In progress at UNHQ

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 Stephanie Tremblay, Associate Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

**Climate

Good afternoon, everyone.  For those who don’t know me, my name is Stephanie Tremblay, I am one of the Associate Spokespersons here in the office.

You will have to bear with me, because as you can see, we have a lot of updates for you today.

Let me start with climate.

Today in Nairobi, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) launched its Adaptation Gap Report.

The report says that nations must dramatically increase climate adaptation efforts — starting with a commitment to act on finance at COP29 — and urgently close the $187-359 billion per year gap that exists between adaptation finance needs and current international public adaptation finance flows.

In a video message, the Secretary-General said that we need developed countries to double adaptation finance to at least $40 billion a year by 2025 — next year — and we need to unlock a new climate finance goal at COP29, which starts next week, as you know, in Baku, Azerbaijan.

And also today, the World Meteorological Organization today released its State of Climate Services report, which highlights the need for climate services to support mitigation, adaptation and to increase resilience.

The report also says that in the past five years, there has been progress in the provision of this climate information for decision-making, but big gaps remain, and investment lags far behind needs.

**Youth at COP29

And also today, the Secretary-General also had a video message to the nineteenth Climate Change Conference of Youth, which opened in Baku ahead of COP29.

The Secretary-General thanked young people around the world for their leadership and clear voices.

“I am on your side,” he told them, adding that leaders must arrive in Baku with ambitions that match the urgency and scale of the challenge.

You can find the Secretary-General’s full message online.

**Occupied Palestinian Territory

Turning now to Gaza, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is telling us that, as of yesterday, the only UN assistance allowed into North Gaza since the start of the Israeli siege there a month ago were supplies to hospitals during medical evacuation missions.

The Israeli offensive is preventing Palestinians from accessing the essentials for their survival, they tell us, including water. Humanitarians are not able to do their work in safety.  Lack of access and insecurity are preventing them from reaching people in need.

As the leaders of UN and humanitarian organizations [the Inter-Agency Standing Committee] stated a week ago, the entire population in North Gaza is at imminent risk of dying from disease, famine and violence.

Palestinians there have no protection as the bombardment continues.

Our humanitarian colleagues stress once again that civilians in the north and across Gaza must be protected.

Today, people staying in parts of North Gaza and Gaza governorates were ordered out yet again by the Israeli authorities.  An initial estimate by our partners on the ground indicates that some 14,000 displaced Palestinians in that area are staying in shelters and other sites, which include three of UNRWA’s collective centres, one other collective centre and six makeshift locations.

Despite ongoing hostilities, yesterday, the World Health Organization and its partners carried out the largest medical evacuation from Gaza since October of last year.

Ninety patients were evacuated, including 38 children.  More than three dozen patients who were evacuated have cancer, and a dozen have severe injuries.  Along with their companions, the patients were transferred to the United Arab Emirates and also to Romania.

Prior to the evacuation, WHO had transferred 16 patients and 20 caregivers from northern Gaza to the Nasser Medical Complex in southern Gaza to join the movement out of the Gaza Strip.  WHO calls once again for the establishment of evacuation corridors and for all possible routes to be used for the timely passage of all patients who need specialized care.

Meanwhile, our colleagues from the UN Population Fund tell us that 40 of the agency’s trucks — loaded with essential medical, hygiene and reproductive health supplies — are waiting at the Egypt and Jordan borders to enter Gaza.

The trucks contain more than 360 inter-agency reproductive health kits — which include essential medicines and supplies for safe births and emergency obstetric care — as well as medicines, medical tents, post-partum kits and hygiene and sanitary supplies.  Since the beginning of October, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA says that only 16 trucks carrying the agency’s supplies have been able to enter Gaza.

UNFPA is working to deliver critical assistance across Gaza. Over the last week, the agency is telling us that they have provided nearly 6,300 dignity, hygiene and post-partum kits to partners in Deir al Balah.

And in Gaza city, UNFPA delivered three inter-agency reproductive health kits to the Sahaba and Al Helou Hospitals, along with 765 dignity kits to our humanitarian partners.

