Good morning to this new press briefing room will which will be ours for the next year and a half or so while the renovation works in the Palace is taking place.
And sorry for the delay, but it's a little bit longer to get here from our offices.
We have quite a bit of an agenda today, so let's try to be as efficient as possible.
Just a reminder from my part that tomorrow the Secretary General, as you know, will be holding a press conference on the General Assembly, which will be which began this week.
But the **** level segment will be beginning next week and a number of key events which we will provide more information on in the next few days.
But you received a note last night about the UN Comprehensive Response to COVID-19 report, which the Secretary General will launch at this press conference.
It is under embargo until 12:00 PM on the 16th of September.
You will be able to listen in to the press conference, which will be broadcast on webtv.un.org.
Let's go immediately to some announcements.
We have Rolando Gomez with us from the Human Rights Council.
So if we could unmute Rolando so he can give you an update on what is happening, what is on the agenda for today.
Yeah, coming out loud and clear.
We are not hearing you very well.
Let's just see if we can or do we need to use the try again.
Do we have a speaker in here?
I can hear you through the earpiece.
OK, so I think everyone can hear you.
So this is welcome to the new room.
Thank you again and good morning to all.
I will try to be brief just to keep you on track as usual for the Human Rights Council proceedings.
The Council kicked off its 45th session yesterday, as you know, quite a lot of activity.
There were 5 updates by the **** Commissioner.
We also heard from the the head of this Independent Investigative Mechanism on Myanmar.
And we ended the day with the beginning of an interactive discussion on COVID-19 and its relation to human rights.
And that's where the Council started its day today.
So we have the continuation of this enhanced dialogue on COVID-19 and its impact on human rights.
The **** Commissioner delivered opening remarks, as did Martha Newton of ILO, Deputy Director General for Policy at ILO, and Mike Doctor, Mike Ryan, who you know very well in his role at WHO.
And they will also deliver closing remarks at the end of the interactive discussion, which should wrap up in about 15 minutes or so.
Thereafter, roughly at 12 or roughly at 11:00.
We'll have the general debate on the oral updates by the **** Commissioner, Michelle Bachelet, which she delivered at the beginning of the meeting yesterday.
That's the global update, which covered several country situations and themes.
And on Nicaragua and Venezuela, we have just over 100 states who have inscribed and speak during this general debate and roughly 70 NGOs.
So that said, this general debate will occupy the day, most of the day rather.
We'll have our usual break and then resume at 3:00.
Now time permitting, roughly 430 or five.
We'll hear the first of his host of rapper tours presenting reports during the session to this afternoon.
We'll hear from the Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water.
That's Leo Heller, His report that reflects on the progress since the right to water and sanitation was explicitly recognised as a human right ten years ago.
He's also presenting his earlier mission reports to follow up to earlier mission reports to India, Mexico and Mongolia.
So that's pretty much it in the assembly hall today.
Just want to draw your attention to a press conference at 2:00 PM today, the Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic will launch their next report.
This report covers appeared from January to July.
They'll also have an update on the recent developments in Syria, human rights developments.
It's a virtual press conference, and they are incidentally scheduled to present that report to the Council next week on the 22nd of September.
Very briefly turning to tomorrow, the Council will hear from special rapporteurs on slavery, the right to development, and on truth, justice and reparation, in that order.
Details will follow in my update this evening.
Maybe just another note to remind you that at 2:00 PM tomorrow, the fact finding mission on Venezuela, This is the mission that was set up one year ago by the Council, will hold a press conference to launch their report.
So 2:00 PM tomorrow, Venezuela fact finding mission.
And maybe just a last, last note, simply for those who might have missed it.
Per the decision taken by the Council yesterday morning, and this was per the request received by the EU last Friday, there will be an urgent debate on the human rights situation in Belarus at the Human Rights Council this Friday, 18th September at 10 AM.
We don't have a scenario yet.
Consequently, I should add that the programme of work will change as this is an addition to the programme of work.
Thank you very much, Ronaldo.
Are there any questions for Ronaldo?
John Zaragosta in the room has a question.
Is no, your mic is not turned on.
Rolando, I was wondering if the report on Venezuela will be available in English or just in Spanish, because the two remarks by the **** Commissioner yesterday on Nicaragua and Venezuela were only in Spanish.
What you sent out to us, I believe, John, on those statements yesterday, I believe there were English versions of that, but maybe best to check with Rupert and his team.
But I at least I saw some English versions of those statements.
Incidentally, as far as the fact finding mission report, I understand that there are English and Spanish elements.
I would need to confirm specifically what will be available in Spanish.
But all of it, the report there are the company documentation, there's press releases available in English and Spanish.
But I would need to get back to you and maybe also refer you to our colleague who's working on media with that fact finding mission.
So perhaps after the briefing we can touch base and for anyone else who's interested.
Yes, there is a question from James Keaton online.
Hi, Rolo, for the Belarus debate, is there going to be a time limit on how long that lasts?
No, typically there's no time limit on these urgent debates.
And just to remind all of you that these urgent debates are essentially a special session within a regular session.
I've said that already several times as we've had quite a number of these to date and there is no time limit.
Essentially what would happen is this the sort of standard scenario is that somebody from the office delivers a statement and then we have somebody from one of the rapper tours, we would deliver something a statement rather.
And then we would have a concern country statement of course that that's a standard feature and then a long list of speakers.
So the, the list is actually open.
In theory all 193 states could speak.
So we, we really don't know how long it would be, but there's no time limit per SE.
The only additional thing I I should mention is at the end of the general debate, at the end of the statements from, from States and NGOs, there would be action on a draught resolution.
And and that's again a typical feature of these urgent debates.
We have not seen a draught resolution.
I should point out once I, I have something or once something is tabled, I'll certainly share that with you.
And, and then of course on the scenario details.
I don't see any other questions.
So thanks very much for this update, Rolando and the journalist can expect to hear from you regularly on on the Human Rights Council.
Let's move on to Catherine Risu from The Who has an announcement for you, avec Secretary General adjoint Isabel Duhon, A notor principal Europa so nouveau.
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So we have someone departing from WFP and someone arriving from WFP.
So I'll give, I'll let Elizabeth Beals quickly come say a couple of words and introduce our new colleague who will be joining us, I guess regularly for the briefings.
