Asia Floods, Venezuela Earthquake & other topics - Daily Press Briefing

Foreign All right, good afternoon. In a very short while, or at least as soon as you're done with me, we'll be joined by our guest, Maria Jose Torres, who, as you know, is the UN Resident Coordinator in Colombia. She'll be able to brief you on the ongoing the ongoing response by the UN to the devastating earthquake that hit Colombia earlier this month. And then on Monday, we will be joined by Navid Hanif, the Assistant Secretary-General in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Stephen Hill, our Assistant Secretary-General in the Office of Legal Affairs, and also Bill Hare, the Chief Executive Officer of Climate Analytics. They will be here to brief you on the Secretary-General's report on sea level rise. You'll get embargoed copies, I think, probably tomorrow, if not a bit earlier. The report is actually rather interesting. It looks at a lot of social and legal issues having to do with sea level rise and how it impacts some of the most vulnerable countries in the coming years. Turning, I'll start with the ongoing response by the UN to the floods in Asia. As of today, we are told by authorities that more than 500 people have been confirmed dead. That's what local authorities in Nepal are telling us. Although hundreds remain missing. Officials say that scores of people have been injured and over 3,700 have so far been rescued. Our Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, said today that humanitarians are moving at speed to save lives with OCHA and partners from the World Health Organization, the World Food Program, UNICEF, and various NGOs assisting national authorities in Nepal to deliver urgent lifesaving support. In Nepal, our Resident Coordinator from whom you heard yesterday, Leela Peter Yaya, is leading our support for the government-led response earlier this today she and un colleagues visited the bidur municipality in newakot one of the flood affected districts she was able to see firsthand the massive destruction where early assessments show that about 11,000 hectares of land and 45 km of roads have been damaged that visit was cut short by a new flood alert while the team was on the ground as you know there are risks of more floods coming in that district over a thousand people are sheltering at five known displacement sites but these are preliminary figures and we're working to confirm the locations of people displaced in other localities and districts despite the damaged roads and landslides that continue block access we're starting to get a better sense of what our immense needs of the population our partners working on food security estimate that at least 20,000 households across the new arcot and sewer districts may need food over 50,000 people require emergency water emergency sanitation and emergency hygiene support partners working on nutrition estimate that some 17,000 children 1500 pregnant and breastfeeding women and 9,000 adolescents need immediate nutrition support at least 23 schools in those districts will need to be rehabilitated we We and our partners are working alongside the authorities in Nepal to scale up distribution of food, shelter, and healthcare, and other critical supplies. Our emergency Tom Fletcher said that he remains in close contact with our teams in the region, as well as the Chinese and Nepalese authorities, having expressed our commitment to support operations in China if requested to do so. I will share with you a travel update for the Secretary-General. He will be traveling to Kyrgyzstan to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Summit, which will take place in Bishkek from the 31st of August to 1st September. On the sidelines of the summit, the Secretary-General will hold meetings with Sadyr Japarov, the President of the Kyrgyz Republic. He will, of course, we expect him to have bilaterals with other leaders attending the meetings and we will share those readouts with you as they happen. On Tuesday, he will deliver remarks at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization plus meeting. In those remarks, the Secretary-General is expected to emphasize the value of cooperation between the UN and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. He will also address other topics including recent developments in the Middle East. He's expected to be back in New York on Wednesday evening. And from South Sudan, our colleagues at the UN mission there today paid tribute to two of the fallen Ethiopian peacekeepers. As you will recall, they lost their lives when their convoy was ambushed in Jonglei State on August 24th. At the ceremony, the head of the peacekeeping mission, Anita Kiki Gabejo, honored their courage, their dedication, their commitment to protecting civilians. She described their service as embodying the highest ideals of UN peacekeeping. Meanwhile, seven other members of the patrol who were injured in the attacks are currently receiving medical care, and we, of course, wish them a speedy recovery. As you'll recall in the statement, the Secretary-General called for a thorough investigation so that those responsible can be held to justice. Turning to Ukraine. Our colleagues at the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tell us that attacks and hostilities continue to take a heavy toll on civilians, disrupting essential services and damaging vital aid. Authorities say attacks across the country between yesterday and the early hours of this morning killed at least 12 civilians and injured more than 65 others. Frontline regions were especially hard hit. Attacks damaged homes and other civilian infrastructure and strikes on energy facilities caused power outages. in several regions. In Kherson, an attack critically damaged the city's combined power and heat plant. All heat and power generating equipment and facilities have been destroyed. That's what the national energy grid operators are telling us. That raises serious concerns over heating and electricity over the coming winter. Separately, an attack in the Kyiv region hit a UNICEF contracted warehouse, destroying humanitarian supplies intended for children and families. UNICEF says the loss will hamper the delivery of vital assistance, particularly with another difficult winter approaching. This is part of a wider pattern with at least six warehouses belonging to humanitarian operations, including UN agencies, the Ukrainian Red Cross Society and NGOs impacted by attacks in Ukraine this month. We're especially concerned about the war's impact ahead of winter and are already preparing to ensure that people in need get essential supplies in the coming, as the colder months approach. We reiterate once again the Secretary-General's condemnation of large-scale missile and drone attacks by the armed forces of the Russian Federation in urban centers in Ukraine. The Secretary General remains deeply concerned by continued escalation of this conflict, including