UN GENEVA PRESS BRIEFING
Alessandra Vellucci of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, attended by spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the World Health Organization.
World Humanitarian Day 2025
Alessandra Vellucci for the United Nations Information Service (UNIS), said that today the international community came together to celebrate, commemorate and remember humanitarian workers who risked their lives every day to carry out their important work. She relayed a statement from the Secretary-General, which urged that on this World Humanitarian Day, we honoured the fallen with action to protect every aid worker, strengthen accountability and end arms flows to parties that violate international law. “An attack on humanitarians is an attack on humanity”, said the Secretary-General.
Jens Laerke, for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that World Humanitarian Day brought mixed emotions for people in the humanitarian community and beyond. OCHA paid tribute to every humanitarian who had been killed, and their thoughts were with the family, friends and colleagues left grieving. There had been a 31 percent increase in the deaths of aid workers in 2024, compared to the year before. The numbers were driven up by the relentless conflict in Gaza where more than 180 humanitarian workers were killed last year, and in Sudan where 60 were killed. Tragically the first eight months of 2025 showed no sign of reversing this trend. As of mid- August, 265 had been killed according to provisional data. This had to be a wake-up call to the world. Attacks on this scale could not be ignored. The campaign #ActForHumanity focused on clear messages to people with power and influence: respect the rules of war, protect humanitarians and civilians, and call time on impunity.
Thameen Al-Kheetan, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said today on World Humanitarian Day, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, paid tribute to the many human rights defenders around the world who risked their lives and stood up for human rights. Humanitarian workers and United Nations personnel had to be protected.
Christian Lindmeier, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said as conflicts became more intense, complex, and protracted globally, attacks on healthcare (facilities, health workers, infrastructure, transportation, and related services), humanitarian, civilians and civilian infrastructure, had become increasingly common, often in clear violation of international laws. Since the beginning of 2025, WHO had verified 821 attacks on health across all regions of the world, with 1121 deaths and 645 injuries among health workers and patients across 16 countries and territories. So far this year, the five countries reporting the highest numbers of attacks were: Ukraine: 325 attacks reported, with ten deaths and 114 injuries; the Occupied Palestinian Territory: 304 attacks, with 61 deaths and 165 injuries; the Democratic Republic of the Congo: 38 attacks, with no deaths and eight injuries; Sudan: 38 attacks, with 933 deaths and 148 injuries; and Myanmar: 33 attacks, with 51 deaths and 90 injuries.
Violence involving the use of heavy weapons, obstructions to the delivery of healthcare, violence with individual weapons, and use of psychological violence were the most frequent types of attack so far this year. In 2025, health facilities were the most frequently affected resource. In 2024, 1647 attacks on healthcare were reported from 16 countries and territories, with nearly 1000 deaths and 1779 injuries. WHO called on all relevant parties in conflicts to actively protect and respect healthcare, ensuring safe and continued delivery of healthcare services and access to healthcare, free from violence, threat or fear.
Alessandra Vellucci for the United Nations Information Service (UNIS), reminded the media that the Geneva community would commemorate World Humanitarian Day with a solemn ceremony outside Room 20, which would hear from several speakers, including a human rights officer who had survived the 2003 terrorist attack to UN facilities in Baghdad on 19 August 2003. The event would be webcast on UN Web TV. Additionally, she reminded that 21 August was the International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism.
Responding to questions from the media, regarding accountability for crimes against humanitarians, Jens Laerke, for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that few people were ever brought to justice for these kinds of attacks. For example, no one had ever been held to account for the attacks in Baghdad. This said everything.
Also answering questions, Thameen Al-Kheetan, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said the primary obligation was with the State concerned, in case of attacks on humanitarian workers. There was also universal jurisdiction; when the State concerned was unable or unwilling to proceed with accountability measures, other states could proceed with the process of universal jurisdiction. All states were urged to take measures necessary to ensure accountability for attacks on humanitarian workers.
