USG Press Room, 2007

OpEds, Articles and Press Briefings by John Holmes Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator

A very bad year for humanity
Haaretz, 14 November 2007

USG Holmes talks about the situation in the Gaza strip and stresses that the isolation of Gaza will cause the civilian population to become extreme and does not concur with the talk of optimism ahead of Annapolis and of the diplomatic progress everyone hopes for in the conference's wake. [full article]

Congo's rape war
Los Angeles Times, 11 October 2007

Despite many warnings, nothing quite prepared me for what I heard last month from survivors of a sexual violence so brutal it staggers the imagination and mocked my notions of human decency.  I cannot find the words to describe what I heard from girls and women in Panzi Hospital, located in South Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of Congo, near the epicenter of one of the world's major humanitarian crises.
[download full article or view online at Los Angeles Times] 

A rising refugee crisis
International Herald Tribune, 31 July 2007

One of the world's largest and fastest-growing humanitarian crises is also among the least known:  Iraq.  More than four million people, one out of every seven Iraqis, have fled their homes in what is the largest population displacement in the recent history of the Middle East.
[download full article or view online at International Herald Tribune]

How many more Aprils can the people of this region endure?
The Independent, 25 April 2007 (Also published in The Hindu and USA Today on 26 April 2007; Le Temps (French) on 01 May 2007.)

In April 2007, USG John Holmes briefed the Security Council on the continuing tragedy in Darfur. He continues to campaign for the active support of the international community in alleviating the humanitarian situation in Darfur. In this op-ed, he outlined the cost of inaction, among them countless of thousands of lives lost, the number of people dependent on a fragile humanitarian lifeline being quadrupled in the last three years -- from one million to nearly four million people, access and safety for the thousands of aid workers declining. [Full article (English), French]

Let's not follow the polar bears
The Straits Times, 6 April 2007

Polar bears seem not to have the time to adapt to a rapidly changing climate. Will we become like the polar bear as rising sea levels, more extreme weather, intensive storms, flooding, heatwaves and droughts come our way, as scientists agree they will? Of course not.  Unlike polar bears, we can adapt quickly to protect ourselves from natural hazards. Using simple, cost-effective methods, we can save lives, land and livelihoods. [Full article]

Press Briefings

Highlights of press conference on humanitarian situation in Occupied Palestinian Territory
Geneva, 25 October 2007

John Holmes, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, called this briefing to underline the great concern of OCHA and all the international humanitarian agencies over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.  [Highlights]

ERC briefs press in Geneva on the humanitarian situation in Somalia
Geneva, 26 April

ERC John Holmes briefed journalists on the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in Somalia. It is estimated that 340,000 to 350,000 people have fled Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, since the heavy fighting started about 10 days or so. The humanitarian community can only reach around 60,000 of those who fled. Mr. Holmes also responded to questions on the humanitarian situations in Darfur and Iraq.  [Highlights]