onto the territory of the Russian Federation itself. He also reiterates his call for an urgent de-escalation leading to a full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire for just, for sustainable and for comprehensive peace in line with international law, including the charter of the organization and relevant UN resolutions. Just a programming note, this afternoon at 3:00 PM, Carlos Ruiz-Messier, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Office in Haiti, as well as Indrika Ratwatte, the Acting Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, will brief the Security Council on Haiti. Meanwhile, this morning, our Excuse me. Our colleagues Jean-Pierre Lacroix and the Under Secretary General for Peace Operations and Jean Arnault, the officer in charge of the UN Special Coordinator's Office in Lebanon, briefed Security Council members in close consultations on Lebanon. Meanwhile, on the ground, our humanitarian colleagues tell us that renewed hostilities in the south of Lebanon are taking a steep toll on civilians, as they have been. Despite the continued insecurity, people continue to make their way with around 820,000 people having returned to their communities over the last few months, including nearly 90% of the people who were displaced in the south governorate. However, some 330,000 people remain displaced across Lebanon. Humanitarian access remains a major challenge, particularly south of the Litani River. Access constraints are hampering humanitarian teams from reaching some of the communities and delaying assessments. monitoring the restoration of essential services and the delivery of food assistance. We continue to stress that unimpeded access to people in need is essential to sustain humanitarian assistance and support recovery, particularly as families return to areas where insecurity, damaged infrastructure and limited services make it that much harder for them to even start to rebuild their lives. And heading south to the occupied Palestinian territory, our humanitarian colleagues tell us that they are worried about the impact of ongoing air strikes and other attacks across the Gaza Strip amidst, excuse me, amid reports of civilian casualties and damage. Today, UNICEF says that four children aged 2 to 16 were reportedly killed over the past days in separate Israeli strikes, including one who died of wounds sustained last week. These attacks also destroyed humanitarian supplies and damaged critical water infrastructure. Civilians and civilian objects, including humanitarian facilities and infrastructure, must always be protected. Yesterday, an explosive munitions detonated about 30 meters from a UN convoy returning with fuel from the Karim Shalom Karim Abu Salem crossing as it crossed the so-called yellow line in Gaza. Thankfully, no casualties with the explosion just causing minor mechanical issues involving one of the vehicles in the convoy. We and our partners working across Gaza to address the risks posed by unexploded ordinance. We're assessing and marking hazards, educating people on safety measures, and referring those affected for support. But the authorizations needed to bring in the needed equipment and remove explosive ordinance has still not been granted by the Israeli authorities. And you will hear about the Colombia earthquake from our colleague, but I want to give you a quick update on our efforts in Venezuela. where we are continuing to support people impacted by the disaster. To date, 107 organizations have reached more than 360,000 people with food assistance, health care, water and sanitation services. At the same time, our humanitarian colleagues are monitoring the impact of recent tropical storms and flooding across the country, including the capital, Caracas. Some of the affected areas are also hosting families displaced by earthquakes. The floods have killed six people, damaged homes, and infrastructure and disrupted basic services. Humanitarian needs remain significant in communities impacted by the earthquakes. However, our colleagues from OCHA remind us that humanitarian response plan for Venezuela is only 43 percent funded. Additional resources needed to sustain relief efforts and support recovery in the months ahead. I do expect a more formal statement, but I did want to take the opportunity of the briefing to state that the Secretary General was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of His Majesty King Harald V of Norway that took place earlier today in Norway. The late King will be remembered for his engagement for children's welfare, the environmental issues, and his support for diversity and calls for generosity. Throughout his reign, King Harald embodied Norway's deep commitment to international solidarity and cooperation that is reflected in his country's steadfast partnership with the United Nations and its enduring commitment to peace and multilateralism. The Secretary-General conveys his deepest condolences to His Majesty King Haakon VIII, as well as to the government and people of the Kingdom of Norway. And our colleagues at UNHCR remind us that this weekend marks the 65th anniversary of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, At least 4.5 million human beings worldwide are known to be stateless or of undetermined nationality, but million more remain invisible in official data. Statelessness is more than an absence of nationality. It can mean being unable to obtain necessary government documents, attend school, access healthcare, or work legally. It can also prevent people from registering the birth of their children, marrying, owning property, opening a bank account, or just traveling freely. Today, 82 states are party to the convention. However, UNHCR says that legal commitments must be matched by concrete actions and calls on states to protect stateless people, provide pathways to nationality, and reform discriminatory national laws. Tomorrow is also the International Day Against Nuclear Test. In his message, the Secretary-General said, "This day reminds us of the devastating consequences of nuclear testing, a time to reflect of the victims and survivors of the nuclear test whose lives, lands and descendants have been scarred by nuclear explosion. And they are just a few survivors of nuclear, excuse me, the world must never witness another nuclear explosion. Today is also the International Day of the Victims of Enforced, excuse me, it's Friday, you'll bear with me. Sunday, we mark the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances. This day also marks the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances, which is the only universal treaty specifically dedicated to preventing and eradicating enforced disappearances. 20 years after the adoption, enforced disappearances continue to occur every region, which makes universal ratification, full implementation, that much more of a priority. Before we turn to Colombia, I will entertain some questions. Edie.

