Thank you for joining us here at the UN office at Geneva today, Friday, the 26th of June, for this press briefing.
Apologies for the delay we had to resolve some technical issues.
As always, we have an important agenda for you.
Dominating the agenda today is a situation in Venezuela, the earthquake, in the aftermath, in the recovery efforts.
I should start off maybe just to remind you that we did share with you last night a statement on behalf of the Secretary General through which the Secretary General expresses that is deeply saddened by the loss of life and widespread destruction caused by the devastating earthquakes that struck Venezuela yesterday.
This is the day before yesterday.
He extends his sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wishes a speedy recovery to those injured.
And of course, the Secretary General expresses his solidarity with the people and government of Venezuela.
So we have a number of briefers.
We'll start off immediately with Yens from OCHA and then we'll go down the line with UNHCRIFRCWHONIOM.
So starting off with Yens.
I have a brief operational update that I just received that I'll give you in in in a minute.
But let me first say that earthquake is one of the most devastating things that can happen to any country.
It really is a terrifying thing.
But what we are seeing right now is also an international mobilisation at its very best.
It is I think in our troubled world an impulse, a very human impulse to help that we are seeing and and the numbers best that out.
So the entire humanitarian system is moving very fast and at scale supporting the government LED response in Venezuela top priority search and rescue.
Of course our thoughts are with the survivors and I would say particularly with those who do not know if their loved ones are dead or alive in the rubble.
So search and rescue is the top thing that needs to be done very fast.
There has been a vast mobilisation through the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group network, that is a network that mobilises national teams from across the world who have been trained and certified to do these kind of urban search and rescue operations that are so desperately needed in Venezuela right now.
We have a total of 25 teams, both search and rescues and medical teams from across the world deploying with a total of 1000 rescue personnel, with more to come.
So after 25 teams, 1717 teams are urban search and rescue teams.
They are classified and I want to read to read out from the the countries where they come from because I think it's worth mentioning they're from Switzerland, United States of America, the Netherlands, France, Qatar, the Czech Republic, Germany, Jordan, United Kingdom, Spain, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Italy.
There are others that are being mobilised.
The Swiss, the Americans, the Italians, the Colombians and the Chilean urban search and rescue teams have already arrived in the country, along with other teams from El Salvador and Mexico.
The other teams are arriving today and in the coming days and then we'll begin operations immediately upon arrival.
We have also mobilised what we call an UNDAK team that's United Nations disaster and assessment teams.
They will support the response in Venezuela.
There is also an additional 4 member operational partner support team that is arriving in Caracas as I speak.
And we have of course a number of OCHA staff who are also being deployed.
I will send you a note with all these numbers because there are there are many, but taken together, I think it bears out what I said, a very substantial initial response to what has happened in in Venezuela.
Yes, in testifying to this coordinated approach, obviously, we have 5 briefers speaking to their agencies activities in the country.
So we're very pleased to have everyone here.
First off, we'll turn to Matt of the UN Refugee Agency, and then afterwards, we'll move to our colleagues in the field.
Thank you so much, Rolo, and good morning, everyone.
Our briefing note has been shared with the press or is in the process of being shared.
And I will try and keep things quick as I know there are many other people briefing today.
Like our partner agencies, we've been scrambling staff and resources to respond to the effects of this devastating earthquake that struck late on Wednesday.
As we heard from Yen's, the government's response is still of course, focused on search and rescue, medical care and damage assessments.
We, the UN Refugee Agency, are ready to support this response with partners and we're mobilising our assistance, triaging available supplies to meet the emergency needs.
Damage has been reported, of course, to many, many homes and essential public infrastructure and services, including, we understand, 8 hospitals with assessments still ongoing.
As the lead of the Humanitarian Protection Cluster and the Co lead of the Shelter group, we're ready to support the authorities with additional resources as needed.
At the end of last year, Venezuela itself hosted well over 200,000 refugees, asylum seekers and others of concern to UNHCR, and the impact of the quakes looks likely to significantly exacerbate the existing protection risks for these vulnerable groups and other civilians.
We're particularly concerned at the moment, of course, about the impact on returnees who were already facing many challenges to reintegrate even before this disaster.
Some of these risks include around personal security, inadequate or unsafe housing, the risk of exposure to violence for women and children, loss of documentation and of course reduced access to healthcare, water, education and livelihood opportunities.
We do have, like our partners, pre positioned core relief items for quick distribution across the country and our emergency teams are on standby to deploy as needed, including technical experts.
Tragically, authorities in Lagaira reported the collapse of a temporary accommodation centre hosting around 140 returnees who had recently arrived on a flight from the United States.
We've got a we've had a presence in the country since 1991 and we are currently have staff in offices in Caracas, Maracaibo and San Cristobal.
All of our staff members have been accounted for and are safe for the country.
We had a requirement of some 45 million U.S.
dollars for this year, which was only 11% funded before the earthquake.
Obviously, the needs will rise significantly and timely and flexible support is urgently required now more than ever.
Very quick word for you finally on Venezuelans living abroad.
At the end of last year, there were some 6.9 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants hosted across the region, Latin America and the Caribbean, including four million in need of assistance.
We conducted a survey in the spring which found that around 1/3 had an intention of returning home.
The primary motivation cited was family reunification.
At this stage of the emergency response, of course, it's far too early to assess the potential impact on returns.
The immediate priority, of course, remains search and rescue.
We'll continue to support voluntary informed, safe and dignified returns when conditions allow that and of course, the final word, we remain with our teams on standby to support as needed in the border areas, particularly Colombia, Brazil and those other countries in the region that have welcomed Venezuelans who left the country in recent years.
I'll hand it back to you there.
Thanks to you, Matt very much.
OK, we're we'll return to the issue of the displays with Zoe and momentarily, but let's let's talk about IFRC now.
We have on the line Lois Pace, who's IFR CS Regional Director for the Americas, who is joining us from Panama City.
I realise it's very early in the morning there, Miss Pace.
So thank you very much for joining us.
Thank you very much for for having me.
Yes, indeed, it is early here and in Panama and I send you warm greetings from where I sit, but also on behalf of my colleagues who are and have been really working around the clock in Venezuela.
