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.
**Myanmar
Good afternoon. Starting off with Myanmar: As announced by the Secretary-General yesterday, Tom Fletcher, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, arrived this morning. Upon arrival, he met with humanitarian teams in Yangon. In the afternoon, he travelled to Mandalay, which, as you know, is the epicentre of the earthquake, where, tomorrow, he is expected to meet with people impacted by the earthquake, as well as with local responders and other humanitarian workers.
More than 25 search-and-rescue teams are working, medical teams and supplies have been deployed, and water and shelter kits have been distributed in Mandalay and beyond. Just yesterday, more than 30 tons of medical supplies arrived in Myanmar, bringing the total to 100 tons since the earthquakes struck.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), for its part, has deployed plastic sheets and kitchen sets for about 25,000 people impacted. The agency is also mobilizing supplies from its warehouses in Myanmar for an additional 25,000 people, but it will need to replenish stocks urgently to meet the massive needs due to the quake.
Our humanitarian colleagues are preparing a new appeal aligned with the Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan, which, as you know, calls for $1.1 billion as needs continue to outpace available supplies and response capacity. So far, less than 5 per cent of this appeal has been received. For its part, UNHCR is appealing for $16 million to assist 1.2 million people. The funds will be used to manage displacement sites and support vulnerable people in six impacted regions until the end of the year.
**Occupied Palestinian Territory
Turning to the situation in Gaza and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that thousands more families have now fled westward in the Gaza Strip in response to another displacement order issued by Israeli forces and covering parts of Gaza City. OCHA warns that these displacement orders have left civilians exposed to hostilities and deprive them of access to essential services for their basic survival. All crossings, as you know, continue to be closed. We are now in the second month. So, no supplies can come into Gaza.
The World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that food stocks in Gaza are running out, and assistance programmes are gradually shutting down. As we told you earlier this week, all WFP-supported bakeries had to close. Now, food parcel distributions are soon to end. Hot meals currently continue, but with dwindling supplies. The World Food Programme reminds us that a single hot meal provides 25 per cent or less of a person’s daily dietary needs.
Meanwhile, sanitation conditions across Gaza are likely worsening public health risks. Our humanitarian colleagues say that three makeshift displacement sites in Al Mawasi are now reporting infestations of fleas and mites, causing rashes and other health issues. Treating these infestations require chemicals and other items that will only be available once the crossings are again open for the entry of supplies.
Our humanitarian partners warn that criminal looting and general insecurity are again on the rise, linked to the closure and to lack of basic supplies. On Wednesday, one of the distribution points used by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) was looted, along with nearby buildings. In a social media post, our colleagues at UNRWA said this wasn’t an isolated incident, but rather a symptom of a broader breakdown in civil order.
Turning to the West Bank, OCHA reports that tens of thousands of people remain displaced, unable to return home due to ongoing operations by Israeli forces in the north, mainly in Jenin and Tulkarm. Our humanitarian partners are providing urgent aid and psychosocial support to those impacted.
**Sudan
Moving to Sudan, I can tell you that we are gravely concerned by reports that civilians are fleeing the capital Khartoum due to violence and fears of extrajudicial killings, following the latest shifts in the effective control of the capital city. We stress that civilians must never be targeted.
Our humanitarian colleagues are telling us that over the past week, some 5,000 displaced people, mostly from Khartoum have arrived in the locality of Jabrat El Sheikh, in North Kordofan State. And our humanitarian partners on the ground tell us these families urgently need food. They desperately need clean water, and also lack proper shelter and healthcare.
Reports also indicate that others have fled Khartoum and other areas towards Um Dukhun, which is located in Central Darfur. We and our humanitarian partners are working to verify these reports. However, ongoing funding constraints have forced a scale-back of some of the data collection activities, causing delays in reporting new displacements and issuing early warning alerts. Despite that, I can tell you that the latest movements are part of a broader trend of conflict-driven displacement impacting multiple regions in Sudan, including the Blue Nile and South Kordofan.
Across Sudan, the overall situation remains complex and challenging, with civilians fleeing for their safety in some locations and trying to return home in other location, often to areas where basic services have been decimated by the conflict, and where also they face the risk of remnants of explosives and unexploded shells. OCHA is working to reach people in South Kordofan’s capital, Kadugli, by facilitating the dispatch of a humanitarian convoy carrying nutrition, health and water purification supplies. However, the convoy remains stalled in Al Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan — due to insecurity and bureaucratic impediments.
