Transcript: UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell on "Face the Nation," April 28, 2024

The pursuing is simply a transcript of an interrogation with UNICEF enforcement manager Catherine Russell that aired connected April 28, 2024.

MARGARET BRENNAN: We privation to instrumentality a person look astatine the increasing humanitarian situation erstwhile it comes to the world's children. Catherine Russell is the Executive Director of UNICEF and she is conscionable backmost from Israel and the West Bank. It's bully to person you here.

CATHERINE RUSSELL: Thanks Margaret, bully to beryllium here.

MARGARET BRENNAN: I cognize you met with immoderate of the families of Israeli children who are inactive being held hostage. There's a one-year-old, there's a four-year-old. And you met with Israeli officials astir entree for assistance going into Gaza. Did you get immoderate bully answers?

CATHERINE RUSSELL: Well, we got immoderate bully answers, which is that I deliberation a increasing consciousness of- of however captious it was for america to get much assistance successful and specifically what we needed much entree points, amended security. You know. I'm surely not the lone idiosyncratic who made those arguments and advocated with the Government of Israel. But we person seen a small spot of an betterment successful Gaza. So that's a affirmative that came from it. Obviously, the needs inactive far, acold outweigh what we're capable to do, but astatine slightest we've seen immoderate progress.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You besides went to the Palestinian West Bank and 2023 was the deadliest twelvemonth for children successful the West Bank since they began monitoring astatine the UN successful 2005. With each of the attraction connected Gaza, archer maine what's happening to kids successful the West Bank close now.

CATHERINE RUSSELL: Well, it's- you know, the archetypal time I met with, arsenic you said, the hostage families. Second time I- I was connected the West Bank and heard they are about, excuse me, the challenges children look each time conscionable trying to get to school, the barriers they face, the trouble successful benignant of moving astir the checkpoints, each the remainder of it--

MARGARET BRENNAN: --Israeli checkpoints?

CATHERINE RUSSELL: And arsenic you said, yes, and arsenic you said, determination is an summation successful violence. And I deliberation conscionable successful this twelvemonth alone, determination person been 40 children- Palestinian children killed, 2 Israeli children killed. There's conscionable an uptick successful unit and it's- arsenic ever children who are truly impacted by that. You besides mentioned, you know, I met with the- the hostage families. I mean, they're devastated by what's going on. Some children inactive being held, others who are traumatized, either by being held themselves, oregon by seeing household members killed and hurt. And I- I deliberation I would conscionable accidental that overall, I came backmost feeling like, there's conscionable truthful overmuch symptom and misery everyplace you look. And it's truly unfortunate to spot it and conscionable praying for a better- amended time for everyone successful the situation.

MARGARET BRENNAN: The UN says each 10 minutes a kid is killed oregon wounded successful Gaza. I mean, that conscionable hits you successful the thorax erstwhile you perceive that.

CATHERINE RUSSELL: That's a shocking number.

MARGARET BRENNAN: It's horrific.

CATHERINE RUSSELL: It is what's happening.

MARGARET BRENNAN: And the US called this week for an probe of this wide sedate that was conscionable recovered successful Gaza, of hundreds of people. Were determination children there? What bash you know?

CATHERINE RUSSELL: You cognize we don't- UNICEF doesn't cognize overmuch astir that, honestly. I deliberation that I would accidental a mates things. One, determination needs to beryllium a afloat probe of what happened. And I deliberation that, astatine immoderate point, volition certainly, I hope, instrumentality place. And second, to me, it argues, again, for the value of having planetary property successful Gaza. I- I- I accidental this implicit and implicit again due to the fact that you person disputes astir what has really happened, what's going on. And I deliberation not- you know, look, determination are incredibly brave Palestinian reporters and property radical determination who are doing an unthinkable job. Many of them have- person suffered truthful much, radical person been killed. I deliberation having the planetary property successful determination is besides truly important. And I anticipation that that gets that- that changes sometime soon and planetary property folks tin get in, truly marque their ain assessments of what's going on.

MARGARET BRENNAN: And if the Israeli authorities allows for it, I think, a batch of quality organizations would perfectly spell for it.

(CROSSTALK)

CATHERINE RUSSELL:  – perfectly should beryllium there, they should beryllium seeing what's happening. 

MARGARET BRENNAN: The US military, arsenic you know, is mounting up this larboard that's expected to beryllium unfastened sometime successful May. We had Doctors Without Borders main connected recently. And she said to me, there's "a dilatory question massacre" of radical suffering from deprivation of nutrient and h2o for six months successful time. "You can't driblet lentils from the sky" is what she said. You request a wide aesculapian response. Is determination immoderate program successful spot to bash this to revive immoderate of these children who are starving to death? And volition it travel earlier determination is an penetration of Rafah?

CATHERINE RUSSELL: Well, fto maine accidental a mates things. One, the humanitarian situation, particularly for children, is incredibly worrying everywhere. We cognize successful the north, wherever it's been precise hard for humanitarians to get successful with food. And arsenic you're pointing out, children successful particular, request what we talked astir arsenic therapeutic feeding, right? So they request plumping up oregon benignant of interventions by aesculapian professionals. So it's not, arsenic you say, conscionable dropping successful food. That's not enough. We request to bash much for- for small children. It is decidedly not anyplace adjacent wherever it needs to be. I deliberation that the you know, the thought of the port, the thought of aerial drops, you know, all-  look we enactment is getting much- getting arsenic overmuch assistance successful arsenic we perchance can. But the information is, the- the astir important happening is getting much and much successful done roadworthy access. That's the champion access. It's the safest access. It's the champion for humanitarians, and it's the easiest mode for america to really get around. Having said that, it's precise hard to bash that for truthful galore reasons, not slightest of which the roads are each torn up. Right? We person information issues. So it's a challenging – is simply a challenging benignant of array of problems. And I deliberation we request aggregate ways to effort to respond to it. 

MARGARET BRENNAN: Please archer maine what is happening successful Sudan, which is the biggest displacement situation successful the satellite for children close now.

CATHERINE RUSSELL: Sudan is unspeakable for children. It is, arsenic you say, the largest displacement, millions of children are connected the move. Almost nary children are successful school. I deliberation 90% of children are retired of school. There's unthinkable violence, including intersexual unit that children are, are suffering and witnessing. Children are suffering from malnutrition. It's perfectly a devastating situation, and we each request to wage much attraction to it, for sure.

MARGARET BRENNAN: And these are the adjacent generations that we are talking about.

CATHERINE RUSSELL: You cognize what, Margaret, that's the happening astir moving with children. Right? It's similar connected the 1 hand, they're truthful susceptible to everything that happens to them and you know, you mentioned Rafah, I mean, if- if there's an incursion into Rafah, that's unimaginable to ideate what- what the unit volition beryllium similar and what however they volition suffer. But whether it's successful Gaza, oregon successful Sudan, oregon Haiti oregon truthful galore different places, children are suffering truthful much, and we each speech astir children are the future. Well, okay, past we request to support them. We request to marque definite that they are educated and healthy, and person immoderate decent aboriginal ahead. And that's captious for them. And it's captious for their countries, and it's captious for each of humanity.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Catherine Russell, convey you for your insights today. We'll beryllium close back.