Of course we're all aware of the devastating record-breaking events that did take place in Caracas and surrounding areas just about 36 hours ago.
And and yes, our thoughts continue to be with everyone affected.
I will focus on a few different areas.
First off, I want to talk about the context in which this this emergency has taken place.
You know, these earthquakes and the constant aftershocks that they've brought obviously have not occurred in a vacuum or affected a blank slate in Venezuela.
They affect communities that have already been enduring multiple pressures.
So whether that's a strained health system, whether that involves individuals who have been on the move and returning home, some for the first time in decades, or whether you want to take into account the difficult climate season that we're entering, including the the already the effects we're already seeing from El Nino.
This is this has been exacerbated by by multiple challenges.
And after two nights, people are still terrified to re enter what were their homes or or other structures and still finding themselves displaced.
I also want to acknowledge what our colleague just shared around still the limited communications affecting the ability of families to be or remain connected.
Not to mention the the services that that we or others can provide.
I want to also just spend a little bit of time talking about who is on the ground and on the front lines and obviously acknowledge the the first responders in this tragedy who have been Venezuelan and who have been working tirelessly again to to really ensure that people survive or remain safe.
I'm in particular most familiar with our Red Cross volunteers and the thousands of volunteers that stand on the shoulders of those who have served in Venezuela for 131 years.
That's how long the Venezuelan Red Cross has been established and has held its special relationship with public authorities in the humanitarian space in Venezuela.
They were in response mode within minutes, even though many of them had lost their own homes and and weren't sure where their own families were.
And that response has included standing alongside others in search and rescue efforts, but importantly providing first aid, including psychological first aid to those recovered.
And in the initial hours, conducting needs and damage assessments in areas that had not yet been reached.
And this is on even though their own national headquarters had stood damaged and and was not necessarily accessible.
I will also add that the Venezuelan Red Cross runs a national network of hospitals, clinics and ambulance services that have been turned on and have been drawn on and remain fully operational, fortunately.
And so that's helpful as as health facilities overflow and I know our colleague from Pajo will say more about the health conditions.
As for the International Federation of Red Cross, we obviously haven't waited in the first few hours of these events, we released 2 million Swiss francs from our disaster response emergency fund or draft.
And actually today we've launched an emergency appeal of 50 million Swiss francs to help again the Venezuela Red Cross assist a few 100,000 people, 300,000 people with services like shelter, healthcare and WASH or excuse me, safe water and hygiene, as well as some of that psychological support that I've mentioned.
Even as I speak, we have our first 17 tonnes of humanitarian assistance leaving our logistics hub here in Panama for Venezuela.
So that includes items like kitchen or sets, hygiene kits, mosquito Nets and and other essential items that have been requested and that add to the supplies that had already been pre positioned in country for other for other events or circumstances.
I will close with a couple of other points.
I'm really glad that it's been mentioned the the diaspora, the Venezuelan diaspora and the anxiety not only in country but of others outside the country who are worried about their loved ones.
We have sister Red Cross societies throughout the region who have established special programmes that we call restoring family links that provide services for people living both inside and outside the country to receive news of those that that they love or or about whom they might be worried.
These include the countries of Ecuador and Colombia as well as Argentina, Bolivia, Guatemala, Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, as well as Uruguay and Paraguay.
So quite a, a set of, of those standing in solidarity with the Venezuelan Red Cross.
I, I know we also speak a great deal about, about resilience and the fact that Venezuelans continue to show that.
But I, I have also been known to say that people shouldn't have to rely solely on, on resilience and relies solely on themselves.
Of course, the response and the recovery will remain local if it's done right and well, but it needs to also involve those of us in the International Space.
And it's one of the reasons we are so heartened at the IFRC that there has been such a fulsome global response.
And we, we call for that to, to continue not just in the days and weeks to come, but in the months and unfortunately years to come.
A few weeks ago, I was actually in Caracas with the Venezuelan Red Cross receiving some of these planes of migrants and otherwise understanding their new Red Cross law and other and other areas.
And I told them that we would continue to stand with them in times of uncertainty or strange.
And I thank everyone who is really showing up and stepping up for those in Caracas and beyond.
Thanks to you, Miss Pace.
I should also acknowledge Paolo is online from IFRC.
So thank you very much again for joining us, Miss Pace.
Now I'm turning to Doctor Sido Ugarte, who is a PAJO Pan American Health Organisation and WH OS health emergencies director, joining us from Washington also quite early there.
Christian is also online.
But over to you, Doctor Ugarte, and thank you again.
Thank you so much for this opportunity.
I would like to highlight the the bravery and also all the capacity of the country to respond to this emergency.
And highlighting that I would like to also commend the people in Venezuela for all the response that they are doing, particularly in difficult situations.
I would like to highlight that given the pre-existing fragility of the health system and the protective emergency in Venezuela, the shock from the two earthquakes in on June 24th is driving significant additional needs for support, including medical supplies, trauma care, health facilities assessment and and and difficult coordination.
Because of the fragility of the communication system and also the access to difficult areas hit by the earthquakes, the number of deaths and injured people will significantly increase in the coming hours and days and these figures will continue to evolve as search and rescue operation, patient care and damage assessment continue.
Pan American Health Organisation, the regional office of the World Health Organisation is working very closely with the Ministry of Health, the Civil Protection and the Health Cluster with 770 partners and we are combining partners, supporting evaluation of health structures and mapping where partners are and how they can they can support and are supporting and also engaging the with regional counterparts on potential donation.
We have received formal support from at least 15 ministries of health and several of them are ready to deploy their teams, their health teams to Venezuela.
At this moment, the overriding priority is to urgently provide life saving healthcare and rescue as as many people as possible because the first hours as you know are critical to saving lives.
And also the efforts are heavily focused on ensuring timely medical care in the moments of low availability of healthcare workers, but also health facilities and and supplies and the media.
Health priorities include also mass casualty management, trauma care, particularly in the areas where with collapsed buildings and ongoing search and rescue operations.
And hospitals are managing injuries such as broken bones and head injuries, but also we're seeing burns and other injuries that result from building collapse and we're working in the assessment of the health facilities.
In the previous years, we did an assessment of the using a tool that is the hospital safety index, that is the probability of a health facility to continue operating in emergencies.