And all these numbers will of course be available online shortly after the briefing.  That’s a lot of information there.

**Middle East

Today, I have an update on Sigrid Kaag.  So the UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza has met with the Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohammad Mustafa, and other officials to discuss the dramatic humanitarian situation in Gaza, to coordinate reconstruction efforts and efforts for the Palestinian Authority to resume its responsibilities in Gaza.

She also met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Minister of Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer, to discuss the implementation of Security Council Resolution 2720.  She raised measures that require urgent implementation to address the dramatic humanitarian situation in Gaza and underlined the UN’s position regarding UNRWA.

**UNIFIL

Let’s move now to Lebanon, where our peacekeeping colleagues report that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continued its air strikes across Lebanon, including in the south, Saida, the Bekaa, Mount Lebanon and in Beirut, resulting in multiple casualties.  United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) also reports that IDF operations in southern Lebanon have continued, involving clashes with Hizbullah.  Meanwhile, Hizbullah has launched several drones and rockets at Israel.

The increasing impact on civilians is of grave concern, and we condemn the loss of civilian lives.  Parties to conflict must adhere to international law and protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.

The hostilities continue to put our peacekeepers at risk.

Today UNIFIL stated that a convoy bringing newly arrived peacekeepers to south Lebanon was passing Saida when a drone strike occurred nearby.

Five peacekeepers were slightly injured and treated on the spot by the Lebanese Red Cross.  The Lebanese Army also confirmed that three of its soldiers at the nearby checkpoint were injured.

We once again strongly remind all actors to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and peacekeepers.

We urge the parties to halt the violence immediately. We continue to support efforts towards a ceasefire and a diplomatic solution.

**Lebanon/Humanitarian

Now turning to our humanitarian efforts in Lebanon, we continue to support the humanitarian response in the country.  Today, a convoy delivered essential aid, including food, water and winter kits, to over 4,000 people in nine collective shelters in the town of Deir Al Ahmar in Baalbeck-Hermel governorate.

OCHA says that the ongoing air strikes and evacuation orders continue to deepen the humanitarian crisis in the country and to leave people in a state of constant fear.

Since the recent escalation of hostilities on 23 September, and as of 4 November, OCHA reports that the Israeli army has issued evacuation orders for more than 160 villages and over 130 buildings in conflict-impacted regions of Lebanon.

Some 30,000 displaced people are now in Baalbeck governorate, and many of them have been forced to relocate multiple times this week amid.

Collective shelters are overstretched, with 85 per cent of them operating at maximum capacity.

**Ukraine

Turning now to Ukraine, our Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tells us that overnight attacks in the capital, Kyiv, as well as in the regions of Odesa and Zaporizhzhia, injured civilians and damaged apartment buildings and hospitals, according to authorities and to our partners on the ground.

Aid workers swiftly mobilized quickly to offer psychological support, provide construction materials to cover damaged windows and deliver cash assistance for vulnerable people.

Yesterday and today, authorities also reported dozens of civilian casualties in the front-line regions of Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Kherson, Donetsk, Sumy and Mykolaiv, in the east, south and north-east.

Authorities and aid workers said these strikes also damaged homes and critical infrastructure.

Our Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, witnessed the humanitarian impact of the attacks first-hand while on a mission to the Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia regions.  He urged the international community to keep standing with Ukraine as the war continues to kill and injure civilians, destroy vital infrastructure and put the lives of aid workers at risk.

The Humanitarian Coordinator met with local authorities and humanitarian partners in Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia to discuss ways to strengthen the humanitarian response to support civilians impacted by intensified attacks and now by colder temperatures, as you can imagine, as winter sets in.

**South Sudan

And now back here at the Security Council, this morning, the Head of the UN Mission in South Sudan, Nicholas Haysom, told the Security Council that South Sudan’s decision to extend the transitional period until February of next year — pushing back the timetable for elections to December 2026 — was inevitable but a regrettable development.

He called on the parties to use the next four months to set and achieve realistic targets.

On the humanitarian front, he said that South Sudan has announced rising hunger and a cholera outbreak that started at its northern border with cases arriving from Sudan.  He noted that challenges persist to reach all those in need with only 57 per cent received of the 1.8 billion required for the 2024 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for the country.

