UN Geneva Press Briefing - WHO, OHCHR, IOM, UNHCR Press Conferences Date: 21 July 2026 Language: English Transcript: https://transcripts.un.org/en/briefing/geneva/2026-07-21 Transcripts available through this tool are created by using automatic speech recognition and are not official records nor official documents of the United Nations. Official records and official documents are available on the Official Document System of the United Nations. --- UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [0:02]: Good morning. Welcome to the press briefing of the UN Information Service here in Geneva. Today is Tuesday, 21st of July. We've got a lot of interesting items on the briefing, and I would like to start immediately with our colleagues of WHO. Tariq, thank you very much for bringing us Dr. Thierno Balde, who is the WHO Incident Manager for the Ebola response in DRC. WHO · Tariq [0:26]: Thank you. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [0:27]: connecting from Bunia to give us an update of the Ebola situation. I don't know, Tariq, is it okay if we go directly to the doctor? Yeah, I can see you nodding. So, Dr. Balde, you've got the floor for short introductory remarks and then we'll take a few questions. Thank you. Sorry, but we can't hear you at the moment. Just one second, please. Maybe you have to unmute yourself. WHO · WHO Incident Manager for the Ebola response in DRC · Dr. Thierno Balde [0:59]: So, and can you hear me now? UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [1:01]: No. Yes, now we can hear you. You are, uh, you can, we can hear and we can see you. Go ahead with your short remarks, please. Thank you. WHO · WHO Incident Manager for the Ebola response in DRC · Dr. Thierno Balde [1:09]: Excellent. Excellent. Thank you. Thanks for having me this morning. So today I will provide an update on the EVD outbreak caused by the Bunyibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Allow me to start by mentioning that we are still really working in a very challenging context here in Guinea with a kind of context of an outbreak which is rapidly expanding. As of 19th of July, the government of the DRC has recorded 2,423 confirmed cases, including 967 deaths and 469 recoveries. The outbreak has been reported in 5 provinces, But the province of Ituri remains the epicenter of the outbreak, accounting for more than 90% of cases and also 80% of deaths. However, despite these figures, it's really important to mention that we are now starting to have a better understanding of the dynamic of this outbreak. This is an outbreak with different and varying patterns. We have indeed some areas where definitely we are seeing a kind of intense transmission, such as Bunia and all the surrounding health areas. But we also have in some areas where we are having a kind of stable trend, which is quite something which is encouraging. At the same time, also, the outbreak is also expanding geographically in new areas where we are trying really to implement adequate response measures for controlling it as much as possible. One of our work we have been doing during the past 2 weeks, it's about really adjusting our strategy and tailoring it to specific needs of each of these affected areas. While also maintaining our focus on bringing the situation under control in Bunia and surrounding areas. By using a granular approach and integrating emerging analysis, we have identified 3 main dynamics, as I was mentioning, one of high-intensity transmission, another one within emerging areas, and others which are now showing again as some sign of stability. But let's be very clear, this outbreak remains ahead of us and we are still in a phase of catching up. We have prioritized the expansion of safe and dignified burials, referral system, clinical case management capacity in the most active transmission areas. 10 days ago, I was in Kisangani in the Tchopo Province with the special Ebola coordinator and other partners where we designed a collective strategy to scale up the response by deploying rapid response teams. This is already showing some encouraging trends and some encouraging results. as no secondary cases have been detected there so far in Kisangani. Currently, all 5 cases are imported from Ituri Province. We intend to roll out a similar rapid response plan in the hotwells in Katwa, Butembo, and other emerging areas. Tomorrow, I will accompany the Special Ebola Coordinator on our second high-level visit to Kisangani to follow up on this initiative. We'll also be working on a new project which aims to reinforce control measures through the River Congo. A crucial transit route requiring our attention for rapid implementation of control measures. However, despite these challenges, there are some encouraging signs. As I was saying, Mongwalu, where the outbreak was first detected, is currently showing some signs of stabilization, with a similar trend in Goma in the North Kivu province. All of our response teams are aware on the importance of the work we are doing every day, and we continue to engage actively with communities and to work with them in a spirit of listening and openness to. be guided by them, obviously, in our intervention. We are grateful to the Ministry of Health and all other partners working alongside us to bring this challenging outbreak under control. And we definitely ask also for more international solidarity needed to have the necessary operational capacities to catch up with this outbreak, which is still ahead of us. I thank you. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [5:05]: Thank you very much. Thanks, Dr. Balder, for these updates. Let me see if there are questions. Nina Larson, AFP. AFP · Journalist · Nina Larson [5:13]: Yes, hi, thank you for the briefing. Um, I was wondering, you mentioned, uh, new areas where this is spreading to. If you could provide some details on, on where this is spreading now and if it's beyond the 5 provinces that we were aware of. And also on the safe and dignified burials, if you could say a little bit about how you're scaling up those efforts and What you're seeing in terms of movements of bodies. We understood there was an issue with people trying to move bodies for burial and that possibly presenting a risk of spread. So if you could talk about that, thanks. WHO · WHO Incident Manager for the Ebola response in DRC · Dr. Thierno Balde [5:59]: Thank you. Thank you very much. So for the new areas, there's no really new province which is affected at the moment. We are counting for the 5 provinces, and even out of these 5 provinces, It's also important to mention that South Kivu province have not really reported cases for more than 50 days, more than 50 days now. So I think we are in that dynamic. However, as I was saying, the outbreak is dynamic. I was mentioning an area, a locality like Aru, which is on the northern part of the province of Ituri here, where some people moved. One person moved, one sick person moved from Bunia, went to there where I think that place was quite calm for the past 2 or 3 weeks. and then created a new hotspot, a new also chain of transmission, which is we are trying really to respond very actively and very promptly and very energetically to make it under control. So those are the type of elements I wanted to mention when I was talking about geographic expansion of this outbreak. We are seeing also similar trend in Katwa and Butembo where the situation was calm, but obviously with the movement of the people, therefore I think we can see some resurgence of cases. But in all of these type of situations, the main strategy is really to implement very strong, effective and very timely response, public health measures, you know, to contain those areas by identifying, by doing in-depth investigation of those cases, listing all of the contacts, helping them to follow those contacts. At the moment, we are really trying to mobilize the communities, all of these contacts, for encouraging them to accept to be really followed up. On your question around the SDGs, I think it's really one of the main elements because, you know, the unsafe barriers can constitute really one of the super spreaders of the transmission of this outbreak. And we are really trying to focus a lot for having and ensuring safe and dignified burials for all of these different people who are dying, but both due to Ebola but not also due to Ebola. So by doing that, we can be able at least to secure all of these different, I mean, burial burials. But there are many, there are many people used to die, and I think this is a natural phenomenon. So how can we really help on that? Therefore, we are facing us, WHO, but mostly also partners who are specialized in this area. I'm referring here to the International Federation of Red Cross, FHI 360. They're doing their best, and obviously us as partners, we are coming to help for filling some of the gaps. One or two elements which are important, it's for this team to be functional, is to recruit the team, to train them. It's a team which team is composed of about 12 people, you know, having 2 cars for each of the team, but also having some of the supplies. Thank you, and over to you. