UN GENEVA PRESS BRIEFING
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Environment Programme, International Organization for Migration, the World Health Organization and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.
Thousands fleeing violence in Nigeria face growing protection crisis in Niger
Dominique Hyde, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Director of External Relations, said the escalating violence in northern Nigeria had forced some 66,000 people to flee to Niger and Benin in 2026. This was unfolding across a broader displacement crisis across the region, where conflict, insecurity, and climate shocks have uprooted millions of people.
In Difa, some 23,000 people had arrived since the beginning of the year, more than two-thirds being children, some suffering from severe malnutrition. To access water, refugees had to walk kilometres, and then could only get 25 litres a day, which was insufficient for a family. Refugees and host communities also faced violence against civilians.
Niger's authorities and the host community were showing solidarity, providing temporary space and opening support in terms of land, but they could not sustain this response alone. UNHCR was on the ground with other UN agencies, UNICEF, the World Food Program, UNFPA, and local and international partners: here again the response must be scaled up. The Refugee Agency needed USD 11.4 million to strengthen the emergency assistance across Niger, Nigeria, and Benin.
Answering questions from journalists, Ms. Hyde said Niger already hosted over half a million refugees from Mali and Nigeria. Refugees were telling of Boko Haram attacking their internal displacement settlements in Nigeria.
Other refugees’ issues
Regarding other situations in the world, Matthew Saltmarsh, for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said there had been tragic accidents at sea recently on the Atlantic coast of West Africa. On 6 November, a boat had capsized and at least 35 people had been reported dead, primarily Senegalese. This was a painful reminder of the dangers people faced along the Atlantic route, and of the urgent need for collective action to prevent further loss of life. In October, 6,200 people had arrived in the Canary Islands aboard 65 boats, a 417 percent increase compared to the same month last year.
Drones and drought closing in on Sudan’s children
James Elder, for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said drones and drought were closing in on Sudan’s children from both sides, in an assault unlike anything seen in Sudan’s history. In the last week of October, not a single day had passed without an armed drone striking a power station in Sudan. At the same time, damage by El Niño had already begun; even if late rains arrived, they would not undo the damage done, the planting window for the 2026-27 cereal harvest having closed.
The drones kept coming. When a power station was struck, water pumps and water treatment stopped: families were forced onto expensive and unsafe alternatives. The cold storage that kept vaccines and medicines viable was also threatened.
An estimated 825,000 children under 5 in Sudan were expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition in 2026. Two in three child casualties had been caused by drones, which were bringing war to places that used to be safe.
UNICEF and partners had treated hundreds of thousands of children for the deadliest form of malnutrition, had helped provide healthcare to more than a 2.5 million people, and had vaccinated millions of children against deadly diseases. But with so many crises at once, everything was stretched to breaking point. UNICEF’s response in Sudan was only one-third funded.
UNICEF called for an end to violence against children and to attacks on power stations, water systems and the civilian infrastructure; for those with influence to stop the flow of weapons that were killing and injuring children; and for sustained funding to keep essential services running, such as safe water, treatment for malnourished children, healthcare, education, and protection for children.
Answering questions from journalists, Mr. Elder said Sudan had never seen before attacks on power stations every other day for an entire month. Drones made it impossible for people to earn an income, to move, to afford fuel or any type of crop irrigation.
Assaults on press freedom in Egypt
Thameen Al-Kheetan, for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said there were widening assaults on press freedom by Egyptian authorities. Six journalists, forming the entire newsroom of the fact-checking website Matsadash, had been detained: Mohamed Ashraf Abu Emeira, Abdallah Qadry, Islam Barakat, Omar Helal, Mohamed Mahmoud and Mohamed Adel. Their lawyers reported that they had been subjected to torture and other forms of ill-treatment, and forced to record fabricated confessions.
Lina Attalah, chief editor of the independent online news outlet Mada Masr, also faced continuing judicial harassment related to her journalistic work. Convicted by an Egyptian court last month for operating an unlicensed website, Ms. Attalah had been detained and released following payment of a fine. She faced another hearing this week in a different case dating back to 2024, which raised fresh concerns regarding due process and fair trial, including obstacles to appeal.
The High Commissioner called on Egypt to end all forms of harassment of journalists and media outlets, and to respect the right to freedom of expression, including the right to information. Authorities must release all Matsadash reporters and drop charges arising from their legitimate journalistic work. All allegations of torture, ill-treatment or forced confessions must be promptly investigated, and those responsible held to account.
Ms. Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service, said that on 2 November – which was the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists – the Secretary-General had highlighted that “in the world, 34 journalists had been killed this year, and 6 out of every 7 such murders had gone unpunished”.
Protests in France
Answering questions from journalists regarding the use of force during the protests in France, Mr. Al-Kheetan said the High Commissioner had called for the perpetrators of all acts of violence to be held accountable. Mr. Türk also had conveyed his human rights concerns directly to the authorities, particularly regarding the importance of proportionate law enforcement and the need for special measures to protect children. Mr. Türk said it was crucial that broader grievances – particularly those related to equality and the quality of access to education – be taken in account.
