UN Geneva Press Briefing: UNHCR, WHO, ILO

Okay, let's move on to our first briefer. Matt is here, of course, from UNHCR. Philippe Leclerc, who's been here before, who's UNHCR's Bureau Director for Europe, and I'm very pleased to have you here to talk about the situation in Ukraine. Over to you, sir.

Thank you very much, and indeed we'll talk about the situation in Ukraine, but also the situation for Ukrainians abroad. 5.2 million refugees are still outside of Ukraine because of the persistence of. of the attacks on Ukraine as we approach winter, and that energy centers are being the target of attacks by the Russian forces, and the strikes are every night, as you hear, in Kyiv, but also all over the country, in particular Odesa, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia. People are facing attacks which can target any part of the country. Of course, more intensified attacks along the front lines and Kyiv, but no part of Ukraine is safe, as it can be targeted by long-range missiles as well as drone attacks. People are looking for safety, they’re looking for heating as the winter approaches, and it is important to remind the world, the donors, the individuals throughout the world of the need to support civilians who are attacked in a daily manner, as well as the people who are outside and found refugee refuge outside of the country. This is also – these attacks are not sparing humanitarians supporting the Ukrainian people along the front lines, as since between 1st September and 14th October, 10 security incidents impacted UNHCR personnel or partners, including drone and aerial strikes on humanitarian teams, offices, and warehouses. So this puts humanitarian workers who are obviously supporting civilians attacked. And this should stop, and they should not be – they should be protected and not treated as target. As we see these attacks continuing, internal displacement is continuing. Since January 26, over 136,000 evacuees have been received at all UNHCR-supported transit centers, around 70 percent more than the nearly 80,000 who passed through these sites in 2025. Again, the attacks on civilians are growing. We, of course, welcome any attempt to have ceasefire and As we speak, in Oleshky, which is a town near Kherson in a very difficult area along the front lines where between 1,700 and 2,000 persons are still living there, a ceasefire has started at 3:00 AM Ukrainian time, 4:00 AM. Russian time, which is supported by Dmytro Lubinets, the ombudsperson for human rights in Ukraine, and Yana Lantratova, the human rights ombudsperson for the Russian Federation. This initiative is welcomed and hopefully will support through support of humanitarian support to the population there, which has not been able to get such support, and the possibility of free movement enabling people who would wish to evacuate these areas to do so. Again, we will be following these developments during the day and the days to come, as it is supposed to last for four days. Again, we welcome, obviously, such initiatives and hope that Prolonged ceasefire could be made for the rest of the country. Just to mention again the situation in. Asylum countries, an interagency survey that we released recently showed that 67 percent of adult Ukrainian refugees in nine countries were employed; 48 percent of the refugee children are enrolled in national schools. It’s particularly important as we speak that this sense of normalcy for those who have fled Ukraine – you know that temporary protection was extended for Ukrainian people living in EU member states as well as other states like the U.K. Moldova, and Norway so that legal continuity and stability can be provided until March 28th. It is important that beyond access to employment, which again. A research that we did with Deloitte in Poland has shown that in 2025, the work of the refugees generated 2.4 percent of Poland’s GDP, equivalent to some $24 billion. So refugees are not only a burden; they are willing to be autonomous. They can contribute to the societies hosting them. We welcome again the efforts that have been made by so many European states in hosting them through temporary protection, but after four and a half – more than four years of war, temporary protection is not enough, and it is important to include the Ukrainians in national welfare support systems, as the mental health situation of many of them is degrading and the support is not always provided. So our message is, again, in view of the continued uncertainty and the many strikes that Ukrainians are victims of in Ukraine, that the effort to support them both within and outside of Ukraine continues. I'll stop there and have some questions if there are some.

Thank you so much, Philippe. A very important briefing, of course. Let's see who has a question in the room, perhaps. Yes, Isabel, EFE, Spanish news agency. Go ahead.

Yes, good morning. I would like to know if UNHCR has any role in the evacuation of civilians in Oleshki.