Please come on up and we give you a couple of minutes for that, OK?
Don't you believe Bonjour, Toulon de Auvoir, I will switch to English.
I'm glad to introduce Thompson Fury with the new WFP spokesperson.
My interim has come to an end and it was great to work with you during this.
Very strange time of, of COVID.
It's sad that we do not have the usual journalist attendance because of this.
But I wish you all the best for the for the future and I think we will meet each other in the corridor when we go back to normal And I I over to you Thompson to introduce yourself.
I've been to WP for the past 10 years.
I've also served in Mozambique and I was most recently the spokesperson in South Sudan.
I've also had a stint in, in, in, in Mauritania.
And I'm very happy to be here and I look forward to interacting with colleagues, those who are in the room and those who are joining us virtually.
Well, welcome to you, Thompson.
We we look forward to welcoming you to the briefing on a regular basis.
So let's continue with the topic of Greece.
We have a couple of special guests this morning from UNICEF and UNHCR, maybe Shabia.
Shabia, you want to come up and introduce your the 1st guest, who is Philip Leclaire, the UNHCR representative in Greece.
And I'll let Shabia just introduce this and then we'll go to Philip directly.
Just there under no, no, under the sorry new room everyone.
Just as Real mentioned, we're we're very pleased to to have briefing straight from Greece today.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency representative in Greece, Philip Leclerc, who has been on the on the ground there and obviously leading UNHCRS efforts in supporting the response for refugees and asylum seekers in the country.
So we'll open it up to, to Philippe to give us an update on the events in Moria in Lescos and the response there and then back to real for questions.
Updated on the situation that we face today.
So an estimated 11,000 asylum seekers without adequate shelter on the Greek island of ****** after the Mobia reception and Identification centre burned down last week.
UNHCR is stepping up its support to respond to critical and immediate needs.
Greek authorities, who hold the overall responsibility for the management and coordination of the humanitarian response, have identified location on ****** close to Mytilli town in the area of Karatepe, to temporarily house in a tented facility most of the vulnerable children, men and women who were made homeless in a series of lasers beginning Tuesday last week.
At the request of the government and to respond to urgent humanitarian needs, UNHCR is assisting in the set up of this new temporary tented facility to accommodate the people most at risk.
As we speak, around 800 of them are currently in the site.
Site planning and works are continuing, including graveling, so that hopefully we will have 5000 places available during the day that can host again around 5000 people.
We have also provided chemical toilets and hand washing stations and are ready to provide additional water, hygiene and sanitation support that may be required to prevent and mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
Asylum seekers are undergoing rapid COVID-19 tests.
Already 20 people are confirmed with COVID and are now quarantined in the isolation area that we have put in place through three tents and an isolation area.
Since last week, the ethnic army has been providing food and water for asylum seekers, including in the new site, as well as many NGOs who are currently providing this support on the streets, on the fields and in the parking lots where most of the people still remain.
At the request of national authorities and with the support of the European Commission, UNHCR has also provided A1 off emergency.
Top off of the cash that all asylum seekers and registered refugees have, about 50% more so that they can get cash when of course, they are able to go to the places where they can get that cash, which is not easy in view of their isolation.
In cooperation with partners, we are also distributing core relief items including blankets, sleeping bags, mats, Jerry cans, plastic sheeting and hygiene items to cover the essential needs of 12,000 people.
UNACR teams and national humanitarian partners like Yotima Metadrasi Proxies are also continuing efforts to identify and assist vulnerable asylum seekers, including families with young children and single women, informing them that they can now be sheltered in the new site.
It is very important that as many people as possible benefit from this shelter.
Fifty women and gender based violence survivors have been transferred to other safe shelters on the islands.
Once asylum seekers are gradually transferred to this new site, it is important to promptly initiate for those authorised to leave the processes for their safe and orderly transferred to the mainland in suitable accommodation.
Support to the temporary facility in an is an emergency measure to provide the immediate shelter and protection to asylum seekers who are otherwise sleeping rough in makeshift shelters.
We need at the same time to provide solution and hope for these people in an organised manner.
UNHCR is also advocating for these long term solutions with continued European support and responsibility sharing.
Overcrowded reception centres in Lisbos and other Asian islands must be decongested and their conditions improved, and this is through transferred to the mainland and further on if possible.
The European Commission has announced that it will advance the release of its new Pact on Migration and Asylum to the 23rd of September As a result, in part of recent events in ****** and the urgency it poses for a collective response in Europe.
UNHCR views the forthcoming Pact on Migration Asylum as a potential fresh start for the EU and the Member States to better protect refugees and ensure a more manageable common European asylum system based on fair and efficient asylum procedures, solidarity and responsibility sharing among states.
It is hoped that this opportunity will be seized.
Mr Rick on the line, we're going to now hear from UNICEF and IOM and then we'll take some questions.
We have Marisi Mercado, are you connected or should I just introduce maybe Luciano Callistini, who is the UNICEF Greece Representative?
He's also joining us via via this platform from ****** to give you an update if we can unmute Mr Callistini.
Good morning, colleagues.
I'm I'm using the cell network on ******.
Maybe just to compliment Philippe's briefing.
I I literally left the the new camp location a few minutes before this call started.
I can confirm there is a huge works ongoing.
I, I spoke with the minister who actually was saying that by the end of today, he's expecting 8000 spaces available and, and within a few days, he's confident that will be up to 12,000, which, which in principle could of course accommodate the entire previous population of, of, of Moria.
There are multiple actors on site, which is extremely encouraging UNHCR, obviously UNICEF, MSF and the many local organisations.
And as I said, the minister himself was there, was there this morning and, and remains there.
I mean, I guess just to build on, on Philip's point, the, the immediate hope is that this, this black cloud has a, has a short term silver lining, which is that the conditions for these 1112 thousand refugees, migrants and asylum seekers are able to be improved.
And I think given the attention and the, and the huge focus from many humanitarian actors, I think that is something we can be confident about focusing on the, the children perhaps.
I mean, the big concern is that at the moment, even though those many thousands of places are available and will continue to be expanded, there are still less than 1000 of those places that have been occupied.