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [8:47]: Thank you very much. I think Nina has a follow-up. AFP · Journalist · Nina Larson [8:52]: Yes, thank you. On the safe and dignified burials, did you— were you saying that you're trying to do these burials for everybody who's dying in the area, so even those who haven't been determined to have Ebola? And why would you be doing that? WHO · WHO Incident Manager for the Ebola response in DRC · Dr. Thierno Balde [9:11]: The modalities, I think, decided by the national health authorities is really to try to help as much as possible all of the different communities, ensuring safe and dignified burial. So this is a measure in this type of outbreak in some specific localities where it's needed, those measures that are implemented, or just trying to be able not to miss any of these potential cases. So efforts are done on that sense. Over. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [9:39]: Thank you very much. I don't see other hands up for you, Dr. Balde. And so I would like to thank you, unless Tariq wants to add something, but I think not. So thank you very much for this update. Keep talking to us about the situation in DRC on the Ebola response. So thank you very much again and good luck with your important work. I'd like now to go to our colleagues of OHCHR. Welcome. We have the pleasure to have with you Ms. Ms. Danièle Bell, who is the head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. Welcome, madam. I'm happy to have you here, and you are connecting from Kyiv. Tamim, you want to start, and then we go to Ms. Bell? OHCHR · Spokesperson · Tamim [10:23]: Yes, thank you, Alessandra. Good morning, everyone. The war in Ukraine is having a deepening impact on civilians by the day. The scale and intensity of long-range attacks impacting residential buildings and critical civilian infrastructure are shocking. These attacks must stop. In recent days, there have been multiple attacks causing civilian casualties across Ukraine as well as Russia. Civilians and civilian infrastructure are strictly protected under international humanitarian law. And any such deliberate attack is a war crime. On Sunday, Kyiv was hit for the 7th time this month. In the largest reported missile attack on the capital since the start of the full-scale invasion, at least 35 ballistic and hypersonic cruise missiles targeted the city. Authorities reported one civilian death while 20 others were injured, and damage across 5 districts. On the same day, glide bombs struck residential areas of Zaporizhzhia City, reportedly destroying part of a 5-story residential building. Authorities reported 3 civilian deaths, a girl among them, and injuries to 41 people, including 7 children. At the same time, 4 civilians were reportedly killed and 20 injured by a strike on a Nova Posta postal terminal in Korotych, near Kharkiv city. Recent attacks against civilian vessels in the Black Sea have further increased risks to maritime operations. In the latest incident on Sunday, A merchant vessel sailing under the flag of Guinea-Bissau was struck by cruise missiles shortly after departing a port near Odessa. 10 people, including at least 8 crew members, were reportedly killed and 7 injured. Long-range drone attacks by Ukraine have also reportedly continued to cause civilian casualties and damage to logistic infrastructure belonging to a private company inside Russia. Overnight, on the 17th to the 18th of July, Russian authorities reported attacks, including strikes on the Wildberries logistics centers in the Moscow and Tambov regions, that killed 8 civilians and caused injuries to 86 others. Today, we are joined by the head of our Ukraine team, Danielle Bell, who will share some of the key trends and developments documented by her team on the ground. Over to you, Danielle. OHCHR · Head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine · Danièle Bell [13:31]: Thank you. The attacks that, that Amin just described in Kyiv, Odessa, and Zaporizhzhia are not isolated events. They're becoming more frequent and more deadly for civilians. In the first 6 months of 2026, civilian casualties increased by 37% compared with the same period last year and almost doubled what we documented in 2024. This escalation is being driven by 2 main reasons. The first, is long-range ballistic missiles and drones, and the second by short-range drones and glide bombs in the frontline areas. Long-range attacks are increasingly affecting densely populated urban areas that are far away from the frontline. Yesterday, our team in Odessa visited several incident sites in residential areas that had been impacted, including a recreational area near Chornomorsk, in which a 16-year-old boy was killed as he and his family were just spending time together. Earlier this month in Kyiv city, a missile struck a residential complex, collapsing an entire section of the building, killing 76 civilians and injuring— excuse me, killing 19 civilians and injuring 76. When we visited and arrived at the incident site, we observed emergency workers searching through the rubble for survivors while families, including parents, teenagers, children, stood watching and waiting for news of their loved ones who were still missing. The second driver of civilian casualties is the widespread use of short-range drones or first-person view drones, FPVs. This is where the drone operator can see the target in real time. I have seen the impact of FPV drones firsthand during my recent visits to Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Kharkiv, and Dnipro. I saw how these drones are transforming civilian life. People told us that they no longer decide whether they want to go to the market, visit friends, go outside, work in their fields, They must first decide whether or not it's safe enough to leave their homes. People described measures to me that they've been taking to protect themselves while walking outside, like darting between buildings, leaving their homes at different times of the day. Across these visits, civilians consistently described feeling tracked by FPV drones while carrying out ordinary daily activities: gardening, walking their dogs, feeding their animals outside, going to the storage driving or simply walking or cycling outdoors. This is reflected in our findings. In the first 6 months of this year, civilian casualties from short-range drones increased by 65%. These drones are fundamentally changing civilian life and frontline communities. Public transport has repeatedly come under attack, with services suspended in many areas. Humanitarian assistance in many places can no longer be delivered safely. Schools, medical facilities have ceased functioning, and electricity, water, and mobile communications are frequently disrupted. Last week when I was visiting Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia, authorities described to me establishing anti-drone police units which are deployed to protect civilians carrying out ordinary yet fundamental work such as the repair of public works or other essential services. and allow farmers, for example, to safely harvest their field. So, for example, when I visited Kushu in Hormada, that's also in Zafarisha, repeated attacks on fields, combines, and grain trucks, as well as farmers themselves fearing being targeted by drones, have slowed the harvest from 30 hectares a day to as little as 3 to 5 hectares per day. These attacks are gradually destroying the systems that sustain civilian lives and allow communities to function. These trends show that danger to civilians is not only increasing, it is evolving. Civilians across Ukraine, whether in urban areas or front lines, are facing new and expanding risks where even ordinary daily activities have become increasingly dangerous. Thank you, and I stand by for any questions. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [18:32]: Thank you very much, uh, Danielle, for this, uh, additional detail. I'll see, um, Emma, uh, Reuters. Reuters · Journalist · Emma [18:45]: Good morning. I had a question on the anti-drone, uh, police wards. Um, is that completely new in the conflict? And how were they able to protect civilians from these aerial predators? OHCHR · Head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine · Danièle Bell [19:01]: Thanks. Thanks, Emma. So when I was in Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia last week, it was the first time I had heard of it. So they are fairly new. And what my understanding is, how it was explained, is that these units are deployed with the civilians, whether it's farmers in the field or guys repairing electricity infrastructure. They watch for the drones to come and they try to intercept them. What we have heard for Dnipro, for example, that 2 police have been injured in recent weeks because, you know, they've been protecting the farmers and these electricity workers or workers preparing, repairing essential Go ahead. Reuters · Journalist · Emma [19:53]: Sorry. How do the police actually intercept them? How do they bring them down? OHCHR · Head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine · Danièle Bell [19:59]: I mean, I don't want to go into too many details in this venue, but there's different anti-drone devices such as jamming, which can be used, or physically shooting them down. Although with the anti- jamming equipment, it's becoming increasingly difficult, particularly with the increase in use of fiber optic drones where the drone can only be intercepted if, you know, the wire is cut. So there are different ways in which these weapons can be intercepted. If I could just— UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [20:36]: Yeah, sure, sure, go ahead. OHCHR · Head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine · Danièle Bell [20:39]: I was just going to add on another point. Another way that— and this is outside of the anti-drone police units— another thing that we're seeing in these frontline areas is an increase in the use of the fishing nets or these nets, anti-drone nets being put up in the city. So I was in Kharkiv, you know, a week ago, and it's the first time that I've seen anti-drone nets being put up in different parts of the city. So lots of new measures. As these weapon systems quickly evolve, you see the authorities trying to find new ways to intercept and protect communities. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [21:17]: I think— Emma, is that fine? Reuters · Journalist · Emma [21:19]: Yeah. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [21:19]: Christian Ulrich at DPA. DPA · Journalist · Christian Ulrich [21:21]: Yeah, sorry, can you also describe to us what that looks like, an anti-drone net? How high does that have to be and how is it installed? Thank you. OHCHR · Head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine · Danièle Bell [21:35]: In terms of how it's installed, maybe I can just describe it. So, it would be long poles kind of put up as you go down the street, and then you have like the road with the protection over it that looks like that. And it's fishing net that's made out of like nylon net canvas, like actual fishing nets. And so, what happens then is that When the drones are following a vehicle, typically what they would do is follow the vehicle, and then they would function like a suicide drone in that they would crash down into the car. And so what happens is the net actually stops them. And so to give it some context, when I was in Kherson City, this is a little bit longer ago, about a month ago, I asked the authorities, okay, how many Anti— or how many short-range drones do you see in the city on a weekly basis? And the authorities told me, no, it's not on a weekly basis, it's on a daily basis. We see about 200. And then my follow-up question was, how many times do they get stuck in the nets? And they said about 30 a week. We've seen other instances where the drones— when the first drone will crash through the net, make the hole in it, and then the second drone can come underneath and fly in. But so these drone nets, they do have a mitigating effect, but they're far from perfect. And I'm seeing them increasingly, like in Dnipro, Kherson, and I've just been in Zaporizhzhia, we've seen them, and of course Sumy, Kharkiv as well. And we're seeing them increasingly as the number of drones we're seeing deployed on a daily basis increases, as well as the range themselves increases. Because about 2 years ago, when we first started really seeing the increase in them, they had a bit of a shorter range, like 20-30 kilometres. And now we're seeing these short-range drones that can come in 50 kilometres from the frontline areas. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [23:43]: Oh, well noted. Yep, Nina Larsson, AFP. AFP · Journalist · Nina Larson [23:48]: Thank you. Um, sorry, I just had a clarification, uh, on the numbers that you mentioned at the start of your briefing. Um, when you talked about an increase of, uh, civilian casualties of, I think, 37%, uh, in the first 6 months, are you talking about deaths and injuries, or are you talking about deaths? And can you break it down into those? Thank you. OHCHR · Head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine · Danièle Bell [24:09]: Absolutely. We documented 1,396 civilians killed, 7,978 injured, with a combined total, which I don't have in front of me, that amounts to a 37% increase from the same period in the previous year, and then almost doubling what we saw in 2024. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [24:38]: Very clear. Thank you. Let me go to the platform. Moussa, s'il vous plaît. Journalist · Moussa [24:46]: Oui, bonjour Alexandra, merci beaucoup. J'ai 2 questions, la première sur l'Ukraine et puis la deuxième sur le Golfe. Sur l'Ukraine, je sais pas... UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [24:54]: Just one second. Attendez, Moussa. Tamim, Mrs. Bell speaks French? OHCHR · Head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine · Danièle Bell [25:01]: Un petit peu en anglais, s'il vous plaît. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [25:05]: Yeah, in English. Moussa, est-ce que vous pouvez poser votre question en anglais, s'il vous plaît? Sur l'Ukraine, parce qu'après, Tamin va parler aussi de la situation dans les territoires occupés ou à Gaza. Et donc, vous pourrez poser votre deuxième question à ce moment-là. Si vous pouvez juste poser votre question sur l'Ukraine en anglais à Madame Bell. Journalist · Moussa [25:27]: Oui, c'est bon. I would like to know if you please, if you have something about what happened exactly in other side, in the Russian side. Because the authority of Moscow announced 2 days ago that 37 people were killed or injured in Moscow and in some cities in Russia, and many attacks against the oil refineries in Russia. If you have some information about that. OHCHR · Head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine · Danièle Bell [26:05]: Thank you for the question. Our mandate is to document civilian casualties in Ukraine where we have access and can verify. However, we do record the civilian casualties that are taking place in the Russian Federation as a consequence of Ukraine's increasing use of long-range weapons firing into the Russian Federation. I'll give a few statistics if that's okay. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [26:38]: Yes, please. OHCHR · Head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine · Danièle Bell [26:39]: So in the first 6 months of this year, we recorded, and this is based on Russian Federation open-source reporting, which we find credible, 250 civilians killed, 1,596 injured. This represents a 121% increase in civilian casualties in the Russian Federation compared with last year. Again, this is open source, not verified independently. And to answer a few other questions that you've recorded, the most recent case that we have— and because I don't know where the exact numbers came from that were reported, so I'm going to give a couple of different recent incidents that we've recorded. So on the 20th of July, a Ukrainian drone reportedly struck a passenger bus in the town of Shebekino. That's in Belgorod and approximately 6 kilometers from the front line, or excuse me, from the border with Ukraine. And in that incident, the Russian authorities reported 4 women and 1 child were killed and 23 injured. Thamine, in his briefing, mentioned the civilian casualties that came from the attacks on the 2 Wildberry facilities. These are commercial enterprises similar to Amazon. And we've recorded other incidents in recent days and months. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [28:17]: Thank you very much. Nick Cummins-Brooks, The New York Times. NYT · Journalist · Nick Cummins-Brooks [28:24]: Yeah, thank you. You mentioned farmers who were coming under a drone attack. I wondered, I mean, do you have a casualty figure for them? How many farmers in particular were killed? Is that an increasing number? We've had previous reports of large numbers of kind of agricultural equipment being taken in occupied areas and so forth. But I wonder if we're now seeing something that, you know, constitutes a concerted attack on— Farmers. agricultural food production particularly, and whether you have any sense of what the impact on agricultural or on food production has been. Second— sorry, a second question. You talked about a ship being hit in the Black Sea. Was this a one-off, or has there been an increasing pattern of attacks on merchant vessels? Thank you. OHCHR · Head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine · Danièle Bell [29:20]: Thank you, Nick, for the question. I'll answer the second question first. So, yes, we have seen, you know, continued attacks by the Russian Federation against civilian vessels in the Black Sea. The attack that Thamine briefed on is not a one-off. In recent weeks, months, Several separate attacks have reportedly killed 20 vessel workers and injured 29 others. That's the information I have in front of me right now, so it's not a one-off, and we have seen these attacks continuing. In terms of your question about attacks on farming and agriculture, and your question was essentially, do we see a deliberate policy of the Russian Federation targeting farming, both in terms of destruction of equipment, the burning of fields, and deliberate targeting of farmers themselves. We do not have enough information at this time to state that as a pattern. The examples that I gave from Kushuhum in Zaporizhzhia, and then I heard similar things when I was in Dnipro the second day. We don't have multiple attacks coming out of other hromadas. What we're doing in the coming days and weeks is looking through our data and doing more proactive outreach to these frontline communities so that we can identify whether or not this is an attack, whether or not this is a policy or a plan. But what I can say is we've certainly seen a massive impact. So a few more stats on Kashuhum that I didn't say in the briefing. You know, more than 50% of the agricultural equipment in this one haramada has been destroyed. So it's something we're looking at closely. Stand by, and we'll be doing a lot more reporting on short-range drones in the coming months. Thanks for the question. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [32:01]: Alina, can you unmute yourself, please? I can't hear you. We can't hear you, Alina. Maybe you— yeah, maybe you want to— oh, here, I see you now, but I still don't— ah, now you should be on. Go ahead. Oh, gone. TASS · Journalist · Alina Fedina [32:20]: Hi, Alexandra. Hi. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [32:21]: Okay, sorry. TASS · Journalist · Alina Fedina [32:23]: Yeah, technical issues. Thank you so much for taking my question. Thank you, Daniele, for your presentation. Alina Fedina, Russian news agency TASS. So my question is actually addressed— will be addressed to Tamim. And Tamim, you've just cited Russian reports about the deaths of 8 civilians and 48 people injured in Ukrainian strikes on Wildberries logistics centres in Moscow, both in the recent days. So my question would be, what is the OSCE's assessment assessment on this. If these facilities were deliberately attacked, would that constitute a war crime under the international humanitarian law? Thank you so very much. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [33:09]: Thank you, Alina. OHCHR · Spokesperson · Tamim [33:10]: Thank you, Alina, for that question. In fact, we cannot verify independently these reports because we lack access to the Russian Federation. As a matter of principle, Deliberately attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure is a war crime under international humanitarian law. But to determine this, whether there was a deliberate attack or not, and that's what we're calling for, there needs to be investigations in all attacks, both in Ukraine and in Russia, where civilians were impacted, killed. killed or injured, in order to determine the responsibilities and to achieve accountability and justice. And that's a call we are making regardless of the territory in this whole conflict. TASS · Journalist · Alina Fedina [34:02]: Thank you. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [34:03]: Very clear. Any other question for Danièle on Ukraine? I don't see any. Before I pass to the next topic, I just wanted to remind the correspondents that the 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for Ukraine, which seeks $2.31 billion to deliver life-saving assistance to 4.12 million people facing the most severe need, is as of today only close to 63% funded, 62.5% to be exact. So that is really an appeal to provide the missing, the missing funds, because the global funding shortfall requires humanitarian actors to make difficult but principled choices. The response is sharply focused on those most at risk, particularly along the front line, including civilians affected by displacement and repeated strikes on essential infrastructure. So we really call for donors to bridge this funding gap. Daniel, thank you very much for being with us today. Please keep updating us whenever you can. And sorry, I saw Jamie's hand. Was that Jamie? Was that for Daniel? Sorry, Jamie Keeton, Associated Press. AP · Journalist · Jamie Keeton [35:28]: Yes, it was. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [35:28]: Okay, go ahead, she's still there. AP · Journalist · Jamie Keeton [35:31]: Thank you, thank you, Ms. Bell, for coming to see us again. My question actually has to do with the— if you have any metrics in terms of— because you're discussing civilians in Russia, it seems to be a bit of a new commentary from you because you usually focus on Ukraine. So to my knowledge, you haven't always talked about the civilian impact in Russia. My question would be, In terms of accuracy or in terms of collateral damage, is there any way to tell whether or not, by your count, if there are more civilian targets, actual civilian sites being targeted either by Russia or by Ukraine or one one side or the other is doing— is targeting more military sites as opposed to civilian sites. Can you just give us a little bit of a picture in terms of whether or not you have evidence that civilians are being actively targeted in either of those 2 countries? UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [36:45]: Thank you, Jamie. Daniela? OHCHR · Head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine · Danièle Bell [36:48]: Thanks, Jamie. You saved the toughest question for last. First, before I answer your longer question, OHCHR has consistently reported on civilian casualties that take place in the Russian Federation in the periodic reports that we issue several times a year, and that's all available on our website. But it's receiving more coverage now because the numbers are getting higher. Your second The question was, to what extent do we assess that either side is increasingly or consistently directly targeting civilians? With the verification that we do when we go to incident sites, it's not always possible to ascertain what the intended target was. And what we do on the ground is we measure the impact on civilian communities, and then we advocate for other bodies to do proper or formal investigation that leads to accountability and prevention, of course. So we're the fact-finders. Having said that, I'm going to divide up short-range drones, long-range drones, and certain weapons systems. In some cases, when we go to an incident site, for example, if if a ballistic missile has hit a residential building, we'll look to see if there's, you know, a possible military target or potentially military target in the region. So, or that we hear reports that there may have been military presence. So we try to determine that. But sometimes with the way that the weapons are being used, they're being used in such a way that Avoiding civilian harm is quite difficult. I mean, the most obvious example I gave is with these short-range drones where the user can look through a camera and see what he or she— what he's targeting. So for example, I've interviewed people in the front line who speak about holding their dogs in the air or waving their arms to show, I'm, I'm a civilian. AP · Journalist · Jamie Keeton [39:14]: Right. OHCHR · Head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine · Danièle Bell [39:15]: And then that account is matched by when we receive the drone footage, sometimes through the military bloggers will release coverage. We'll see drone coverage of a civilian holding their dog in the air or waving it. So that would be a case where it certainly looks like the civilians were deliberately targeted. With the glide bombs, you know, such as what Tamim spoke about in Zaporizhzhia, You know, it's essentially a bomb that's been re-equipped with, you know, wings and a guidance system that's, you know, dropped through the— to the front line. And it's not as precise as another weapon system, so it often might hit something taller. So for example, you know, I went— I've been in Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia, not this time, but another time, went to an oncology— oncological hospital that had been hit with one of these that was quite tall, and other targets may have been Closer by. So that's a long way, Jamie, of saying it's really difficult to tell, and our role is collecting the facts on the ground and determining the harm that these weapons cause. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [40:26]: Thank you very much, Danielle. Let me see. It's okay. I don't think there are other questions. Thank you very much for answering the difficult question last. Thanks again, and thank you, Tamin, for bringing Daniel to us. But Tamin, you stay with us because you have another topic, and it's Gaza. OHCHR · Spokesperson · Tamim [40:50]: Thank you again, Alessandra. The Israeli military has intensified its attacks in Gaza in recent days, killing and injuring dozens of Palestinians, children women and men. These attacks have struck residential buildings, at least one tent sheltering internally displaced people, and other crowded areas. 9 months after the announcement of a ceasefire, still nowhere is safe for Palestinians in Gaza. The Palestinian Ministry of Health has said that over 1,100 Palestinians have been killed since October 2025 by the Israeli military. Our office has so far verified the killing of 685 Palestinians from October 2025 to mid-April 2026, including 283 women and children, mostly in Israeli attacks reported across the Gaza Strip. Our verification work is ongoing. From the 13th to the 20th of July alone, our office has recorded that the Israeli military killed at least 57 Palestinians, including 6 children and 8 women. Among these victims, 34 were killed far away from the Israeli-imposed yellow line. On the 17th and the 18th of July, for example, 10 Israeli attacks in Gaza City, Middle Gaza, North Gaza, and Khan Younis killed at least 21 Palestinians, including 4 children and 3 women, according to information gathered by our office. In one of these attacks on an apartment in Gaza City, 5 members of one family were killed together— both parents and 3 siblings reportedly aged 8, 15, and 17. The killing of civilians in these attacks raises concerns of continuing violations of international humanitarian law, war crimes, and other possible atrocity crimes in Gaza. Under international humanitarian law, Deliberately attacking civilians is a war crime. Meanwhile, the Palestinian population in Gaza remains trapped in an ever-shrinking area, with the yellow line constantly being moved westwards by the Israeli occupying power, presenting a continuous threat to life as the Israeli military appears to routinely fire on Palestinians for mere presence in the vicinity of that line, in violation of international human rights law and international humanitarian law. The violations, the suffering, and the misery that continue to be imposed on the Palestinians in Gaza cannot be ignored. Third states must take urgent action to insist on full respect For the ceasefire, to put an end to all violations, and to ensure accountability and justice. Thank you. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [44:12]: Thank you, Tamim. Thanks for this important briefing. Let me open the floor to questions. I'm looking at our correspondent in the room, but since I don't see hands, let me go to the platform. Musa, you had a question on the region. Journalist · Moussa [44:29]: J'ai 2 questions à Tamin, mais pas sur Gaza. La première sur le Liban, si je peux commencer. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [44:37]: Bien sûr. Journalist · Moussa [44:37]: Au sud du Liban, depuis le cessez-le-feu il y a pratiquement 2 mois, Israël continue à bombarder, à tuer. Il y a quelques jours, une maîtresse d'école avec sa maman et une 3e dame ont été tuées dans leur maison. Et des villages au sud du Liban sont pratiquement rasés de la carte. Qu'est-ce que vous avez comme information là-dessus et quelle est votre position sur ces actes? Pourtant, depuis le Liban, il n'y a plus rien. Donc on a vraiment un cessez-le-feu depuis l'entrée du cessez-le-feu en vigueur. OHCHR · Spokesperson · Tamim [45:19]: Merci Moussa. Cette image que vous avez décrite de ce qui se passe au Liban est vraiment horrible. On reçoit ces rapports-là sur des personnes qui sont tuées, des civils qui sont tués, des enfants, des femmes, et on continue à documenter des cas, à essayer de vérifier dès qu'on a accès aux zones qui sont touchées. Et on continue à appeler à ce qu'il y ait un processus de responsabilité judiciaire, qu'il y ait des enquêtes indépendantes et transparentes pour établir les responsabilités et s'assurer qu'il y a une justice pour les victimes. Mais l'urgence aussi aujourd'hui, c'est d'arrêter toutes ces attaques, d'arrêter de tuer des civils, et de permettre aux Libanais, ceux qui sont déplacés, de revenir chez eux dans le sud du Liban et dans les autres zones qui ont été évacuées par les forces israéliennes, et de respecter ce cessez-le-feu. Merci. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [46:40]: Merci. Moussa Youa, vous aviez une deuxième question, je crois. Journalist · Moussa [46:46]: Oui, en fait, c'est sur le conflit Iran-États-Unis. On a des rapports, surtout depuis le côté iranien, qu'il y a des bombardements qui ont visé des infrastructures civiles comme les ponts et autres choses. Je ne sais pas s'il y a aussi des infrastructures qui ont été visées d'autre part, mais quels sont vos rapports sur cette situation? OHCHR · Spokesperson · Tamim [47:18]: Merci. Merci Moussa. Je suis pas sûr d'avoir complètement compris la question parce que le son n'était pas super excellent, mais ce que, ce que je peux vous dire, c'est que comme l'a dit le haut-commissaire, cette reprise des hostilités au Moyen-Orient entre les États-Unis et l'Iran est un énorme revers pour les civils en Iran, dans la région et au-delà de la région, parce que ça sape les efforts de paix, ça aggrave l'instabilité. Et il faut que ça cesse. Il faut que cette guerre cesse. Il faut un retour à un vrai cessez-le-feu. Et il faut aussi des enquêtes indépendantes et transparente dans toutes les attaques qui ont touché, qui ont tué des civils, qui ont touché l'infrastructure civile, que ce soit en Iran, aussi dans les pays limitrophes, dans la région et ailleurs. Et il faut aussi s'assurer qu'il y ait un passage fluide et facile pour toutes les commodités nécessaires pour toutes les populations qui en ont besoin, pas que dans la région, mais aussi au-delà de ça, dans d'autres régions du monde qui ont besoin de passages, de commodités pour survivre. Merci. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [48:49]: Et je vous signale aussi la déclaration du porte-parole du Secrétaire général qui a confirmé effectivement cette préoccupation du secrétaire général pour le retour des hostilités ou la résurgence des hostilités et l'augmentation des violences dans la région, et a demandé effectivement la désescalation. Je ne sais pas comment on dit en français. Le retour, enfin, que ça cesse immédiatement et que les les civils et les objectifs civils soient protégés, comme l'infrastructure vitale sur laquelle les civils comptent pour pouvoir survivre, donc ce qui inclut les hôpitaux, l'eau, et que toutes les parties au conflit respectent leurs obligations sous la loi internationale humanitaire. Gorki. Journalist · El Hadji Gorgui Ouattoundou [49:54]: Oui, allô, bonjour. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [49:56]: Bonjour, allez-y. Journalist · El Hadji Gorgui Ouattoundou [49:58]: Voilà, merci beaucoup. El Hadji Gorgui Ouattoundou, Le Soleil de Dakar, Continental Premier. Je voudrais d'abord demander à Monsieur de l'OHA, s'il peut nous envoyer son discours de tout à l'heure sur la situation inter-palestinienne. Donc ça, c'est une demande. Escalation, comment on l'appelle, Madame la Directrice? C'est escalade en français. Maintenant, ma question. La question est aujourd'hui, le constat est fait, nous avons un État qui s'appelle Israël qui aujourd'hui défie ouvertement les Nations Unies, la charte de l'ONU, et qui ne respecte aucune forme de résolution. J'ai vu récemment, aujourd'hui même, dans tous les journaux du monde sérieux, où on fait état de, qu'il ne s'arrête même plus à assassiner, voilà, il s'arrête plus à assassiner, à tuer des enfants. à éventrer des femmes, à détruire des écoles, à détruire des mosquées, à détruire des églises. Aujourd'hui, en plus, ils volent et ils violent Gaza. Le peu qui reste à Gaza, Israël vous le prend. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [51:26]: C'est quoi votre question? Journalist · El Hadji Gorgui Ouattoundou [51:28]: Non, madame, vous me laissez parler, s'il vous plaît. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [51:33]: J'ai besoin de poser une question. On a besoin de— Journalist · El Hadji Gorgui Ouattoundou [51:35]: Non, non, vous me laissez parler. S'il vous plaît. Alors, parce que ma question est bien relative à une situation donnée qui n'est plus un secret, et on doit avoir le courage de nommer un chien un chien. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [51:52]: OK, mais si vous posez pas votre question, on peut pas vous répondre, donc on aimerait bien entendre votre question. Journalist · El Hadji Gorgui Ouattoundou [51:59]: Bon bref, c'est vous qui faites perdre du temps. Ma question est de savoir, est-ce qu'aujourd'hui un État voyou a encore sa place au sein des Nations unies? Je vous remercie. OHCHR · Spokesperson · Tamim [52:17]: Merci beaucoup pour cette question. D'abord, les communiqués que je viens de vous lire sont déjà envoyés, donc vous devriez l'avoir dans vos boîtes mail. Par rapport à la situation dans les territoires palestiniens occupés. Je pense que c'est très clair dans les rapports, les documents et les communiqués que notre Haut Commissariat a publiés depuis le début de cette escalade le 7 octobre 2023, mais bien avant cela. C'est une situation qui est atroce, pour le peuple palestinien qui a son droit à l'autodétermination. Je pense que les violations qui ont été commises et qui sont commises par l'armée israélienne et par le Hamas et les groupes armés palestiniens sont très clairement documentées dans les rapports du Haut-Commissaire. Et notre, notre appel reste toujours le même et restera le même: les droits humains de tout le monde, les droits, le droit humain du peuple palestinien à l'autodétermination, la fin de l'occupation israélienne dans le territoire palestinien occupé et la solution à deux États qui garantit les droits humains des deux peuples. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [53:59]: Merci. Ah oui, j'avais pas mis le micro, pardon. Merci, Tamim. There is a last question from Satoko Adachi. Journalist · Satoko Adachi [54:09]: Yes, thank you very much for doing this. Can you hear me? UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [54:13]: We can. Journalist · Satoko Adachi [54:13]: Hello? UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [54:16]: Yes. Journalist · Satoko Adachi [54:17]: Could you tell us how many percent of the Gaza territory has been occupied by the Israeli army now? OHCHR · Spokesperson · Tamim [54:27]: Thank you for that question. I don't have a specific figure. We have seen report— media reports on statements by the Israeli prime minister saying that he ordered the military to advance to 70% of the territory of Gaza. but that's not information verified by our office. Journalist · Satoko Adachi [54:54]: Thank you. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [54:55]: Thank you. OHCHR · Spokesperson · Tamim [54:56]: I just would like to add that the whole of the Gaza Strip is officially and legally under Israeli occupation. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [55:04]: Thank you very much, Tamim. And yes, the— sorry, sorry, Emma, go ahead. Reuters · Journalist · Emma [55:10]: It's more of an institutional question, if you may. I just realized that 4 years have passed and And it's the end of Türk's term, I believe, in October, if I'm not mistaken. What are the next steps, please? Will it be extended? Will he have another 4-year mandate? Thank you. OHCHR · Spokesperson · Tamim [55:29]: Thank you for that, Emma. I guess this is a question for the member states and the Secretary-General, for our colleagues in New York. I believe the High Commissioner is ready to serve, but this is something that's more for the, for the New York part of the UN. Reuters · Journalist · Emma [55:46]: Thank you. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [55:47]: Thank you very much. Thanks, Tamim, for these 2 important briefings. Yes, thank you. So let me turn over to my left. Zoe, I think your colleague might want to sit here because of the frame. Please. So let's give our colleagues from IOM the time to set it down. Thank you, Tammy. Please. Okay, so welcome to our IOM colleagues. Zoe has brought us Maria Moïta, who is the Director of the Department of Humanitarian Response and Recovery. I believe you have a briefing on Venezuela. You want to start, Zoe? IOM · Zoe [56:28]: Yes, thank you very much, everybody. So I have indeed brought with me from IOM today Maria Moita, who is our Director from the Department of Humanitarian Response and Recovery, and she has just returned from a visit to our teams in Venezuela coping with the earthquake recovery. So she will deliver a few words on that and then open to questions. Thank you very much. IOM · Director of the Department of Humanitarian Response and Recovery · Maria Moïta [56:54]: Good morning, and thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today. As Zoe mentioned, last week I returned from Venezuela, where I've visited the communities hardest hit by the twin earthquakes, including La Guaira, the area most severely affected. I met families who lost everything, local authorities, humanitarian partners, and IOM staff working around the clock to support the response. Today marks one month after these devastating earthquakes. It has been a month of immense immense loss, grief, and uncertainty. But it has also been a month of extraordinary courage and bravery. As I went through the affected neighborhoods, I was struck by the scale of the destruction, but even more, the strength and solidarity of the people I met. I witnessed entire communities pulling together to help, including those affected by the earthquakes. Families shared heartbreaking stories of losing loved ones, their homes, their belongings, and their livelihoods in a matter of seconds. Many are still living next to the collapsed and/or heavily damaged buildings, hoping that loved ones can still be recovered or trying to salvage the few possessions they have left. The emotional toll is enormous. People are living with trauma, anxiety, and uncertainty about what comes next. Children, parents, and older people alike need not only shelter and basic assistance, but also continued psychosocial support to help them begin to recover. Across these affected areas, one message came through very clearly: people need a safe place to live. Shelter remains the most urgent priority. A safe place to live is much more than a roof overhead. It's the foundation for recovery. Without safe shelter, it is impossible to restore any sort of normal life, for children to return to school, for parents to return to work, and for a sense of stability to be reestablished. Many families Families continue to move between temporary shelters, staying with relatives or wherever they can find space. Understanding where people are moving is essential so that assistance reaches those who are in need. Protection risks are also increasing in some displacement sites as overcrowding, inadequate lighting, and limited communal spaces increase the risks of gender-based violence and human trafficking, particularly for women and girls. IOM is working side by side with the government of Venezuela and humanitarian partners to respond. We are managing 5 temporary shelters hosting around 6,000 people. So far, we have reached more than 8,200 people with shelter assistance, site coordination, healthcare, protection services, and displacement tracking. But we also know that recovery must begin now. Experience from emergencies around the world tell us that people cannot wait for the crisis to end before we build— start rebuilding their lives. To support this effort, IOM is appealing for $98 million to assist 850,000 people through a response that combines flight life-saving assistance with early recovery, resilience, and long-term solutions. This includes shelter, water and sanitation, protection, livelihoods, psychosocial support, and displacement tracking. The people of Venezuela have demonstrated incredible, incredible strength in the face of great loss. Our responsibility now is to stand with them not only in the immediate aftermath of the disaster, but throughout the long road to recovery. They need our support to heal and rebuild their homes and restore their communities. IOM calls on our partners to continue to give hope to Venezuela in their moment of greatest need. Thank you. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [1:01:08]: Thank you very much, Maria. And let me open the floor to questions, if any, in the room. I don't see any hand up, so let's go to the platform. Paula? Paula Dupraz is from Geneva Solutions. Geneva Solutions · Journalist · Paula Dupraz [1:01:23]: Good morning. I had a question about whether IOM has received assistance from the US for your efforts in Venezuela, and if so, how much and how this may compare with the more recent assistance when it comes to the Venezuelan migration situation, any assistance, recent assistance from the US going there, and when that could have been. And yeah, just basically recent trends in funding. And then I wonder, I wanted to know if IOM has communicated with the US Regarding concerns over deportations, returns, forced returns to Venezuela. As you probably know, there, there were a number of deported Venezuelans that were killed in the, the quakes and possible discussions with the US regarding reinstating TPS Thank you for the question. IOM · Director of the Department of Humanitarian Response and Recovery · Maria Moïta [1:02:53]: Starting with your first question about the funding, yes, IOM has received funding from the US. Several organizations have. It is public information that the United States have provided substantive funding support. support to the Venezuelan response, both through bilateral funding to some UN agencies, one of each IOM, and also NGOs. And another portion of that funding has been channeled through the OCHA-managed pooled funds. With regards to the deportation question, as you know, this is an agreement from government to government. IOM does not have a role in those negotiations, so we are not aware what is the current status of that conversation. What we know at this point in time is that the airport in Caracas is still not operating, and it will take some time because it's been also damaged during the earthquake. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [1:03:46]: Thank you very much. This thing doesn't work today. Thank you very much. Any other question to IOM? Yes, Nina Larson, AFP. AFP · Journalist · Nina Larson [1:03:57]: Sorry, just to follow up on that, has IOM IOM has been asked to assist in repatriating Venezuelans from the US. IOM · Director of the Department of Humanitarian Response and Recovery · Maria Moïta [1:04:10]: Oh, it's already on. I'm sorry. So IOM, although I'm here mostly to talk about my experience in visiting the earthquake-affected areas and that assistance, but I can also tell you that IOM is not part of the deportation process, as I was mentioning, but it has in the past assisted not deportations, but people that have returned voluntarily to the country through our agreement with the states that are involved. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [1:04:42]: Thank you. Thank you very much, Maria Paula. As a follow-up? Geneva Solutions · Journalist · Paula Dupraz [1:04:54]: Yeah, just on that. I mean, to how much degree is it coordinated between the actual deportations and the resettlement arrangements? How much coordination is there between the US once they deport and the resettlements? the assistance that you're providing in terms of helping the Venezuelans that are deported being resettled in their country? IOM · Director of the Department of Humanitarian Response and Recovery · Maria Moïta [1:05:30]: So resettlement is when people go as a refugee to another country, right? So perhaps this is confusion in terminology, but just to be clear, there is no linkage to what we're doing now in terms of supporting people that have been affected by the earthquakes. The assistance that IOM is coordinating with the local authorities and through the funding that was mentioned, that's not only the American funding, but also from other donors that are investing efforts to support the people affected by the earthquakes. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [1:06:11]: Maybe it wasn't clear, Paula, because I see your hand is up again. Geneva Solutions · Journalist · Paula Dupraz [1:06:18]: Yes, no, I'm sorry about the terminology. It's regarding the coordination that the IOM may have with the US when it comes to deportations and, you know, receiving and helping to Helping the returnees to Venezuela resettle. I mean, I guess, you know, it's all terminology, but I hope you understand. IOM · Director of the Department of Humanitarian Response and Recovery · Maria Moïta [1:06:50]: It's the reintegration perhaps that you mean. I see what you mean. So again, there's, and not getting too technical, but of course there are different tracks in which we, the migration management takes place. The deportation is one track for which IOM is not involved. It's an agreement between the State of Venezuela and the United States. In terms of the assisted voluntary return, it's a program that has been long-running in Venezuela as well, where IOM supports with the reintegration and this— the arrival and some level of reintegration of the returnees. That has been on hold after the earthquakes, given the situation in the country, including, as I mentioned, the airport has been damaged. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [1:07:37]: I think it's pretty clear. Thank you very much. Any other question to IOM? Yes, Nina. AFP · Journalist · Nina Larson [1:07:43]: Sorry to keep harping on this. I just wanted to ask, so on the— I understand you're involved in the voluntary return to Venezuela. Given the fact that the U.S. is putting a lot of pressure on people to self-deport, as they call it, does IOM have systems in place, or are you helping people to return when they say they want to but are perhaps under pressure from the U.S. authorities to do so? And also, do you have any of the people who were killed in the earthquake who were returnees Were there any of those that IOM had assisted in returning, and is that of concern to you? Thank you. IOM · Director of the Department of Humanitarian Response and Recovery · Maria Moïta [1:08:29]: No, for that very unfortunate situation, IOM was not involved because, again, they were deportees and that's the agreement between the states. Perhaps that's something that we can follow up with you bilaterally on more information. I don't have all the data and the points to answer adequately to your question at this point. Zoe? IOM · Zoe [1:08:56]: Just that I can follow up with you on that bilaterally, Nina, but to assert that IOM was not involved in that tragic situation. Thank you. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [1:09:07]: Okay. I think that was the last question. I don't see any other hand up. So thank you very much for your briefing, Maria. Thanks, Louis, for coming. Thank you very much for this briefing. And let me go to our last but definitely not least speaker, who is Matt Saltmarsh. Matt, you're online. Hello, good morning. Go ahead. UNHCR · Matt Saltmarsh [1:09:31]: Good morning, Alessandra. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for having me here this morning. A quick note Thank you. A note from us on tragic shipwrecks and rescues last week in West Africa. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is extremely saddened and concerned at reports that 144 people are either dead or missing as a result of tragic maritime incidents off the coast of Mauritania last week. The refugees and migrants were reported dead or missing after attempting the perilous sea journey from West Africa towards Europe. And that, of course, highlights the continued human costs of these dangerous routes. Overall, 3 rescue and disembarkation operations were conducted between the 14th and the 18th of July in Nouadhibou, Mauritania. And that brought 387 people safely ashore. UNHCR was present at the disembarkations with all of our partners. And of course, the survivors came from various different countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Passengers on one of the boats that was rescued on the 18th of July had experienced particular tragedy. with 143 people reported dead or missing and just 38 surviving after nearly 25 days stranded on the Atlantic, having left The Gambia to try to reach Spain. Among the survivors on that ship were 2 children who had lost all their family members during the journey and are now recovering in hospital with other survivors. Another death was reported from among passengers on a boat that was disembarked on the 14th of July. Overall, this is a stark reminder that despite sustained efforts by coastal authorities and partners to save lives, the Atlantic route from West Africa to the Canary Islands remains one of the world's deadliest mixed movement corridors due to long distances, unpredictable ocean conditions, Unseaworthy and overcrowded boats, and limited access to timely rescue. Despite the number of arrivals to the Spanish archipelago dropping this year by some 61% from 2025, with 4,400 arrivals as of the 15th of July, the incidents do highlight the persistent risks faced by refugees and migrants attempting to reach Europe, many of whom were embarking from over 2,000 kilometres away from their intended destinations. Overall, if we look at arrivals to Europe by sea so far this year on the major routes, there have been over 40,000 this year compared to over 65,000 in the first half of 2025. Still, UNHCR and our partners have repeatedly warned that deaths and disappearances at sea continue at alarming levels, with many incidents occurring far from public attention and often resulting in entire boats vanishing. Against this backdrop, the rescues in Mauritania demonstrate that concerted efforts need to be made to address the root causes driving refugees and migrants to take these perilous journeys while providing quicker and meaningful access to legal pathways through which refugees and migrants can find safety and opportunity. Thank you, Alessandra. I'll leave it there. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [1:13:22]: Thank you. Thank you very much, Matt. Thanks for this briefing, and I'm sure everybody would love to have it in their mailbox if you, if you can send it out. Any question to UNHCR? I don't see any hand up. Oh, Paula. Geneva Solutions · Journalist · Paula Dupraz [1:13:41]: Well, first of all, on that story, do you have the nationalities of the victims? And then I have other questions that are less, well, less related to that. UNHCR · Matt Saltmarsh [1:14:00]: In terms of the nationalities of those who were rescued, they were from sub-Saharan Africa. We don't have an exact breakdown of all the nationalities at this stage, but we can get you that later if you would like that information. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [1:14:16]: Thank you, Matt. Paula, what other questions you had? Geneva Solutions · Journalist · Paula Dupraz [1:14:21]: Yeah, can you hear me? UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [1:14:22]: Yes, we can. Geneva Solutions · Journalist · Paula Dupraz [1:14:24]: Okay, so as you probably read, our colleagues at Reuters said that, reported that the US is considering disengaging with your agency. And I wanted to know, has the UNHCR been in discussions with the US over this issue? What have they told you as a reason for the disengagement? And otherwise, what do you suspect may be the reason? And what would this disengagement mean for the agency? And then separately, another question on the anniversary celebrations, perhaps, which I can come back to afterwards. UNHCR · Matt Saltmarsh [1:15:16]: Sure. Thanks, Paula. In terms of the report, yes, we have seen the Reuters report. We're not commenting on that. We don't comment on speculation. All we would say is that any comment on U.S. funding of UNHCR or other international organizations, of course, needs to come from the U.S. government themselves. So that's all we're going to say on that at this stage. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [1:15:42]: Paula, your last question. Geneva Solutions · Journalist · Paula Dupraz [1:15:47]: Yes, and I saw that next week you're going to be celebrating your anniversary. Just wondering who will be attending those celebrations. UNHCR · Matt Saltmarsh [1:15:55]: Uh, that's right. It's not actually our anniversary. It's the 75th anniversary of the Refugee Convention, the 1951 Refugee Convention, and the event will take place on the 28th of July. Um, we will be sending out an advisory to the Palais media hopefully today, and journalists of course will be welcome to attend that event. In attendance will be, of course, our High Commissioner, senior officials alongside a number of our goodwill ambassadors and other high-profile supporters. So hopefully you can join us for that, and we will give you details on that very shortly. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [1:16:38]: Thank you very much, Matt. Any other question? Yes, Emma. I'm trying to see on the platform also, but go ahead, Emma. Reuters · Journalist · Emma [1:16:49]: Um, hi, Matt. Just to clarify on the shipwrecks, the 143 who died, um, were they— sorry, all in one, or was it several? If you could just clarify that point. Um, and then on, uh, institutional question on the building, I, I understand you're, you're moving to Palais Wilson. Uh, my colleague at ARD had a scoop on that. Um, when are you moving and why, and what's going to happen to your current address? UNHCR · Matt Saltmarsh [1:17:20]: Thank you. Thanks, Emma. Uh, on the first question around the shipwrecks and rescues, uh, there was 143 from one vessel, uh, that was disembarked, and then one further person from a second vessel. So that makes it 144. staff altogether. Hopefully that clarifies that. In terms of your other question about the move to Paley Wilson, yes, we can confirm that we will be moving from our current premises in Geneva, our headquarters staff, to the Paley Wilson building, which is not too far away. We don't have an exact date for that move at this stage. We expect it could be relatively soon, but we'll have to see. And in terms of the reasons for doing so, as you know through your own reporting, last year we had significant cuts in staff, both here in Geneva but also globally. And so the move to this premises will help us to save significant funds on our, on our rent. We estimate around 50% saving on our rent. And in terms of what's going to happen to this current building, that's a question for the Swiss authorities who own and manage the premises. Thanks. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [1:18:46]: Thank you very much, Matt Gorky. Journalist · El Hadji Gorgui Ouattoundou [1:18:51]: Bonjour. Excusez-moi, tout à l'heure j'ai été déconnecté, je ne sais pas pourquoi. Vous avez une question sur Venezuela. Alors je sais que On est en train de faire des appels. Maintenant, on sait que le gouvernement américain a bloqué des fonds de Venezuela. Est-ce que l'ONU pourrait aider ce pays à récupérer son argent pour pouvoir s'occuper aussi de la situation? C'est l'occasion pour moi aussi de m'incliner devant les tous ces morts. Voilà, c'était ça ma question par rapport au Venezuela. Et sur l'anniversaire du Haut Commissariat pour les réfugiés, j'espère que ce sera aussi une bonne opportunité, monsieur, pour vous de rappeler les conditions dans lesquelles ces institutions ont été créées. et pourquoi aujourd'hui il faut les préserver? Je vous remercie. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [1:19:59]: Gorky, les collègues du HAIOM qui parlaient du Venezuela sont partis. Je ne sais pas si Matt a quelque chose sur le Venezuela et peut répondre en partie, et sinon sur la deuxième question. UNHCR · Matt Saltmarsh [1:20:12]: Non, pas sur le Venezuela, mais sur la deuxième question, oui, on est en accord que c'est une bonne opportunité pour dire les raisons pour notre création et pour la Convention. Et donc on va avoir cet événement le 28 juillet et également un communiqué de presse. Et j'espère qu'il y aura des opportunités de parler avec ceux qui vont assister à cet événement. Merci. UNIS · Moderator · Alessandra [1:20:46]: Merci beaucoup, Matt. Merci pour ce briefing. Je ne vois pas d'autres I don't see any other question for you, so thanks for that. And since I don't have much of an— many announcements for you, because it's, as you know, we have suspended for a while the meetings of the Human Rights Treaty Body as well as the Council of Conference on Disarmament, I think we could close here if there are no other questions. Just a reminder that you all know that we have opened the Portail des Nations in June, and we will soon send you some information about particular favorable conditions for journalists to visit the Portail. So this is coming to your boxes in a little while. Otherwise, thank you very much, and I'll see you— in fact, I think Rolando will see you on Friday. Thank you very much. Bon appétit. UNHCR · Matt Saltmarsh [1:21:46]: Thank you.