UN GENEVA PRESS BRIEFING
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section, United Nations Information Service (UNIS) at Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives of UN Women, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Environment Programme.
The war in Ukraine is becoming deadlier for women and girls
Sabine Friezer Gunes, UN Women Representative in Ukraine, speaking from Kyiv, said the people of Ukraine had lived through more than 1,500 days of full-scale war. The first three months of 2026 was the deadliest winter for women and girls in Ukraine since the first year of the full-scale invasion by the Russian Federation. Some 199 women and girls were killed between January and March 2026, more than the number of women and girls reported killed during the same period in 2025, 2024, and 2023, according to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. Each woman and girl killed had plans, purposes and loved ones. In addition to the terrible death toll, attacks on civilian infrastructure had made life more difficult. Energy attacks significantly increased women’s stress and financial burden and worsened physical and mental health. 73 percent of women reported having no backup energy sources.
Ms. Friezer Gunes told the story of a female energy worker who led an all-male team responsible for repairing infrastructure after attacks, with the team working around the clock to repair damaged infrastructure overnight. Nearly eight in ten women’s organizations had said that funding reductions had significantly impacted their work, including the number of women they could support. Women and girls in Ukraine needed sustained support, investment in financing. UN Women continued to work across Ukraine to ensure women’s needs were addressed and were working to make sure women were part of the political processes in Ukraine’s future. Lasting peace could only be reached when women were included in the negotiations.
The full statement can be viewed here.
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section, United Nations Information Service (UNIS) at Geneva, said a statement from the Secretary-General had been shared echoing some of these points and calling for an immediate, full and lasting ceasefire.
Responding to a question from the media, Ms. Friezer Gunes said the figures on casualties were coming from the Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, who were the best sources for this information. Women represented 40 percent of all civilian casualties in the first quarter of 2026.
Children in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem
James Elder, for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said children in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, were facing escalating violence and worsening living conditions due to military operations and settler attacks. Since January 2025, at least 70 Palestinian children had been killed, 93 percent by Israeli forces, and around 850 injured, often by live ammunition. Settler violence had also reached record levels, with reports of children being beaten, stabbed, shot, or pepper-sprayed. These were not isolated events, but part of a broader pattern undermining children’s ability to live safely and develop normally. Homes had been demolished, schools attacked, healthcare access obstructed, and movement heavily restricted through hundreds of new checkpoints and barriers. In the first four months of the year alone, more than 1,100 children were displaced. Mr. Elder described an eight-year-old boy beaten by settlers while sleeping outside, while his mother had her arms broken trying to protect her four-month-old baby.
Education had been severely disrupted, with dozens of incidents involving school demolitions, attacks on students, and military use of school buildings. Water and sanitation infrastructure had also been damaged, affecting children’s health and daily life. There had also been a sharp rise in the detention of Palestinian children, with 347 children being held in military detention, many without standard legal safeguards. Palestinian children were being harmed both through direct violence and through the destruction of essential systems needed for their survival and wellbeing. UNICEF called on Israeli authorities to uphold their human rights obligations, and influential states to act urgently to protect children and uphold international law.
Responding to questions from the media, Mr. Elder said the rate in the West Bank of the death of one child a week had remained consistent for around 17 months. Since the ceasefire in Gaza, the United Nations had documented at least 229 children killed, with 60 percent of those killed near the yellow line.
Answering an additional question, regarding the 347 children from the West Bank being held in military detention, Mr. Elder said 180 were being held without charge or trial. They could be held for varying time periods, including three months, six months or nine months, or sometimes children were then moved to adult facilities when they turned 18. UNICEF were very concerned by this process; states needed to uphold their obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In the last year there had also been a total deterioration of conditions of detention for children.
Mr. Elder said the ages of children killed would be provided as well as the age profiles of children in detention. It was typically children around 14 and 15.
Update on medical rehabilitation needs in Gaza
Tarik Jašarević, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said WHO were providing an update to a report issued in September 2025 on people in Gaza with life-changing injuries.
Dr. Reinhilde Van De Weerdt, representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) for the occupied Palestinian territory, speaking from Jerusalem, said around 43,000 of the 172,000 people in Gaza since October 2023 had sustained life-changing injuries, including approximately 10,000 children. Since September 2025, nearly 5,000 additional injuries had been recorded, almost half occurring after the October 2025 ceasefire announcement. Major injuries included severe limb trauma, amputations, spinal cord injuries, major burns, and traumatic brain injuries. More than 50,000 people required long-term rehabilitation, yet access to care remained critically limited. Nearly half of patients assessed for limb reconstruction needed further surgery, while fewer than 25 percent of evaluated amputees had received permanent prosthetics due to severe shortages.
