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, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
All right, good afternoon.
**Briefings
As soon as we are done here, we will have our friend Yasmine Sherif, who you well know is the Executive Director of Education Cannot Wait. She will be joined by Elaha Mahboob, the co-producer and writer of a new film entitled Rule Breakers. They will brief on the situation of girls’ education in Afghanistan, ahead of International Women’s Day, which is actually celebrated tomorrow.
Besides International Women’s Day, which we are commemorating today, today is another special day. Do we know what day it is? It is the birthday of Gisela Schwinghammer, Benno’s mother. And we wish her a very happy birthday back in Germany. And I am a gentleman; I will not say which birthday it is, but I know she will have a great birthday, and her son should be with her.
**International Women’s Day
And as mentioned, we did commemorate International Women’s Day today. You will have seen that the Secretary-General spoke at the event to mark the Day this morning held at the General Assembly Hall. He said that in every corner of the world, we are seeing from pushback to rollback — that women’s rights are under attack. Centuries of discrimination, he said, are being worsened by new threats. Instead of mainstreaming equal rights, we are witnessing the mainstreaming of chauvinism and misogyny, adding that we cannot stand by as progress is reversed. We must fight back, and we must never accept a world where women and girls live in fear, where their safety is a privilege rather than a non-negotiable right. There was also a message from our Deputy Secretary-General and a fantastic performance by the Broadway cast of SUFFS. I hope you enjoyed it.
**Syria
Turning to the Middle East. I can tell you that the Secretary-General is concerned about the recent clashes in the coastal areas of Syria, including reports of extrajudicial killings and civilian casualties.
The Secretary-General strongly condemns all violence in Syria and calls on the parties to protect civilians and cease hostilities.
The Secretary-General is alarmed by the risk of escalating tensions among communities in Syria at a time when reconciliation and peaceful political transition should be the priority. After fourteen years of conflict, Syrians deserve sustainable peace, prosperity and justice.
We also have a statement that we shared, along the same lines, from Geir O. Pedersen, the Special Envoy for Syria, and also want to add that Izumi Nakamitsu, the High Representative for Disarmament, briefed the Security Council this morning on the chemical weapons file and Syria.
**Syria/Displacement
Staying in that country: A new report issued by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) highlights a notable decline in displacement since mid-December of last year. IOM, however, reveals that one in five of those who remain displaced — primarily in Idlib, Aleppo and Hama — are residing in tents or makeshift shelters under what, as you can imagine, are very harsh living conditions.
As of January, more than 3.4 million internally displaced people were in north-west Syria, including almost 2 million in Idleb and Aleppo.
IOM is looking to help more than 1.1 million people in Syria in the first half of 2025. In January, IOM also issued an appeal for $73. million to meet these needs. We hope that the appeal will be heeded, and cash will be coming in.
**Occupied Palestinian Territory
Turning to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and especially the situation in the West Bank, where humanitarian colleagues warn that the operation by Israeli forces in the north continues to have dire humanitarian impact.
In Tulkarm, colleagues at UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) report that the Israeli authorities have started demolishing more than 16 buildings in Nur Shams refugee camp, after destroying more than two dozen homes in the area over the past week.
Demolitions in the Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams camps are taking place while most of the camps’ residents — tens of thousands of people — are displaced and unable to return to their homes.
Those displaced are staying at public shelters in Jenin and Tulkarm. They lack water, they lack medicine, they lack bedding and sanitation facilities, as well as hygiene and cleaning materials. This is according to a new assessment by OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs), UNRWA and our partners last week of nearly a dozen public shelters. Less than half of the people our teams interviewed said they could afford food, with many reducing or skipping meals. Children are also unable to attend school.
Since the start of the operation by Israeli forces in January, we and our partners have been providing life-saving assistance to affected people. Food parcels and meals are being distributed to families every day. More than 5,000 families have received cash assistance to help meet their basic needs.
Bedding and dignity kits have also been provided. Water storage tanks and mobile latrines have also been delivered to Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas.
Meanwhile, access restrictions continue to hinder the movement of people across the West Bank. OCHA reports that the closure of the Tayaseer checkpoint since February has restricted the movement of more than 60,000 Palestinians between the northern Jordan Valley and the rest of Tubas governorate. Access to markets, workplaces and services has been severely constrained.
Today is the first Friday of Ramadan, as you know, and access restrictions imposed by Israeli authorities have prevented thousands of Palestinian worshipers from reaching holy sites.
While the Israeli authorities have allowed Palestinians access to East Jerusalem and the H2 area of Hebron, they have imposed restrictions based on age and gender, with the condition that people entering East Jerusalem possess Israeli-issued permits. The authorities have also set up hundreds of metal barriers to tightly control people’s movements.
OCHA has deployed teams to monitor people’s movements through the checkpoints to identify potential protection risks and possible measures for Palestinians to cross, with particular attention to the most vulnerable — such as children, pregnant women and older people. Initial information indicates that fewer people crossed and fewer checkpoints opened this year, compared with Fridays last year.
And in Gaza, OCHA reminds us that it has been almost one week since the crossings were closed, preventing aid from entering with dire consequences for civilians who have endured months of immense suffering. It is critical that humanitarian assistance is allowed to enter Gaza without delay. Under international humanitarian law, Israel, as the occupying Power, is required to ensure that people’s essential needs are met, including by facilitating aid into and across all areas of Gaza.
**South Sudan
And some tragic news from South Sudan to share with you. Today a UN helicopter came under fire as it was attempting to evacuate South Sudanese military personnel in Nasir, in Upper Nile State.
A crew member from the UN helicopter was killed and two others sustained serious injuries. Several members of the South Sudanese military force, including an injured General, were also killed during the attack. The mission was being carried out upon the request of the signatory parties of the Revitalized Peace Agreement, to evacuate members of the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces, following renewed clashes between the People’s Defence Forces and armed youth in Nasir area.