And in talking to the community this morning and, and many of the actors, it seems that the main reason for that is not the supply of places, it's that they remain some, some negative rumours circulating within the refugee migrant population that are discouraging them from entering.
So I think collectively we very urgently need to look at efforts to ensure that messaging is, is clear and transparent and encouraging everybody to come to the location as, as the central place to receive, to receive assistance and, and services.
I'm sure you've all seen the numbers among this population.
Thankfully, within 24 hours of this fire happening, the 406 unaccompanied children that had been sheltered in a in a UNICEF centre immediately following the fire have been relocated to Thessaloniki by the Special Secretary for Unaccompanied Minors.
And obviously with IOM, who did a great job to to move extremely quickly, we have now found another roughly 35 unaccompanied children, some of whom may simply be separated rather than unaccompanied in the aftermath of the fire.
And we're looking to to reunite them with families.
But of course, then beyond the the unaccompanied and separated children, they remain well over 3000 and it's important to not lose focus on those children as well.
And as Philippe said, the immediate solution would of course be not just for the unaccompanied, but for other children with their families, if at all possible, to be relocated to the mainland and then on.
Obviously that will take decisions in capitals, but that's something that we certainly hope will be looked at very seriously, not just for those on ****** but for the other three or four islands which are currently accommodating a number of children as well in terms of the immediate needs.
However, once reunification is, is complete for those children who are simply separated from their families, the next step will of course be to ensure that psychosocial support and, and, and recreation facilities are in place, which UNICEF is happy to, to, to take the lead on.
And then of course, we, we must take this opportunity to do something that we weren't able to manage previously, which is to ensure that all of these 3800 children for the time that they remain on ****** have access to some form of learning, which would most probably be non formal education.
Previously we were reaching only a fraction of that number.
But again, we, we must use this opportunity to hit the, the reset button and ensure that, that the maximum quality and, and level of services provided for the time that they are here.
But again, and I would stress, we would urge all stakeholders to do everything possible that that is the, the minimum amount of time and perhaps there as well.
Thank you very much, Mr Callestini, very insightful.
We'll get to some questions from journalists in a few seconds.
A minute rather sophomusly from the IOM International Organisation for Migration is also here to say a few words about this issue.
Today we have a statement from the IOM Director General about the situation in Les FOS.
The International Organisation for Migration is calling on European States and the European Union to take twin track approach urgently supporting the immediate shelter and care for the displaced migrants and refugees where while setting up long term solutions rooted in European solidarity.
While the priority right now is to address the immediate needs of migrants and refugees in Lesfos, more sustainable solutions are needed, says IOM Director General Antonio Victorino.
This can be achieved through a stronger relocation system and a concrete show of solidarity from European states.
We need more relocation commitments in these trying times, while the EU establishes a more predictable and effective system based on responsibility sharing.
IOM has reinforced its presence on less force to respond to the needs of thousands of people left on the streets, including over 4000 children, through EU funded projects.
IOM is also supporting efforts by Greek authorities to provide temporary accommodation facilities, as well as mobile storage units and other technical equipment.
Due to exceptional coordination efforts of IOMUNHCR and UNICEF, and with the financial support of the EU, over 400 accompanied children were moved from the island to the mainland within 24 hours of the blaze.
In anticipation of their relocation to other European states, more than 600 unaccompanied children and other vulnerable people have also been relocated to six EU countries this year.
The situation on the island remains tense.
We understand the frustration of migrants and refugees who found themselves on the streets overnight, as well as the challenges faced by local communities and the Greek government.
Over the weekend, thousands of migrants and refugees took to the streets protesting the current circumstances, which was met with a strong response from the Greek authorities.
We appeal to all parties to show restraint to protect people from harm and avoid further complicating an already difficult situation, says IOM Director General Antonio Victorino.
Thank you very much, Safa.
Let's go to John in the room and then we'll have some questions online.
My question is both to Philip and Athens and to the IOM Rep on the podium.
I would like to know, you just mentioned 600 children had been relocated this year to other EU countries.
How many have been relocated in the last four years since the agreement came into force between the EU on solidarity with Greece, Italy and other frontline states?
Philip Philippe Le Clair, Would you like to answer this first?
Yes, I think the relocation efforts were first, leading to 21,000 asylum seekers to be relocated in 2016 and the beginning of 2017.
The relocation then stopped with the implementation of EU Turkey statement and the closure of the northern borders.
Since then, Unit CR and many others have been advocating for relocation to continue, particularly for unaccompanied children and other vulnerable people.
So 11 European states, now joined by Norway, have committed to provide 1600 places for unaccompanied children for relocation, including also children with their families who are sick.
So more than 700 have been relocated.
And we were mentioning also as Luciano from UNICEF and IOM, that 407 children have been transferred recently and are waiting to be relocated for most of them to European states.
This is an exercise that we absolutely promote.
It should reach unaccommonised children as well as other children in need.
But other vulnerable individuals could benefit from this programme who cannot easily be supported in Greece as we speak.
If if I can have a follow up just to clarify, Philip.
So in the last four years, only 700 children have been relocated to other EU Member States from Greece.
And there is a commitment all up to take about 1600, is that correct?
Safa, did you want to add something?
Yes, just to add, today there's also a movement.
We understand over 100 children and their families are relocating to Germany.
These are not from Les FOS, but just to follow up on your next year as well.
There have been efforts and positive steps from EU Member States and European countries, but we definitely appeal for more solidarity from the from the EU and from European states.
I've 2 questions just to get the the numbers right to UNICEF and UNHCR.
To Luciano, you've said that accommodations for 8000 people will be available at the end of the day, is that correct?
I'm sorry, your question is directed to Luciano.
Luciano, let's see if Luciano Callistini is still with us.
Did you hear the question?
So the the according to Minister Mitsarakis, literally one hour ago, he confirmed that 8000 will be the number by the end of the day and within a few days that will be up to 12,000 individuals over and and UNHCR has provided 5000 out of the these 8000 spaces.
UNHCR, Philip Leclerc and what what we have this question?
We are working, as you have heard very closely with Minister Mitarakis who's leading the response on the island.
And we have provided up to now 800 family tents and we are ready to provide 2000 family tents which will enable the government to pitch up to 5000 so far.