Furthermore, our Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, expressed his outrage yesterday over reports of escalating attacks against community kitchens and safe spaces run b y volunteers in Sudan. Humanitarians must be protected and must be supported, he said. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, we remind all parties that under international humanitarian law, they have a legal obligation to allow and facilitate rapid, unimpeded and impartial humanitarian relief for civilians in need, regardless of the location or the affiliation of these civilians.
**South Sudan
Moving south to South Sudan: The Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), Nicholas Haysom, continues to be engaged in intensive high-level political efforts to de-escalate the current tensions and convince the parties to preserve the peace deal they all agreed to. Following his meeting with the visiting African Union Panel of the Wise, Mr. Haysom called on the parties to put aside any personal interest, stressing on the need to start to rebuild confidence in the peace process.
Meanwhile, the Mission has received reports of renewed clashes between the organized forces of the two main parties to the peace deal. That fighting is taking place around Ulang in the Upper Nile State. We urge restraint and again call for an immediate return to the ceasefire and the Revitalized Agreement as the only path to sustainable peace and stability.
**Democratic Republic of the Congo
Turning to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) tells us that the situation in the east of the country remains critical, especially in Ituri and North Kivu Provinces, where the Mission continues to implement its mandate and where peacekeepers play a vital protection role. Our peacekeeping colleagues tell us that reciprocal attacks between the CODECO and Zaire militias are continuing to target civilians in Ituri, near sites housing displaced communities, on farmland and in mining areas.
In this context, our colleagues in the peacekeeping mission continue to push for an effective process of local political dialogue and to negotiate the safe release of abducted civilians, and that includes children. The Mission’s support for dialogue in Ituri, including through the Government-led disarmament programme, has led to the demobilization of more than 1,000 Zaire combatants since January who were reintegrated within their respective communities.
Meanwhile, recent clashes between the CODECO and members of the Ugandan Defence Forces have prompted thousands of displaced civilians to seek the peacekeeping mission’s protection on a nightly basis in Fataki. The Mission’s military and police peacekeepers continue to patrol around sites housing displaced communities and along the main supply routes.
Turning to Goma, I can tell you that non-essential international staff for the UN are returning to Goma, where the protection situation under the M23 [23 March Movement] occupation remains challenging. The Mission’s Bangladeshi Engineering Company is currently engaged in the rehabilitation of roads damaged during the takeover of the M23 back in January. This will facilitate humanitarian access and the resumption of economic activities. And, as you can imagine, we continue to engage with all relevant actors toward an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, as called for in resolution 2773 (2025).
On the humanitarian end, giving you a bit more detail about North Kivu and South Kivu: in North Kivu, the renewed hostilities yesterday between armed groups in Rutshuru Territory triggered the displacement of some 7,500 people. That is what to local civil society sources are telling us, and many of these people have been fleeing for the second and third time. One can only imagine the state that they are in. Separately, in the town of Walikale Centre, also yesterday, armed groups reportedly looted homes, businesses and the premises of the only operational humanitarian organization in the area. While health services continue, this attack has severely disrupted vital nutrition and medical programmes for thousands of vulnerable people.
Turning to South Kivu Province, our local partners report that armed people raided the Mukongola General Referral Hospital, which is in Kabare Territory. That took place yesterday. They vandalized the maternity ward, the pharmaceutical supplies and injured at least one individual. This marks the second attack on this facility in one month, further crippling its ability to provide essential care to people in the area.
Meanwhile, in Fizi and Kalehe, clashes between armed groups since 27 March have displaced more than 20,000 human beings. That is what local partners are telling us. While some people are sheltering with host families, many remain stranded in open areas without food or water. We and our humanitarian partners are working tirelessly to scale up assistance despite the insecurity and the constraints. However, our colleagues tell us that ongoing military operations continue to impede humanitarian access. We reiterate our call for immediate, safe and sustained access to all areas.