**Nigeria

Staying in Africa, in Nigeria, a new assessment by the World Food Programme (WFP) and its partners found that a staggering 33 million people will face acute food insecurity in the country next year, with the number of people facing emergency levels of need projected to almost double.

The food insecurity and malnutrition analysis, called Cadre Harmonisé, says that this is an alarming rise of 7 million people from the same period last year, driven by economic hardship, coupled with record high inflation, persistent violence in the northeastern states of the country.

Other major factors driving food insecurity there include the effects of climate change, particularly, as you all recall, floods.

**Myanmar

And now turning to Myanmar, the UN Development Programme (UNDP), as you may have seen, has released new analysis highlighting the crises in Rakhine state.

Based on 2023-2024 data, the report reveals that over 2 million people risk starvation as Rakhine’s economy is nearly non-functional. They say key sectors like trade, agriculture and construction are at a standstill.  Export-oriented livelihoods are vanishing due to market blockades, and the construction sector is collapsing as cement imports cease, driving prices up.  UNDP predictions that by March-April 2025 domestic food production will meet only 20 per cent of the population’s needs.  Rice production is plummeting due to shortages of seeds, fertilizers, severe weather and increased displacement.  The full report is available online.

**Cuba

Back on this hemisphere, we have an update for you on Cuba, where the UN is working with authorities to assess the impact of the storm and respond to the needs after Hurricane Rafael made landfall yesterday afternoon, just two weeks after Hurricane Oscar struck the east of the country.

The authorities indicate severe damage to housing and infrastructure.  Many public and private sector activities, including schools, are suspended, and transportation is disrupted.

Together with the European Union and partners, we are coordinating flights from the regional logistics hub in Panama to replenish emergency supplies that had run out during the response to Oscar.

We urge for support to the $33 million UN Action Plan that we launched last week, which will be a key facility to provide much-needed assistance.

**Ending Violence Against Children

And finally, the first-ever Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children is taking place today and tomorrow in Bogota, Colombia.

The Conference is co-organized by the Governments of Colombia and Sweden, alongside the Office of the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Violence against Children, Dr. Najat Maalla M’jid, also with United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and WHO.

More than 120 countries are taking part in the conference.

And earlier today, speaking during the opening ceremony, Dr. Maalla M’jid said that children worldwide face a pandemic of violence, adding that the conference is “a historic moment and a unique opportunity to mobilize action to keep all children safe”.  And there is more information online.

**Questions and Answers

Associate Spokesperson:  And that is it from me with all these notes.  And, yes, Edie?

Question:  Thank you very much, Stephanie.  Can you tell us the estimated number of civilians still in northern Gaza? And I’m asking because some Israeli officials have said that there aren’t any and that they want to move all Palestinian civilians out of northern Gaza.

Associate Spokesperson:  I think we had a number that was shared a few days ago.  Let me ask.  I don’t have that number here with me, but let me ask and get back to you on this. Yes, Michelle?

Question:  Thanks, Stephanie.  Just on Sigrid Kaag’s meetings, do you have dates as to when they actually took place? And when you mentioned that, in her meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu, she raised measures that require urgent implementation, what are those measures?

Associate Spokesperson:  So I’m understanding from the note that I got that these meetings took place today.  I’ll double-check on all of them to make sure that all of them really took place today. And, you know, in the note that I have, I do not have additional details as to the exact things that were said in the meetings.  But, you know, urgent measures would include, as we’ve advocated here every day, you know, access as one key factor, protection of civilians and, of course, you know, advocacy for a ceasefire, the release of all hostages.  So all the things that we advocate for here every day. Yes.  And then Gabriel.  Tell me your name, because I don’t think I know.

Question:  Hi.  My name is Ridwan Karim Dini-Osman.  I report for the EIB Network, and I’m also a Dag Hammarskjöld fellow.

Associate Spokesperson:  Welcome.

Question:  My question is about the situation in Nigeria.  You said 33 million people will face acute hunger next year?

Associate Spokesperson:  Yes.  Yeah.

