day and it was and will be the occasion to convene global leaders, ministers, innovators to advance AI, special intelligence and the City Verse Co organised by over 20 UN entities.

The event will culminate in a global call to action and showcase our frontier technologies can translate the global digital compact into inclusive people sent to outcomes for cities worldwide.

There's a long list of Co organisers.

I will not read it to you, but you have it in the information which has been distributed to you.

And if you have any question, please don't hesitate to call Karima Sheriff.

And this, I think it's all I had for you.

If there are no questions for me, let me see if there's any hands up.

I don't see any.

So thank you very much and I'll see you on Friday.

[Other language spoken]

UN Geneva Press Briefing - 05 May 2026