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Source: United Nations (video statements)

Briefing by Tom Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, following the presentation of his report to the General Assembly’s Third Committee.
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UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, said that the humanitarian conditions in the country are “significantly worse” in 2025. “Nearly 22 million people in Myanmar now require humanitarian aid. 16.7 million people face acute food insecurity,” he said.

Special Rapporteurs and other human rights experts appointed under the special procedures mandate of the Human Rights Council are not UN staff and are independent of any government or organization. They receive no salary for their work.

Andrews spoke to reporters today (29 Oct) following the presentation of his report to the General Assembly’s Third Committee yesterday.

The Special Rapporteur highlighted that the humanitarian situation was made “much worse” after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar on 28th of March.

He said, “The earthquake impacted an estimated 17 million people, damaged 157,000 buildings, left about 200,000 people homeless. The world Bank has estimated that it caused $11 billion in damage.”

Andrews also said, “The military junta of Myanmar took that natural disaster and turned it into a humanitarian catastrophe.”

The Special Rapporteur explained that “they did so by trying to turn this disaster to its own advantage. It blocked systematically the delivery of humanitarian aid from reaching many devastated areas in Myanmar. It employed tactics such as threatening, harassing, interrogating, extorting humanitarian aid workers. It confiscated, medical supplies. Its soldiers looted the homes of those who were displaced by the earthquake. They rounded up a young people involved in relief efforts, forcibly, conscripting them into the military to become human shields, while otherwise using them as forced labor.”

“Young people, are drawn into the promise of good jobs find themselves trafficked into scam centres, imprisoned and forced to scam people literally out of billions of dollars all over the world. So this is a crisis that is not only impacting the people of Myanmar. It is indeed impacting the people around the world,” Andrews added.

He implored the members of the United Nations to “step up and take action that it is simply fail to do.”

The Special Rapporteur added, “We have seen in the midst of this spike in the need pursuit of incredible needs for humanitarian aid, we have seen a systematic decrease in the availability of humanitarian aid.”

On the upcoming elections in the country that is scheduled on 28 December, Andrews said, “These elections are a sham. They’re a fraud. You cannot have a free and fair election when you arrest, detain, imprison and torture the leaders of the political opposition.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu6FOslaWSQ

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Deir al-Balah Co-educational Primary School in central Gaza has become a shelter for hundreds of displaced families — one of dozens of schools that now serve as both classrooms and shelters after two years of war.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), continues to open more temporary learning spaces inside its shelters across the Gaza Strip, as well as providing remote learning services to students.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4S4S2Ai3vI

Source: United Nations (video statements)

After presenting the report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for 2024, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi today (29 Oct) spoke to reporters in New York about the situations in Iran and in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) as well as his own candidacy to be the next Secretary-General.

Following the reported test firing of cruise missiles by the DPRK on Tuesday, Grossi said, “the IAEA as such is not looking at missile capability but is aware of that. And so, it’s part of an effort which is very determined. It runs counter to several United Nations Security Council resolutions. We continue to observe and monitor the nuclear part of it, and it goes unabated.”

He expressed concern over nuclear safety and said the DPRK has “a gigantic program that has enrichment, reprocessing, a nuclear reactor, another one being built, without any view outside from their own people.”

The Director-General said, “it’s been overlooked, and we should perhaps start thinking about this as well.”

Turning to Iran, he said, “after the 12-day war, as it is called, we had to withdraw our inspections from Iran for safety reasons, obviously, because they were there. And ever since I have been trying to reconstruct this relationship. I’m frequently in contact with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and with others. We saw that in July I went to Cairo, and we signed under the auspices of President Sisi and Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty we signed a good understanding that would allow for our inspections to proceed. So, all of this is working, not perfectly though, but it is working.”

On his candidacy, Grossi said, “some people say, well, because you are a candidate for the position, then you are going to be doing this to please a certain country. Well, if that logic was correct, then if I please this country, I will displease the other candidate. And you know that the process, the selection process, is one that has certain characteristics with vetoes and votes and these and that. So, you know, for me it’s a very clear thing. And I’m ready to discuss this with anybody.”

He said, “what I do, what I do at the head of the IAEA, speaks more than words and visions and promises and ideas that I could have as how good a Secretary-General I could be. Just look at what I’m doing. This is me.”

Responding to an Iranian journalist’s question, Grossi said, “you say that a report of the IAEA led to a war. This is something that I vigorously reject. You know, no one can believe that any military activity would be triggered by a report. And one, since you are from IRNA, a very respected news agency, you know my reports. I’m sure you have been reading my reports for many, many years. And you will remember, I’m sure, that in that particular report there was nothing fundamentally different from what we had been reporting and saying for many, many years.”

On the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA), he said, “for some, apparently JCPoA is over and done with. Others think maybe not so much, which leaves, you know, us international organisations in a little bit of a difficult situation. However, however, we do have when it comes to Iran, something which is very important. We still have a comprehensive safeguards agreement that they have to abide by.”

Grossi said, “this is not a voluntary measure or an agreement that can or, you know, cannot be observed depending on the mood of the day. So, the moment they decide to stay in the NPT and the comprehensive safeguards agreement with the IAEA stays valid. There are, there’s a regime of inspections which is applicable to Iran.”

A proposal to continue sanctions relief for Iran under the 2015 JCPoA, or Iran Nuclear Deal, was rejected in the UN Security Council in September in a vote that revealed deep divisions over the so-called “snapback” process.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxurw_tXgkM