Question:  Is that what you said?

Associate Spokesperson:  Exactly.  So 33 million people will face, yeah, acute food insecurity in Nigeria next year. There’s a press release that is available on WFP’s website that will give you additional details on exactly where, how and who.  So you’re welcome to go there [inaudible].

Question:  So does the report address which demographic is most affected and also which factors are driving, you know, these statistics?  Is it just the state of the economy?  Is it climate change?  Is it the conflicts?  What’s going on?

Associate Spokesperson:  So it’s a mix of all of that.  So, as we mentioned, so economic situation is driving food insecurity up. Persistence, violence, also climate change.  You know, we’ve had several reports on the dramatic floods that have impacted northeast Nigeria recently.  And yeah, so all of these.  And I invite you to really look at the full report that is available online.

Question:  And finally, you said that that represents an increase of 7 million?

Associate Spokesperson:  Yes.

Question:  Which means that there were previous recommendations on addressing hunger. What will be your assessment in terms of how those recommendations have been implemented by the government?  Thank you.

Associate Spokesperson:  I think that if you look at the persistent factors, clearly, there’s a deteriorating situation.  There is efforts that are continuing in Nigeria from the government, from the UN to provide food assistance, to improve the overall food security situation.  And so these efforts are really continuing right now.  Gabriel?

Question:  Hi.  Thank you, Stephanie.  Tom Fletcher starts on November 18th.  That’s what he said on social media today.

Associate Spokesperson:  That’s what he said on social media.

Question:  So I guess we can… That’s confirmation?

Associate Spokesperson:  I would assume this is.  I would assume he would know.  I do not have that date to share with you.

Question:  No problem.  I didn’t mean to put you on the spot there, but I guess my question is, can we expect him to be in this room to talk to us before that date, you think?

Associate Spokesperson:  I will absolutely pass on this request that when he starts that he should come and talk to all of you.  I will pass on the request.

Question:  And then over 100 Lebanese lawmakers are appealing to the UN and to UNESCO specifically to do more to protect the World Heritage Sites.  Steph talked about this briefly in his briefing yesterday, but this call by these more than 100 Lebanese lawmakers happened since then.  Has this gone up to the level of Secretary-General?  What’s his message on this?

Associate Spokesperson:  I think, let me just go back to our notes on this because we had some specific on the UNESCO and, of course, I don’t have it with me, but on UNESCO, I can just refer to what Stéphane said, that, you know, the protection of this cultural heritage is absolutely essential.  I’m not quite sure yet if the Secretary-General himself has seen the letter, but we can follow up on that.  Yes.  Evelyn?

Question:  Yes.  I wonder if there’s any record of damage done to UNRWA, whether its shelters and its schools and so forth are still exist in Gaza and the West Bank?

Associate Spokesperson:  On this, Evelyn, I would refer you to the briefing that Philippe Lazzarini [Commissioner-General of UNRWA] delivered yesterday at the General Assembly, where he talked about the extensive damage that UNRWA facilities have suffered.

Question:  Yeah.  But I couldn’t tell whether they’re still functioning or not.  Yeah.

Associate Spokesperson:  I think, you know, everything that can be used is used right now. Do we have additional questions?  No.  Well, thank you so much.  Was there anything online?  Let me just double-check.  And yes, we confirmed the 18th for Tom Fletcher.  I see that Mike has a question online.  Mike, can you hear me?

Question:  Really quick question.

Associate Spokesperson:  Yes.

Question:  Number one, nice job today.  A question on the Trump administration.  I know you guys don’t want to get ahead of policy.  I understand the protocols and what-not.  But by the time [inaudible] Trump administration, a lot of the decisions that affect the UN could already be made by that point.  Is there no mechanism to get in touch with their transition team to try to feel out where it’s headed, to have any initial discussions ahead of them taking office?  Or is the UN waiting until January 20th to even start conversations?

Associate Spokesperson:  On contacts, when there’s something to announce, we will let you know. And I suspect that it’s going to be before January 20th.

Question:  Thank you.

Associate Spokesperson:  Thank you so much.  All right, thank you so much, everybody.

For information media. Not an official record.