And with that, we mapped also all those health facilities with the mapping of the intensity of the earthquake and we identified more than 90 hospitals that are exposed to intensities beyond six and seven and Mercalli modified standard.
And then that regards we, we are prioritising those facilities including the assessment of their structural safety, emergency department capacities, the operating theatres, inpatient beds, blood supplies, oxygen, etcetera.
And also we are coordinated with the deployment of emergency medical teams and one of them the emergency medical team type 3 with surgical capacity is being deployed from Samaritan ports and this will significantly expand hospital capacity on the ground and it will be located in La Guaira.
And this hospital has been already approved and accepted by the national authority.
So it is being deployed amidst this.
This is also key to maintain critical services, including the care of the people that are in shelters.
But also there are maternal and newborn cares, dialysis, chronic disease treatment, emergency surgery, mental health and psychological support and disease surveillance that of course continue to be priority.
There will be particular health challenges for people and shelters and the national authorities are monitoring also for overcrowding for for these priorities.
So in in this regards, we would like to highlight again the work of the national healthcare workers and the national response teams because even with difficult situation with their own families in in danger, they are still providing the healthcare over.
Thank you very much, Doctor, and thank you for highlighting this important angle on the medical front as over to Zoina.
So I have a short statement from IOM.
The earthquakes that struck Venezuela yesterday have left a devastating trail of destruction.
Families have lost loved ones, livelihoods, and the safety of the places they once called home.
Buildings have collapsed and critical infrastructure has been damaged, limiting access to basic services.
On the basis of the best available population and damage projections, IOM estimates that up to 6.76 million people could be affected in Venezuela following these events.
More nuanced estimates forthcoming as new information emerges.
This includes up to 2 million people in Caracas alone.
First and foremost, our thoughts are with everyone affected by this tragedy.
We extend our deepest condolences to those who have lost family and loved ones.
Right now, every hour matters.
The initial focus is on search and rescue, with international teams arriving to assist, as colleagues have outlined.
While assessments continue to determine the full scale of the impact, it is already clear that displacement will increase as more communities are affected and people seek safety.
IOM is scaling up our operations and we have received huge support already from the public, donors and our partners.
We will work with the government as they assess the damage to communities and public services.
We are working closely with United Nations and humanitarian partners to rapidly mobilise life saving assistance.
Our teams are preparing to provide emergency shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene support, health services protection and essential relief supplies to displaced and affected communities.
We have basic relief items pre positioned in Caracas.
They are being prepared for distribution in the areas with most severe need.
We thank our private sector partners who have offered their support in the early days of this emergency and are on standby to assist with logistical and financial help.
With thanks to our partners at Microsoft AI for Good Lab, we have received initial satellite mapping assessments indicating that 31.5% of buildings in Katia Lamar are damaged.
The immediate priorities are clear emergency shelter, safe water, sanitation, healthcare, protection and essential relief items for those who have lost everything.
But the needs will not stop there.
Recovery will require sustained support to help families rebuild their homes, restore livelihoods and recover with dignity.
The international community must act swiftly.
Timely humanitarian support today will save lives, reduce suffering and help communities begin the long road to recovery.
IOM remains committed to working alongside our partners to deliver life saving assistance and support the people of Venezuela through the difficult days and months ahead.
Lots of information to digest, very important indeed.
So let's go to you colleagues for questions and if you could highlight who you want to point your question to Alexander, AFP Yeah, thank you for this briefing.
Boy, AFPI have one question for Mrs Space and one of the for for Yens, if it's possible.
Mrs Pence, we understand that the situation is quite critical in certain areas.
Could you tell us what are the primary need of those affected right now as well As for the days and maybe the weeks to come, please?
And 2nd, for Yance, we understand that the 25 search and rescue and medical teams you mentioned are being sent by by government.
Do you have any idea of the total number or relief workers sent to Venezuela from abroad, including for instance, those sent by NGOs?
The needs, the most immediate needs are somewhat varied, but as I mentioned, the health needs stand out for us.
There are a number of individuals with injuries as, as you can imagine, as particularly as they're being recovered from the rubble.
And so not only first aid, but trauma kits and care are essential in these still first hours and days.
And I do not want to undersell the importance of that psychological first aid and mental health care that I mentioned as well.
It is a service that is integrated into the the health provisions that are a part of the Venezuela Red Cross programmes at hospitals and clinics and is, you know, is just as in high demand as those services requiring physical care.
I think the, the other piece is just around sort of daily living.
So whether it's having those personal hygiene kits, having access to food and water, I mean, people left everything and, and, and nothing is functioning as it, as it should or as it has in these areas.
And so just ensuring that people can literally survive with those essentials is is our priority on the ground.
It's it's a great and very important question.
And the short one answer is no, we do not have a full overview of everybody coming in.
That will be for the Venezuelan authorities.
We are not the ones giving visas.
So the numbers that we have are for those that are coordinated through our mechanisms.
Thank you both for the questions in the room, perhaps.
Hi Rolando, thanks a lot.
Matthew mentioned that your team is on standby to support other countries in the region.
Have you received any requests from from Brazil?
Sorry, I forgot to to tell you Bianca Brazilian journalists, I work for Global TV Brazil.
So do you have any information from the ground regarding Brazil?
What kind of support might be needed?
And also Matthew and Doctor Ogart, you both said that the real number of victims could be much higher than the official figures.
Could you please, I mean the the figures that we have right now, could you please give us an idea of the scale?
Are we talking about hundreds or thousands of deaths?
And how confident are you in the official figures released so far?
For years, the UN Human Rights mission in Venezuela urged the government to lift restrictions on social media.
I'd like to understand how serious are these restrictions at the moment, how how much these restrictions can affect access to information during the rescue efforts Maybe I don't know if the if there is someone from the human rights office also there maybe could add.
OK, let's start off with Matt on the Brazil request, if there was one.
Yeah, thanks for the question.
So I'm not aware of any, any formal requests as of yet by the authorities in Brazil for us to support there.
But having said that, of course, we stand ready to do so if and when asked.
And in terms of our footprint in the country, as you well know, Brazil of course shares a vast northern border with Venezuela, primarily in the state of rural.
