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 Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
**Climate
Good afternoon.
I will start off with an update on the Secretary-General, who has landed a few hours ago in Baku, in Azerbaijan. He is attending the twenty-ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, better known as COP29.
Today, he met with the President of Azerbaijan, President Aliyev. He expressed his full cooperation and support for the presidency to have a successful COP with an ambitious result. He also met with COP President Mukhtar Babayev.
Tomorrow, as he does every year, he will address the leaders during the opening ceremony where he will remind them that, unless emissions plummet and adaptation soars, every economy will face the impacts of climate change.
He will urge leaders to focus to increase their efforts to slash fossil fuel production and consumption, agree with the rules for a fair and effective carbon market and to take fundamental step-changes on climate finance across the board, among other measures.
In particular, Mr. Guterres will have a message for Group of 20 (G20) countries, asking them to lead, as they have the tools and the resources needed by all countries for climate action.
Tomorrow, he will speak at the High-Level Dialogue on Loss and Damage, and Africa’s “Green Momentum” event. And he will also meet with various leaders who are attending the COP29.
**UNIFIL
Moving to the situation along the Blue Line, between Israel and Lebanon. I can tell you that our peacekeeping colleagues are continuing to follow with concern the exchanges of fire between Israel Defense Forces and Hizbullah.
The increasing impact on civilians is of grave concern and we condemn the ongoing loss of lives that we have seen.
Parties to the conflict must adhere to international law and protect civilians as well as civilian infrastructure.
Meanwhile, Our Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, is heading to Lebanon. He will begin tomorrow a three-day visit to the country.
During this visit, Mr. Lacroix’s priorities include expressing solidarity and support for peacekeepers, troop-contributing countries and other partners, as well as for the communities served by United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
He will amplify calls by the United Nations and the international community for de-escalation and a ceasefire.
In Beirut, he is scheduled to meet with senior Lebanese officials, including with the caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati; the Speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berri; the caretaker Minister for Foreign Affairs, Abdullah Bou Habib; as well as caretaker Minister for Defence, Maurice Sleem; the head of the Lebanese Armed Forces, General Joseph Aoun; as well as members of the diplomatic corps present in Lebanon.
Mr. Lacroix is also scheduled to visit the headquarters of the UN peacekeeping mission in Naqoura, in Southern Lebanon, and other positions along the Blue Line to meet with Mission leadership, and of course meet with peacekeepers themselves, and personally thank them for their dedication in carrying out their work under extremely difficult conditions.
**Lebanon/Humanitarian
Meanwhile, on the humanitarian front in Lebanon, we and our partners are continuing to support the Ministry of Public Health by distributing medicine to some 40 primary health centres across the Bekaa and Baalbeck El-Hermel Governorates.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners are also providing support to areas impacted by the conflict, such as Baalbek, Nabatieh and South Governorates, where facilities have either limited capacity due to hostilities or healthcare workers have been forced to move.
For its part, as of yesterday, the World Food Programme (WFP) delivered millions of cooked meals — they have done so since 23 September of this year, reaching more than 440,000 people across Lebanon.
The conflict has devastating impacts on civilians on both sides of the Blue Line.
OCHA [Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs] underscores that, under international humanitarian law, parties to the conflict must take all feasible precautions to avoid and minimize harm to civilians and civilian objects. Civilians, including children, must be protected at all times — wherever they are — whether they choose to stay in an area or whether they are forced to flee.
Our humanitarian colleagues also tell us that the total number of child fatalities in Lebanon, since October 2023, jumped to more than 200. Just over the weekend, a strike hit Byblos, in Mount Lebanon Governorate, killed at least 23 people, including 7 children, in a home sheltering displaced people. That is what the Lebanese Public Health Ministry has told our colleagues on the ground.
**Occupied Palestinian Territory
Turning to the situation in Gaza, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tells us that access to North Gaza Governorate is still extremely limited. Over the weekend, our colleagues were unable to enter the area.
OCHA is worried about the fate of Palestinians remaining in North Gaza, as the siege there continues, and urgently calls on Israel to open up the area to humanitarian operations at the scale needed, given the massive needs, as you well know.
In a new report published today, our OCHA colleagues say that in October, humanitarian organizations submitted 50 requests to the Israeli authorities to enter North Gaza Governorate. Thirty-three of those requests were rejected outright, and eight were initially accepted but then faced impediments along the way.
Humanitarian access to northern Gaza broadly has also been extremely limited. In October, OCHA registered 98 attempts to coordinate movements to the north via the checkpoint along Wadi Gaza. Eighty-five per cent of the requests were denied or impeded.