Thank you, Steph. On UNIFIL, we know that the Secretary General presented three options to the Security Council, but that was before the Lebanese government asked to extend UNIFIL's mandate. What is the Secretary-General's reaction to that request from the Lebanese government?

It's clear that circumstances on the ground have changed. As much as that is the case, UNIFIL continues to operate under its mandated activities, as you know, because I talk about it almost every day, under very, very difficult circumstances. We will be guided by the ongoing discussions in the Security Council and whatever solution Security Council members come up with in their wisdom. But we continue to follow their guidance, But I think most importantly, our blue helmeted colleagues and their civilian members of the mission continue to proudly fulfill the mandate given to them by the Security Council. Murad.

Thank you, Stephan. Jerusalem Post reported that the SCG admitted in an interview with Financial Times that many of UN human rights reporters have gone out of control totally on specifically regarding on Israel. you clear clarify on that

I mean I think it's it's a it's a misreading of what the secretary general said uh what he said in the interview and I think people should look at the video is that he can't speak for the entirety of the UN system many in the UN structure are independent of the secretariat uh and therefore totally out of the secretariat's control out of the secretary General's uh control the point that he was making um is about the process, not about the content or the output of the work of the special rapporteurs. They are, and it's in their name, independent. Therefore, they are independent of him, they're independent of the secretary. And as we've said here, we don't control what they say, nor should we. because they are named through very specific circumstances through the Human Rights Council. What is clear and what we have been saying here for a long time is that special rapporteurs are a critical cog in the international human rights mechanism. machinery. They play a very important role. There are a lot of special rapporteurs with very different mandates, right? They are often, in many cases, the only voice that talks independently about human rights in many cases. And we call on countries to support their work. Gabriel.

Thank you, Steph. A brief follow-up on that. In some quarters, there's the criticism of the Secretary General that he does not forcefully defend special rapporteurs when the rapporteurs come out with a report that might be viewed in some quarters as controversial. What's the view of the Secretary General when it comes to standing up in defense of their work?

We defend their right to speak. We defend their right to work. We will always do so. But given their independence, it is not for the Secretary General to say, we like what this rapporteur says, we don't like what this rapporteur says, right? They're independent. Their strength is in their independence.

And on a separate note, a follow-up on the UNRWA facility. training center. Do you have an update on the status of that?

Or is it -- The status, unfortunately, hasn't changed because of the de facto situation on the ground. Thank you. Madam.

Monsieur. USAID yesterday put out a report, and President Trump retweeted the report by this organization, that it identifies more than 100 employees of UNRWA as having participated in the October 7th massacre inside Israel. Please, the Secretary General's reaction to this.