And over the most recent years, we have been working very closely with the authorities in Brazil to support those who have crossed the border and also to help with relocation of those who have come into the country from Venezuela.
And then, you know, within Brazil, helping with documentation and status recognition of those who have arrived.
And you know, a similar approach we would say in the case of Colombia, of course, which has had a massive regularisation effort in regards to Venezuelans who have arrived there.
And similarly with the border reception and legal support and also countries a bit further afield, So Peru and Ecuador, which both hosts significant numbers of Venezuelans, we have a similar footprint there.
So of course ready to support the authorities as and when needed.
In terms of the numbers of victims, I wouldn't go into that too much except to say we have had reports already this morning that of course the numbers are rising against last night.
I wouldn't get into the into the realm of speculating about how high they will go, but of course, it's extremely worrying what we've seen so far.
And our deepest condolences and thoughts go out to the families and loved ones of all those who have been impacted both within the country but also in those neighbouring countries as well.
Of course, we echo the sentiments and it is difficult, colleagues to obviously assess scale of casualties, but maybe Doctor Agarte, I don't know if there's anything more you may also refer to that.
I'm not sure if there's anything more you wanted to add.
It is very difficult for all the teams that, particularly with the health sector, to provide a a real assessment of the situation.
The communication and access to the places and to the health facilities is not easy.
We have been struggling to reach all those health facilities.
We deploy teams to do the assessment.
So in that regards, measuring what is the number of deaths and injuries would be very difficult.
But according to the assessment, previous assessment and also all the figures that we have and the coordination that we have with the partners we are following, the number of deaths probably would be in the hundreds and the injuries in the thousands.
And the the the difficult situation that we are seeing is the access to healthcare facilities.
But because of that we do damage and its assessment even before looking at the health facilities.
And I would like to to highlight this important pre-existing information that is helping us to prioritise.
For example, 20 emergency hospitals were exposed to intensities with 7 or above.
That means that at least 20 health facilities are in the extremely difficult situation and most probably are severely damage or impacted by the emergency.
And in those, those health facilities are located particularly in La Vaira, in the Capital District of Caracas, in Miranda, Aragua, Carabovo, Falcon, Suliya, Yarakuya and Lara.
And also I would like to highlight the, the availability of health teams, emergency medical teams that are being ready to deploy I-55 are being ready to deploy from the USA, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Switzerland and Barbados.
And also we have 7 emergency medical teams on a standby.
So in that regards we we are working very closely with the national authorities and the partners to reach the actual figures but but prioritising the emergency health care and ensuring that the health facilities are provided the essential care that the people need.
Thanks to you, Doctor Ugarte.
Bianca, on your last question on the lifting of restrictions on communications, this was actually a recommendation from the fact finding mission on Venezuela, that fact finding mission set up by the Human Rights Council.
So perhaps you could check with them to specify what exactly they want for that.
And of course, if there's anything more that the Human Rights office could add at a later point, we'll we'll definitely get that to you or maybe you can reach out directly to them.
But indeed, these are important human rights angles to this, this crisis that we're contending with.
Antonio FA, Spanish as agency.
So, well, I think you already told about what are the main needs.
But to put the question in another way, what the Venezuelan government in in the contacts you have with them, what are they asking about what are, what are what they need the most?
And also I don't know if you mentioned because my connection cut for some minutes.
Are you planning any of the agencies to launch any special appeal for assistance?
So the question, if I understood quickly, what is the government asking for that?
Is that if I understood that correctly, I'm not sure who's best place.
I suppose maybe colleagues closest to the situation on the ground, maybe either Doctor Ugarte, then maybe Jens can chime in afterwards.
Well, the the national authorities are requesting us to do a proper assessment of the health facility.
So we are, we do have people on the ground, but also we are deploying additional specialist on engineering architecture, damage and risk assessment and also the deployment of emergency medical teams.
The government specifically requested the deployment of three emergency medical teams with surgical capacity to Venezuela.
So as I mentioned, they are on standby and to be deployed.
One of them is already being deployed.
It's summary tempers from the US and also they have requested additional supplies, medicine and, and and equipment and that list is being looked at the global depots and, and we are already purchasing some of those kids emergency kits to be deployed to to Caracas even directly or through Panama.
So the regional emergency depot reserve that we have in Panama has been activated and we are deploying all we have according to the request of the of the government.
They we there are at least 42 partners that are on the ground and they are also supporting the areas that that have been most impacted by by the earthquake.
So we will have, we will launch an appeal, we're finalising all the critical needs that the health sector is asking for and according to the previous situation, also to complement.
Fortunately, some of the donors, including the European Commission already approved a modification of the current support that they are giving to Venezuela so we can activate the existing funds to respond to the emergency.
Thank you, Doctor Garthe.
Miss Pace, is there anything you wanted to add from IFRS perspective you for for coming back to me?
Yes, I think I was actually just trying to pull up some of the information we have of our from our Venezuelan Red Cross, excuse me, around their conversations with the government.
I know that the government has been focused largely in search and rescue for obvious reasons, including the need for equipment to clear rubble.
But as Doctor Garthe said, they also have obviously other needs, whether in the health sector, whether with regards to shelter and materials and the like.
And so I'm sure some of our colleagues will be able to to follow up around that.
But I think that the important point of this is twofold.
1 is that the government is.
Responsive and engaged and sort of willing and waiting for support from the the international community.
And so we, I can only speak for a Red Cross relationship, but in our new Red Cross law, we have embedded in that law some specifics around coordination obviously with us, as well as the sort of roles of the international community when it comes to meeting the needs of the government and the government articulating those needs.
And so I think it's a good question.
I also heard the the question around pledges and I appreciate the connections being lost.
So thank you for for asking for us to, to, to repeat that.
So we at the at the IFRC have launched a call to action or an emergency appeal of 50 million Swiss francs covering a number of areas.
And we are happy to provide that information online, a link to that, to that appeal as it's as it's published.
But that would cover 3000, we estimate 300,000 Venezuelans with those programmes and services.
No, just to just to add that the emergency relief coordinator released $15 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund yesterday for the Venezuela response.
Thanks for that additional note, Jens.
John Zaracostas, The Lancet and Francois GAT.
My question is to Miss Pace and also to Mr Garte from Pajo.