Excuse me?

UNHCR has a role in supporting the Ukrainian authorities and the Red Cross Society in the evacuation of the more than 130,000 I mentioned this year. Most of the support that UNHCR and its Ukrainian partners, NGOs, are providing are in UNHCR and NGO support centers when people are evacuated from the locations which are dangerous, and are supported with psychological support, legal support. If they wish to stay, they will be provided with accommodation and, again, psychological and medical support, because most of the people who are evacuated are people who are elderly, are often in need of strong medical and psychological support. They have been going through four years of conflict, and their state is extremely weak for many of them. So this is the support that UNHCR, with its partners and in very close coordination with the Ukrainian Government, be at the provincial level or at national level, provides.

Okay. A question from Emma then, Reuters.

Good morning. You mentioned 10 security incidents between September and mid-October. Can you put that in context for me? Is that a big increase? And I'm wondering if you're mulling potentially moving warehouses or other facilities underground to protect from drone strikes. Thank you.

Yes, thank you for your question. As I was mentioning, we have seen a strong increase of such attacks, both on UNHCR warehouses as well as the partner warehouses. Three NGOs supporting us have been attacked. And actually, this – there have been some casualties with at least two persons of NGOs working with us who have died as a result of the attacks, and five of them being severely wounded. So we do see an increase of attacks on warehouses, also on sometimes convoys or vehicles trying to reach places which are close to the front lines, and this can affect United Nations agencies, as OCHA also some time ago, but very much also the NGOs working very close to the people and are doing an extraordinary work. And even though they are affected by these attacks, as I said, very severely, with two persons who died and people wounded, this is not preventing them from continuing their work to have access to people in need.

Thank you again. Further questions, colleagues? Yes, Isabel.

Yes, regarding to that subject. What do you think could be the reason of these attacks, which, of course, are prohibited by the humanitarian international law? Is that to create fear, as you said, to prevent the humanitarian organizations to give help, aid to the civilians in Ukraine?

Well, first, as you have said, this is a clear violation of international humanitarian law to have civilians targeted, as well as humanitarian workers trying to help civilian people. What we see over the last months is increased attacks, as I mentioned, to particular towns, including Kyiv, as well as to energy related centers, which will provide support to the civilians during the winter. So there seems to be a deliberate attack on such energy-related centers, and we know how important they are. in a country which goes through very severe winters, as we saw – as we witnessed last year. So these are widespread attacks over civilian targets that also affect humanitarian agencies as a deliberate attack again from the Russian forces.

Thank you again. Back to you, Emma, online.

Yes, just to follow up on what you can do about this increase in attacks on your convoys and warehouses and your partners. What are you considering? Could you move them underground? Can you invest in armored vehicles? Can you deflect drones? Or is this considered unacceptable for humanitarian groups? Is it considered military? How can you address this? Thank you.

Well, as you say, humanitarians are exposed to new situations of war, as we witnessed them and the Russian Federation-Ukrainian international conflict, where work to have access to civilians is more and more difficult. So we are indeed reacting in enabling our partners to have armored vehicles. We are also making sure that bomb shelters are produced in areas where civilians may be in need of evacuation, also possibly preventing risks of being attacked at the border if the situation would occur. So UNHCR and partners are looking at ways to secure – I mean, it will not be full security, that’s obvious, as I was mentioning, but how do you deal with drones? You know that if you have been to Ukraine, many of the roads reaching to people who are trapped are with nets, which prevent somehow direct attack from the drones. It’s a constant effort on the part of humanitarians to adapt to the new ways of conducting war. As we have said, violations of international humanitarian law are taking place. They should be denounced and prevented. In this context, it’s also very important to continue being able to help people in need, and it is our duty to make sure that we do not expose our personnel as well as the NGOs supporting us to a situation which would be too risky. So it is a constant, again, effort on our side to adapt to the situation. That’s what I can say.

