Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General
The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
**Secretary-General’s Travels
Good afternoon. I’d like to welcome the members of the RIAS programme who are attending today’s briefing. Welcome.
I’d like to start off by announcing some travel. On Sunday, 20 October, the Secretary-General will arrive in Addis Ababa, to take part in the Eighth African Union—United Nations Annual Conference.
The high-level discussions, to be held on Monday, 21 October, will be co-chaired by Moussa Faki Mahamat, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, along with Mr. [António] Guterres. The meeting will focus on progress in the implementation of cooperation frameworks between the two organizations, but also on the joint action and challenges linked to peace, security, development, human rights and the impact of climate change on the African continent.
Discussions this year will also include the implementation of the Pact for the Future, as well as the operationalization of Security Council resolution 2719 (2023), which, as you will recall, establishes the framework for financing of African Union-led peace support operations through United Nations assessed contributions — something the Secretary-General and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission had long advocated for.
The annual conference will conclude with a joint press conference by the Secretary-General and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat. It will be available on UN WebTV shortly after.
Later in the day, the Secretary-General will go to the UN Economic Commission for Africa in Addis Ababa, where he will take part in the re-inauguration ceremony of Africa Hall, which is reopening after extensive renovations to transform it into a modern conference centre. We expect the ceremony to be webcast live on UN WebTV.
While in Addis Ababa, the Secretary-General is also scheduled to hold meetings with the President and Prime Minister of Ethiopia.
**African Union—United Nations
Speaking of UN-African Union relations, I’d like to note that on 15 October, the Peace and Security Council of the African Union and the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission convened their seventh annual consultative meeting at the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Chamber here at UN Headquarters.
The meeting highlighted the collaborative peacebuilding efforts of the AU Peace and Security Council and the Peacebuilding Commission for peacebuilding and sustaining peace in Africa, as well as the comprehensive review and progress of the status of implementation of outcomes of the sixth informal meeting in November 2023. They also noted that more work still needs to be done in supporting peacebuilding efforts. We have a note with more details on that meeting.
**Lebanon/United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon
Firing continued across parts of Lebanon and northern Israel today, with Israeli strikes in Saida, Nabatieh, Jezzine, Bekaa, and Mount Lebanon as well as the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) area of operations, while strikes by Hizbullah into northern Israel, including towards Haifa, and the Israeli-occupied Golan, also continued.
Our colleagues in the UNIFIL report that the high levels of fire across the Blue Line have persisted, with UNIFIL detecting 966 projectiles over the past 24 hours. The vast majority of these projectiles originated from south of the Blue Line, primarily striking Ayta ash Sha’b in Sector West and Al Wazzani and Mays al-Jabal in Sector East, while 68 projectiles were recorded originating from north of the Blue Line. The Mission also noted 70 air violations by the Israel Defense Forces into Lebanese airspace, breaking the previous day’s record for daily violations since October 2023. Furthermore, clashes on the ground between Hizbullah and the Israel Defense Forces within the UNIFIL area of operations continue, with fatalities reported on each side.
Additionally, this morning, peacekeepers reported that one of UNIFIL’s patrols that was resupplying a UN position in Sector East observed an impact less than 50 metres from its location. The patrol returned safely to its location of origin, and no injuries were reported. UNIFIL continues to reiterate the importance of ensuring the safety and security of peacekeepers and reminds all actors of their obligations in that regard.
**Secretary-General/UNIFIL
In a video message to UNIFIL, the Secretary-General said that he is full of admiration and gratitude to the men and women of UNIFIL. He said that we are all very aware of their bravery during some of the most challenging moments in the history of UNIFIL.
The Secretary-General reaffirmed that the safety of United Nations personnel is our highest priority and that the inviolability of UN premises must be respected, at all times.
He added that our path forward is clear: We need an immediate ceasefire and the full implementation of resolution 1701.
The Secretary-General told the peacekeepers, “You are not just on the Blue Line in Lebanon; you are literally on the front line of peace.”
**Lebanon/Humanitarian
The Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that air strikes continue, deepening the crisis in areas of Lebanon already grappling with the displacement of people.
According to Lebanese authorities, 1.2 million people have been displaced or otherwise directly affected by the crisis. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has identified nearly 780,000 displaced people and says that more than 190,000 of them are now staying in over 1,000 shelters, most of them in Mount Lebanon Governorate and Beirut.
Preliminary assessments led by the Lebanese authorities show that there are four times more displaced people living outside formal shelters, primarily from Dahiye, South Lebanon, Baalbek and West Bekaa. Many of them are highly vulnerable and are at risk of homelessness and precarious housing situations. Meanwhile, we and our partners continue to support the response across the country.