Over the past three days, teams led by OCHA — alongside other humanitarian colleagues, as well as the UN Human Rights Office and the UN Mine Action Service — have been assessing the needs of hundreds of displaced families across nine sites in Gaza city — including people who are newly displaced from North Gaza.
The sites include both United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and public schools, makeshift sites, abandoned structures and a sports stadium.
In one location, more than a dozen families — including people with disabilities and those in urgent need of medical care — were found sheltering in the basement of a severely damaged structure. The space lacked electricity and was full of sewage. For those staying in schools, conditions are also dire. There are nowhere near enough bathrooms to support the people sheltering there, with many people forced to relieve themselves in the very locations where they sleep.
Those displaced said they are afraid of stray dogs at night, as the schools lack secure walls.
The assessment teams say that urgent assistance is needed, including medical treatment and essential medications. Palestinians in Gaza City also need blankets, warm clothing, shoes, heaters, and fuel as winter approaches. Tarpaulins and flood-resistant tents are needed to protect displaced families against the weather. The sewage system also needs repairs, and a reliable supply of safe drinking water is essential to improve sanitation and to avoid the spread of waterborne diseases.
**Syria
Turning to the situation in Syria, UN humanitarian officials are sounding the alarm over the lack of financial resources needed to respond to the needs of people in the country.
In a joint statement issued a short time ago, our Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria, Adam Abdelmoula — as well as the Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis, Ramanthan Balakrishnan — warned that with less than two months left in the year, the Humanitarian Response Plan for Syria is just over 27 per cent funded, with only $1.1 billion received of the $4.1 billion actually needed.
This comes at a time when two out of every three people in Syria are in dire need of humanitarian assistance.
Meanwhile, the emergency appeal launched in September to support hundreds of thousands of people arriving in Syria from Lebanon is also severely underfunded, with just $32 million received of the $324 million that is needed.
Mr. Abdelmoula and Mr. Balakrishnan called on the donor community to significantly and urgently increase support for humanitarian efforts in Syria, warning the costs of inaction would be enormous.
**Ukraine
Turning to Ukraine, our colleagues from Humanitarian Affairs also inform us that, according to authorities, attacks over the past five days across the country have resulted in more than 100 civilian casualties, including children, and widespread damage to civilian infrastructure.
Our humanitarian colleagues note that a deadly attack in Zaporizhzhia on Saturday — the second in five days — caused dozens of casualties, including children. The attack destroyed a number of residential buildings. Authorities also report an increase in drone strikes in the south of the country, especially in the regions of Odesa, Mykolaiv, and Kherson, leading to scores of civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure, which include heating and gas facilities.
Aid workers have responded swiftly, providing hot meals, materials to cover damaged windows, blankets, solar lamps, and hygiene kits, as well as cash and psychosocial support.
Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that in some front-line communities, basic food is becoming scarce as many shops have stopped functioning. To address this, WFP has supplied ovens, dough-kneading machines and generators, among others, to 14 bakeries in six of the war-affected regions of Ukraine. In September alone, these bakeries produced more than half a million loaves of bread for communities near the front lines.
**Haiti
A note on Haiti that I want to share with you, in light of the latest political developments. The Secretary-General urges all Haitian stakeholders to work constructively together to advance the political transition, as agreed upon on 11 March in Jamaica. Overcoming their differences and putting the country first remains critical to that end.
The Secretary-General appeals to all Member States to sustain and increase their security support for Haiti, including through the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) ensuring that it receives the financial support it needs to successfully implement its mandate and to expand its deployment and operations.
**Haiti Children
On that note, Virginia Gamba, the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, issued a statement today, warning that children are at the heart of the crisis in Haiti and particularly vulnerable to armed gangs.
Her office estimates that between a third and a half of armed gang members are children — under the age of 18.
She added that the recent trends in Haiti concerning sexual violence against children, particularly girls, are deeply alarming, with verified UN figures showing an increase from 41 cases last year to over 400 in 2024.
Ms. Gamba urges all parties in Haiti to do everything they can to prevent grave violations against children. She also calls on gangs to immediately release children from their ranks and hand them over to civilian child protection groups.
**Sudan
On Sudan, just a quick note that WFP in Sudan tell us that a convoy of WFP trucks crossed the border from Chad through the Adre crossing, heading to Zamzam internally displace persons camp in North Darfur, where, as you know, famine was confirmed this year.
The trucks are carrying vital food and nutrition supplies for about 12,500 people. WFP emphasizes that this assistance must reach desperate families in Zamzam camp safely and quickly.