And I would just add that UNHCR plans to release a press release this week on preparations for the coming winter season, not just in Ukraine, in other countries in the global north as well. But obviously, this is going to be a very challenging winter ahead in Ukraine and a very important one to raise advocacy around, but also to raise money for the people in that country who are obviously suffering under these strikes we've just heard about.

Thanks for that mention, Matt. Of course, we'll look out for that. Let's see if there are further questions for Mr. Leclerc. On Ukraine? I don't see that's the case. So on that note, I'd like to thank you very much once again for joining us. Immensely important, as always, so we'll keep the spotlight bright on the situation in Ukraine. Thank you so very much. Thank you. Okay, colleagues, we’re going to shift to our focus to the DRC, where we have Dr. Meg Dougherty, who’s the director of Department of Science for Health, who’s joining us. Tarek is online, so maybe I’ll throw it to you, Tarek, if you want to introduce Dr. Dougherty, who’s going to speak about vaccine trials on Ebola. So, Tarek, over to you first.

Thank you very much, Rolando. Well, let's give the floor immediately to Dr. Doherty. She is, beside being our Director for Science for Health, she's also leading on research and development blueprint, and she is our technical lead for vaccine trials, and she's in Bunia, and will tell us more about ongoing vaccine trials. Meg, please, over to you.

Okay. Good morning. I'm in Igounya to support the launch of the Tumani trial, which is a crucial clinical trial that we have hope will give us the answers to some of the most urgent scientific questions in this outbreak. Can vaccines protect people against Bunyabujwa virus disease? The Tumani means, actually, hope in Swahili and is giving us some hope. I'm helping the research team put in place the scientific and operational foundations needed to conduct this trial rigorously and ethically, building on WHO's previous experience in running these trials in other countries. On Friday, I was present as the DRC launched the trial, where four people were vaccinated. It was moving to see this trial begin, just as it has been deeply sad to see the effect of this outbreak on communities. I lived and worked in DRC nearly 40 years ago, and it is quite heartbreaking to see this beautiful country challenged by outbreaks on top of humanitarian crises. However, I am encouraged by seeing the work we're doing together with the Congolese and international scientists, local health authorities, and health workers working alongside the communities and partners. This trial is led by the Democratic Republic of Congo authorities and is integrated into the outbreak response, and is managed by the Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale, or the INRB, which is the National Public Health and Biomedical Research Institute. The co-principal investigators, Dr. Hugo Kabunga of the INRB and Dr. Jean-Pierre Van Goor Tuyin from the University of Antwerp will ensure that this trial unfolds with speed, ensuring high quality science and community engagement. We are already discussing how to expand from one site to more sites, leveraging the community outreach teams. TUMANI is a platform clinical trial that is designed so that every single or several vaccines and all the vaccines we have right now can be evaluated within one research framework and uses a ring vaccination approach involving context of people with a confirmed case. So 10 years ago, during the West African Ebola outbreak, WHO and its partners used the same ring vaccination approach in Guinea to help establish the efficacy of a vaccine called Ervebo. Today, scientists are building on that experience to seek answers about the Bunyabujah virus. Ervebo is the first vaccine being evaluated in this platform trial. which we know because it is safe and it is effective against the Ebola caused by what used to be called the Ebola virus. It is not yet known if it will have any protective effect against the Ebola caused by Bunyabujjo virus. Last week, the technical advisory groups convened by WHO evaluated the evidence on two vaccines designed specifically against Bujjo-Bujjo. That is the ChAdOx1 developed by the University of Oxford with the Serum Institute of India, and Moderna's mRNA-1469. The advisory group will review all their data and publish their recommendations, we believe, this week. In the meantime, the rings are being set up with people who have family members sick with Ebola or who have been exposed to the virus in any other way. This week, two rings are in place and several more are being prepared for inclusion. Community members are already walking into the site asking to be enrolled, highlighting the intense need of an efficacious vaccine. And we do not know yet for certain when the results will begin to emerge, but we will expect that it will take several months. But already having this trial in place is an important step towards gathering the scientific data that will help policymakers reach decisions on which vaccines we can use, and we anticipate and hope to protect people in this outbreak and future outbreaks. So I'd be happy to take questions. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Dr. Daugherty. Very important development indeed. So let's see if there are questions for you. In the room, online, we have one from Robin of AFP. Robin, over to you.

