International Human Solidarity Day

UN Geneva press briefing chaired by Alessandra Vellucci, Director, UN Information Service. Floods in Nepal Lila Pieters Yahia, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Nepal, speaking on the move from Nepal, acknowledged the strong leadership of the Nepalese authorities with search and rescue efforts, which included a heavy, active military deployment. As of today, 464 people were confirmed as having lost their lives. There were still 977 people missing, of whom 517 were believed to be foreign. The damage was incredible: over 40 kilometers of roads had been completely destroyed. Search and rescue remained a priority, with the focus on saving lives. Help was being brought in by helicopters because certain areas were completely cut off. Electricity was also an issue, said Ms. Pieters Yahia. Over 30,000 military and security personnel had been mobilized in a massive operation run by the Government, and the UN was scaling up its own support and in close coordination with the Government, whic...

UN Geneva press briefing chaired by Alessandra Vellucci, Director, UN Information Service. Call to adopt rules on autonomous weapon systems Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service (UNIS), read the just issued renewed call by the United Nations Secretary-General and the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross to adopt rules on autonomous weapon systems: "Three years ago, we called on States to establish specific prohibitions and restrictions on autonomous weapon systems. Today, we renew this call with even greater urgency. The fundamental concerns remain unchanged, but the risks have intensified. We are now dangerously close to crossing a moral red line: the autonomous targeting of humans by machines. The development of weapon technology has advanced at record speed, placing increasing strain on legal frameworks. Since our previous appeal, the gap between technological capability and regulatory constraint has widened, with advanced techno...

UN Geneva press briefing chaired by Alessandra Vellucci, Director, UN Information Service. WHO Update on Attacks on Health Care Altaf Musani, Director of Humanitarian and Disaster Management at the World Health Organization (WHO), said WHO's Surveillance System for Attacks on Health Care had documented, since 2018, more than 10,400 attacks in 29 countries and territories, resulting in approximately 5,700 deaths and 8,500 injuries. In 2026 alone, WHO had recorded 914 attacks, resulting in at least 911 deaths and 1,486 injuries, more than four attacks a day. Ukraine, Lebanon, and the occupied Palestinian territory accounted for most of incidents recorded. Other contexts with reported attacks on healthcare included Myanmar, Iran, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, the Russian Federation, Syria, and Nigeria. There were multiple forms of violence, with heavy weapons were the most frequently reported means of attack in 2026. Attacks on healthcare extended beyond ...

Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by spokespersons of the World Health Organization and the World Meteorological Organization. Heatwaves, drought, fires, and extreme weather. Clare Nullis, for the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), said Western Europe had experienced its hottest June-July period on record, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service [of the European Union]. Globally, the month had been the second warmest July on record, with sea surface temperatures the highest ever recorded for the same month. Japan and the Republic of Korea both had had record-breaking heat last week, as did other parts of Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. Parts of West Africa were witnessing heavy monsoon rainfall and flooding. And, in its weekly Global Hydromet Scan, WMO had warned of heavy to locally very heavy rainfall, with the risk...

Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by spokespersons of the World Health Organization and the World Meteorological Organization Mr. Gómez, for the United Nations Information Service, read out a statement of the Secretary-General issued yesterday regarding recent events in Ukraine, in which Mr. Guterres strongly condemned "the latest large-scale missile and drone attacks by the armed forces of the Russian Federation on Kyiv and other cities in Ukraine, that reportedly killed and injured dozens of civilians, and led to extensive damage to civilian infrastructure". The Secretary-General reiterated his " call for urgent de-escalation, leading to a full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire and for a just, sustainable and comprehensive peace, in line with international law, including the UN Charter and relevant UN resolutions ". ...

UN Geneva press briefing chaired by Alessandra Vellucci, Director, UN Information Service. Ebola treatments and vaccines Tarik Jašarević, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that the Ebola outbreak was still expanding beyond the capacity to respond, and more support was needed to scale up all areas of response. As of 1 August, there had been 3,748 confirmed cases, including 1,657 confirmed deaths and 708 recoveries. Cases had been reported from 49 health zones across five provinces: Haut-Uélé, Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, and Tshopo. Some 17,000 contacts were under monitoring in DRC; more than 80 percent of them were seen daily. Dr. Vasee Moorthy, Acting Lead, R&D Blueprint at WHO, stressed that, while there was promising progress, there were still no proven safe and efficacious treatment, prophylaxis, or vaccination options for Bundibugyo. WHO R&D Blueprint had coordinated a global R&D Preparedness Programme with partners which had led to development of platf...

UN Geneva press briefing chaired by Alessandra Vellucci, Director, UN Information Service. WHO Christian Lindmeier (Zoom) with Dr. Olufunmilayo ('Funmi) LESI; Cross-cutting Lead, Hepatitis Programme & Partnerships, WHO (Zoom) World Hepatitis Day IOM IOM Director General Amy Pope Protecting Victims of Trafficking in Online Scam Operations Watch the UN Geneva Press Briefing: WHO, IOM, UNHCR, WMO! 00:58:04 Press Conferences