I was wondering if the US Treasury waiver on sanctions, do you have clarity now what items you can deal with without having any complications?
That would be very helpful.
And secondly, Mr, you got that you mentioned the the health system had pre-existing fragility.
Does that mean that the sanctions have had a huge impact on the health system still?
Maybe Miss Pace, go ahead 1st and then we'll go to doctor.
I appreciate, I appreciate this question very much.
And we actually had a conversation with our teams yesterday about the the flow of resources.
This is obviously not just a a consideration in, in light of the recent earthquakes and aftershocks, but throughout the year, particularly beginning in January, we have I will say we have seen an improvement in the flow of of goods and, and funding and, and we ourselves have not faced significant challenges, particularly in light of some of the opening or or loosening of of those restrictions.
One of the challenges, if I can call it that, is around actually the everyone sort of being accustomed to the the new reality and some of the new guidance or policies.
And so I think seeking clarity from all involved, including from the government of Venezuela, as well as other actors or stakeholders is, is probably what is required.
And it's yet another conversation that's important when it comes to the laws and regulations for humanitarians, right?
And this is not just a Venezuelan issue, but a global issue.
So for what it's worth, we're we're confident we can continue to to work smoothly.
I think it is partly because of our special relationship with the government and official relationship with the government as an auxiliary to those humanitarian public authorities.
But again, thank you for for highlighting this.
Thank you, Doctor Garter.
Yes, from our side, we, we have been working on the critical support that the health sector needs in Venezuela.
And in that regards, we have been also been providing all the emergency and urgent supplies for for healthcare workers.
And this is something that has been done in the previous years even with all the situation that you know very well.
And this is closely coordinated also with the US and several other institutions that are part of the support for Venezuela.
So currently there is no restriction for humanitarian support.
But still for example, in the last few weeks, Venezuela was able to pay the removing fund for vaccines.
So there is now availability to provide vaccines and essential supplies to Venezuela.
In that regards, that is an Ave that we are looking for and especially we are, we already identified critical medicines, supplies and equipment that have been needed in the health sector in Venezuela and that has been expedited for this emergency.
The issue now the main issue is the logistics and the availability of those supplies to be readily deployed to Venezuela over.
Thank you, Doctor Ugarte.
We'll take one final question and also Martha of the Human Rights office has joined us.
I think you have some some information on Bianca's previous question, but I'll go to Bianca.
Maybe you have a follow up or another question entirely.
It would be great if Marta could tell, could talk about the restrictions, how these restrictions are currently in Venezuela and how it could affect the efforts for the rescue.
And also just to to add like a follow up on Brazil for the UNHCR and IOM because of the earthquake.
Do you have any idea of how many people could cross into Brazil to seek to, to to seek help, to search help?
Maybe you go back to you Matt and then maybe Zoe has something.
I think it's it's way too early to speculate about, you know, potential movements in any direction one way or the other related to this crisis for Brazil or for for any other country.
But of course, to reiterate the message that that I said earlier, you know, we do have a deep footprint in the and we are ready to support all of those governments in the region in the event that there are there are decisions to move any as as I said earlier, any movement back towards Venezuela would our position would be unchanged in that that must be a voluntary movement.
And if there is any decision to move in the opposite direction, of course, we would ask all of those countries in the region, as they have done for so many years to continue to support Venezuelans who are on the move.
And just to echo that it really is too early to say, but obviously we are monitoring closely.
This is a developing story.
We will keep you sharply focused with thanks to our briefers here.
But I think maybe before we wrap it up entirely, I think Marta, we wanted to add something to to Bianca's previous question.
Thank you, Bianca for your question.
Of course, Freedom of Information is always paramount, and mostly so in situations like that where access to information can save our lives.
And we have documented that, yeah, pre-existing restrictions to the Internet stay in place during the first few hours after the earthquake.
And of course, we call, as we've called before, to adopt measures to safeguard the digital space and guarantee the right to information and freedom of expression and access to to digital media in Venezuela.
And allow me this opportunity to recall that we just published our latest report on Venezuela, that the High Commissioner, we'll present it it this afternoon.
And in it, there's detailed information that I can share with you with everyone about, yeah, the arbitrary, arbitrary blocking of at least 85 websites, both by public and private Internet services providers and blogs to 39 media outlets, media platforms.
There's a very specific detailed information in in the report that you can access or we can share with you.
And again, I repeat, the High Commissioner, we present the report this afternoon.
OK, it's rather time to thank you.
Of course, colleague to consult the report if you want to fold in those details.
Thanks to all briefers here.
Particular thanks to our colleagues from Panama City in Washington, Miss Pace and Doctor Ugarte very much.
I know it's early there, and I'm sure we'll be hearing from your agencies in the days to come.
And thank you very much for the important work you're doing.
Thank you very much, colleagues, for briefing again, Marta, if you want to scoot over next to me here and you're staying on the podium because you have an item to brief our colleagues on US deaths in ICE detention.
So back to you to address this issue.
OK, so good morning to all.
I think I didn't say it before.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volcker Turk today urged prompt action to prevent further loss of life in ICE custody and call for independent investigations into all deaths under ICE custody.
It is alarming that according to U.S.
government official data, in the first five months of this year, 18 people died in ICE detention.
A Father Cares of death in ICE custody has been reported this month.
In 2025, a total of 33 deaths were registered, compared with 11 in 2024.
The lack of transparency and clarity surrounding the circumstances of these deaths undermines accountability for them.
The High Commissioner calls for prompt, independent, impartial and effective investigations into all deaths in ICE custody.
Those responsible for violations of the law must be held to account and the rights of the victims families to trust truth, justice and reparations and to guarantees of non recurrence must be upheld.
These deaths occurred in a context of broad expansion of the US immigration detention system.
According to the latest official data, ICE currently holds over 60,000 individuals, compared to approximately 40,000 in early 2025.
There are plans to further increase the detention capacity up to 90,000 people by the end of 2026.
Detainees, who include entire families with children and medically vulnerable people, are frequently reported to face inhuman conditions of detentions and treatment included inadequate healthcare and food and exposure to disease outbreaks in overcrowded facilities.
There have been concerning allegations regarding the use of force.
Additionally, 5 of the officially reported deaths in 2026 were classified as suicides.