We deeply regret the tragic loss of lives of our colleagues and wish a speedy recovery for the wounded. We also regret the killing of those that we were attempting to evacuate.
The mission (UNMISS) urged an investigation to determine those responsible and hold them accountable and calls on all parties to avoid further violence.
**Democratic Republic of the Congo
Turning to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, our humanitarian colleagues today warned that conditions in the east of the country are worsening as the fighting continues.
In South Kivu Province, there has been a sharp increase in cholera cases. Authorities in Uvira, the province’s second-largest city, have recorded more than 200 new cases and two deaths over a two-day period only. Health facilities there urgently need more medical supplies to contain the spread.
OCHA tells us that it is carrying out assessments to determine the needs of displaced communities as the security situation permits. Between 1 and 3 March, more than 11,000 people were reportedly displaced by fighting in Kabare, some 25 kilometres north of Bukavu.
Meanwhile, in North Kivu, our partners warn that nearly 18,000 children are suffering from acute malnutrition, particularly in areas where returnees are arriving. We and our partners are doing all we can to provide critical support as the response in the province is picking up and we are able to reach more areas.
**Rohingya Refugees
Turning to Bangladesh, the World Food Programme (WFP) today appealed for urgent funding to prevent the rations’ cuts to over 1 million Rohingya refugees in the country. Without this new funding, WFP said monthly rations must be halved to about $6 per person, down from $12.50 a person — just as people are preparing to observe Eid, marking the end of Ramadan.
To sustain full rations, WFP requires urgently $15 million for April, and $81 million until the end of the year.
WFP underscored that for a population with no legal status, no freedom of movement outside the camps and no sustainable livelihood opportunities, further cuts will worsen protection and security needs. Women and girls, in particular, may face heightened risks of exploitation, trafficking, prostitution and domestic violence. Children may be pulled out of school and forced into child labour, while girls may be married off at a young age as families resort to desperate measures to survive.
**Central Sahel/Nigeria
And on the same subject, but in a different part of the world, WFP also said today that they may have to halt life-saving food and nutrition assistance for 2 million people across the Central Sahel and Nigeria in April if they do not receive urgent funding. This comes as the lean season — the period between harvests when hunger peaks — is anticipated to arrive earlier than usual this year across the Sahel. Millions, including refugees and internally displaced people, rely on the World Food Programme’s assistance for survival.
Some of the most vulnerable populations will be impacted including Sudanese refugees in Chad, Malian refugees in Mauritania, internally displaced people, and vulnerable food-insecure families in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Nigeria.
WFP urgently requires $620 million to ensure continued support over the next six months.
**Yemen
And more tragic news, this one from Yemen, where the International Organization for Migration (IOM) today said that two boats carrying more than 180 migrants capsized off the coast of Yemen’s Dhubab district in Ta’iz Governorate. The incident, which took place yesterday, occurred amid some of the worst weather in years, as local reports tell us. The vessels, which were attempting the dangerous journey from the Horn of Africa, sank in rough seas, a known risk during this season. IOM said that among those on board were at least 124 men and 57 women. While two Yemeni crew members were rescued, all passengers and the remaining crew are feared dead, with no bodies recovered so far.
The IOM said that these latest shipwrecks are a sobering reminder of the grave dangers migrants endure in search of a better future, adding that smugglers continue to gamble with human lives, pushing people onto dangerous journeys despite weather warnings. IOM stressed that there is a critical need for adequate protection and alternatives for migrants, as we have been saying for a long time.
**Food Price Index
Lastly, I just want to flag that today the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released its monthly Food Price Index. The benchmark for global food commodity prices rose in February, propelled by increases in sugar, dairy and vegetable oil prices.
The FAO Food Price Index averaged 127.1 points in February, an increase by 1.6 per cent from the previous month. FAO has also released another report that provides analysis of the food situation by geographic region. Looking ahead at 2025, the report highlights that 45 countries — including 33 in Africa, 9 in Asia, 2 in Latin America and the Caribbean and 1 in Europe — are currently in need of external assistance for food. Take a look at the report.
**Questions and Answers
Spokesman: Edie and then Dezhi.
Question: Thank you, Steph. Does the Secretary-General have any comment on a letter that President [Donald] Trump sent to the Iranian leader, seeking to restart nuclear talks?
Spokesman: I mean, we’ve only seen press reports of the letter. Obviously, any effort that can lead to dialogue to resolve outstanding issues would be welcome. Dezhi, and then we’ll go to Benno online, because it’s a special day for him.
Question: This morning, we saw the statement from Geir Pedersen concerning the incident that happened in Syria’s coastal provinces. Does the Secretary-General have any more additional comments on this?
Spokesman: Dezhi, with due respect, I read the whole statement from the SG on that. We’ll go to Benno. Benno, did you pay attention?
Question: I did pay attention, but I was let in bit late. But I heard you mentioning my mother, so I want to thank you for that. She’s a big fan of yours, so I think she will be ecstatic. I had a question as well.
Spokesman: Go ahead.
Question: Edie asked my question, but, like, regarding the letter to the Iranian Government, does the Secretary-General think that new negotiations are the way to go? I mean, like, there is a deal on the table and in place already. Shouldn’t we build on that, rather? What’s his view on this?
Spokesman: You know, I gave a very general answer to Edie, because we have not seen the letter itself. So we’ll take a look at the letter and I think come back with a bit more detailed answer.
Question: Thank you.
Spokesman: All right. Any other questions? That’s it? Friday? All right. Happy Friday. Wow. All right. If you’re going to be that way, please stay. We have our wonderful guest, Yasmine, who I will get right now.