But I'm happy to hear from Minister Mitarakis that he hopes to have 8000 places, having been in in in Greece for for five years.
I always comment on those places which have been made available.
But I trust the resolution of the Greek government that we have seen since last week because the Hellenic Army has been used to ensure the quick erection of the tents as well as the graveling that we support through the dispatch of these family tents.
We're going to go now to Emma Farge from Reuters, if we can unmute her.
Thank you so much for for those briefings.
Question for Luciano or whoever feels competent to reply.
I'm wondering if you could elaborate a bit more on the reason for, for the reluctance to go back.
Can you comment on these rumours or, or what the what the fears are of these people and why they're not actually going back to this accommodation?
And, and secondly, there are rumours that some people there are so desperate that they're, they're going back to the embers of Moria and they're actually camping out within the destitution of the former camp.
So what I was hearing this morning, as I said, from from both members among the population, but also from the various organisations there is that the rooms pertain to the camp becoming another place of lockdown with very little access to, to leave.
So residents, potential residents are, are expressing a, a fear that that once they enter, it will be another situation of being in a, in, in a protracted, A protracted displacement in, in this location.
But also there are many rumours and, and I mean, there's a huge amount of misinformation I think that we need to address urgently, as I said, that there are other solutions that are going to be forthcoming very, very quickly.
There's a quite famous rumour now of two boats coming from Germany, which is obviously patently false.
And so these these things are adding up to a reluctance among community members to to enter because they feel that there'll be other options if they stay outside.
I don't think this is something that is unable to be addressed.
I think if we, if we look at some, some clear consistent messaging from all partners on the ground, I think we can encourage people to come.
In terms of your second question, I went right past the previous site just a couple of hours ago.
I, I don't believe there are any people residing inside.
I did see people going in and out, still collecting their belongings.
And certainly though on the side of the road directly from the camp, the old camp and towards the new location, there are multiple, I wouldn't say thousands, but I would certainly say in the low hundreds of people along the roadside having arranged temporary shelter for themselves.
We're going to take one final question from Bairan Byron.
Thank you so much for taking my question.
According my question for IOM or UN HCR is according some reports this morning about capsized, capsized near Libya and reportedly it went for migrants presumed dead.
And the source of this news is IOM, but we have not received any statement on this.
Can you please share any info on this issue with us?
Thanks Barryan for the question and apologies.
Statement or at least a brief update will be coming to you all.
We understand that yesterday three boats were picked up by the Libyan Coast Guard 3 rubber dinghies.
One of those boats had capsized.
The majority of the people on board the boat are reported missing.
2 bodies were retrieved and the very few survivors have reported to IOM staff who were at the disembarkation point last night that at least 22 others have perished.
We understand that they departed from Zawiya on the 13th of September at night and the 45 people in total were brought to Libya yesterday and taken to detention.
I hope that answers the question, but I'll be happy to share further details by by e-mail.
Safa, I don't see any other questions.
So John, just to follow up to Bayrams question, can you please clarify in the dinghy that capsized how many people were initially on that third dinghy?
Just a quick note to say that there's been some difficulty getting detailed information recently on search and rescue activities.
We have the total numbers of those who were on the three boats.
We understand the three boats were carrying approximately between 15 and 20 people each and 22 have died who were on board one boat.
A couple of survivors have been brought to shore and two bodies were recovered by the Libyan Coast Guard.
We're going to close the topic on ****** here.
So thank you very much Mr Calestini, Mr Le Clair and Safa for being with us this morning briefing on this very important issue developing in on the in the island of ******.
Actually, I know you have another topic, but we have another guest.
So I'm going to ask you to come back later for that issue and we're going to go to FAO if Adriano Timothy wants to join me or no.
We have Maximo Torreiro, the Chief Economist, and Pietro Gennari, the Chief Statistician responsible for a report called Tracking Progress on Food and Agriculture Related SDG Indicators, Indicators 2020, which the agency I believe is issuing today.
Without further ado, let's go directly to Mr Torero who will say a few words and then we'll take some questions.
I will just do a small introduction that Mister Giannari will will elaborate on the results of the of the of the report.
My name is Maxim Mottoreiro, I'm the chief economist for FAO.
Today I'm pleased to share with you the launch of the 2020 edition of the file Flagship report on SDG progress.
Tracking progress on Food and Agriculture related SDG indicators is the second version edition of a report that has quickly become US enterprise for the files set of publications.
Whereas other flag sheet reports may provide a more in depth analysis of particular issues.
This is the only report that brings together all the different results and latest results and the indicators of the 21 ACG indicators and their file custodianship the report.
Therefore, it complements both FA OS existing flagship report series and the annual UN Global ACG report.
It's important to mention that we the results of this report are before what is happening in COVID-19 and we are monitoring very closely how this affecting the statistics at the different country levels.
But again, it provides a very good baseline over which we can track the progress of these indicators.
So with that, let me pass to Mr Pietro Gennari, the Chief Statistician of FEO.
Ladies and gentlemen, the second edition of the report has a similar look and feel to last year's inaugural report, but it also contains a number of new features.
First, it includes new analysis on indicators that have been released for the first time this year, including two indicators on women access to land and one indicator of food losses.
Secondly, it includes A dedicated chapter examining the impact of COVID pandemic on data collection and I will come back to the implication of this later on.
Most importantly, the new addition has been enriched with the systematic quantitative assessment of the progress made at national, regional and global levels towards achieving the SDG targets.
This assessment is supported by a methodological RX and presented through a series of dedicated tables summarising the main results.
The methodology used for the assessment is also aligned with the UN Global SDG Report and its latest SDG Progress chart.
Let me now turn to reports keys findings.
The overall picture has not significantly changed compared to last year.
The world is still off track to achieving the SDG targets related to Food and Agriculture.
Both hunger and food insecurity are on the rise, and this is true across most regions of the world.
The productivity and incomes of smallholder lag far behind those of their larger competitors, hampering their ability to provide a decent income to their families.
Progress has been weak in maintaining genetic diversity for Food and Agriculture, especially especially for animals where 73% of local livestock breeds are at risk of extinction.
Gender importities in land rights are pervasive.
