Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General
The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Alright, good afternoon to all of you.
**Lebanon
I think you all saw our updates on Lebanon over the weekend, and I can tell you that on Saturday, the Secretary-General had phone calls with the Lebanese President, Joseph Aoun, to congratulate him on his election. He also spoke with Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
In these phone calls, it was agreed that later this week, the Secretary-General will travel to Lebanon for a solidarity visit with the country and its people.
In Beirut, he will be meeting with the Lebanese political leadership and others. The Secretary-General is also expected to travel to southern Lebanon to see the UN peacekeeping force (UNIFIL) and express his support and thanks for the work they have been doing in very challenging circumstances. We will update you with more details as we get them.
**Haiti
Turning to Haiti: Yesterday — 12 January — marked 15 years since the devastating earthquake claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.
The Secretary-General remembers the victims of the earthquake and continues to honour their legacy through the United Nations work in the country. He also paid tribute to the 102 colleagues, our own colleagues, who died on that day, including the Head of the Mission at the time, Mr. Hédi Annabi, and one of our dear colleagues who used to work on the documents counter, Alexandra Duguay, who is remembered by her bright smile and efficient work. And we mourn with their families their passing.
An estimated 3 million people, as you know, were impacted by the earthquake, which led to severe humanitarian, protection, health, displacement, and infrastructural challenges for Haiti, some of which are still present today.
Yesterday, in Haiti, the United Nations held a ceremony in Port-au-Prince to honour the victims of the earthquake and our colleagues.
In a statement, the head of the UN political office in Haiti (BINUH), Maria Isabel Salvador, expressed her solidarity with all those whose lives continue to be impacted by this tragedy. She also saluted the determination and resilience of the Haitian people, who responded with courage in the aftermath of the earthquake, and she also, of course, reaffirmed the UN’s commitment to continue working alongside the Haitian authorities and people to build a better future for the country.
And just a reminder that there is a memorial to our colleagues in the gardens here, which used to be in Port-au-Prince, but it is now in the garden. Feel free to stop by.
**Ukraine
Turning to Ukraine: Our Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, is in Ukraine this week to meet with people impacted by the hostilities, to discuss how we can further cooperate with Ukrainian authorities and engage with our humanitarian partners on the ground.
Yesterday, in Zaporizhzhia, Mr. Fletcher held talks with authorities. He visited the site where last month a missile hit a medical clinic, totally destroying the facility and causing civilian casualties. He also visited an underground school, built in just six months, which will educate 1,000 children every day.
Also yesterday, Mr. Fletcher was in Dnipro, where he visited a collective site for displaced people.
Today, he travelled to the frontline area of the Donetsk region, where he commended the work of local first responders and NGOs (non-governmental organizations). Mr. Fletcher saw how communities remaining in the area are supported by aid organizations and how evacuees receive assistance at a transit centre in the city of Pavlohrad, which is in Dnipro.
Tomorrow, Mr. Fletcher will visit Kharkiv, and on Thursday, he and the head of UNHCR (United Nations Refugee Agency), Filippo Grandi, will launch this year’s humanitarian and refugee response plans for Ukraine and the region. Mr. Fletcher and Mr. Grandi will jointly speak to the press from Kyiv just before the plan is launched.
**Yemen
Our Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, concluded today a visit to Tehran, where he met with Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, along with other senior Iranian officials. Discussions focused on the resumption of a Yemeni-owned political process under the auspices of the United Nations.
Mr. Grundberg expressed his serious concern over the broader regional escalation involving Yemen and its adverse impact on the mediation environment. He underlined the importance of immediate de-escalation for the benefit of the Yemeni people.
In all his meetings, the Envoy briefed on our efforts for the immediate and unconditional release of the arbitrarily detained staff from the United Nations, NGOs, diplomatic missions and civil society personnel which remain detained by Ansar Allah. He requested Iran’s support towards the efforts to have them released.