Thank you. Yes, I just wondered if it makes a difference how soon somebody is vaccinated after contact, and whether that is something that you're measuring, whether that forms part of the trial? Thank you.

Yes, currently, the trial design is set up to be able to vaccinate between those who are eligible between one and 21 days after an exposure. That means a close contact with somebody with known Ebola, Bunyabujew disease. And we won't know if the timing makes any difference until we get more information and enroll more people into the trial.

Okay, thank you very much for clarifying that. Emma, Reuters.

Good morning. A couple of questions. Which other vaccines will you use besides Ervebo? And on what scale is this happening? Roughly how many people, how many rings do you think you'll be able to set up? And finally, Are you running any trials or studies looking into whether infection with Bundibugyo confers lifelong immunity down the line, or how long immunity lasts after a survivor recovers? Thank you.

Thank you. So as I mentioned in my notes, but it is complicated. It is a platform trial, so it is set up so that as new vaccines become available, especially for those targeted to Winy Wujer specific virus. they can be studied in this trial. So it's starting with Ervebo because it's available, it's in country, and I think for the next three or four weeks, that will be the primary vaccine that has been brought into this trial, and we need to know that even though it was developed for Ebola Zaire virus, we want to know if it has any vaccine efficacy in preventing new infections with Bunyabugyo virus. After that, and we hope mid-November, that we'll be able to start adding in the Bunyabugyo specific vaccines. Those are the ones that were mentioned. from Oxford and from Moderna. There are several other vaccines that are being developed in the pipeline, and as they make their go through their initial studies, if they look promising, they too could be brought into this vaccine platform trial. The scale of the trial, it's an event-driven So that means it's not based upon number of people enrolled, but it's on a number of events that either occur or are prevented. And I would say it will take us several months to get those number of events prevented and/or. And so we hope that it starts out with probably two to four rings per day, scaling up to six rings per day of 10 people. Eventually, it could be into the thousands, the number of people who will be enrolled in this trial. And then, are there other studies? Yes, there are many other studies that WHO is aware of that were not currently leading or co-sponsoring that are looking at the natural history, what happens once one survives, and looking at the long-term immunity. And we hope all of that other observational data that's getting collected will actually give us a lot more information about Bunyabujah virus disease. And also within this trial, there will be some immunology studies conducted as well.

Thank you again. I think going back to you, Robin, do you have a follow-up or another question entirely? Go ahead.

Yeah, just to clarify, these vaccines, both the Moderna one and the ChAdOx one, just to be clear, these are not vaccines that prevent you from catching the virus, but prevent you from developing severe disease if you do catch the virus. Is that a correct understanding? If you could just clarify. Thank you.

Yes, I know this has been a bit confusing around the messages. Ervebo is a vaccine that has been developed and is licensed for use and has been known to prevent what we call Ebola Zaire, which is a different type of Ebola. And it's different in terms of its genetic makeup than the Ebola Bunyabujah virus. So only Ervebo is being studied in observational studies, not the one that I'm talking about, not 2-Money, to see if it reduces severe disease or death. However, in 2-Money, we're looking at vaccine efficacy across all the vaccines. What does that mean? We're looking to see if it prevents new infections. And that's really important. So vaccine efficacy is different than effectiveness. So efficacy, I know these are, you know, our terms we use in clinical trials, but it's important to distinguish that a vaccine efficacy of 80 or 90% is really going to be what we were looking for in a vaccine that can interrupt transmission and to prevent, if somebody has a vaccine, that they won't acquire the disease at all. Effectiveness is that maybe that vaccine has an effect on reducing the severity of disease or death, and that's effectiveness. And there are several other studies being run right now with Ervebo to look at its effectiveness. The Bunyabujw specific vaccines, which are the ChAdOx and Oxford and the Moderna, those two. We don't have any information about them, about reducing severity of disease or death because they're brand new. They've been developed for this outbreak. They've come to research and development rapidly so we can use them in this trial. And we're hoping, and what we are looking for in this trial, is that they will show some level of vaccine efficacy or interrupting transmission between people.