The first official country data confirms that 9 out of 10 countries assessed relatively fewer women than men have secured tenure rights over agricultural land, reducing their agricultural productivity and therefore the means to escape poverty and food insecurity.
The number of regions such as Central and Southern Asia and Northern Africa register very **** and in some cases growing water stress levels, reducing their prospect for sustainable development.
A **** proportion of food is lost along the supply chain before it even reaches the consume.
The consumer modelled estimate, based on a limited pool of official country data, confirmed the **** percentage of food loss after harvest on farm and at the transport, storage and processing stages amounting to 13.8% globally, or over 400 billion U.S.
The proportion of fish stocks within biological sustainable levels has continued to decrease, dropping from 90% in 1974 to 65.8% in 2017.
Nonetheless, the pace of decline appears to have slowed down significantly and to vary widely across regions.
Not all the reports findings are negative.
On the positive side, we have a decline in food price volatility compared to 2015.
Good progress in implementing international instruments to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and to support small scale fisheries access to markets.
A reduced pace of forest loss compared to previous decades, coupled with advances in sustainable forest management.
I should clarify that most of the data underpinning the report's findings were collected before the outbreak of the COVID pandemic.
Now that an unprecedented health, economic and social crisis threatening the lives and livelihoods of both rural and urban communities worldwide, making progress towards reducing hunger, food insecurity and degradation of natural resources only become more challenging.
Initial reports by FAO and other international organisations already project a rise in extreme poverty, disruptions to global supply chains, as well as an escalation of existing form of inequalities and discrimination.
Therefore, without a concerted global effort next year, we may expect the creating indicators to decline even faster or improving indicators to take a turn for the worse.
Beside hampering the achievement of the SDGS, the COVID related lockdowns and restrictions have also had a huge impact on regular data collections.
National statistical systems operations have been disrupted, blocking or delaying censuses, surveys and other core data collection activities.
Statistics has been a perennial underfunded global public goods, attracting only zero, 3% of total official development assistance.
Unless urgent and generous investment are made by governments and international donors, we may well find ourselves in a situation where this time next year we will we will have even less data than today, at the moment when we will most need to accurately assess the impacts of the pandemic and the continued progress towards the SDGS.
Thank you for your attention.
I see that we have a hand up in the room.
I was wondering if you could elaborate a little bit.
So you mentioned the percentage of women having access to arable land is much less than men.
I presume you're talking about land rights where they own the land And do do you have some details for different regions like Africa, Asia, Latin America?
We have, as I mentioned, we have data for the time being only for 10 countries from different regions of the world.
And you are right, we were referring to the differences in land rights between women and men.
The I can mention briefly some disparities, for example.
Well, for Ethiopia, there is a difference of around 10% between the percentage of women and men having land rights.
The highest difference is for Nigeria in 2018 where we have 25%, a bit more than 35% of women having land rights, whereas men have more than 70%.
So these are just small numbers.
As I said, we have been able to collect data only for 10 countries and we are making a big effort to expand the coverage of this indicator to a larger number of countries worldwide.
Let's go to Jamil Shad on the online.
First on this progress regarding Latin America, sorry to insist on that.
If you could perhaps detail a little bit better on the, the the situation in Latin America.
And secondly, it's not related to the report itself, but to the general situation of 2020.
What we've seen for example, in Brazil is that the emergency funds to people have generated inflation regarding, for example, the price of rice, but a major inflation, not a very marginal inflation.
So what is the situation in terms of the impact of these emergency packages related to food prices?
My colleague Maximo Torreira will answer to this question.
So what what is going on in in Latin America?
It's a very complicated situation.
What we are observing is that in many of the countries including Brazil, Peru, Chile, now Argentina, the level of COVID is growing up.
As a result of that the the level of, of activities in those countries is affected, but we have not observed yet.
Remember the rice that is being consuming in, in South America is a different rice that we consume in Asia and in Africa.
So it's a different type of variety of of rice and we have not seen yet any significant increase in in prices in those countries.
There is a slight increase.
We track daily prices through our big data lab operation, which you can obtain it in the website of FAO.
And at this point, we don't see significant changes in prices.
The only countries where we are observing significant changes in prices as a result of COVID-19 are mostly countries in conflict or countries already in a severe situation of a crisis.
And the reason is because of the lack of mobility and the and the lockdowns, which have complicated even more the situation in those countries.
Thank you very much Mr Torrero.
General, do you have a follow up question?
Yes, please go ahead again on the the raise of the the rise of prices.
When is this data that you have in terms of time frame?
Because there are supermarkets even limiting the amount of packages of rice one can buy in Brazil today.
And it has become a major political issue to the point that the government or someone actually related to the sector had to say, if you don't have rice, eat faster, which obviously reminds us of someone else in the past.
But anyway, I mean, you haven't, you haven't noticed this at all at FAO.
So if you look at the at the price index that we work, which basically the latest point we have in 15 of September, the increase in prices with respect to February 14 of rice in Brazil is 7.1%.
That's what we are observing until 15 of September.
So that's the the numbers that we collect through our data lab, which is basically collected daily.
Now there could be a difference between urban and rural, but the aggregate is 7.1% at the at the global level.
If we look at at the different countries, where the major increase in prices has happened is in countries like Ujana, Saint Vincent and Tiwi, Barbuda.
But it is not at this point the case of of Brazil only in the case of Argentina, the increase has been a little bit higher to 23% with respect to February 14 of 2020.
I think we're going to close this topic here.
Mr Torrero and Mr Generi, thank you very much for being with us this morning.
If there are any other questions, I'm sure that Andreano Timothy who is with us will be happy to try to answer them or direct you to the appropriate people.
Thank you very much and thank you for your patience.
So we are going to continue now with Margaret Harris from the World Health Organisation.
You have information to share on new COVID testing guidance, the obvious.
Yeah, so we've had a couple of new guidances issued overnight.
These are the more rapid tests that are done.
Not they don't identify the genetics of the virus, they identify the protein of the virus.
And we're just letting you know that that guidance is available and you can have a look at it for any questions.
There's also this afternoon, our press conference, our usual press conference will actually be a joint press conference with UNICEF and UNESCO, because we'll be focusing on children and we've just released a guidance on opening up schools safely.
So that press conference will focus on that.