Look, this is an issue that has come up over and over again. What is clear is that we have no tolerance for anyone working for the UN, also supporting and working for terror, right? We have, UNRWA has shared for many years and continues to do so, the list of all its staff members working in the different places it operates. So in the UNRWA staff members in Jordan, all that list is shared with the Jordanian authorities. The list of UNRWA staff members working in the occupied Palestinian territory, working in Gaza are shared with Israel. We don't run a security service. We rely on the Israeli authorities and other authorities to tell us if there's a red flag. If you'll recall more than, time flies, more than two years ago, as soon as Israel gave us information about a number of UNRWA staff, they were let go. There have been other cases. I think UNRWA has been acting, whenever they're given information, they've been acting on it.

A follow up.

Yes, please.

That it states that USAID will forward this case of at least I can't say how many but this case will be taken to the justice the Department of Justice here in the United States to bring criminal charges to those accused please your reaction.

Look I haven't seen the full report but I can tell you we are willing and open to cooperate obviously with the U.S. the the US government and others on these issues while staying in full respect of the privileges and immunities of the organization. Yes, please, Taoshi.

Thank you, Stefan. So six months into the U.S.-Iran war, but both sides still say diplomacy is possible, but the negotiation has not resumed any substantial way. So in the sector general's view, what's preventing the talks from restarting?

Look, this is a sad marker of six months of this ongoing conflict. We again stress that the only solution to this is a diplomatic solution. And we urge both the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran to engage in meaningful negotiations. We are very supportive of the efforts that we've seen by the mediators of Qatar, of Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, all these countries at different times. And the Secretary General has been very much staying in touch with them. What is clear and what continues to be concerning for the Secretary-General is the devastating humanitarian and economic consequences of this conflict, notably for civilians in the region who have different times had been bombarded, who've had civilian infrastructure been destroyed. But as we've said here from this podium many times, also from the economic impact globally on food supplies, we've had numerous experts speak to you about food supplies, humanitarian goods that can't go in, fertilizers that have been limited, the rise in the price of energy, which has devastating impact on those economies that can least afford to absorb that shock. The Secretary General's personal envoy for this conflict, Jean Arnault, remains available and remains in contact to assist the parties and mediators in reaching a durable solution. Madam.

Thanks, Steph. Carrie from RFI. Can you tell us a little bit how is the the mechanism of the Strait of Hormuz going on, is it halted already or is it still going on? Is it still being negotiated? What are the main obstacles right now?

Those discussions led, the task force that the Secretary General established led by Georges Murrah da Silva of UNOPS, he continues his discussion. As we've said here, the mechanics of establishing such a task force already, right? It could be deployed fairly quickly. What we need, obviously, is the green light from all those countries involved, and Georges continues to be in contact with them. Gabriel, then I think we'll go to the screen.

I'll make it quick because I know we have a guest. Just a follow up on UNIFIL stuff. I know the Secretary General gave his three options or the recommendations to the Security Council about three months ago, give or take. In terms of timing, I know you don't want to put a timeframe on it, but how soon Is the Secretary General expecting a decision by the Security Council given the mandate winds down?

Well, you know, the clock is ticking, right? Every time a mission winds down, there are things that need to happen, right? I mean, they are, this is, I mean, it, It's all embarrassing to be talking about this in the middle of a conflict, but there are people whose jobs are impacted, right? There are supplies, there's contingent owned equipment, there's real estate. All of that stuff needs to be dealt with. And so we would hope that the Security Council comes up with a way forward for us soon. okay uh Abdel Hamid if I see you I assume you have a question and then we'll go to our guest no question.

Yeah thank you thank you I have two questions first the first Haris two days ago issued a very strong uh report about Israel recruiting thugs and uh gangsters in Gaza to create havoc in the area where there are Palestinians with the aim of expelling them from their homes, as a plan for eviction. Do you have any comment on that? If you have any detailed information.

I will share with you a number of reports that were done by humanitarian colleagues in that regard. Your second question.

My second question, in the town of Madama near Nablus, Settlers have been videotaped smashing a monument carrying the names of Palestinian martyrs from that village. Do you have any comment on that?

I haven't seen that particular event, but we've spoken quite clearly about the issue regarding the continued violence of Israeli settlers. All right, on that note, I could ask, put our guest on the screen. Maria Jose, can you hear us?

Yes, good morning.

Good morning. Good morning. Good afternoon. Thank you so much for joining us. As you all know, Maria Jose is the resident coordinator from Colombia. You're here to give us an update, so please give us an update and then we'll take some questions. Thank you.