Thank you. Of course, we express our hope that you And does that help to clarify? I think it does. Dr. Daut, I was just making sure there are no further questions for you. No, that's not the case. So again, thank you very, very much for joining us here in Geneva from Bunia, where you've been for some time, and we'll all be focusing on these developments which you've highlighted. And thank you very much for doing so. I’m sorry, before we let you go, sorry, Emma, is that for Dr. Dougherty? I see your hand has popped up there.

Well, I was hoping to ask a question – two questions to Tarek, but it’s not for Dr. Dougherty.

Oh, different. Okay. Could we put a pin in that because we have our guests on the podium now. If it’s a different subject, I’d rather wait until the end. But again, thank you, Dr. Dougherty, for joining us. And Tarek, if you could remain online because we have our guests who have now joined us on the podium. Very pleased to have you on the podium with me, Shahrar Razavi, who is the Director of ILO Social Protection Department, Isabel, who you know well from ILO, but Isabel, I think you wanted to make some introductory remarks.

Thank you very much. So good morning. Today, the International Labour Organization is releasing new global and regional estimates on domestic work, informality, and working conditions. And to present the main findings, I'm pleased to welcome Shara Razavi, who is the director of the ILO's Labour and Social Protection Department. Shara.

Good morning. Today I want to talk about the people who make millions of lives possible, including our own, the people who clean our homes, prepare meals, look after our children, care for older persons, and support those with disabilities, people whose work allows millions of others to go to work, to earn a living, and to lead their daily lives. And yet, these workers often remain invisible. Their contribution is taken for granted, their work is undervalued, and many of them lack even basic labor and social protection. I'm, of course, talking about domestic workers. Today, the International Labour Organization is releasing new global and regional estimates on domestic work. The new figures that we have give us an updated picture of who these workers are, how much they earn, how many hours they work, and whether they enjoy effective protection. And the picture that is emerging from these figures is one of progress, but also one that underlines the considerable unfinished business still to be done. So let me start with the scale of the sector. Our latest data shows an estimated 80 million domestic workers worldwide, which is up from 75.6 million in 2019. But the increase in numbers that you can see here should be interpreted carefully. Domestic work has remained relatively stable as a share of employment. at 2.2 percent of total employment and 4.4 percent of employees. So what we're seeing is not a general expansion of domestic work relative to other forms of employment; rather, growth has been concentrated in particular regions and largely reflects broader employment growth. The first major finding concerns informality, and by that we mean inadequate or ineffective access to labor and social protection. Now, an estimated 66.5 million domestic workers out of the 80 million that was just mentioned, 83% of the total, are informally employed. This is more than four out of five domestic worker worldwide. Domestic workers are more than twice as likely to be informally employed. compared to other employees. But behind this global figure lies a more encouraging story. In most countries that we have reviewed, informality among domestic workers has fallen. When we look at countries for which we have comparable data between 2019 and 2025, in more than half of these countries have been able to reduce informality among domestic workers, and that's something to be taken note of. So while there may have been a rise in the global informality rate, this should not be read as evidence of a widespread deterioration across countries. It largely reflects the growing concentration of domestic workers in countries where informality remains persistently high. And that matters because it shows that change is also possible and policies can make a difference. But informality is only part of the story that we have here. The other major issue has to do with the levels of pay. Domestic workers earn, on average, just over half the monthly wage of other employees. To be precise, it's 53.3%, so a little above 50%. For domestic workers in informal employment, however, the figure is even lower. It's less than 50%, it's 48.7%. and the gap is widening. The other major issue that we draw attention to is working hours. More than one in three domestic workers, that’s 35.2 percent, work at least 49 hours per week, and almost 15 percent of them work 60 hours or more. And then at the other extreme, Many domestic workers work very short hours, sometimes moving between several households in order to make a living. Informal domestic workers are particularly exposed to both these extremes of having too many hours or too few hours. And behind all these figures, there is a very strong gender dimension. Women account for 77.2 percent of domestic workers worldwide. They are particularly concentrated in cleaning and direct care occupations, caring for children, for older persons, for people with disabilities, and so forth. Yet women domestic workers earn on average only 48 percent of the monthly wage of all other employees. And these inequalities raise a broader question about how our societies value care. Now, in two days from today, on 29th of October, we will mark the International Day of Care and Support. On that day, the ILO will join the international community in recognizing the contribution of care workers around the world to our societies and to our economies. And an important part of the message that we have is that domestic workers are an essential part of the care workforce. Some provide direct care, as was just mentioned, looking after children, supporting older persons, or providing care and support for persons with disabilities. Many others provide indirect care through cleaning, cooking, and managing households. Both these forms of work are essential to the functioning of households and to our wider care system, and both forms of care are expected to grow as populations age, as more women enter the paid labor market, and as labor forces shrink. So this is likely to be an expanding part of the economy and of employment. The question is whether that growing demand will create more decent jobs or simply more low-paid, informal, unprotected work. Now, I should end by saying that 15 years ago, the ILO adopted Convention No. 189 on Domestic Workers. This was a landmark. It established a simple but absolutely fundamental principle that domestic work is work and that domestic workers deserve the same rights and the same protections as other workers. Since then, many countries have taken steps forward. Today, the challenge is to turn that recognition into reality. This means continuing efforts to formalize domestic work, including through the promotion and enforcement of compliance, and increasing the social recognition of domestic work as work. And ratifying the Convention 189 and ensuring decent work for domestic workers, as we see it, is really a win-win scenario. Not only does it uphold the rights of some of our most valuable workers, it also will improve the quantity and the quality of in-home direct and indirect care services in the future, because quality care depends on decent work. And a sustainable future of care starts with decent work for domestic workers. I thank you.

