00:00Now for the humanitarian angle, coming up we'll be joined by Ogotchi Daniels from the UN's
00:05International Organization for Migration. A former chief of staff at the UN Agency for
00:10Palestinian Refugees and a UN resident coordinator in Iran, she's now based in Geneva from where she
00:15joins us now. Good morning, thank you so much for joining us here on the programme. So we're hearing
00:20figures like 3.2 million Iranians are on the move to find safety. Can you confirm this and
00:26what exactly is the situation looking like from your lens? Good morning, Maeve, thank you for
00:33having me. What we understand from the situation in Iran is that yes, there has been a significant
00:40movement out of Tehran to northern parts of Iran. However, these are precautionary movements and
00:50people self-relocating as a precautionary measure. And this is also because the government had asked
01:01people to move for their own safety out of Tehran. So that is what we are seeing and lots of
01:09movement
01:10to northern Iran. And meanwhile, thousands of people are fleeing southern Lebanon. How critical is the
01:16situation there? Where will internally displaced people go? And that's the situation we're really
01:23worried about. This is a region that before the conflict had 19 million internally displaced people.
01:30And now we have the conflict on top of that. And in Lebanon, 820,000 people are now displaced.
01:40We know that about 128,000 of them are in shelters and the shelters have reached capacity. And while the
01:49others have moved and are staying in communities, but there's a lot of pressure and we're very worried
01:57and concerned about the humanitarian needs right now in Lebanon.
02:02And we've seen France, they've been sending supplies and aid to Lebanon. Is that enough?
02:08No, the aid is nowhere near enough to meet the needs and the scale. First of all, what we call
02:18for and
02:19join the Secretary General is an end to the hostilities so that people can go back home and continue with
02:28their lives, first and foremost. And second, while thanking the donors who have provided resources,
02:36much more is needed. Lebanon will be launching an appeal today for additional funding.
02:45But of course, as we've been reporting here, there's no end in sight really to this war. And I guess
02:50the
02:50question is, are humanitarian agencies able to cope with this new humanitarian crisis? And how are
02:55cutbacks affecting your work as well on the ground?
03:00We have significant capacity in the region. As I mentioned, it's the region that has been
03:08dealing with displacement. We're closely monitoring what is happening at borders. But yes, you are right.
03:15This is an additional strain on us as IOM, but also on the international system because of the
03:26funding cuts that we went through last year, the significant needs that exist as compared to the
03:35resources that we're getting from our donors. So we continue to appeal for more resources to our donors,
03:43to the private sector, to diaspora, because the needs are significant.
03:50And meanwhile, I guess a question on the minds of many of our viewers this morning. Should the
03:53European Union be preparing for a massive influx of refugees?
03:58We are not seeing that right now. As we've already discussed, most of the displacement is internal,
04:05within Iran and within Lebanon. There has been some movement across borders, but it is minimal.
04:13So right now, there is no indication that there is any movement towards Europe.
04:20However, if hostilities don't send soon, the likelihood of
04:27secondary movement is something we will all need to contend with.
04:32And of course, that's what the EU asylem agency is also potentially preparing.
04:35We've got you, Daniels. Thank you so much for joining us this morning here on Europe Today on Euronews.
04:40If you have any questions.
04:40Let's go.
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