The crisis extended beyond conflict injuries, affecting people with chronic conditions, disabilities, and age-related needs who faced the same overwhelmed health system. No rehabilitation facility in Gaza was fully functional, fewer hospitals provided specialist rehabilitation than before the conflict, and more than 400 patients remained on waiting lists for rehabilitation beds, forcing early discharge and increasing the risk of permanent disability. Access to rehabilitation equipment was also severely restricted, with WHO estimating a need for nearly 33,000 assistive products. As of April 2026, 18 shipments of rehabilitation supplies, including wheelchairs, prosthetics, and basic equipment, remained delayed for months awaiting clearance. WHO called for urgent access to rehabilitation supplies, sustained investment in Gaza’s health system, and continued support to help people recover and rebuild their lives.
South Sudan at a critical crossroads
Mohamed Abchir, Resident Representative in South Sudan for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), said South Sudan faced declining donor funding, political uncertainty, violence, climate shocks, displacement, and rising humanitarian needs. However, communities continued choosing peacebuilding, dialogue, and self-reliance over division and conflict. A more stable future was possible, but sustained investment remained essential. UNDP had made significant progress this year, including helping 25,220 people access justice and legal aid services; 3,400 young people, mostly women, receiving vocational and business training; more than 1,800 inmates receiving reintegration support; 179 peace committees being established; and nearly 700 local conflicts were addressed, with more than half resolved peacefully. Health systems were also improving, with over 88,000 people receiving HIV treatment. AIDS-related deaths fell from more than 8,000 in 2022 to 5,100 in 2025; oxygen distribution to hospitals increased by 300 percent and more than $23 million in HIV and Tuberculosis medicines and supplies reached 265 health facilities.
In 2025, UNDP and partners reached over 8.25 million people with information on constitutional processes, justice, and human rights. Strengthening public awareness helped build accountable institutions and supports peaceful civic participation. UNDP’s work focussed on transparency, inclusion, and institutional readiness, while encouraging dialogue among stakeholders. Development could not wait for perfect political conditions; in fragile states, development often created stability. Declining development financing was a growing concern. Without continued investment, institutions weakened, services declined, and humanitarian needs increased. Despite ongoing challenges, there were real signs of progress as communities worked together to resolve disputes and invest in a more peaceful future.
UNEP’s 2026 Sand and Sustainability report
Pascal Peduzzi, Director of GRID-Geneva, for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), said UNEP was launching their third sustainability report, focusing on the dual tension dependency of sand as a building material and in nature. It was important to choose how to use sand; it was the most used material used by humans after water. 50 billion tonnes of sand were used per year, enough to make a wall that was 27 metres high and 27 metres wide around the equator every year. This amount of material could not be extracted without creating a large impact. When it was extracted from rivers, lakes and the marine environment, this was where sand played an important role within the eco-system. The report highlighted the dual need for sand, as a building material and supporting biodiversity. In Africa, where sand usage was highest, sand was extracted by artisanal workers which had significant impacts on the environment. It was important to shift from the informal sector to the formal sector and source sand in a better way. The report examined how to manage sand resources more wisely.
Responding to questions from the media, Mr. Peduzzi said the issue of sand was a global one. Anywhere with large urbanisation processes were where the needs were biggest; however, some places had more sand than others. It was being used faster than it could be replenished, including in South Asia. Countries in north Europe, such as Belgian and the Netherlands as well as small islands were also affected by sand levels.
Conferences had been held in Geneva, Paris, Bangkok, including global conference in Geneva where 120 States supported having more information on sand. The key forum being used in this regard was the UN Environment Assembly held every two years in Nairobi, where resolutions pertaining to sand were increasingly being adopted each year. Member States were gaining interest in this topic, especially African States. There were available solutions, including building with less sand, but a change in attitude was key. The press release contained a link to a media kit which included the report, figures, presentations and images.
Announcements
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section, United Nations Information Service (UNIS) at Geneva, said the Secretary-General had delivered remarks at the Opening of the Africa Forward summit in Nairobi today, stressing that Africa was driving solutions on global financial reform, while calling for a more just international system. The transcript for the press conference he held the day before in Nairobi had been shared with media. He had also delivered remarks to launch the new UN conference centre in Nairobi and met with the Kenyan President and the President of Sierra Leone. The Secretary-General was then heading to Addis Ababa, where tomorrow he would address the 10th, the African Union United Nations annual conference.
The second part of the Conference on Disarmament would officially begin on 11 May, however no public meetings would be held until the end of the month.
The Universal Periodic Review continued this week, with Singapore and Sierra Leone under review.
The UN Human Rights office would host a press conference on Monday, the 18th of May, at 2 p.m. on the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in person at Palais Wilson.
Finally, a press statement had been sent to the media from the International Investigative Mechanism, marking one year after the deadly school attack on Myanmar.
Answering a question from the media, Mr. Gómez said the United Nations Office at Geneva would hold a press briefing as usual on Friday.
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