Thank you very much, Ms. Rezaavi. Very important statistics and which tell a lot of stories, too, so thank you so very much for that. Let's see if there are questions for you. We do have a question from – sorry, I don't have your – I have Felix online. If you can identify which media you're working for, Felix. Thank you.

Yes, good morning. Felix Sassenhausen for the German newspaper NDR. Of course.

Please, go ahead.

Thanks so much for the briefing. I have two brief policy questions. Some countries like France or Belgium have implemented service voucher models to incentivize formalization. Can you just say something about what role these kind of voucher systems play in your best practice recommendations and how effective these fiscal incentives are for households in driving formalization globally? And then the second question is that Germany was among the early ratifiers of the Convention, yet in Western Europe, a quarter of domestic workers do remain informal or undeclared. How, in your view, has the situation in Germany evolved, if you can say anything on that, and what can be learned from approaches in other countries, like, for example, Uruguay? Thank you.

Thank you much, Felix, for the question that you have. Regarding the efforts made to formalize domestic work and the use of the vouchers that you're referring to, obviously, the registration and formalization of domestic work is something that is very much encouraged. But the way in which this is done is also important, in particular, the role of intermediaries, what form they take, whether they're public services service intermediaries or private intermediaries, and whether or not any charges are made for the kind of intermediation that they do will make a difference. In terms of the ratification of the convention, yes, we encourage and we're very happy to see that countries are ratifying, and we are at the number of around 40 ratifications, if I'm not mistaken, of the convention to this day. And from countries like Uruguay, what we can also learn is the way in which systems have been put in place that are integrated care systems that recognize the importance of domestic workers, as well as others that are providing care, other workers providing care in could be public or private institutions. and the importance of social dialogue in that context and making sure that both workers' organizations and employers of domestic workers are also part of that conversation and part of the social dialogue. I would perhaps like to ask my colleagues if they want to add anything here, our technical lead on this, Ms. Claire Hopton, on particularly the issue of vouchers.

