UN GENEVA PRESS BRIEFING
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the World Health Organization, the World Food Programme, the United Nations Development Programme, and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
Extreme violence in El Fasher
Seif Magango, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), speaking from Nairobi, said that more details were emerging of atrocities committed during and after the fall of El Fasher to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan. Since the RSF had made a major incursion into the city on 23 October, OHCHR had received horrendous accounts of summary executions, mass killings, rapes, attacks against humanitarian workers, looting, abductions and forced displacement. The Office had received testimonies from those who had fled El Fasher terrified and who had survived the frightening journey to Tawila, as well as shocking videos as well as other images depicting serious violations of international humanitarian law and gross violations of human rights law. OHCHR estimated the death toll of civilians and those placed hors de combat during the RSF attack on the city and its exit routes, as well as in the days after the takeover, could amount to hundreds.
Mr. Magango further said that the Office had received distressing reports of the killing of sick and wounded individuals inside Al-Saudi Maternity Hospital and at various premises located in the Daraja Oula and Al-Matar neighbourhoods which had been temporarily serving as medical centres. These extremely grave allegations raised urgent questions as to the circumstances of these killings in what should be places of safety for anyone in need of medical help. There were also alarming reports of sexual violence. Humanitarian partners reported that at least 25 women had been gang-raped when RSF forces had entered a shelter for displaced people near El Fasher University. In addition, killings had been documented of humanitarian workers and local volunteers supporting vulnerable communities in El Fasher.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk repeated his call on States with influence over the parties to the conflict to act urgently to put an end to the violence, halt the flow of arms that were fuelling the violations we continue to witness and ensure meaningful protection of civilians.
Full statement is available here.
Dr. Teresa Zakaria, Unit Head for Humanitarian Operations at the World Health Organization (WHO), said that the WHO was alarmed by the attacks on health care in Sudan, including the killing on 28 October of more than 460 patients [AN1] [TL2] and their families in El Fasher. The same day, six health workers had been abducted. The Maternity Hospital had been attacked five times this month alone, said Dr. Zakaria. As of the past couple of days, following the capture of El Fasher, there was no more humanitarian presence left in the city, and access remained blocked. Attacks on healthcare were getting deadlier. WHO condemned these heinous attacks in the strongest terms and called for respect of the sanctity of health care, as mandated under International Humanitarian Law. No patient or family member should fear for their lives as they seek health care, and health workers should not risk injury or death while saving lives.
The attacks on hospitals, health centres and ambulances deprived millions of people in Sudan of the urgent medical care they needed. Less than 50 percent of health facilities across the country were providing the same level of services as before the conflict, while as many as 40 percent of facilities were currently not functioning at all. People were dying because of the lack of access to basic health care and medication, stressed Dr. Zakaria. WHO was calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities in El Fasher and across Sudan, and an unimpeded humanitarian access. WHO was moving medical and emergency supplies, maternal and neonatal services, acute malnutrition, and was ready to bring the supplies into El Fasher as soon as the necessary conditions were created. WHO called on the international community not to abandon Sudan at this dark hour.
Rolando Gómez, for the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, reminded that UNIS had shared the Security Council’s statement from the previous day, in which the Council demanded that the RSF lift the siege of El Fasher and called for an immediate halt to the fighting and for de-escalation in and around El Fasher.
Responding to questions from the journalists, Mr. Magango, for OHCHR, said that all attacks on hospitals ought to be investigated and those found responsible be brought to justice. The onus was on the authorities in Sudan to conduct the investigations in the first instance. OHCHR was not naming any countries which might be involved in supplying weapons to the warring parties in Sudan. Christian Lindmeier, for WHO, said that the attacks against the Saudi hospital in El Fasher had been conducted in several waves. Dr. Zakaria, also for WHO, explained that WHO had a strict method of reporting on attacks against health care. The information on the attacks on the maternity hospital in El Fasher had been verified by multiple sources, she said. It was not WHO’s mandate to attribute responsibility for the attacks nor was it involved in investigations. She further said that the Sudan Humanitarian Appeal was currently 27.4 percent funded, while its health component was 37 percent funded. In 2025, over 1,000 attacks on health care had been recorded in 16 settings.