A lack of information regarding the whereabouts of detainees during transfer has been reported, causing significant distress among families.
In addition, prolonged uncertainty surrounding legal status and processes contributes to psychological distress among detainees.
Turk also expressed alarm over the reported use of solitary confinement, which should be an exceptional measure and when prolonged or indefinite, could amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
These factors exacerbate vulnerability and raise serious concerns as to whether some of these deaths in ICE custody could have been prevented.
Alternatives to the tension should be prioritised.
Immigration detention should be an exceptional measure of last resort and should generally be avoided for people with significant medical or mental health conditions, as well as pregnant women, regardless of their immigration status of that of their parents.
Children should not be subjected to immigration detention.
US immigration authorities must ensure that their detention facilities comply with international human rights norms and standards.
These includes upholding dignity, avoiding overcrowding, providing timely access to healthcare, including mental health services, family notification, counsellor, assistant legal representation and necessary interpretation services for all individuals in immigration detention.
The High Commissioner urged the full restoration and strengthening of independent oversight mechanisms for immigration detention, highlighting their importance as a key safeguard against abuse.
He also stressed the crucial role of congressional bodies in overseeing immigration enforcement practises and associated public funding to ensure better compliance with international human rights law.
Turk strongly denounced the continued dehumanisation and criminalization of migrants and refugees.
Turk emphasised that no one should be sent back to a place a place where they could be fake.
Sorry, I let me repeat that.
Turk emphasised that no one should be sent back to a place where they could face serious human rights violations or other irreversible harm.
Thank you very much, Martha.
Let's see if we have questions for you in the room online.
I don't see that's the case.
I think you're very clear.
And I note that this statement was also shared with colleagues earlier.
So thank you very much, Martha, for highlighting this important story.
Moving to a different subject entirely.
Very pleased to have with this Claire on the podium here with John Kennedy, who's WM OS, head of climate information.
I don't know if Claire, did you want to start off or go ahead?
Yes, I'm very glad that this room is is nice and is nice and cool.
Extreme heat, a widespread, intense late June heat wave in Europe, as you all know, as you all feeling, has shattered numerous temperature records.
It's having major impacts on human health, on ecosystems, on agriculture, on labour productivity.
And it's accompanied in some areas, in particular France, by worsening drought and the risk of wildfires as well as localised storms.
The World Meteorological Organisation, its partners, its members, the national Meteorological and hydrological services are, you know, really mobilising against this extreme heat in Europe.
And there's lots of early warnings, many, many, many, you know, red heat alerts, red being that the top tier in the warning scale.
And we're supporting coordinated heat health action plans to try to save lives.
As always, that's the top priority.
And to minimise the, you know, decisions and sorry, and to inform decisions to minimise economic damage and the very real disruption that that we're seeing.
My colleague John will talk more about the meteorological and the climate conditions behind this, this heat wave.
It moved up from the Iberian Peninsula.
The focus is now shifting.
And WMO, we have a regional, one of, well, we have a network of regional climate monitoring centres in Europe.
One of them is operated by the German Weather Service, the Deutsche Vetterdinst.
And in its latest Climate Watch advisory, it says that the heat wave will spread over large parts of western, central and Southern Europe within, you know, by the end of this month and will increasingly shift towards the Central Europe and the Balkan area.
Temperatures are expected to be, well, are, are actually between 10, three degrees Celsius up to 10°C for this time of year.
And just to remind you, we, we, we're in June, you know, we are in June, we're seeing heat levels which would be more typical of, of late July of, of August.
We're doing a constantly updated story on our website with the new records.
And one stage yesterday, I did think we wouldn't be able to keep up with all the records.
Just to give you a snapshot, France, France recorded its hottest day on record on the 24th of June with an average national temperature of 30°C.
Temperatures rose up to 43.8°C in one town in western France.
And overnight temperatures, and these are important because this is where you have the real impact on health, on human health, if temperatures overnight, you know, don't drop beyond below a certain level.
Overnight temperatures in France also been setting new national records.
If you look at the map today, France is just a big BLOB of red.
A large part of the country is under the maximum level Red Red alert.
Spain recorded its hottest June days on record 23rd and 24th of June.
The United Kingdom broke the June temperature record for three consecutive days this week.
With 36.4° recorded in southern England yesterday, the 25th of June and the UK's Met Office has issued red warming warnings.
Extreme heat on three consecutive days and this is the first time ever under the current weather alerting system that it's done that for three straight days.
UK also saw, you know, daily temperature records in in May broken as well.
Germany today is under widespread, widespread red warnings, including, you know, major cities Frankfurt to Cologne in Switzerland.
Closer to home, the northern city of Basel set a national new June record temperature yesterday of 38°C.
Geneva is expected to get a little bit toasty this this weekend, according to Tomatio Suisse.
And in the Netherlands, the Dutch National Meteorological service has issued an unprecedented red alert for extreme heat for 8 provinces today.
And again in the Netherlands, as in Belgium and Luxembourg, there have been a number of of new either monthly or station temperature records.
We need to get used to it, unfortunately, and I now pass over to my colleague John Kennedy, who is head of climate information.
Thanks, Claire, and hello, everyone.
So why is this happening?
Well, a number of factors have to come together for temperatures to reach the record extremes that we've been seeing over the past few days.
First and most obviously, it's summer.
Although June is not on average the warmest month, we're only a few days now after the summer solstice when the sun is highest in the sky and the days are longest.
We have a classic Omega blocking pattern where high pressure of the continent is flanked by low pressure systems looking somewhat like the Greek letter Omega, and together this these pressure systems funnel hot air from North Africa N over the western parts of the region under the high pressure.
Also in the middle of that Omega block, the air is descending.
It's piling up above the continent as it descends.
It both warms and hinders the formation of clouds, and less cloud means that more sunshine can get in further increasing temperatures.
Now these kinds of blocks can stay in place for days or even weeks, and the persistence of the block means that the heat can build day upon day, and crucially, the impacts night upon night.
So light winds under the broad stationary high pressure mean that there's limited mixing of the air, allowing further heat to accumulate, and also means there's limited movements of weather systems and weather fronts that can bring cooler air from the outside.
So we've seen all these factors in earlier heat waves, but they weren't as hot as the record-breaking conditions we're currently experiencing.