Fantastic. Thanks so much, Stefan, for having us, Colombia, on the briefing. I just wanted to very quickly express our solidarity with the colleagues of Nepal, as well as the people of Nepal. We have seen with the impact of natural disasters once again in a very vulnerable community, which is the case also of the impact of the earthquake in Colombia. We had an earthquake that historically has been one of the biggest in Colombia, if not the bigger one, affecting 16 departments. I think this is an evolving data that is increasing the number of departments that are practically half of the country, kind of 196,000 families affected. and 331 reported dead. I think good news and that relates to my first briefing is that their search and rescue teams were able to rescue 364 people, which I think it is a highlight in this very tragic event. Obviously, we are talking about homes damaged and destroyed buildings. but also livelihoods and health centers. Major hospitals in areas that are very vulnerable are currently unoperable, as well as almost 4,000 educational facilities. In terms of what the UN team and the humanitarian community has done since we spoke last week, so kind of 10 days after the earthquake, We launched an updated humanitarian plan that includes 1.2 million people in need. We need to recall maybe that Colombia has an existing humanitarian situation that continues to be ongoing. And we have hyper prioritized 127,000 that really looks into those people most affected by the earthquake. I'm very proud to report that our humanitarian country team, particularly thanks to the ability to respond immediately on the ground based in two teams, one based in Chocor, the other one based in Valle del Cauca, Cali. We have been able to reach 72,000 people in the most pressing needs of emergency shelter, health, emergency education, water sanitation. and agencies such as IOM, UNHCR, UNICEF, UN Women, UNFPA and WHO, PAHO have been working in a response that I have to say because I'm today in Kibdo, Choco has been extremely well coordinated. So first thing to mention is that there has been a very fluid communication and leadership by the national authorities. So the national unit for Disaster risk reduction has been immediately on the go and on the lead of the emergency. And as humanitarian community and international community based in Colombia, we have received constant, we have had constant communication with the foreign affairs minister. Yesterday we had a formal meeting reporting advances on the ground. I had the chance to visit also our team in Valle del Cauca last week. Today, I'm in a visit also with WFP, the regional director and the national representative, as well as OCHA head of office. And the whole point is also to see how we can continue supporting teams on the ground. We have had response by these two ELC and search capacity in other two departments. in the Eje Cafetero. And at the same time, I like to mention something that I think Colombia has learned many lessons from the past. We have immediately activated our early recovery working group led by UNDP and UNDP is coordinating an assessment using the most, the last technological advances including satellite imaginary as well as coordination with the IFIs to make sure that the assessment of damages, including economic damages, informs the response. If I may, Stefan, just to end this part, and then we can see questions coming. We have had a tremendous response so far, and I would like to praise particularly Colombians, both private sector, people to people, we have seen an immense response in terms of solidarity. One intangible of this response has been that a sense of unity has emerged also in terms of what people wants to do for those affected. But also to remind everybody that those areas most affected are those areas most vulnerable and the pre-existing conflict are, for instance, creating some challenges in terms of continuing with this dual work of emergency response as well as early recovery and reconstruction. First, we don't have information about all the situations or the needs that some communities are enduring because they are very hard to reach. This is particularly something that my colleagues in Choco and in Valle del Cauca have stressed us that we need to continue making efforts to give that information. Mostly it's affecting Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities on the ground. Second issue, I would imagine, is that we really need to rebuild very quickly, including the ability of children to be back into a protective educational environment. Particularly in the areas that we are working in Choco and Valle del Cauca, there is presence of the illegal armed groups and recruitment of children in Colombia is a pre-existing issue. We are concerned that the situation of children out of school can exacerbate this situation. And the last challenge, and I end here, it is also how we are able to not just support at the central level, that has been fantastic, and two days ago we had a meeting led by the vice president with the international community. But also how we channel that support and capacity to the local authorities that are the first line of response because the capacities on the ground sometimes are difficult, they are overwhelmed. And as UN team, we are doing as much as we can to accompany and support, but more is needed.

Thank you. Thank you very much, Maria Jose. We'll start with the Associated Press, Edie.

Thank you very much on behalf of the United Nations Correspondents Association for doing this briefing. My name is Edith Lederer, as Steph said, from the Associated Press. A couple of follow-ups. First, can you tell us about the financial situation? How much does Colombia need? How much have you received? And secondly, what are the most pressing needs today from the international community? Thank you.