On 17 October — yesterday — the World Health Organization (WHO) delivered 35 tons of trauma supplies, treatments for acute malnutrition, and medicines for chronic diseases—enough to help 200,000 people. The supplies will be delivered to priority referral hospitals identified by the Ministry of Public Health.
For its part, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) has distributed more than 10,000 dignity kits to displaced women and girls in collective shelters across Beirut, Mount Lebanon, Akkar, the North, Bekaa and the South. During the distributions, UNFPA teams also provided psychological first aid and referral of women and girls at risk of gender-based violence.
**Secretary-General/Gaza
You’d asked me yesterday about the Secretary-General’s reaction to the death of Yahya Sinwar. I can tell you that, although he does not comment on events of this nature, the Secretary-General is interested that this now leads to an immediate ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and unrestricted humanitarian access to Gaza.
I’d like to add that Tor Wennesland, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, took note of the killing in Gaza yesterday of Yahya Sinwar. Mr. Wennesland said that, today, we are at a critical juncture. We must seize the moment to silence the guns and release the hostages now. He calls on all sides to engage in dialogue and reach a deal.
**Occupied Palestinian Territory
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs continues to sound the alarm about the increasingly dire and dangerous situation that civilians in the northern part of Gaza are facing. Families there are trying to survive in atrocious conditions, under heavy bombardment.
The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has confirmed another attack on one of its schools in the north — the third such attack on the agency’s facilities this week alone. Scores of people who were sheltering there — including children — were reportedly killed when the school in Jabalya was hit yesterday.
OCHA warns that the ongoing lack of access to the Jabalya area is having life-threatening impacts. Today, OCHA has submitted an urgent request for the Israeli authorities to facilitate the evacuation of a few dozen people reported to be alive and trapped under rubble. We are now awaiting a green light. In previous instances, OCHA accompanied rescue teams whose access was facilitated too late, resulting in only dead bodies being recovered.
The UN and our partners also stand ready to provide fuel for essential operations like water pumping and medical equipment, and also to deliver much-needed food supplies in Jabalya and elsewhere.
As you’ll recall, no food supplies entered the north in early October — and the World Food Programme (WFP) was only able to reach about 100,000 people, given supply shortages, access restrictions and ongoing fighting. On Tuesday, 12 trucks of wheat flour entered northern Gaza, after two weeks of closed crossings, but those supplies were only enough for 9,200 families.
We call on the Israeli authorities to allow safe, rapid, sustained and unimpeded access to Jabalya and all areas of the north where people are in desperate need of assistance. Aid organizations must be allowed to carry out their life-saving work across the Strip.
**Dag Hammarskjöld
The Secretary-General has transmitted to the President of the General Assembly the report of the Eminent Person, former Chief Justice of Tanzania, Mr. Mohamed Chande Othman, concerning the investigation into the conditions and circumstances resulting in the tragic death of Dag Hammarskjöld and of the members of the party accompanying him. The Secretary-General’s letter to the President of the General Assembly is accompanied by the Eminent Person’s report and will be publicly available as a General Assembly document (A/78/1006).
At this juncture, the Eminent Person assesses it to remain plausible that an external attack or threat was a cause of the crash. The Eminent Person notes that the alternative hypotheses that appear to remain available are that the crash resulted from sabotage, or unintentional human error.
The Secretary-General notes that the Eminent Person considers that it is almost certain that specific, crucial and to date undisclosed information exists in the archives of Member States. The Secretary-General further notes the Eminent Person’s assessment that he has not received, to date, specific responses to his specific queries from certain Member States. The Secretary-General has personally followed up on the Eminent Person’s outstanding requests for information and calls upon Member States to release any relevant records in their possession.
With significant progress having been made, the Secretary-General calls on all of us to renew our resolve and commitment to pursue the full truth of what happened on that fateful night in 1961. And we have a full statement that will be emailed to you shortly.
**Somalia
The Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo, today wrapped up a two-day visit to Somalia and reaffirmed the UN’s support for the country’s peace- and State-building.
While in Mogadishu, Ms. DiCarlo met with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and senior members of his team for wide-ranging discussions, in addition to meeting with representatives of civil society.
In her meeting with the President, Ms. DiCarlo noted Somalia’s many achievements in the past year, including debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, the accession to the East African Community, and the lifting of the arms embargo.
She also met with the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission for Somalia and Head of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), Ambassador Mohammed El-Amine Souef, and other international partners.