Responding to further questions, Mr. Laerke said he could not comment on the data for 2025 on the number of deaths of aid workers, as it went through a rigorous verification process. However, 265 deaths mid-August did not look like the trend was bending the right way. This was why this year’s World Humanitarian Day was particularly important.
Occupied Palestinian territory: Marwan Barghouthi, and human rights situation in Gaza
Thameen Al-Kheetan, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said video footage showing Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir berating and taunting Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouthi face-to-face inside an Israeli jail was unacceptable. International law required that all those in detention be treated humanely, with dignity, and that their human rights were respected and protected.
Meanwhile in Gaza, the Israeli army had intensified its attacks in the north of the strip. On 16 and 17 August, OHCHR recorded five attacks on tents of internally displaced people in Al Mawasi, killing at least nine people. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced to Al Mawasi had little or no access to essential services and supplies. Since 27 May and up until 17 August, OHCHR documented that 1,857 Palestinians were killed while seeking food, including 1,021 killed in the vicinity of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites, and 836 killed on the routes of supply trucks. Most of these killings appeared to have been committed by the Israeli military.
The full statement can be viewed here.
Responding to questions from the media, Thameen Al-Kheetan, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said there had been reports that some trucks were entering with supplies, with humanitarian aid and commercial goods. This was far below the amounts needed to avoid starvation. The use of starvation as a weapon of war was a war crime. OHCHR continued to call on Israel to allow in aid in sufficient amounts for the population to be able to survive.
Jens Laerke, for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said the United Nations and their partners had not been able to bring in shelter materials. There were a set of border regulations which needed to be addressed, including at Israeli customs.
Responding to another question, Mr, Laerke said shelter materials had been banned from entering for five months and in this period 700,000 people had been displaced multiple times, often leaving their tents. There were many challenging factors in responding to these repeated displacements.
Responding to another question, Ms. Vellucci said the Secretary-General remained concerned about inflammatory statements calling for the Israeli military to capture additional territory in Gaza. Security Council Resolution 27/35 2024 rejected any attempt at geographical or territorial change in the Gaza strip, including any action which reduced the territory of Gaza. There was no military solution to the armed conflict in Gaza.
Mr. Al-Kheetan said the plans for Israel’s military takeover of the Gaza strip had a huge risk for civilians including mass displacement and killings. The most vulnerable, including those with disabilities, the injured, children and women would be the most affected. The High Commissioner had warned that the plan for a complete military takeover of the Gaza strip should be immediately halted due to these risks.
Responding to additional questions, Mr. Laerke said sometimes reasons for the rejection of supplies at the border were given, and other times they were not. In previous conflicts, shelter had fallen under the “dual use” category due to tent poles. Mr. Laerke said the questions being asked by Israel to aid agencies at the border were an impediment which did not seem to be designed to facilitate fast entry, but rather the opposite.
Launch of new WHO-WMO climate change and workplace heat stress report and guidance
Christian Lindmeier, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said on Friday 22 August, WHO and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) would launch the climate change and workplace heat stress report and guidance. This major joint report warned that climate-driven heat waves were taking a growing toll on health, especially among workers in agriculture, construction and fisheries, those in vulnerable groups, and those in low-income settings. An embargoed joint press conference would be held on Thursday, 21 August at 2 p.m. Geneva time. The report and press release were available for early access and experts from both organizations were available for interviews. The embargo would lift at 8am Geneva time on Friday morning.
Announcements
Alessandra Vellucci for the United Nations Information Service (UNIS), said the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, Mr. Geir O Pedersen would brief the Security Council in open session Thursday at 10am New York / 4pm Geneva. His briefing remarks would be distributed after.
The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (33rd session, 11-26 August) was concluding its review of the initial report of Kiribati this morning. Tomorrow it would review the report of Maldives, and on 21 and 22 August, the report of Finland.
The Conference on Disarmament would hold a brief plenary meeting this morning, the first one under the presidency of Mexico. Further meetings would be announced later.
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