So what's the difference now?
Note 2 Heat waves are exactly the same.
But say in the 50 years since the historic heat wave in 1976, Europe as a whole has warmed by around 2°C.
It's one of the fastest warming continents and extremes of temperature have increased too.
The IPC's sixth assessment report showed that hot extremes have increased in frequency and intensity over most of the world's land surface and across Europe.
There is high confidence there is a human contribution to that observed warming.
Heat waves like this are what we expect to see in a changing climate.
An extreme heat will occur more frequently for longer duration and with greater intensity.
As global warming continues, the high temperatures we're seeing during the day get much of the attention, but night time temperatures are exceptionally high too.
When temperatures stay above 20°C overnight, as we've seen recently and as Claire mentioned, residences can't shed the excess heats and that exposes people to dangerous indoor conditions.
In such conditions, the body can't recover from the heat of the day and sustained across multiple days.
This unrelieved strain is what drives excess deaths like we've seen in previous heat waves.
These problems can be particularly exacerbated in urban areas where temperatures, particularly at night, are higher due to the built environment.
Now, the clear skies don't mean high temperatures, they also mean the lack of rain.
So there's a risk of droughts, as Claire again mentioned, and as vegetation dries out, an increased risk of wildfires.
These high temperatures and low rainfall have impacts across multiple sectors and can affect vital infrastructure such as transport and power generation.
A dry soil, as well as having impacts on agriculture, it can also be a key factor in the formation of subsequent heat waves because dry soil warms more quickly than wet soil, and it can also exacerbate flooding as dry soil is unable to absorb quick accumulations of rain.
Do we have questions for our colleagues from Yes, Alexander, over to you?
Yes, thank you very much for this briefing.
Given that records have been broken several countries, can we say no, that this phenomenon is a record-breaking heat wave for the European continent, either for the month of June or maybe in general?
And I think when you say record-breaking heat wave, it's there are various depth.
There's no specific definition of heat wave.
This is the difficulty of saying in a kind of blanket sense, we can say locally that records have been broken in particular places.
And like for France, the whole country has seen its warmest day on record.
So records are definitely breaking.
This is a record-breaking heat wave in many ways, but not in every single way.
So, yeah, just to, I think in, in certain countries such as France, you know, it's, it's fair to use the term record-breaking heat wave.
But if you look back last year, we also had record-breaking heat waves, but that was in a different, different part of, of Europe then it was, then it was Scandinavia.
So and, and we're still in the middle of it.
You know, it's, it's, it's unusual, it's not exceptional.
We've, you know, we've had previous heat waves like this in, in in June, but as I said, we're still in the middle of it is it is now going to shift, you know, across Central Europe to, to the Balkans.
So it's possible that at the end of summer, you know, we can look back and say, yes, you know, it was, it was a record-breaking heat wave, but it's, you know, it's still very much in progress.
I don't think there are further questions.
So I'd like to thank you both very much for joining us here.
Highlighting, continue to highlight this continuing story, I should say.
OK, Now I turn to our colleague who's joining us from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, David Stevenson, who is WF PS Country Director.
Mr Stevenson, thank you very much and apologies for the delay.
But back to you, over to you rather for your brief.
Well, thanks to you and thank you very much for your interest in our, in our challenges and our efforts here in DRC.
Let me start with the bigger picture.
Ebola is spreading in Eastern DRC in the middle of one of the world's largest hunger crises.
Across the country, 26 and a half million people, almost almost one in four Congolese, do not have enough food.
More than 3.6 million people are already facing emergency levels of hunger, and in North Kibu S Kibu, Ituri, Tanganyika alone, nearly 10 million people are struggling to put food on the table.
So this outbreak is not only a health emergency, it is a humanitarian crisis, and we will not contain it with medical measures alone.
When people are hungry, when they have lost their livelihoods, or when markets stop functioning, they move.
They move to find food, they move to find work, they move to find safety.
And those movements can make it much harder to stop the virus.
At the same time, active conflict is pushing people into affected health zones, and insecurity and access constraints are making it harder for humanitarian teams to reach the communities who needed help most.
I would like to give you just one example.
Our frontline team recently met with Jack, an internally displaced father whose 5 year old daughter has died from Ebola.
He had fled fighting in Bukavu and walked for days to reach Benny.
He thought he had escaped the worst and then his daughter developed a high fever and started bleeding from her ears.
He rushed her to hospital but she did not survive and two weeks later now his wife is still in an isolation centre.
WFP is providing hot meals so patients and contacts can stay under observation without having to leave to look for food, and Jack themselves is now caring for 13 family members with WFP food assistance.
But he asked us a very simple, actually a painful question.
With all these children, this one month ration will only last two weeks and after that, how am I supposed to feed them when I have no means to do so?
So that is why food assistance is not separate from the Ebola response.
It is part of the containment.
It helps people stay and care.
It helps contacts those who've been associated with Ebola remain under observation.
It reduces the pressure on families to move.
Health teams are courageous leaders on the front line the time and space they need to do their work.
We are also seeing the economic pressure build in Bunia, the epicentre, the epicentre of the outbreak.
Families already hit by conflict, by displacement and hunger, are facing another shock.
Border closures, movement restrictions and trade disruptions linked to Ebola are driving up food and fuel prices.
Now WFP has moved very quickly.
Since the outbreak began, we have provided more than 36,000 hot meals in Ebola treatment centres, take home rations to 2600 in North Kivu and in Uturi, and monthly food to 14,000 people in 10 quarantine villages in South Kivu affected by the outbreak.
Our logistics teams in Unhas flights have also been central to the wider response, moving more than 1700 and 51st responders and more than 300 metric tonnes of essential cargo so frontline operations can keep going in hard to reach areas.
But we need to do more and we need to do it faster, at scale and with the resources required.
We also need safe and sustained access.
We need to stabilise food and livelihood so people are not forced to move simply to survive.
And we need timely, flexible funding to keep food assistance, supply chains, logistics and aviation support running for as long as this crisis demands.
So WFP now requires $72 million for our direct Ebola response and two, $106 million for emergency food assistance across eastern Congo.
For families like Jack, this is very real.
Food helps keep people in care, logistics keeps responders moving, and access is turning plans into action.