Closure of Novaya Gazeta
Answering another question, Mr. Al-Keethan said the High Commissioner had expressed his concern over the closure of Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta as “yet another devastating blow for the remaining independent media in the Russian Federation”. Independent journalism in the country had faced mounting restrictions and pressure for many years, but these had intensified significantly since the Russian Federation's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Ebola prevention and surveillance along cross-border population movement routes
Dr. Andrew Mbala, International Organization for Migration (IOM) Regional Ebola Coordinator, speaking from Nairobi, said the frontlines of an Ebola response were not only treatment centres, isolation wards and hospitals: they were also border crossings, ports, airports, transit hubs, displacement sites, markets and the mobility corridors that connected communities, provinces and countries.
When official border crossings were closed or restricted, movement did not stop: people continued to travel for trade, family reasons, access to services and livelihoods, often using informal routes that connected communities across borders. Therefore, Ebola preparedness must not stop at the official point of entry: it must extend to the communities, formal and informal transport routes and mobility corridors that surround it, otherwise there was a risk of missing the places where people were moving.
In the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), transmission was concentrated in Ituri and North Kivu, provinces that were linked by extensive trade routes, population movements and cross-border connections with neighbouring countries. Since the start of the current outbreak, IOM teams had supported more than 55 million traveller screenings (about 350,000 screenings per day) in affected and at-risk countries. Disease surveillance at IOM-supported points of entry and points of control inside the DRC had identified 71 confirmed Ebola cases among mobile populations.
Answering questions from journalists, Mr. Mbala said IOM faced a USD 59.8 million funding gap, out of a request of USD 110 million for a multi-country preparedness and response plan. IOM was not managing the Kigonze camp for internally displaced people, Mr. Mbala also remarked. When that camp was closed for security reasons, it hosted 1,200 Ebola contacts: partners had been working hard to make sure that these contacts were identified within the community. It was not yet clear how the wife of a Swiss diplomat got infected, Mr. Mbala also noted.
Christian Lindmeier, for the World Health Organization (WHO), underlined the importance of the screenings mentioned by Mr. Mbala. They were not a rigid sorting out of who is allowed to travel or not: they were an important service to the people, to detect whether they were infected with Ebola, cholera, or any other disease, and get help and treatment.
Displacement of populations in Yemen
Answering other questions regarding the displacement of populations in Yemen, Zoe Brennan, for the International Organization for Migration, said displacement had continued at significant levels in November: there had been nearly 16,000 people newly displaced in one week, bringing the number of persons having experienced displacement at least once in 2026 to more than 343,000.
Cholera elimination by 2030: what will it take
Dr Lorenzo Pezzoli, World Health Organization Lead for epidemic-prone bacterial diseases, said 2025 had been the deadliest year for cholera since 1999, with almost 7900 deaths, most happening not in hospitals but in the community, before patients could reach healthcare. Data from the first 9 months in 2026 showed that there were now less deaths; still, more than 3000 people, of which nearly nine in ten in Africa, had died of this preventable and treatable disease.
In places with clean water, basic sanitation, and a health center nearby, patients could recover; in a crowded camp or a village cut off by conflict, cholera could turn deadly within hours. El Niño could make this worse, as cholera was worsened by both too much and too little water.
Ending cholera as a public health threat by 2030 was within reach, as every cholera death was preventable with tools that existed today. The task was to give these tools to people who needed them in time. Work was already underway. WHO coordinated the Global Task Force on Cholera Control, a partnership of more than 50 organizations; set global standards for preventing, detecting, and treating cholera; and supported countries directly. Its action covered vaccines, detection, care and response, and helping states building their national cholera plans.
Water and sanitation would put an end to cholera for good; but where there was conflict, no plan worked without peace.
Answering questions from journalists, Mr. Pezzoli said that today, most cases of cholera were reported in the DRC, Yemen, Zambia, Nigeria, as well as Somalia and Djibouti. WHO had already provided 71 million doses of cholera vaccines.
Situation in Gaza
Journalists having raised questions on the situation in Gaza, Christian Lindmeier, for the World Health Organization, said health partners had reported, between 18 and 25 October, significant communicable disease risks amid overcrowding, displacement, poor sanitation, recent floodings, and constraints on water and health services. Communicable diseases accounted for 18 percent of medical consultations, acute watery diarrhea for another 18 percent. An increase in viral and bacterial meningitis cases had also been observed since September.
Mr. Elder, for UNICEF, stressed that the risk of cholera was very high. In particular, the Sheikh Radwan pumping station, which was designed to collect surface drainage and rainwater before dumping it into the sea, had been severely damaged by attacks during the war. The rainwater it collected was heavily contaminated with sewerage and at high risk of overflowing. Any overflow would cause a serious public health crisis, particularly impacting children who were highly vulnerable to waterborne diseases.