**Haiti
Moving to the American and to Haiti, our colleagues from the World Food Programme (WFP) are responding to people’s needs, following the attacks earlier this week in the town of Mirebalais, in the Centre Department. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), close to 6,000 men, women and children were displaced as a result of violence in the area. Yesterday, WFP was able to provide hot meals to 2,000 of the 6,000 people displaced. Today, WFP is telling us they are expanding that assistance.
This operation is part of the country-wide efforts, which have seen WFP and partners provide more than 100,000 hot meals to 15,000 newly displaced people in the past week alone. Typically, newly displaced people are initially offered hot meals and then transitioned to cash assistance, pending available funding.
Meanwhile in Port-au-Prince, the insecurity, the protests and the roadblocks have all impeded movement and disrupted the delivery of food assistance, but WFP is continuing to push forward on operations to provide assistance to 25,000 people facing emergency levels of food insecurity. These people, who live in areas controlled by armed groups, are largely cut off from the rest of the country. As a reminder, according to the latest food security analysis, half of all Haitians don’t have enough to eat. Half. Our colleagues at WFP Haiti are facing a funding gap of close to $54 million for the next six months.
**Ukraine
Moving to Ukraine, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tells us that attacks continue to impact densely populated cities across the country, resulting in multiple civilian casualties. Last night, Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, faced drone attacks for the third consecutive day. According to local authorities, the attacks killed civilians and injured several others, including children. Many homes were also destroyed or damaged. Immediately after the attacks, first responders, UN agencies, the Ukrainian Red Cross emergency teams and partners provided first aid, psychological support, hot meals, blankets and other shelter materials.
The Humanitarian Coordinator for the United Nations in Ukraine, Mattias Schmale, condemned this deadly attack, calling for an end to the suffering of the Ukrainian people. Over the last three days, attacks in Dnipro and Kryvyi Rih and hostilities in front-line regions have also caused scores of civilian casualties and a wave of new destruction in Ukraine.
**Food Prices
Today is the start of the new month, so we have the Food Price Index from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). They tell us the Index remains largely unchanged in March from its revised February value. This is due to declines in world cereal and sugar quotations offset by a notable increase in vegetable oil prices.
**Mine Awareness Day
Today, as you know, is the International Day for Mine Awareness [and Assistance in Mine Action]. We had a briefing yesterday and we have a message from the Secretary-General. In his message, the Secretary-General says this year’s theme, “Safe Futures Start Here,” reminds us of the critical role of mine action in rebuilding shattered communities. Just to give you two country examples, one from Syria, where more than 700 people were casualties of landmines and unexploded ordnance since December of last year. They either lost their lives or left with life-altering wounds.
To support the safe movement of civilians and aid workers in Syria, our partners continue to clear minefields, dispose of explosive items and conduct awareness sessions, particularly in Deir ez-Zor, Ar-Raqqa, Idleb, Dar’a and Hama, where contamination is high. Again, since December of last year, more than 2,000 unexploded ordnance items were disposed of in more than 1,400 clearance operations.
And just to give you a bit more on that. Our partners working in protection report a dire situation in Deir ez-Zor in north-east Syria, where mine victims have extremely limited access to trauma care and post-injury rehabilitation. This is due to damaged health facilities and funding cuts affecting our partners, who previously provided those critical services.
**Colombia
Another example is in Colombia, which is the most mine-affected country in the Americas, due to decades of armed conflict involving many armed groups. In total, more than 12,500 people have been registered as victims of anti-personnel mines and explosive remnants of war, with some 2,500 people having been killed.
Also in Colombia, our OCHA colleagues tell us that the continued escalation in armed conflict between non-State armed groups since the start of 2025 is severely affecting civilians. Due to fighting in the Catatumbo region in the north, more than 92,000 human beings have faced forced displacements, confinements and restrictions on their movement. Another 60,000 were similarly impacted in the Cauca region in the south. Despite these challenges, our humanitarian partners continue their work to reach people in need. This year’s Humanitarian Response Plan aims to reach [2] million people. It calls for $342 million but has received only 12 per cent — or $41 million — so far.
**International Days
Just to say that tomorrow we have an international day. Anyone knows which day it is tomorrow? It’s a very useful one. I’m looking at you, Amelie. It is the International Day of Conscience. It is a day to reflect on our actions and consider how we can contribute to a kinder, more inclusive world. You don’t have much work to do in that department.