WFP underscores that the Adre corridor is a vital lifeline to get urgent assistance into the hands of desperate families across the Darfur region. Through this crossing, WFP has now transported over 5,600 metric tons of food and nutrition supplies — which is enough for nearly half a million people — and that has gone in just three months since 20 August.
It is crucial that this crossing remains usable and open for humanitarians to ramp up aid and get a steady supply of aid to communities facing extreme hunger.
Meanwhile, WFP also continues to get food into the hands of people facing famine in Zamzam, through a network of local retailers under contract with WFP. With this approach, WFP has so far supported 100,000 people out of the 180,000 men, women and children the Agency plans to reach in Zamzam.
**Chad
And lastly, I just wanted to flag that our colleague Leonardo Santos Simão, the Head of the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel, is in Chad starting today until 16 November.
He is there to take part in the fifteenth meeting of Envoys and Representatives for the Sahel, which is taking place today and tomorrow in N’Djamena.
He will also undertake a joint high-level visit to countries of the Lake Chad basin with Abdou Abarry, the Head of our Office for Central Africa. This mission aims to reaffirm our support to Chad, Cameroon, Niger, and Nigeria’s efforts to fight terrorism.
**Questions and Answers
Spokesman: Dezhi?
Question: Never expect to be the first one. Just now, you mentioned OCHA’s numbers to northern Gaza. You said 50 requests, which 33 has been rejected. Eight encountered impediments. So not only nine deliveries into northern Gaza. Is that correct?
Spokesman: You can do the math.
Question: I tried to do the math. Okay, so what’s the reason to deny and what are the impediments for those?
Spokesman: Well, the impediments are sometimes that things take too long at checkpoints, right? Which means that at some point we have to go back. Because the day is ending and it’s not safe to work at night. And other impediments are logistical. But as to why they’re denied, I mean, that’s a question to ask the people who are denying it, not to…
Question: Is that related to UNRWA?
Spokesman: Again, those are questions you have to ask to those people who are denying the missions, not to us.
Question: Okay. Has the Secretary-General ever talked to the new Foreign Minister of Israel via phone even though he’s a persona non grata?
Spokesman: He has not spoken to him. I know our colleague Sigrid Kaag was recently in Jerusalem where she met a number of officials.
Question: So the minister said today when talking about the Palestinian state, he denied it. He said, in a word, no. And he said, creating a Palestinian state today would be tantamount to creating a Hamas state. What is the response from the UN?
Spokesman: Our response is that our position remains unchanged. We continue to believe that a two-state solution with two states living in peace and side by side is the only way forward.
Question: Has Ms. Kaag talked to the new minister about this?
Spokesman: I think our position has been repeated umpteenth time. It is not a mystery. And it is pretty clear. Edie, then Abdelhamid.
Question: Thank you, Steph. First, a follow-up on the Haiti statement. You never mentioned Prime Minister Conille by name. Does the Secretary-General support his staying in his current position?
Spokesman: Look, it’s not for the Secretary-General to choose who will be the Prime Minister of Haiti. We’ve seen what’s happened to our former colleague, Mr. Conille. What is important is that Haitian political leaders put the interests of Haiti first and foremost.
Question: And on Sudan, on Adre. Yes, WFP made a big plea for it to remain open. But what specifically is the UN doing to ensure, or try to ensure that it actually does remain open?
Spokesman: Well, we continue to be in touch with the Sudanese authorities to make that point clear. And right now it’s staying open. So we’re happy that it’s staying open. Abdelhamid, then Amelie.
Question: Thank you, Stephane. The Arab-Islamic Summit held in Riyadh, I think the Secretary-General did not participate. Why he didn’t go and address the Arab-Islamic Summit? And if he didn’t, which we know he didn’t, was he represented in that?
Spokesman: There is no UN representation there. I’m not aware that there was an official invitation sent out. We continue to support all efforts towards the goal of immediate de-escalation in the region, including ceasefire in Lebanon and ceasefire in Gaza and the unconditional release of all hostages in Gaza. For the Secretary-General, he underlines the importance of ending the occupation and the urgency of implementing the long-overdue two-state solution, which Dezhi raised a few minutes ago. We will continue to support all efforts towards that goal, including the summit that’s taking place today in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Question: Thank you. Yesterday morning there was an attack on the Sayyidah Zaynab district in Damascus. Seven people were killed, 15 were wounded. Why the UN led these major incidents violation of the Syrian sovereignty with no statement or condemnation?