You should be receiving a media advisory very soon, giving you the timing.
I'm sorry, it's going to be quite late this evening.
You'll get the exact time on the media advisory.
I just wanted to let you know also about our second press conference because it's often, it's been changing from week to week.
That one will be on Thursday and that will be in the morning.
And it will be focusing on patient safety, on the, the safety issues that we all know are crucial, not only during a time of COVID, but at all times.
And lastly, I, I want to give a quick update also, who is also on the ground with ******.
We have our country representative there and a surge team.
And an emergency medical team is due to arrive from Norway today with 21 people, bringing 4 doctors, 8 nurses and three paramedics to attend to the essential medical needs of of the people there and to also attend to the emergency issues.
And we're also looking at other things such as increased needs for medications.
It's never enough, Margaret, but we'll do it.
Morning, Margaret, could you tell us approximately what time the press conference will be on Thursday?
And I have another question to add to that.
Do you have any information on the independent panel accessibility or whether it's going to be open to the press and at what times?
Because I, I think that is also the scheduled for Thursday.
So the patient safety from memory, 93010 o'clock, look for it sort of early to mid morning and you'll get a press release media advisory soon to advise you of the exact time.
OK, so that's the patient safety Thursday.
That won't be before 9:30 then.
No, it won't be before 9:30.
And secondly, on the independent panel, we don't manage their communications at all.
There is, they now do have a communications team and I can give you their contacts so that you can get that information.
If you could send it to all of us, that would be great.
I'll send it to the whole lot.
Margaret, I was wondering if you WHI have any comments on the resumption of the AstraZeneca phase three trials only to say that the fact that they put a pause in to look at patient safety shows that this is what we want to see with trials.
This is a well run trial that safety is always critical is crucial and they have looked at that in a, in a, in an appropriate manner.
We're going to go to Corinne Gretler from online.
If we could unmute Corinne's mic.
Hello, thank you so much for taking my question.
With the deadline approaching on September 18th for countries to join, has China already joined or expressed its intention to do so?
And once the country joins, what are the roles and responsibilities in terms of funding or role in global vaccine roll out and how would that influence the ability to to engage in bilateral agreements on vaccines?
And now on the list of countries, we we're not publishing the list currently, but I'll refer you to my colleagues in in, in Kovacs to look at that.
On the roles and responsibilities again, there's, there's a quite complicated and good though explainer that Gavi have put up.
So I'd actually refer you to Gavi that are leading on most of this, I think.
So I will simply refer you to the GAVI explainer For more information on that.
We're going to take a question from Byron from Anadolu and then we'll go to you.
Maybe you heard the news yesterday that it is Mr Hans Clark, the Director of WHO European Office said that it is going to be a get tougher in October, In November we are going to see more mortality of COVID-19, he said, which means he said more people will die in October and in November.
And it was the very breaking news in international media yesterday.
Are you in contact with these guy people in Denmark?
And then according to what scientific data Mr.
Clark says more people will die because of COVID-19 in October and November.
Because I feel that it is spreading more fear among the people in Europe.
So Doctor Kluger, our regional director in Euro and our European Office was referring, responding to a question.
And what he was indicating was that when in the winter months, more people get other illnesses as we see seasonal viruses that may appear and that there is a tendency for people to become more I'll during winter months in most places.
And he was really indicating that we must suppress the virus now so that there is not that risk.
So that was the point of his comments.
What do you say about China and Russia vaccinating people with a vaccine that hasn't finished phase three trials yet?
So our understanding is all the activities that are going on with vaccination in the world are part of phase three trials.
So there is a lot of confusing reporting, but everything that we are seeing are that that there is a continuing of phase three trials in different parts of the world.
So no vaccine that is currently being used is is anything beyond a Phase 3 vaccine.
I don't see any other questions.
Just make sure that I understand is, is that not problematic for WHO that there is use of vaccine that has not finished these three trials yet.
So all our partners are reporting to us about their activities and what's going on now, WHO would like to see vaccines going into head to head so that we can have clear information and to see those results against each other because as the Director General said, we will not be supporting any vaccine that's not been proven to be absolutely safe and to have worthwhile efficacy.
Good, Thank you very much, Margaret.
I don't see any other hands raised.
So we will close with you here.
Thank you very much for being here this morning.
Shavia, you want to come back to, for, to to finish on the other topic you had, which is to deal with the ordeal of some Rohingya refugees in in Indonesia.
And then we'll go to Claire Nollis.
Thank you and hello again.
UNHCR is saddened by the deaths of three Rohingya refugees who were disembarked to northern Archer, Indonesia, last week.
Among the arrivals, one young man and two young women, all under the age of 25, have now passed away.
We are also deeply concerned about the health of many others in the group of 293 people, more than a third of whom are identified as a need of hospitalisation and medical care.
The overwhelming majority of the group, 4 out of five, are women and children, and approximately half are girls under the age of 18.
Many children in the group are without their parents and others are not accompanied by any guardian.
At least one boy aged 12 was left without a caregiver during the journey when his father died.
More than 30 people are reported to have died during the journey at sea, which started in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh, and lasted for seven months.
Those who survived are in a fragile physical condition and have suffered serious trauma.
All of the new arrivals have returned to negative rapid test for COVID-19, but they are suffering from a range of other medical conditions believed to be caused by exposure, malnutrition and all that they endured at sea.
Having been repeatedly turned away and refused disembarkation in the region.
Many are showing symptoms consistent with Berry Berry disease, a preventable condition caused by acute vitamin deficiency.
With limited space and resources available and local health facilities.
We are working with local local authorities in Archie as well as the Indonesian Red Cross, the International Organisation for Migration and other partners.
Arrangements are also being made to establish a medical clinic at the site at a site designated by Indonesian authorities for temporary shelter.
MSF has deployed an emergency health team to conduct medical assessments and UNHCR has begun distributing B1 tablets for the treatment of vitamin deficiency causing symptoms consistent with very, very disease.
Pre registration of the new arrivals has been delayed until later this week to allow time for medical provision.
UNHCR commends the Government of Indonesia and the local community in RJ for receiving the group and mobilising support to rapidly meet their immediate needs.
This tragic episode serves as a stark reminder to states in the region that prompt action to provide a safe port could have saved dozens of lives.