Ms. Vellucci, for the UN Information Service, said that yesterday Ramiz Alakbarov, United Nations Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, describing the situation in the Gaza Strip after the flooding, had called for the urgent lifting of all unnecessary restrictions and delays, including those preventing humanitarian organizations from bringing into Gaza enough mobile dewatering pumps, engine oil, spare parts, tents, tarpaulins, plastic sheeting, blankets, and winter clothing. Mr. Alakbarov had also called for urgent humanitarian funding, without which the humanitarian community would simply not be able to purchase enough supplies.
Ms. Vellucci also said that the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) had received reports of an infant who had drowned in the flooding; children and at least one woman who had been killed when a sand dune collapsed onto their tents; and thousands of families having lost their shelters and belongings.
One month before the UN Water Conference: a call to reach 100 Parties to the UN Water Convention by 2030
Thomas Croll-Knight, for the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), said the 2026 UN Water Conference would take place from 8 to 10 December in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates).
The need for cooperation was clear. Transboundary rivers, lakes and aquifers were shared by 153 countries worldwide and accounted for over 60 percent of the world's freshwater flow. Yet less than a third of these countries had operational arrangements in place covering their shared basins. Reinforcing water cooperation offered a foundation to strengthen peace, security, climate change adaptation and sustainable development. Given the growing water crisis and as climate change impacts intensified, the governments of Finland and Zambia had launched the “100 Parties Initiative”, calling for new countries to join and implement the UN Water Convention (2016).
To support the participation of media at the Conference, Ms. Vellucci explained, there would be an SDG Media Zone, broadcasting live from the Emirates and spotlighting the six conference themes and cross-cutting issues, including AI, gender equality, and agriculture. She also announced that the UN’s ACTNOW campaign had launched a new challenge to log 500,000 actions in support of the environment. By sharing targeted messaging and water-saving tips, the campaign empowered people to take #WaterAction and help advance the SDGs.
Announcements
Ms. Vellucci, for the UN Information Service, said the Secretary General was participating in the COP31, which would take place in Antalya (Türkiye) until 20 November. Today, Mr. Guterres would meet with the President of the Republic of Türkiye; tomorrow, he would be speaking at the opening of the leaders’ segment of the COP31.
Also today, Secretary-General Guterres had just addressed the COP30 presidency roadmap for transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems in a just, orderly and equitable manner. In his statement, he had said that “an accelerated transition away from fossil fuels is fundamental to limiting the overshoot of global temperatures above 1.5 degrees”, and that the Middle East crisis had exposed the economic cost of fossil fuel dependence. Clean energy was the only lasting solution. Countries needed concrete national roadmaps backed by finance, technology, and international cooperation. Producers and consumers must work together to manage the transition and avoid economic disruption. The UN stood ready to support countries in turning commitments into action. The Secretary General had concluded his statement by saying that “it's long past time to stop treating the transition away from fossil fuels as taboo or intractable. Now, here at the COP31, we must move from discussing the transition to organizing it, financing it and delivering it”.
Kay Williams, Head of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Global Framework on Chemicals Secretariat, said the first International Conference of the UN Global Framework on Chemicals would take place next week (16-20 November) at the Geneva International Conference Centre (CICG). Adopted in Bonn in 2023, the Framework was a voluntary global agreement that set out strategic objectives and targets to have a planet free of harm from chemicals and waste. The Conference would track progress made since 2023 and make decisions regarding financing.
On behalf of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Ms. Vellucci said the ITU’s highest decision-making body, the Plenipotentiary Conference, would meet in Qatar until 27 November. On 12-13 November, elections would take place for ITU’s Secretary-General, Deputy Secretary-General and Directors of the Bureaux of Radiocommunication, Standardization and Development. On Monday, 16 November, the 48-member ITU Council and the 12-member Radio Regulations Board would be elected.
[Journalists can follow election activities on the public webcast on the PP-26 website; for more information write to pressinfo@itu.int.]
The next public meeting of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) would take place next Friday, 13 November, at 5:30 p.m. The Committee would close its 80th session and issue its final observations on the reports submitted by Eswatini, Pakistan, Mexico, and Austria.
A panel on “Investing in sports for a healthier future” would be held tomorrow in the context of the 30th World Investment Conference (CICG, 9 a.m.) It would look at issues related to investing in football. The UN Information Service would spotlight the UN’s Football for the Goals, an initiative that mobilized the global football community to advance the SDGs through advocacy, community engagement, and measurable actions.
The Seventh Review Conference of the High Contracting Parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) would take place from 16 to 20 November at the Palais des Nations, under the presidency of Switzerland. Meetings would be webcast by UNTV Geneva. Among other topics, the participants would consider the outcome of the Group of Governmental Experts on lethal autonomous weapon systems that had been established in 2016. Izumi Nakamitsu, UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, would hold a press conference on Wednesday, 1 November, at 9 a.m.
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