Hurricane Melissa
Necephor Mghendi, Head of Delegation of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) for English and Dutch Speaking Caribbean, speaking from Port of Spain, said that a rapid assessment on the ground had shown that humanitarian needs were acute. Entire communities in the south and along the coast had been battered by destructive winds and flash floods. Torrential rain, storm surge, and landslides had left a trail of destruction from St. Elizabeth to St. Mary. Homes had been flattened, roads and bridges washed away, and vast areas remain without power or telecommunications. More than 6,000 people were sheltering in evacuation centres in Jamaica. IFRC volunteers were providing support to the families who had lost everything. In 2024, hurricane Beryl had already hit the same region, reminded Mr. Mghendi, and it was likely that more storms were to come in the future. With the focus on immediate relief, IFRC had launched an emergency appeal for 19 million CHF to help 180,000 people who had lost their livelihoods.
Hurricane Melissa had also stricken eastern parts of Cuba. Cuban Red Cross had been on the frontlines, carrying out rescues and first aid support. IFRC was asking for CHF 15 million to assist 100,000 people in Cuba. In both islands, the crisis was intense, stressed Mr. Mghendi. At the same time, early action and advance warning had helped limit the number of casualties and made the response faster and more effective. International partners were called upon to support IFRC and partners in helping people in need in Jamaica and Cuba.
Brian Bogart, Country Director for World Food Programme (WFP) multi-country office in the Caribbean, speaking from Kingston, had returned from the Black River area in southern Jamaica just a few hours earlier. The situation on the ground was apocalyptic and some parts looked as if a bomb had gone off. People were sleeping in the streets and were in disbelief at the scale of the damages. At the Black River Hospital, staff were working around the clock to assist the patients. There were houses under water. The priority now was clearing roads to that some cut-off communities could be reached rapidly. These same communities had borne the brunt of hurricane Beryl just a year before, reminded Mr. Bogart. The Government had to be supported with both coordination and scaling up the response. WFP was working with the authorities on logistical challenges, fixing communications, and cash. Some 5,000 food kits were on the way to the affected areas, enough to feed 15,000 people for a week. The response in Jamaica was an outcome of the serious preparation work done in advance, which made it easier to scale up now. People of Jamaica were incredibly resilient, but their resilience ought to be supported now.
Christian Lindmeier, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that three major hospitals in Jamaica had been severely impacted, and they were amongst the most critical in their respective regions. Damage significantly impacted the health sector’s capacity to respond to the emergency needs. Mr. Lindmeier also spoke of the affected power supply and lack of generators. WHO was deploying emergency medical teams, focusing on the WASH cluster, providing psychological support and helping with disease surveillance. Some 2.6 tons of medical supplies had been sent to Cuba, and 5.5 tons stood ready to be sent to Jamaica.
US attacks on boats in the Caribbean and Pacific
Ravina Shamdasani, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), stated that airstrikes by the United States of America on boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific – allegedly linked to drug trafficking – violated international human rights law. Over 60 people had reportedly been killed in a continuing series of attacks carried out by US armed forces against boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific since early September, in circumstances that found no justification in international law. These attacks – and their mounting human cost – were unacceptable. The US had to halt such attacks and take all measures necessary to prevent the extrajudicial killing of people aboard these boats, whatever the criminal conduct alleged against them.
Based on the very sparse information provided publicly by the US authorities, none of the individuals on the targeted boats had appeared to pose an imminent threat to the lives of others or otherwise justified the use of lethal armed force against them under international law. OHCHR called for prompt, independent, and transparent investigations into these attacks. The United States should investigate and, if necessary, prosecute and punish individuals accused of serious crimes in accordance with the fundamental rule of law principles of due process and fair trial, for which the US had long stood.
Full statement is available here.
Responding to questions, Ms. Shamdasani said that international human rights law was applicable in this context and the use of force by the United States should be governed by it. The intentional use of lethal force was allowed only as a last resort against individuals who were an imminent threat, otherwise it could be considered an extrajudicial killing. These attacks too place outside of an armed conflict, which was why international human rights law was applicable. It was crucial that the deaths be investigated transparently and promptly, the onus of which was on the United States.
