International Human Solidarity Day

UN Geneva press briefing chaired by Alessandra Vellucci, Director, UN Information Service. Conflict in Lebanon. Marcoluigi Corsi, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Country Representative in Lebanon, connecting from Beirut, stated that in just three weeks, more than 370,000 children had been forced out of their homes in Lebanon, an average of at least 19,000 girls and boys displaced every single day. This was the equivalent of hundreds of school buses filled with children fleeing for their lives every 24 hours. In less than a single month, 20 per cent of Lebanon's population had been displaced, and more than one million people were now uprooted. Mr. Corsi stressed that the mental and emotional exhaustion weighing on the children of Lebanon was devastating. Before having a single moment to heal from the trauma of the last escalation just 15 months ago, they were being violently uprooted all over again. Today, over 135,000 internally displaced persons were seeking refuge i...

UN Geneva press briefing chaired by Alessandra Vellucci, Director, UN Information Service. Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives from the United Nations Refugee Agency, the World Health Organization, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Human Rights Council and the International Labour Organization. UNHCR: Urgent support needed as 32,000 Congolese refugees return home from Burundi Ali Mahamat, United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) Head of Office in Goma (Democratic Republic of Congo), said more than 33,000 Congolese refugees had spontaneously returned from Burundi to eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in a month. Most returnees were crossing through the Kavimvira border point, near Uvira in South Kivu Province. They had fled to Burundi in December 2025, when fighting between the Armed Forces of the Democratic Re...

UN Geneva press briefing chaired by Rolando Gómez, Chief of Press and External Relations Section, United Nations Information Service (UNIS) at Geneva. UN INFORMATION SERVICE GENEVA PRESS BRIEFING - 27 January 2026 UNICEF: 'Back to Learning' for Hundreds of Thousands of Children in Gaza. James Elder, for the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), said that in one of the largest emergency learning efforts anywhere in the world, UNICEF would now expand its "Back to Learning" programme to include some 336,000 children in Gaza. Before the war, Palestinians in Gaza had some of the highest literacy rates in the world. Today, that legacy was under attack: schools, universities, and libraries had been destroyed, and years of progress erased. An entire generation was at risk, with 60 percent of school-aged children in Gaza having no access to in-person learning. Rebuilding Gaza's schools, its education facilities and universities must sit at the very top of Gaza's rec...

In a world buffeted by change and a reality that feels in constant flux, individuals and institutions alike risk losing their bearings. How can we turn turbulence into an opportunity for positive, transformational change. A conversation between: Guy Ryder, Under-Secretary-General for Policy at the United Nations, and Angela Williams, CEO of United Way Worldwide. The event offers a moment to step back, gain perspective, and explore how to harness uncertainty for good. Speakers: Guy Ryder, Under-Secretary-General for Policy, United Nations. Angela Williams, CEO, United Way Worldwide. John Gilroy, Chief of Service, Trust Funds and Programmes, UN Office for Partnerships. Watch Making Good in Times of Turbulence! Live Meetings & Events

UN Geneva press briefing chaired by Alessandra Vellucci, Director, UN Information Service, Geneva. Gaza: UN compound demolition, UNRWA operations, and immediate humanitarian needs Mr. Jonathan Fowler for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) (from Amman) reported on UNRWA operations and the storming and demolition of UNRWA's East Jerusalem compound. He stressed that this is a United Nations compound protected by UN privileges and immunities and described the action as "a new level of open and deliberate defiance of international law," with potential implications beyond UNRWA and for the United Nations globally. He recalled that, as recently as October, the International Court of Justice stressed that Israel is obliged to facilitate, not hinder or prevent, UNRWA's operations, and said the latest events fly against that. He rejected assertions that Israeli authorities own or have sovereign rights over the land in Eas...

Introductory press conference with new members of the Commission. Speakers: Srinivasan Muralidhar, Chair of the Commission Florence Mumba, Commissioner Chris Sidoti, Commissioner Watch the Press Conference: Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel! Press Conferences

UN Geneva press briefing chaired by Rolando Gómez, Chief, Press and External Relations Section, UN Information Service Humanitarian response to flooding in southern Mozambique Paola Emerson, Head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Mozambique, speaking from Xai-Xai, Mozambique, said more than half a million people had been affected by severe flooding across southern and central Mozambique, particularly in Gaza, Maputo and Sofala provinces, with Gaza Province accounting for nearly two-thirds of those affected. Heavy and sustained rainfall, combined with ongoing dam water releases to prevent structural failure, had caused extensive flooding that continued to worsen. The damage had been widespread, with many homes collapsing after days of rain. Health facilities, roads and other critical infrastructure had also been heavily impacted. Nearly 5,000 kilometres of roads across nine provinces had been damaged, including the main highway linking the capital...