Thank you. Go ahead, Maria Jose.

Thank you for these very important questions. We updated the humanitarian response plan and we need $148 million to respond to the emergency. We have received 35 million by international donors plus $5 million from the CERF that was immediately activated by Tom Fletcher as ERC. And that was day two of the emergency. And we are already working on the response habilitated by the CERF. So that has been very quickly, but you can see that it's more or less 40% of total needs. On pressing needs, and thanks for that question, obviously shelter and emergency shelter is a big issue because we are talking about populations that are in most cases living in very vulnerable context, sometimes illegal settlements that require also urban planning to do a bit of build back better if you want to, and not to reproduce the vulnerability. These are communities also that are very much affected by climate change. I mean, you might have seen also that Colombia simultaneously is enduring wildfires in Tolima, for instance. So this is something that is concurrently to the current situation. So emergency shelter and solutions for shelter, livelihoods, and emergency health and education.

When you talk about emergency shelter, are you talking mainly about tents or some kind of a more durable shelter?

I think in the context of Colombia, tents are not part of the response, and I think has been used very seldomly. So I think it is more about a bit more of a durable solution. So rental subsidies, and also there are some bank of materials have been put at the service of the different communities. This is something that has been announced. It has to start in the communities so people can do some self-construction. But one of my points, Ida, was it is very important to also provide support to the municipalities. So there is a bit of urban planning and we don't reproduce vulnerability and hence creating another disaster soon.

Thank you so much, Maria. Do we have any other questions in the room? Gabriel, please go ahead.

Hello, Maria. This is Gabriel Isondo from Al Jazeera English. I just have two questions, if you don't mind. One is, The new president of Colombia was inaugurated, as you know, on August 7th. This catastrophe hit literally 48 hours after he was inaugurated. I'm not asking you to judge the government's work by any means. I know that's not your job, but can you just explain how is the UN's interaction with the new government? Have there been any sort of gaps given that this tragedy took this catastrophe took place so quickly after the new government took office? And have there been any challenges along those lines? And then my second question is the region where this earthquake earthquakes hit, as you know, is one of the most economically depressed regions of all of Colombia. How has that impacted how you are going about moving past the immediate response to a more long-term response. Thank you.

Thank you very much. As you mentioned, I think the response to an earthquake of this impact would be challenging for any government, but if you are starting your tenure with this, it was extremely challenging, I think. But I'm just going to mention our interaction with the government that I think is what I can really report on. Well, first, very open, very fluid from day one. We were in touch and part of the emergency, the emergency set up that the government created under the leadership of the national risk unit. And this has been a constant communication, including at the highest level, vice president, the foreign affairs minister in my case, as well as the head of the unit. They have participated in some of our own coordination spaces with the international community. So on that account, I think it has been very, very prompt, very important. The reason why I believe this could happen, it was well, certainly leadership, but also the systems that exist in Colombia that are even established by law that had continued in working in the transfer from one government to the next. And I really want to pay tribute also to the role of the local authorities, because obviously those who are the first responders are those on the ground. And also to bring to the attention of everybody that in these remote areas, the local communities themselves, I mean, like the indigenous communities, the Afro-Colombian communities, they have their own organizations that have been also part of the first responders. As you end, just to come back to your question, we have been engaged at all levels. And I think it's part of the reason why we could go so fast in the response. And I really want to underline our free presence today. I'm sitting in the verification mission office. It's the only one that has more or less a stable internet here in Choco. And even though the mission has a different mandate, they have been also part and supporting the work that we have been doing. Now on your second question, early recovery, how fast we can go is critical. We have been from day one with the part of the UN that has the mandate, the ability, the capacity. And as I was mentioning, my colleagues from UNDP, FAO, ECLAC, and then UNIDO, they have been really putting, making an effort to bring to the table the assessments to get the priorities, but also to ensure that we do a coordinated effort. Something quite specific of Colombia is the density of the private sector and how the private sector has been coming forward to link their responses that have been solidarity and emergency response to the actual livelihoods. And we are in discussions also with the Global Compact that have been extremely open. We, meaning the UN team, and obviously in liaison with the government. We are clear that from now on the National Development Plan might have a very strong component on reconstruction.

Thank you so much. Are there any more questions in the room or online? I don't see any. So I would like to thank you so much, Ms. Maria Jose Torres, the UN Resident Coordinator for Colombia. Thank you. Thanks, everybody.