**Syria
And another Special Envoy, and now it is Mr. [Geir] Pedersen. The Envoy for Syria attended the Riyadh meeting on Syria over the weekend, and welcomed the strong support expressed for the Syrian people and the commitment to assisting caretaker authorities during this critical phase.
Mr. Pedersen held a constructive meeting with Syria’s caretaker Foreign Minister, As’ad Al Shaibani, focusing on advancing an inclusive, Syrian-led political transition and addressing the challenges Syria faces following the fall of the Assad regime.
The discussions in Saudi Arabia underscored the importance of a credible, inclusive transition led by Syrians, backed by genuine international support to help Syria navigate the transition peacefully and to help to start to rebuild their country.
The Special Envoy reiterated our readiness to assist Syria and its people in seizing this historic opportunity and challenge.
His Deputy, Ms. Najat Rochdi, remains in Damascus, and she is, of course, continuing consultations with various interlocutors there.
In the north-east of Syria, on the humanitarian front, the World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners conducted a successful 10-day oral cholera vaccination campaign in Al Hol camp targeting people aged one year and above, and that took place between 28 December and 7 January.
Our humanitarian colleagues are telling us that the security situation remains volatile in parts of Syria.
Hostilities in Aleppo governorate are affecting the area surrounding the Tishreen Dam, which, as you know, has not been functional for 35 days. More than 403,000 people living in the cities of Menbij and Kobani continue lack access to water.
In Deir-ez-Zor, most of the villages in the eastern countryside are facing drinking water shortages due to the insufficient number of functional water stations.
Despite all these challenges, we and our partners continue to support the humanitarian response, of course, as security and logistics permit.
**Occupied Palestinian Territory
Moving to Gaza: As the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza continues, our colleagues at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is once again calling on the Israeli authorities to enable the delivery of life-saving assistance to people across the Strip — and we are doing our best to deliver this assistance safely, swiftly and at scale.
OCHA reports that the Israeli authorities continue to deny UN-led efforts to reach Palestinians with vital aid. Throughout Gaza yesterday, only 7 out of 22 UN planned humanitarian movements were facilitated by the Israeli authorities. Six were denied outright, five were impeded, and four were cancelled due to security and logistical challenges.
Meanwhile, OCHA warns that ongoing hostilities and evacuation orders continue to displace civilians across the Gaza Strip.
We stress once again that civilians must be protected, whether they leave or stay. Those fleeing fighting must be allowed to do so safely, and they must be able to voluntarily return when the situation allows.
In central Gaza yesterday, the Israeli military issued a new evacuation order for residents in An Nuseirat, in the Al Mufti neighbourhood. Our partners estimate that some 4,100 people are affected by the latest directive. The area under evacuation includes residents living in and around two displacement sites managed by UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency). It also includes three medical points, two water delivery points and two temporary learning spaces.
Our partners have observed a limited number of people moving from the area under evacuation toward Nuseirat City and other parts of Deir al Balah.
Displaced people across Gaza Strip continue to report critical shortages of food, critical shortage of water, and critical shortage of sanitation facilities. That is what a new survey of nearly 2,500 households across the Strip shows us. More than two-thirds of those households told our humanitarian partners that they had been displaced at least once over the last 60 days.
Yesterday, the Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Muhannad Hadi, visited a church hosting more than 400 [displaced] Palestinians in Gaza City. He once again stressed the need to protect places of refuge and to end this war.
Today in southern Gaza, he visited a factory providing furniture to temporary learning spaces in the Strip. After 15 months of war, less than a fifth of school-age children in Gaza have access to some form of learning.
**G77
And just to flag, at 3 p.m. this afternoon, our Secretary-General will speak at the ceremony in which the leadership of the G77 and China passes from Uganda to Iraq. The Secretary-General will congratulate Iraq, a founding member of the G77 60 years ago, for its assumption of the Chairmanship for 2025.