Thank you very much, Shara. Yes, regarding the service voucher systems, the ILO has definitely put these forward as examples of good practices in a policy solution to what is a societal problem. So the societal problem is a lack of formalized care and support in private households, and the service voucher systems have Basically, they’re mechanisms that are designed with household employers in mind that are relatively simple to use, sometimes with a subsidy involved to support the financial capacity of households to pay for domestic services. And so these are certainly systems that we’re looking closely at and looking for ways to replicate them in other countries, knowing that each country has its own context. and fiscal space to do – to take such measures. That’s it. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Sorry, if we can get your ident – you’re Claire? I didn’t get the full name. Yeah. So if you can maybe introduce yourself by title as well.

Sure. So my name is Claire Hobden. I’m the technical specialist on domestic work and other vulnerable work at the ILO.

Thank you very much, Claire. And Ms. Rezaavi, of course, thank you very much. I don’t – do you have a question? Okay, sorry, Isabel, I’m sorry. Go ahead. Spanish news agency.

Good morning. I saw that around just 40 countries ratified the convention. Why there is so much reluctance to go and give the step to ratify the convention and make that a part of the national own legislation? Thank you.

Yeah, we would certainly say that in 15 years, 40 ratifications is not an insignificant number, and we want to really congratulate the countries that have taken this step. But we do see the need for increasing the call on all countries and more countries to ratify, particularly in regions that ratification remains low. in Asia and the Pacific, in Africa, in the Arab States. We really do hope to see more ratification of the Convention. And we really do think also that there are many, the ones that have done it set very good examples in terms of what ratification can achieve, especially when it's really backed up by policies that make implementation of the provisions of the Convention possible. And that really points to the need to have the ratification together with the policies and the social dialogue, the awareness raising campaigns that are needed to make both the domestic workers aware of their rights. as well as making it possible for their employers, very often isolated employers who may not be organized, since it's households and families who are the employers, but really to raise that awareness and show the advantages of registration and of the security that it brings for the workers. And we also do want to emphasize that security and protection for domestic workers not only has a fundamental objective of recognizing the rights of a very important segment of the workforce, but also it has many positive benefits in terms of the quality of the care that is provided for those who need care. So as we said, it's a really win-win scenario, and I think this message needs to be perhaps amplified more by the ILO, by others, by our international partners, to draw attention to this milestone convention that is there and to encourage further ratification in regions that have not yet ratified. But I will turn also to Claire to maybe highlight a few points on what may be the sum of the impediments to ratification.

Ms. I mean, I think that the ratification process, different countries take it in different ways. All of them take it very seriously. And so in many countries, if they don't feel that they're yet in a position to be able to implement and enforce compliance. They won't ratify right away. That doesn't mean that they're not taking measures. So often, they are extending protection to domestic workers. And in 2021, when the ILO launched its 10-year report on the convention. We did measure and track progress in extension of labor and social protection to domestic workers, and we had seen that since the adoption of the Convention, most countries had extended some form of protection to domestic workers. So I think in general, there has been movement, there has been a positive trend in extension of labor protection. And now, really, what the call is for is to ensure that those rights are translated into reality. And that really requires, I think, the other issue that's underpinning any reticence in ratification and in promotion of compliance or compliance in general among households, which is this issue of undervaluation. We, I think, use the word undervaluation a lot, but what do we really mean by it? And I think at the end of the day, if you imagine that a domestic worker earns $50 for every $100 that somebody else makes, it gives you a sense that basically we are paying the people who we entrust with care in a way that's highly discriminatory and doesn't show any value for the work. So I think that's really what we're talking about here.