On Sunday, we mark the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace. It is celebrated to recognize the power of sport in fostering positive change, bridging barriers and transcending boundaries.
**Deputy Secretary-General
Lastly, I forgot to talk about my Deputy boss, Amina Mohammed. The Deputy Secretary-General is in Skopje, North Macedonia, to chair the annual retreat of UN resident coordinators from Europe and Central Asia, focused on accelerating implementation of the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) in the region. She also met with the Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Mr. [Hristijan] Mickoski, and various Cabinet Ministers to discuss the country’s efforts on sustainable development and collaboration with the United Nations. She also met with the UN Country Team to explore ways to strengthen the UN’s impact in North Macedonia and support the delivery of the SDGs.
Yesterday, she visited the UN Joint SDG Fund project “Green Finance Facility,” which provides financing for households and small businesses transitioning to renewable energy. Tomorrow, she will meet with Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, the President of North Macedonia, and Timcho Mucunski, the Minister for Foreign Affairs. She will be New York on Monday.
**Briefing
Before we go to the next briefing sponsored by the Permanent Observer Mission of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), I will do my best to answer some questions. [Speakers will be Younis al-Khatib, President of PRCS, and Marwan Jilani, Vice-President of PRCS.] Edie? Sorry. I thought it was almost automatic.
**Questions and Answers
Question: Thank you, Steph. On the looting of the UNRWA warehouse and this, as you said, this seems to be a revival of what was happening before the ceasefire. Is there any indication of who is responsible for this? Were these gangs?
Spokesman: It’s unclear. From what I gather from my conversation with UNRWA colleagues, there was someone who came, who arrived with a weapon and started shooting. It led to looting. It’s a clear sign of desperation. I mean, people in Gaza know that the gates are closed. People in Gaza know that no food is coming in. People are desperate. Dezhi, and then Abdelhamid.
Question: Okay. Yes. Another question concerning the humanitarian situation in Gaza. We know that the storage is running out. I sort of want to know, since if there’s no aid, there would be no more operations. But, what about UN staffers inside Gaza? I mean, those Palestinian UN staffers? What’s the situation for them now? Are they have the same situation with other Gazan people?
Spokesman: I mean, our Palestinian colleagues who work for the United Nations — most of them work for UNRWA — are doing two things. They’re continuing to work to help civilians in Gaza. And they’re also like the people they’re trying to help, just trying to survive. They’re facing the same challenges as the rest of the population, while trying to work and maintain operations with the dwindling stocks that we have.
Question: So, if we look at Middle East, Gaza is just one spot. And we also have all those air strikes in Lebanon and Syria. It seems just that one particular country started all this, in the name of security. Has Secretary-General had any chance now to talk with the top officials in Israel, including the President of Israel? How long has he been… what’s the last time he talked to him?
Spokesman: The Secretary-General has been in contact off and on with the President of Israel. I don’t have a hard date for you for when the last contact was. As far as contact between Secretary-General and Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu, you know very well because I would have updated you. There’s been no conversation.
Question: So still persona non grata?
Spokesman: But, that being said, our colleagues, our teams on the ground, led by Sigrid Kaag and the people that work with her, are continuing daily interactions almost with Israeli authorities to try to move things in the right direction, to try to get back to where we were with the ceasefire more than a month ago, when humanitarian aid was going in. And we saw how effective the UN’s distribution of aid was at that time, where schools were getting reopened, where hostages were being released, where Palestinian detainees were being released. We need to go back to that.
Question: So we’re not in the right direction, it seems?
Spokesman: I think that would be an assessment that most people would agree with you on.
Correspondent: Okay. Another topic. Yesterday, I know some people tried to ask Secretary-General about the tariffs.
Spokesman: I didn’t notice.
Question: Yep. So today, I’m going to brought that to you. We noticed that both WTO [World Trade Organization] and IMF [International Monetary Fund], they issued warnings and concerns about the tariff wars. What is the position from the Secretary-General?
Spokesman: I think you know what his position is because he said it before. He said it more than a month ago — that in a trade war, nobody wins, right? Our concern right now is with the most vulnerable countries who are the least equipped to deal with the current situation.
Question: But, how would that impact SDGs?
Spokesman: Negatively. Pam, then Abdelhamid.