Spokesman: We’re aware of a number of air strikes that took place in Syria, notably in Sayyidah Zaynab, as you mentioned. We continue to remind all parties to respect their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law and to respect the sovereignty of countries. Amelie, Gabby, Stefano.
Question: Thanks, Steph. Just a follow-up on the Adre border crossing. If I’m not mistaken, the authorization that SAF gave was for three months and is ending at the end of this week. So do you have any kind of clear indication from them that they’re going to keep the border crossing open after the end of this week?
Spokesman: We very much hope that it will continue to operate and contacts are being held in that direction. Gabriel?
Question: Thanks, Steph. A month ago, the United States gave Israel a 30-day deadline to bring in 350 trucks of aid to Gaza a day. My question is, are you guys seeing anything close to that getting into Gaza right now?
Spokesman: Close to that? No.
Question: Have you for the last month seen anything close to that?
Spokesman: What we continue to see is not enough humanitarian aid going in. I mean, just the last data that I’ve been given, that between 1 and 7 November, 480 truck-loads of humanitarian aid was able to be picked up from the crossings in Gaza, which includes Erez West, Kerem Shalom, and so-called Gate 96. That level is nowhere near what we need to support the more than 2 million civilians.
Question: Thank you. One on Haiti, a follow-up. This nine-member presidential council basically fired a prime minister. I mean the fact that they can just do that so quickly, what does that put, let’s say, the UN in, in trying to have some stability in the work you guys are doing there, knowing that something can change so quickly?
Spokesman: The structure in place is the structure in place, right, that was agreed upon, if I’m not mistaken, in Kingston. That was agreed upon by the Haitian party. What Haiti needs among many things is stability, political stability and needs political leadership that puts the interest of stability, the interest of humanitarian aid, the interest of a return of law and order first and foremost. Stefano, and then we’ll go online. I think Pam has a question.
Question: Thank you, Stephane. President-elect Trump chose Congresswoman Elise Stefanik as the next ambassador. Any reaction from the Secretary-General? And did you notice that Stefanik, when Trump withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement accord, she actually criticized the President and say that he shouldn’t have done that?
Spokesman: Look, it’s not for us to react. Leaders of Member States will appoint their representatives and we will work constructively with the Permanent Representative of the United States just like we do with every other country.
Question: I mean does it look like it’s a good signal that at least on the climate change issue, this new ambassador is kind of sensitive to the issue?
Spokesman: Look, I will leave the interpretation of smoke signals or any other signals to the journalists.
Question: And then another one. President-elect Trump chose Tom Homan as the so-called czar for immigration issue for the borders and he already declared more than once that how he’s going to organize the deportation of millions of migrants. Is the Secretary-General concerned about this issue?
Spokesman: Look, there’s a lot of speculation, right? There’s a lot of things going on. We deal with one administration at a time in any Member State. The Secretary-General’s positions on the issues of the rights of migrants and refugees is well known, has been unaltered for a long time. We will speak to and comment on things once they happen, if they happen. Pam?
Correspondent: Thank you very much. My question’s been asked. Thanks now.
Spokesman: Okay. Dezhi, then Edie.
Question: So another President-elect Trump question. Wall Street Journal reported that his team actually drafted a proposal on Ukraine that would freeze the bid of Ukraine to NATO [North Atlantic Treaty Organization] for 20 years as well as to freeze the front line of current what Russia occupied place. So my question is do you think this is in line with UN’s position which is to have a just and peaceful solution of Ukrainian crisis in line with the international law, UN Charter and relative UN resolution?
Spokesman: Dezhi, you’ve been in New York for some time. I’m sure you can find a foreign policy expert to answer that question for you. It’s an analysis question. It’s not for me to answer. Our position, again, is clear and well stated. I will let you and analysts and experts make the links, the speculation, the projections. I can only speak to what our position is and I’m definitely not going to start to speculate on things that may or on reports from the media. Edith Lederer, Associated Press.
Question: Thank you, Steph. On the 480 trucks that were picked up from the crossings, do we know where those trucks went to?
Spokesman: I mean, I would be stating the obvious if I told you they went to various humanitarian points in Gaza, but we’ll try to get you something a little more useful for the use of the…
Question: Like how many to the north?
Spokesman: For the use of the Associated Press.
Correspondent: Thank you.
Spokesman: Okay, on that note, Evelyn, yes, go ahead.
Question: Yes, thank you, Stephane. I just want to remind everyone that we’re having a party at 5 p.m. today in the UNCA room to say goodbye to the four Dag Hammarskjöld fellows who are leaving on 19 November. So join us.
Spokesman: Thank you.
Correspondent: You too, Steph.