I think, you know, during COVID, everyone was very keen to applaud, you know, the essential workers, and I would say domestic workers are a very important component and pillar of that essential workforce. But applaud on its own and recognition without action, I think, is not sufficient. And this point of looking at the valuation, whether it's in terms of pay, in terms of protections that are offered, in terms of security, after spending a lifetime doing the care work for others, when that worker is sick, when they get old, if there is no pension, no care, no ability to provide care for themselves, and to have to do that with without financial hardship to be able to access healthcare and other forms of care. I think it's a stigma for any society to have those conditions. So I think the call for proper valuation and to really put words – move beyond words and apply that in action, in policies, and in ensuring that the systems are solid and can deliver the rights and the enjoyment of rights is what we owe to ourselves. Thank you.

Absolutely. Action is what we need, absolutely. So thank you very much, Ms. Rezaavi. Claire Hobden, H-O-B-D-E-N. For the record, if you don't mind repeating your title again.

Sure. So oh.

Sorry.

Thank you. Sorry. ILO technical specialist on domestic work and other vulnerable work.

Thank you. Thank you very much, Claire. And again, Ms. Razavi and Isabel, you talked about amplifying. This is a perfect platform for that, so thank you very much. We have an abundance of information out there. It's just about turning that into action. So thank you very, very much for coming here, both of you, and Isabel as well. Okay, colleagues, nearly done. Just a quick few words from me before we wrap up. Just to keep you on track with the Secretary General’s activities, you’ve seen a fair amount of emails about statements speaking to his activities, as well as press encounters and address to the Cairo University whilst he was in Cairo over the last couple of days. He also delivered a press – he actually had a press conference. We shared those transcripts with you, lots of important, rich information in there. He speaks about Many things, including Gaza, including Sudan, including the plight of refugees, Libya, global governance – lots of important messages therein, so do take a look at that. We also shared a readout with you of the Secretary General’s meeting with the President of Egypt, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, so do take a look at that. Last night, after hours, we shared with you a statement attributable to the spokesperson for the Secretary General on the conclusion of the mandate of the United Nations Transitional Assistance Mission in Somalia, UNTHMIS, which will come to an end at the end of this month, the 31st of October. The mission, UNTHMIS, will complete its two-year transition on cease operations, and this is pursuant to Security Council resolutions passed in 2024 and 2025. Now, of course, colleagues, this milestone brings to the end more than three decades of the UN mission in support of peacebuilding and state-building governance and reconciliation in Somalia. But indeed, the UN will continue to support Somalia through its resident agencies, funds, and programs, working in partnership with Somali authorities, the African Union, and other international partners to advance peace, stability, human rights, and sustainable development. So this is contained in the statement we shared with you. The Human Rights Committee is continuing its session this week, and the report of Jamaica is being reviewed today, so you’ll see a press release to that effect. I wanted to highlight an important report that was launched yesterday. It was highlighted in New York, but I just wanted to make sure you You have information on it. It's a report from the Secretary General on women, peace, and security, which again was launched yesterday. Now, it says that at least 25 women and girls are killed every day as civilian deaths amount, sexual violence rises, and women remain largely excluded from peace negotiations. Incidentally, there is a presentation of this report is taking place in Security Council today. Among other things, the report speaks to 750 million women and girls now living within 50 kilometers of an active conflict, 40 million more than in 2024 and more than at any time since 1990. So staggering statistics in this important report, which we shared with you this morning. And last but not least, just wanted to highlight an ex post from the head of UNOPS. Jorge Moreira da Silva, who speaks to the situation in Gaza. In particular, he notes that the UNOPS team in Gaza has reported three incidents over three consecutive days affecting UNOPS convoys and premises in the past week alone. So I just felt – I wanted to announce that. That is all I have. Any questions for me?

QUESTION: I have a question on the 430.

There is. Thank you very much, François, for reminding me. That’s – I’ve been up here for a long time, since 10:00 this morning, but indeed, there is a question for you, Tarek. Apologies for missing that. Olivia, you want to pose your question to Tarek now? Go ahead.

He actually already answered me

He did, okay. Thank you.

Sorry.

No, no, that’s my bad. I – yeah, it’s been a long briefing, important briefing. Lots of stories coming out of this – from this platform here. So thank you very much for your interest, and we’ll see you here on Friday. Thank you.