In his remarks this afternoon, he will welcome the G77’s focus on accelerating support for developing countries, especially as we approach the deadline for the 2030 Agenda. He will say that 2025 must be a year of keeping promises to developing countries.
**Madagascar/Mozambique
A quick update from south-east of Africa, where our humanitarian colleagues continue to track the impact of Tropical Cyclone Dikeledi.
In northern Madagascar, we are working with the authorities to mobilize response efforts after the cyclone made landfall on Saturday. According to reports, over 5,200 people were directly impacted, nearly 1,300 homes were flooded, with five health centres damaged.
Our partners are also distributing water treatment supplies, as well as water, sanitation and hygiene kits.
And in Mozambique, the cyclone is bringing heavy rains and strong winds to the northern part of the country — that’s the same area hit by Cyclone Chido less than a month ago.
As of Saturday, the World Food Programme (WFP) had also reached more than 190,000 people in five districts with one-week food rations. And for its part, UNHCR and its partners have distributed more than 800 kits of relief items for 4,000 people. UNHCR has also stepped up its efforts to assess protection concerns in parts of Cabo Delgado where displaced people are sheltering.
We are aiming to provide assistance to more than 400,000 people impacted by the cyclone, but to do that, we urgently need additional funding.
**UNICEF
UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) today released a report warning that the world is facing a new and intensifying era of crisis for children, and many of these crises — including climate change, conflict and economic instability — are closely interconnected.
According to the report the percentage of children impacted by conflict has almost doubled to almost 19 per cent today from around 10 per cent in the 1990s. UNICEF notes that over 473 million children — more than one in six globally — lived in areas affected by conflict in 2023, a number that is likely to have risen in [2024].
The report is online.
**Financial Contribution
We got money today. One more country from the Honour Roll, the latest country to pay its dues, is where the first postage stamps were introduced in the early nineteenth century… The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. And we thank our friends in London for paying their dues to make it on the Honour Roll. The first permanent member to do so.
For your information, Sir Roland Hill, a schoolteacher, invented the postage stamp in 1837. We now have seven members on Honour Roll.
**Questions and Answers
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. The SG will be traveling on Saturday to Lebanon for how many days?
Spokesman: The Secretary-General travel later this week. We will share bit more details when we're able to share them, as the programme is still being shaped. But he will be on the ground — basically, he'll have two days in Lebanon.
Question: Another question. Any statement… [cross-talk]
Spokesman: Your microphone a little closer.
Question: Any statement from the Secretary-General on the appointment of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam of Lebanon?
Spokesman: We very much welcome these reports, and I think it's another sign of the positive political trajectory we've seen in Lebanon over the last few days with finally the election of a president and now of a new Government.
Question: We’ll have a new official statement from the UN?
Spokesman: Well, right now, I still consider myself an official of the UN. So you'll have to use this, as official as it gets for now.
Question: Okay. Thank you.
Spokesman: Tony?
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. Also, in Lebanon, on the appointment of judge, Nawaf Salam, as new Prime Minister, will be he meeting with SG during this visit? [cross-talk]
Spokesman: All of those things obviously are still being worked out. A lot of it depends on the procedure in Lebanon. But as soon as I have information for you, I will share it.
Question: A follow-up on the 60-day deadline circulated in the cessation of hostilities agreement between Israel and Hizbullah is set to expire on 26 January. What's the SG view on this?
Spokesman: Well, this was an extremely important agreement that the parties were able to reach. The situation on the ground is better than it was before. We're still seeing violations of the Blue Line, which are obviously concerning. I think it's critical that the parties use this time to consolidate the peace, to enable the Lebanese who've had to leave the South to return home, and to enable the Israelis who've had to leave the North of their country to also return home. So civilians on both sides of the Blue Line can restart their lives.
Question: Do you support the renewal?
Spokesman: Sorry?
Question: Renewal. Do you support a renewal?
Spokesman: We support anything that will move this forward. And obviously, we support building on this, whether it's renewing or building on this.