If we move quickly now, we have a better chance of containing Ebola and preventing an already severe humanitarian crisis from getting worse.
Thanks very much to you, Mr Stevenson.
Let's see if we have questions for you.
I don't see that's the case.
On this note, I'd just like to thank you very much for obviously sharing Jack's story and obviously this critical angle to the Ebola response, which is an issue which we have been spotlighting here, and we'll continue to do so.
And thank you very much again, Mr Stevenson and, and for your patience as well.
OK, colleagues, joining me on the podium is David Hirsch, as you know from ITU, who's got an announcement concerning Geneva Digital Week.
Well, from 6 to 10 July, Geneva's place at the centre of the digital world will be reinforced with Geneva Digital Week, which features three key international events on artificial intelligence and digital technologies.
First will be the first UN General Assembly mandated global dialogue on AI governance taking place from six to seven July.
The Wissis Forum, which extends to the entire week from the 6th to the 10th of July, and the AI for Good Global Summit taking place from the 7th to the 10th of July.
So a lot of overlaps there.
We'll try to work you through all these events.
These events are built on the principle that not no one country can either seize the opportunities or solve the challenges that are presented by digital technologies.
The events tied together international efforts to ensure that digital technologies, including AI, work for everyone, that everyone is included in determining the future of these technologies, and that nobody is left behind.
And we have to recall that 2.2 billion people around the world remain offline and essentially locked out from the benefits of these digital technologies, including AI.
Participants at these events include heads of state, UN heads, CE OS, civil society leaders, leading thinkers, the latest of course in AI technology and even a few cultural icons.
The events largely take place at PAL Expo, with the one detail on that being that Wishes Forum will open at ITU headquarters for Monday and Tuesday and then shift to PAL Expo for the remainder of the week.
The programmes for all three events are online and we will have additional information to share and we ask you critically not to wait for that additional information before you do the the, the critical step of registering for these events.
I don't want to speak for Rolando, but certainly we all know by now that this is available via Indico and it's also available to register via ITU.
You could, in the time it takes me to finish this briefing, open up anemailputpressreg@itu.in T in the address bar, PRESSRE g@itu.in T, leave a nice message in the subject and put simply, just attach a photo of your current valid UNID and we will do the rest.
We ensure you for that the accreditation you receive will work for all three events.
Unfortunately, it's just not your UN badge.
Once you do that, we also try to make it easy for you to pick up that badge.
We're confirming that ITU will be available Friday, that's next Friday, 3rd July full day for reporters to come by in the lobby and to pick up that badge.
I would strongly recommend and encourage that that be done because PAL Expo Monday morning is going to be very busy and the events will stack up very early in the morning as well.
Can attest to and also seeking to information on IT's headquarters being available for batch pickup Sunday afternoon for those reporters that have become accustomed to being in the neighbourhood on Sunday afternoons.
Beyond that just a quick note on facilities.
We'll have a press room available working space for for reporters.
So for those of you that move over to PAL Expo, there'll be a full filing centre, you'll have the conference there that you need to do your work.
Our media relations colleagues will be on hand.
And while activities are all still being scheduled, we do expect to have on Tuesday afternoon, that's the 7th of July at 4 O clock, a tour, media tour of the summit facilities.
Critically here, PAL Expo will be re restructured after the AI dialogue from hosting primarily that event with some of the opening events of AI for good to the transition to Whisa.
So there'll be a change in the venue between Tuesday and Wednesday.
And so it's it's our pleasure to work to walk reporters through that and to brief you on the upcoming activities.
David, I thank you very much indeed.
I have been appealing to you to register do so quickly.
You've seen the media advisor real shared with you once again yesterday.
In addition to that, maybe just to highlight one thing that's coming preceding this global dialogue in the wishes event in the global AI for good events, there is an important report that'll be made public on the 1st of July.
That is a preliminary report of the Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence.
The panel itself, as you probably know, was authorised by the General Assembly last August.
There are comprises of 40 experts who yield from different parts of the world and have lots of expertise on this important issue, which continues to dominate much of our lives.
So we will share that report with you.
If you're interested to learn more, do contact me or David and then we'll make sure we can perhaps get that report to you in advance.
So that is the 1st of July when the report will be launched at 11 AM that is New York Times, so 5:00 PM our time.
And again, do register for the AI dialogue as David mentioned.
So that's it covers that.
If you have any questions for David on this event housekeeping logistics, I think it's pretty clear he spelled it out very nicely.
David, thank you very much.
Yeah, you want to add something?
And that note, let me just just draw your attention to a couple of there now, but not related to this, but just.
As I mentioned at the onset of this briefing, do take a look at the statement from the Secretary General on Venezuela, which which highlights a number of issues which you just heard from our colleagues about against expressing solidarity and condolences to the government and victims of this horrific earthquake, earthquakes in Venezuela.
We'll continue to update you on developments there on we have a statement which rather we will have a statement to share with you this afternoon.
It's a Secretary General statement on the UN Charter.
Today is UN Charter Day, ladies and gentlemen.
So this is an important opportunity.
81 years ago is when the charter was signed in San Francisco.
So there's an important occasion to mark this event.
The Secretary General will deliver remarks at 10 AM, approximately 10 AM New York time.
So we'll share that statement with you.
Human Rights Council, as you well know, is Stillwell underway.
Lots of important reports being presented to the Human Rights Council at the Assembly Hall.
Do consult the update from Pascal and a couple of observances to highlight today is the International Day against Drug Abuse in Illicit Trafficking.
We have a secretary general's message to mark this occasion through which Mr Gutierrez notes that illicit drug trafficking is not a victimless crime.
It inflicts profound harm on people and communities around the world while fueling violence, crime and instability.
So as we mark this day, let's recommit to the bold, innovative and evidence based solutions to discourage demands.
And tomorrow is another observance.
The 2026 Micro, small and medium Sized Enterprise Day.
And there is a message that we shared with you as well.
And the secretary General notes, as we celebrate this critical, we celebrate the critical role by micro, small, medium sized enterprises lifting up communities, sustaining families and driving economic progress.
So that message is available for you in multiple languages.
On that note, I wish you a nice afternoon, a good weekend, and see you here on Tuesday.