**Cameroon
Turning to Cameroon, the Acting Emergency Relief Coordinator, Joyce Msuya, has allocated $4 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to support the flood response in the country.
The resources will support more than 200,000 vulnerable people in the departments of Logone-et-Chari and Mayo-Danai in the Far North region — the most affected by the floods — with health, shelter, food, water and sanitation assistance.
Since August this year, torrential rains in the Far North region have triggered floods affecting over 350,000 people. More than 50,000 homes and over 80,000 hectares of farmland have been damaged. Health centres and schools have also been impacted.
**Democratic Republic of the Congo
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, our peacekeeping operation there, United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), continues to support the Government to encourage the demobilization, disarmament, and reintegration of ex-combatants. This week, the Mission repatriated four ex-combatants from Rwanda along with a dependent woman. Since the beginning of 2023, the Mission has repatriated 76 ex-combatants and 40 dependents from Rwanda [former FDLR].
Meanwhile, the Mission also continues to protect civilians in Ituri and North Kivu. In Ituri, the Mission met with women traders in Fataki and local leaders in Komanda. Peacekeepers also deployed to Kokola and Mapiki in North Kivu, to assess security conditions in the area.
**Briefings today and Monday
And for briefings, at 2 p.m., there will be a briefing here by the Special Rapporteurs on the rights to food, water and housing. They are Michael Fakhri, Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, and Balakrishnan Rajagopal, respectively.
Then, on Monday, my guest will be Andrea Tenenti, Spokesperson for UNIFIL. He will brief you from the UNIFIL House in Beirut on the situation in the country.
And, at 1:30 p.m., there will be a briefing here by the Chair of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, Gabriella Citroni.
**Questions and Answers
Deputy Spokesman: That’s it from me. Yes, Edie?
Question: Thank you, Farhan. Has the Secretary-General been making any calls since the death of Yahya Sinwar? And does he have any comment on the possible impact of his death on prospects for ending the war in Gaza?
Deputy Spokesman: In terms of calls, I mean, he has been in touch with a number of officials in the system, including with Tor Wennesland, and so he is discussing this more widely. I don’t have calls to other leaders to share with you. I would like to repeat what I said at the top of the briefing, that the Secretary-General is interested that this now leads to an immediate ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and unrestricted humanitarian access to Gaza. And a number of officials, including Mr. Wennesland, are working along those lines.
Question: I have one other question related to Gaza. Can we get an update on the actual number of trucks that have entered Gaza and fuel both to the north and to the centre and the south?
Deputy Spokesman: Okay, certainly. I’ll try to get a full number of all of the trucks that have entered. The basic point is that there’s been almost nothing going into the north since the start of October, and we’ve been trying to get more aid going in. But the numbers which we flagged from time to time at the humanitarian parts of these briefings, those numbers have been very limited. So we remain very concerned about how much aid there is going into the north. Yes, Gabriel, and then Stefano.
Question: Thank you, Farhan. You mentioned that OCHA has talked to Israeli authorities today about urgently evacuating some people out of Gaza that immediately need medical attention. Does one of those include Al Jazeera cameraman Fadi al-Wahidi, who is in a coma in Gaza and has been pleading to get out of Gaza to receive medical attention to save his life? Do you know that?
Deputy Spokesman: I don’t have any particular detail about whether Mr. al-Wahidi is among those evacuated. I’ll inquire with our OCHA colleagues after this, but certainly our thoughts go to your colleague, and we are hoping for his recovery. Yes, Stefano?
Question: Thank you, Farhan. Two questions. One is about UNIFIL and the message that the Secretary-General just did. He’s been saying, and not only him, that attacking or targeting the peacekeepers is a war crime. Does it mean that this is going to be investigated no matter what, or actually that you need, I don’t know, the situation even getting worse, where there is some death or something to really be a war crime? What is the situation?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, our standard practice when there are attacks on peacekeepers is to follow up, and so we will pursue any further accountability that needs to be taken for those actions. But right now, of course, what we want is for the situation to calm down.
Question: And a question about migrants. Italy started to send the migrants to Albania. Is this, for the Secretary-General, could be an offshoring model for Europe, or is illegal?
Deputy Spokesman: I would just refer you to our colleagues in the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) who I believe are looking into that situation. Yes, please?