Dezhi, then Pam, then Gabby.
Question: Several follow-ups. First, SG's travel to Lebanon. We know that there's only, like, hours of traveling time from Beirut to Damascus. Will the SG also visit Damascus this time?
Spokesman: There are no further trips planned to travel at this point.
Question: So only Lebanon?
Spokesman: There are no further trips planned at this point.
Question: Okay. Since you said that he is traveling later this week, for us, Thursday, there would be a press conference.
Spokesman: Yes, so, thank you for reminding me, Dezhi. The press conference will have to be rescheduled.
Question: Earlier? [laughs]
Spokesman: Two things we're working on. One is to have the Secretary-General likely will do a press stakeout on Wednesday, after he speaks to the General Assembly. So we'll do that at the press stakeout area at the GA. If we do something earlier, I will let you know. And the full-blown press conference will be rescheduled for when he returns.
Question: Okay. Another thing about another ceasefire deal of Gaza. Obviously, we heard a lot of, let's say, rumours or reports or official languages that the US is very much hoping that this week they could see a ceasefire deal in Gaza. How optimistic is the Secretary-General on the deal reached before the [Donald] Trump Administration? [cross-talk]
Spokesman: It is very clear that the activities have intensified in the last few days. They're intensely going on. The Secretary-General received a phone call from the Prime Minister of Qatar earlier today to brief him. Given everything that's at stake, the humanity that's at stake, I will not comment on it further at this point.
Question: Okay. One last question. South Korean media reported that about 300 North Korean soldiers got killed and 2,700 wounded when fighting in Kursk Region in Russia. Does the UN have any confirmations? [cross-talk]
Spokesman: I have no information.
Question: Or any positions on this?
Spokesman: No, no information beyond what we've seen.
Pam and then Gabby.
Question: Thanks, Steph. One follow-up: Is the SG speaking on Wednesday at the GA stakeout after the vote? Is that what you said?
Spokesman: Yes, ma’am. No, I didn't say after the vote. He will present his priority speech. And he will speak to that after that. I'm not aware of any vote.
Question: Okay. And, on the negotiations that Dezhi was talking about and you were talking about in Qatar, about Israel and Hamas, just to clarify, has the UN played any role? Has the UN had a presence at these talks? And will the UN, unless there's a new Security Council resolution, have any role in the implementation?
Spokesman: Look, we have not been directly involved in the security talks. I'm not going to comment on what will come out and may be agreed to.
Gabriel?
Question: Thank you, Steph. Can you give us any more details about the phone call from the Prime Minister of Qatar?
Spokesman: The Prime Minister called him to brief him on the latest involving the ceasefire discussions.
Question: Okay. And most of my questions were asked, but I had another one. Has the Secretary-General ruled out visiting Syria on this trip?
Spokesman: No. One step at a time, one country at a time.
Question: Fair enough. It just it's a question that a lot of people are going to be asking in the region, given everything that's going on.
Spokesman: Yeah, I understand. And we've had, you know, we've had a number of senior officials go to Damascus. I think others will follow, everything in due course. But as a reminder, Mr. Pedersen is the Secretary-General's envoy on Syria. He's been to Damascus. No doubt he will go at some point. Again, his deputy is there. You know, the visit by a Secretary-General involves a certain amount of things and signifies a certain amount of things. So we have to get the timing right.
Question: And last thing is, has the Secretary-General spoke to Ahmed Al Sharaa?
Spokesman: Not that I'm aware of.
Question: Thank you.
Spokesman: Madame Zehil?
Question: Thank you. A little question. Do you know if Mr. [Jean-Pierre] Lacroix will be joining Mr. [António] Guterres in his trip?
Spokesman: I would not be surprised. [He later confirmed that Mr. Lacroix would be present.]
Question: Okay. Thank you.
Spokesman: Thank you. Very few things surprise me.
Any more questions online, in person, in the ether, anywhere? Okay. Enjoy the day. We’ll keep you updated.