Question: Steph, thanks. Any updates on the Black Sea Grain Initiative and UN? And is there any possibility of getting a briefing from this UNCTAD [United Nations Conference on Trade and Development] Secretary-General [Rebeca] Grynspan?
Spokesman: No. I don’t think Ms. Grynspan would speak on that. I mean, those are talks that are being had where between… and we saw publicly what was issued between the Russian Federation and the United States, having to do not so much with the Black Sea Grain nIitiative, because I don’t think anybody’s talking about that in that sense, but with things that we have been involved in, and pushing for a long time, which is freedom of navigation on the Black Sea and support to the Memorandum of Understanding we signed with the Russian Federation, which is still a live document.
Question: All right. And a follow-up to Dezhi’s question. Is there anyone at the UN, in UNCTAD — you have a lot of economists, here and around the world — Is there anyone who can speak to us? It’s a trade war.
Spokesman: I think I would reach out to UNCTAD on that front. So, your colleagues in Geneva… I mean, it really would be either from the IMF, World Bank, or UNCTAD. Abdelhamid?
Question: Thank you, Steph. My first question is about Francesca Albanese’s mandate. It expires today. And in the news, there is a letter sent to the Secretary-General by the US to try to pressure to do something, so she will not be re-elected. Can you confirm that the SG received the letter?
Spokesman: The Secretary-General has received a number of letters regarding Ms. Albanese, but, as you know, the special rapporteurs do not report to him. He has no influence over their mandate or who; that is a question for the President of the Human Rights Council and the members of the Human Rights Council who manage the special procedures.
Question: My second question, I received this letter at 10:07 a.m. from Rafah, a friend of mine. She said, and I will ask her to comment on it. She said Gaza is being obliterated. We’re all dying. Death is everywhere. Oh, God, the saviour, save us. What do you say to that? That’s for my friend, in Rafah.
Spokesman: I’m sorry for you and for your friend, but I think the determination of the Secretary-General, the determination of everyone around him to try to do whatever is humanly possible to help the people of Gaza, I think cannot be questioned. And we continue to do whatever we can. But, as you know, the Secretary-General, the staff of the United Nations do not hold the levers of power. Dulcie and then if you have a question.
Question: Yeah. I wanted to ask you about the statement by [António] Guterres, sent by you to correspondents on 2 April, in relation to the humanitarian aid workers who have been killed recently and in total since the Gaza war. He said he demands a full, thorough and independent investigation of these incidents. So, who was he referring to that should lead this investigation?
Spokesman: There are different mechanisms that could do these investigations. What is critical is that all parties involved allow such investigation to take place. And sadly, these things usually can only happen once a conflict is over.
Question: But what primarily does he have in mind? Because this is a…
Spokesman: What he has in mind is to have accountability for our colleagues who’ve been killed, accountability for all the humanitarian colleagues who’ve been killed.
Question: But, can he be or can you be more specific? Because there are lots of mechanisms, as you said; none of them are working.
Spokesman: There are different kinds of mechanisms, but that’s where I will stop. Ephrem. Joe, can you hear us?
Question: Okay. This is Joe Klein. Can you hear me?
Spokesman: Yes, sir.
Question: Okay. My question is, what comment does the Secretary-General have on the recent anti-Hamas protests in Gaza by Palestinians who are demanding the release of all the hostages and are blaming Hamas for the continuation of the war, as well as Hamas’s response, which included the torture to death of one of those protesters?
Spokesman: I think it is clear that the Secretary-General supports the right of people to demonstrate, to express themselves freely without fear of repression by authorities, without fear of extrajudicial killings, and that applies to every part of the world. And I think it was rather concerning to see the leaders of one of these protests being killed in such a violent and gruesome way. Okay. Thank you all. Yeah, sorry. Go ahead, sorry. Yeah, sorry. One more question.
Question: In [Republic of] Korea earlier today or yesterday, former President Yoon [Suk-yeol] was ousted by Korea’s constitutional court from his presidency. Does the Secretary-General have any comment on this issue?
Spokesman: Yes. I mean, we’re very much aware of the developments in the Republic of Korea, and I can tell you that the Secretary-General has full confidence in the Republic of Korea’s commitment to democratic principles and a peaceful and stable path forward and the institutions of that country. Okay. Thank you. I will now invite our friends from the Permanent Observer Mission.