I don't see any hands up.
So thank you very much, Shabia, for being with us.
Claire Nollis from World Meteorological Organisation is here to tell you about the 2020 hurricane season, which is really quite active these days.
Yes, good morning, everybody.
We're running out of hurricane names.
The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season has been so active that it's expected to exhaust the regular list of hurricane names.
If this happens, and it's very close to happening, the Greek alphabet will be used.
It's only the second time on record that we've had to resort to the Greek alphabet.
On Monday, the US National Hurricane Centre was issuing advisories for five no less than 5 tropical cyclones over the Atlantic basin.
This ties the record for the most number of tropical cyclones in that basin at one time.
It was last set on in September 1971.
Since last night, one of these named storms has has weakened.
But we still have a hurricane Paulette, which on Monday had its entire eye over the island of Bermuda.
It was really quite impressive to see it on the satellite images.
Hurricane Sally, which is the tropical cyclone that is attracting the most attention and it is feared that this is a dangerous hurricane when it will make landfall in the Gulf of Mexico, bringing with it live life threatening storm surge and hurricane force winds.
So that's Hurricane Sally expected to make landfall later today or tomorrow.
The other two named storms we have at the moment, Tropical Storm Teddy and Tropical Storm Vicky, which are quite far out in the ocean and another area of low pressure has formed near Cabo Verde and has a 50% chance of becoming a named storm.
So once that happens and we exhaust the net, the last name on the list, which is Wilfred, we then have to switch to the Greek alphabet.
And so you will start to see names such as Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, etcetera.
There's details in the briefing notes of the hurricane naming system of all the media public enquiries WMO receives, The hurricane names is, you know, a perennial top of the list feature.
We stress time and time again we name hurricanes for public safety reasons and protection of life and property is and remains our top priority.
So that's all on, on hurricanes.
Moving on the and now I'm going to talk about heat.
The Northern Hemisphere just had its hottest summer on record.
It also had its hottest August on record.
This is according to figures which released last night by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
So that's the Northern Hemisphere global level.
It was the second warmest August on record, some quite striking statistics.
August 2020 was the 44th consecutive August and the 428th consecutive month with temperatures above the 20th century average.
The 10 warmest Augusts on record have all occurred since 1998, and the five warmest Augusts on record have been since 2015.
The most notable temperature departures, so where it is much warmer than average, different parts of the world.
One of these parts of the world was the western coast of the United States.
And as we've all been seeing in the news headlines, the heat has contributed to a very, very destructive fire season.
As we know, the states of California, Oregon and Washington have been worst hit.
Entire neighbourhoods race to the ground, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people and tragically causing casualties.
The detailed there's more details in the notes.
I won't go into all the details now just to say that red flag conditions.
So that's highest alert can returned on Monday to NE California.
We're getting a lot of questions about it.
Wildfires can start with a lightning bolt or human activity, according to the US National Interagency Fire Centre.
And these statistics are a day or so old.
Of the four 41,600 fires to date this year, 36,383 were human caused.
So not necessarily arson, but you know, things like people car exhaust backfiring, people doing things that they shouldn't do in very, very dry areas.
But obviously weather, climate and water related conditions have been very conducive this year to rapid wildfire growth.
The western US has seen an expansion of drought conditions in the first half of 2020 and that continues.
And heat, as we know, there was a record-breaking heat wave over the western US during the middle of August.
Temperatures soared to a record 130° in Death Valley.
That was the highest temperature, but there were many temperatures over 100°F for a long sustained period of time.
And, and adding to that was we had a weakening tropical storm in August, which caused a huge number of lightning bolts in a very short space of time.
And that ignited a lot of fires.
The, the, the impact of these fires, you know, we've seen on satellite images, we've seen plumes of spread smoke spreading across the Pacific.
In the briefing notes, I've included AUS fire and smoke map, which, you know, shows you just how bad the air quality is on the western coast.
The question that everybody wants to know again, some statistics.
Six of the top 20 largest wildfires in California history have occurred this year.
This is according to Cal Fire.
8 of the top 10 have occurred in the last 10 years, and 17 of the top 20 have occurred since 2000.
Wildfires have been with us since time immemorial.
They're part of the natural cycle of life in many ecosystems.
They're a necessary part.
But obviously, too many wildfires risk potentially altering the ecosystem.
And here I'd like to refer you to the Fourth National Climate Assessment, which is a big interagency U.S.
It's most recent report noted that from 1984 to 2015, climate change led to twice as much land being burned than if climate change had not occurred.
And even though there are other factors involved, such, as, you know, local fire management practises the human element from 1916 to 2003, the area burned by wildfires was likely also driven by climate factors.
According to the Fourth National Climate Assessment, climate change has led to more intense droughts, especially across California.
And these droughts, combined with increased temperatures, have desiccated forests, making them more vulnerable to fires.
More details in the notes that I that we've sent you.
Thank you very much, Claire.
Lots of activity keeping you quite busy these days.
I can I think Peter, you have a question.
You answered the question, Claire.
Are there other questions for Claire?
I don't see any in the room and I don't see any online.
Just before I finish, just to say tomorrow is the day for the international protection of the ozone layer.
And we'll be posting a note about that on, on, on, on our own on our website, including a bit on how COVID is impacting our ability to observe the ozone hole.
Thank you very much for having come over this morning, Claire.
Let's continue with the agenda where you're finally to Roslyn Yard from the ILO, who's joining us online.
Good morning, Roslyn, If we can unmute her microphone, can we unmute Roslyn Yard from the ILO, please?
The ILO will be publishing.
Oh, sorry, I can hear my my voice coming back at me, but then maybe it's OK.
The ILO will be publishing a brief on the 17th of September on the financing gaps in social protection in developing countries and the strategies needed to close the gap in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In this report, it will analyse the deficits in the most affected regions and it will also give a broad picture of the temporary measures many countries have been implementing because of the crisis.
And you may remember that currently only 45% of the global population is effectively covered by at least one social protection benefit.
The remaining population is completely unprotected.
We will be sending you the brief and the press release on the 17th of September and there is no embargo, so please contact me if you would like to interview one of our experts and I will make the arrangements for you.
I also have two other announcements on the 23rd of September.