Deaths and injuries amid ongoing election-related protests in Tanzania
Seif Magango, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), speaking from Nairobi, said that OHCHR was alarmed by alarmed by the deaths and injuries that had occurred in the ongoing election-related protests in Tanzania. Credible reports received by OHCHR indicated that at least ten people had been killed in Dar es Salaam, Shinyanga and Morogoro as the security forces had used firearms and teargas to disperse protesters. A nationwide curfew was in place, and access to the internet appeared to have been widely restricted since the 29 October general election, without any official reasons being given.
OHCHR called on the security forces to refrain from using unnecessary or disproportionate force, including lethal weapons, against protesters, and to make every effort to deescalate tensions. Protesters should demonstrate peacefully. OHCHR also urged the authorities to fully uphold Tanzania’s obligations under international human rights law. They had to promptly reinstate access to the Internet and facilitate citizens’ full enjoyment of their rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly. All those in arbitrary detention should be immediately and unconditionally released and those held legally ought to be accorded full due process and fair trial rights.
OHCHR press release is available here.
Answering to questions from the media, Mr. Magango explained that the information was collected from OHCHR’s trusted partners on the ground, as its own access had been restricted.
Outcomes for development of the Great Lakes conference
Damien Mama, Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the Democratic Republic of Congo, speaking from Paris, said that the Paris Conference on the Great Lakes Region marked an important moment for dialogue, solidarity, and action. Convened under the leadership of France and Togo, this gathering demonstrated that diplomacy and cooperation remained powerful tools for peace.
Mr. Mama reminded that the Great Lakes region had endured decades of conflict, displacement, and economic fragmentation. The people of eastern DRC, and their neighbors in Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda, lived the daily consequences of insecurity, displacement, and poverty. Yet, beyond the headlines, there was also strength and a deep determination to rebuild and to live in peace. This conference had reaffirmed a simple but powerful truth: security and humanitarian responses alone could not bring or sustain peace. Development had to be part of the response from the outset.
Despite insecurity and limited access, and in collaboration with civil society and humanitarian colleagues, UNDP had delivered results that restored hope and dignity in North Kivu and South Kivu. UNDP’s efforts in these areas, in collaboration with humanitarian agencies and civil society organizations, had created 5,500 temporary jobs for people who had been directly affected by the crisis, and 2,600 new microenterprises. About 4,200 survivors of gender-based violence were receiving holistic care. Over 1,200 houses were being rehabilitated and over 40 schools, water systems, and health posts. While modest, these results showed that investing in people was an effective tool in building sustainable peace. The Crisis Response Plan, with a total budget of USD 23.9 million, had mobilized USD 15.6 million to date. Mr. Mama stressed that UNDP stood ready to scale up its support, and the Paris Conference was a good occasion to place the DRC recovery on the agenda again.
Rolando Gómez, for the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) recalled the video message of the Secretary-General screened at the opening of the Paris Conference yesterday through which he expressed hope the gathering would amount to a turning point to boost financial and humanitarian support to the Great Lakes Region.
Announcements
Rolando Gómez, for the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) informed that on 5 November at 2 pm, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), would hold a press conference to launch a report on Forests of North America, Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia. Speakers would be Paola Deda, Director, Forests, Land and Housing Division, UNECE; Michael Köhl, Professor of World Forestry, University of Hamburg; and Kathy Abusow, President and CEO of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative.
The Social Forum was having today the second and last day of its 2025 session. On the agenda were education for socio-economic rights; education for political rights; human rights education for, by, and with children; and human rights education for, by, and with youth.
The following week, the Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review would commence, with the following 14 countries under review: Belarus, Liberia, Malawi, Mongolia, Panama, the Maldives, Andorra, Bulgaria, Honduras, the United States of America, the Marshall Islands, Croatia, Jamaica, and Libya.
Finally, Mr. Gómez informed that 2 November would be the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, on which occasion the Secretary-General’s message had been shared.
***