Question: Thank you, Farhan. I have two questions about the Western Sahara. Secretary-General Special Envoy to the Sahara, Mr. Staffan de Mistura, gave a briefing in a consultation a couple of days ago, which he submitted an old proposal. I don’t know what’s the reason behind it, that for the partition of the Sahara among the conflicting parties. My question for this particular incident, did the Secretary-General signed off on this previously rejected proposal to be resubmitted? This is number one. And my second question is, since it was presented in a consultation, the transcript of Mr. de Mistura was distributed to Member States, as well as member of the press in the United Nations. This is a departure from Mr. de Mistura’s previous stance in keeping things close to his chest and almost working discreetly away from the media interaction. What’s the reasons for that? And does this mean that Mr. de Mistura is now open to come to the briefing room and sit and take questions from the members of the press at the UN or not? Thank you.
Deputy Spokesman: Well, regarding your first question, I wouldn’t characterize anything as a submission of a proposal. What I would say is that the personal envoy, Mr. de Mistura, was essentially briefing the Security Council on his work on the Western Sahara file, and he looks forward to engaging with all concerned on advancing the process constructively in the period ahead of the next closed consultations, which are expected to take place next April, in 2025, and to report on any progress. So the question is to see what the members of Council and the parties themselves want to embrace as a way forward for Western Sahara. And regarding your second question, I don’t really have any comment on how documents spread to members of the Council or so forth. I mean, the nature of the UN is sometimes documents get to people.
Question: Please, a follow-up?
Deputy Spokesman: Yes, yeah.
Question: Did the Secretary-General sign off on this idea? Or if you don’t characterize it as a proposal, did he sign off on this idea knowing that 20 years ago or more, Mr. James Baker, former US Secretary of State, was a Special Envoy to the Sahara, and he submitted that proposal, exact proposal, and was rejected? So did Mr. Guterres, did he sign off on this new approach?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, again, I wouldn’t mischaracterize what Mr. de Mistura is doing. He’s essentially looking with the parties and with the members of the Security Council to see what way forward there can be for Western Sahara. I wouldn’t characterize anything as a proposal that is his proposal. Regarding the history of the proposals, certainly, Mr. de Mistura and the Secretary-General are well aware of the history of Western Sahara. Yes, please?
Question: Thank you, Farhan. My question is about BRICS [Brazil, Russian Federation, India, China and South Africa] summit, which is scheduled to start this Monday. I’m wondering if you could inform us if Secretary-General is planning to attend it. And if he does, then will he meet President [Vladimir] Putin? Thank you.
Deputy Spokesman: I don’t have any announcement to make about the BRICS summit at this point. We’ll let you know if there’s any announcement to be made later on. Yes, please?
Question: Thank you. Recently, the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced renewed investigation into the alleged crimes that are committed within the DRC [Democratic Republic of the Congo]. And I just wanted to get from the Office of the Secretary-General, do you hope this renewed investigation will bring change to the people in the DRC, specifically those in the Northern Kivu province? And how does the UN assess the potential implications of this investigation on the DRC, as well as regional stability?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, because of the independence of the International Criminal Court, we don’t comment specifically on their prosecutions. So I’m not going to do that here. But certainly, the Secretary-General hopes that any proceedings involving the Democratic Republic of the Congo that helped to achieve any measure of accountability will help with the overall situation in that country. Yes, Gabriel?
Question: Thank you, Farhan. Just going back to the SG’s travel, I missed it at the top. I’m sorry. He’s going to be there 20 October and 21 October. Can you just confirm that, that I caught that correctly?
Deputy Spokesman: Yes.
Question: Does he have any press availability while he’s there?
Deputy Spokesman: He arrives on 20 October. He’ll be there for high-level discussions on 21 October. And the annual conference will conclude with a joint press conference with the Secretary-General and Moussa Faki. And we do expect that our UN Web TV will be able to air that.
Question: Got it. Thank you, Farhan. And just on Jabalia in the north of Gaza, there are reports coming in that Israel has cut off all Internet and communications to much of the north of Gaza this today. Is there any reason that this needs to be happening? And what is the Secretary-General’s response to cutting off all communications to people that are already under siege?
Deputy Spokesman: Well, we’re concerned about any efforts that would limit our ability to get information about what’s happening to Jabalia. And you heard just now what I said about the situation there. Yes, please?
Question: Thank you. There was a belief that killing the Palestinian leader, Yahya Sinwar, would lead to the end of this war. [Benjamin] Netanyahu made it clear yesterday that the war will not stop. Now, it’s clear that this war is about more than what happened on 7 October. We can see it as an extension of Israel’s colonial project in the region and continuation of the daily occupation and ethnic cleansing against Palestinians since 1948. Why is it so hard for the international community and its organization to see this clearly?
Deputy Spokesman: I feel like that’s more of an editorial comment than a question. But our views on this are what I relayed earlier. And with that, have a great weekend, everyone. Take care of yourselves.