So that's next Wednesday.
We'll be publishing the 6th edition of our report COVID-19 and the World of Work, which tracks the impact of the pandemic on workers and businesses worldwide.
This latest monitor looks at labour income losses and the effectiveness of fiscal stimulus packages which have been introduced in the last few months to ameliorate the impact of the pandemic on labour markets.
It also includes revised estimates on the extent of the disruption to labour markets in 2020 and the implications for policies in the remainder of the year.
We will be holding an embargoed virtual press briefing on Wednesday the 23rd of September at 11:00 Geneva time, and ILO Director General Guy Ryder will present the findings along with Sangan Lee, the Director of the Ilo's Employment Policy Department.
And we'll be sending you, as usual, embargoed materials in advance.
And the report and all associated materials will be under strict embargo until Wednesday the 23rd at 1300 Geneva time.
You will be receiving tomorrow a media advisory with all these details.
And finally, just want to let you know that we are this week launching our 6th annual Global Global Media Competition to recognise exemplary media coverage on labour migration.
And the competition will give awards to two published media pieces.
And for the first time, it will also give prizes for two synopsis of stories yet to be developed on labour migration or fair recruitment.
And this competition aims to promote quality reporting on labour migration issues.
And you'll also be receiving a media advisory today with all the details.
Thank you very much, Roslyn.
I don't see any questions for Roslyn.
So thank you very much for these announcements, Roslyn, and all the best with your activities.
This brings us to the end of our official agenda.
I just have a couple of additional things to share with you.
Today is the International Day of Democracy and you should have all received the Secretary General's message on this day.
He says as the world confronts COVID-19, democracy is crucial and ensuring the free flow of information, participation and decision making and accountability for the response to the pandemic.
Yet since the beginning of the crisis, we've seen the emergency used as in a range of countries to restrict democratic processes and civic space.
This is especially dangerous in places where democracy's roots are shallow and institutional cheques and balances are weak.
So he calls on everyone on this International Day of Democracy to seize this pivotal moment to build a more equal, inclusive and sustainable world with full respect for human rights.
So you should have received this message recently from us in terms of meetings that we cover at the UN Information Service.
The Conference on Disarmament, which who's third and last, which is in its third and last part of this year's session, officially runs until next Friday, the 18th of September.
The conference will hold a public plenary meeting tomorrow, Wednesday afternoon at 3:00 PM in Room 17.
The Committee on Enforced Disappearances, which opened last week it's 17 it's 19th session online, has decided upon request of the Iraqi delegation to postpone it's dialogue with Iraq on additional information on the implementation of the convention, as some members of the Iraq delegation had tested positive for COVID.
Therefore, at the end of the session, the committee would not close the session, but would suspend it because it did not want to wait until next year to have this dialogue with Iraq.
The Committee on the Rights of the Child, which opened yesterday in in public, it's online limited 85th session, which is taking place until the 1st of October, will hold its next next public meeting for the closure of this session at 5:00 PM on the 1st of October.
And this is not clear to me.
Let me clarify this and we'll correct it in the summary.
And of course, you've heard about the Human Rights Council.
You are aware of the proceedings and Rolando has informed you of the various programme in terms of press conferences.
Rolando has also mentioned the press conference today at 2:00 on from by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic.
That will be a virtual press conference at 2:00 PM today.
Then tomorrow, 16th of September at 2:00 PM, also a virtual press conference on the independent international fact finding mission on the Bolivia Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
And then on Thursday, I think we've just announced this at 10 AM also a virtual press conference by the Commission of an inquiry on Burundi.
The members of the Commission of Inquiry will present their conclusions and written report on human rights violations committed in Burundi since May 2019 in the context of the electoral process in 2020 and the main risk factors after the 2020 elections.
The speakers will be include the President of the UN Commission of Inquiry and also members of the same Commission.
And then Catherine Risu has reminded you that on Friday, 18th of December at 2:30, UNCTAD will also have a press conference to present the Trade and Development Report 2020 in just for also for information.
And I will get clarification on this.
But my understanding is that Martin Griffith, the special envoy for Yemen, will be presenting to the Security Council this afternoon.
I understand that the first portion of his presentation will be public and you would be able to listen to it on web TV, but I'm going to get confirmation of that.
In any case, I understand that we would be able to share his comments right after the briefing.
I see that we have a question from Catherine Fincon.
My question is, is, is to, to be organised with all these briefings.
We know that the Human Rights Council has it's session taking place now and on Thursday, for instance, we have AWHO press conference at 9:30 and we have the human rights presentation of the Burundi report at 10.
So wouldn't it be possible for at least the other agencies to coordinate in order for us to be able to cover properly all the events?
Because it's a bit complicated to have so many events.
And my other question is for you real regarding talks on Libya, We know that a meeting took place the seven and 8th of September in Motor where the UN mission was there.
As an observer, I'd like to know if you aware about the follow up or if the mission itself is going to organise an event or talks here in Geneva in the coming weeks?
Yes, thank you, Catherine.
On the press conferences, I'll see whether there's a possibility of changing anything.
I think the the request to hold the press conference for the Commission of enquiry on Burundi just came to us this morning.
We'll see whether there's any possibility of shifting those to avoid the conflict with The Who press conference.
But also we'll get back to you.
Regarding Libya, my understanding and I'm looking for the exact references, but the statement that Unzmil actually released following these two meetings that were held respectively in Morocco and in Montreux.
I believe the acting UN Special, the special representative for Libya had said that of course these to build on these and other consultations.
Then the mission, the UN support mission in Libya would launch the arrangements needed to resume the fully inclusive Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, which last met in Geneva in February 2020.
But they didn't have a specific timeline and I think in their in their communication they said they would, they would of course be looking at an appropriate time to hold these talks.
And so information I understand will be forthcoming on that.
Musa, I see you have a question as well.
Can we and then recommend represent conference and to purpose Therefore book loves the match Suis Biancabre bianfette or countries say to As I say the the maybe they're more don't cut me search the pansky like you remind me that this shoulder shoulder Tehran is soft and you know counter don't sit too free for that more pretty feasible with the the surround northern Bureau.
Maybe 100 this commentary.
If there are no other questions.
We will close today and I wish you a very good afternoon.
