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.
**People of African Descent
Good afternoon. Starting off with a programming note. On Monday at 10 a.m., the fourth session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent that will kick off here at Headquarters under the theme “Africa and people of African descent: United for reparatory justice in the age of Artificial Intelligence”. We will have the Chef de Cabinet, Courtenay Rattray, will deliver the Secretary-General’s remarks.
Over one thousand participants have registered to attend the session which will continue until Thursday next week. There will be discussions on reparatory justice for Africa and people of African descent; human rights of women and girls of African descent; policymaking and systemic racism; digital justice, as well as on the bicentennial of the “Haitian independence debt”. Side events and cultural performances are also planned.
A report on the Forum will be presented both to the Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly later this year. As usual, the meetings will all be broadcast on the UN webcast platform.
**Myanmar
In Myanmar — and just two weeks after the country was hit by two earthquakes, we and our partners have launched a $275 million appeal, which is an addendum to the 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan to reach 1.1 million people with urgent aid and assistance.
The earthquakes have pushed 2 million human beings into critical need of assistance and protection — that’s in addition to the 19.9 million people who were estimated to need humanitarian aid prior to this disaster.
UN agencies, partners and Member States have rapidly mobilized aid — including medical care, shelter, safe water, hygiene kits and food.
To further strengthen efforts on the ground, the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has allocated an additional $5 million for the earthquake response, on top of the $5 million already provided a few weeks ago.
And the UN Human Rights Office today said civilians are continuing to suffer as military operations persist, despite ceasefires declared after last month’s tragic earthquake.
At a moment when the sole focus should be on ensuring humanitarian aid gets to disaster zones, the military is instead launching attacks, that was what our human rights colleagues said. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called on the military to remove any and all obstacles to the delivery of humanitarian assistance and to of course cease military operations.
**Occupied Palestinian Territory
Moving to the situation in Gaza, our humanitarian colleagues tell us that earlier today, Israeli authorities issued two new displacement orders covering vast areas in northern and southern Gaza. Together, these areas span more than 24 square kilometres — roughly the size of everything south of Central Park here in Manhattan.
Several medical facilities and storage sites containing critical supplies are located within the newly designated displacement zones. And OCHA warns that this could have life-threatening consequences for people in urgent need of care.
With this latest development, OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) reports that more than two thirds of the Gaza Strip is either under active displacement orders or designated as “no-go” zones — that’s areas where humanitarian teams are required to coordinate their movements with Israeli authorities.
This leaves Palestinians with less than a third of Gaza’s area to live in — and that remaining space is fragmented, it’s unsafe and it’s barely liveable following 18 months of hostilities, which are ongoing. Overcrowded shelters which are in terrible conditions, service providers are struggling to operate, and resources are being depleted.
The UN Human Rights Office today said that the nature and scope of the Israeli evacuation orders in Gaza raise serious concerns that Israel intends permanently to remove the civilian population from these areas in order to create a “buffer zone”.
OCHA reminds us that today marks 40 days since Israeli authorities imposed a full closure on the entry of cargo into Gaza. Since then, no one — including we and our humanitarian partners — have been permitted to bring in supplies, regardless of how critically needed those items may be.
Everything is running extremely low: Bakeries have shut down, life-saving medicines have run out, and water production has been drastically reduced.
Israel, as the occupying Power, as the Secretary-General said earlier this week, has clear obligations under international law, and these include ensuring food, medical care and public health services are available.
Meanwhile, attacks across Gaza continue unabated. In recent days, OCHA has received reports that several humanitarian assets — and their immediate surroundings — have been hit. These include a clinic, a water tanker, and tents sheltering displaced families. Windows of a UN guesthouse were also damaged.
At the same time, the Israeli authorities continue to deny our efforts to coordinate movements. Yesterday and today, 6 out of 10 such attempts were blocked outright. The few movements that were facilitated involved only staff — not the delivery of aid.
Turning to the West Bank, in its regular reporting OCHA points to ongoing violence, destruction and displacement in many areas. In just two weeks — that’s the last week of March and the first week of April — Israeli forces killed nine Palestinians, including two children, and injured at least 130. During the same time, OCHA documented the demolition of more than 100 structures across the West Bank for lacking Israeli-issued building permits, which are nearly impossible to obtain. This led to the displacement of more than 120 Palestinians, mostly children — and otherwise affected over 200 people.
**Syria
Turning to Syria, our colleagues at the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) today said that some 400,000 Syrians have returned from neighbouring countries since the fall of Bashar al-Assad. During the same period, more than 1 million internally displaced people within Syria have also returned, bringing the total number of Syrians who have gone home to more than 1.4 million.
UNHCR stressed that to make these returns successful and sustainable, Syrians will need support with shelter, livelihoods, protection and legal assistance. The UN refugee agency noted that the severe funding cuts that it is facing are putting millions of lives at risk, with nearly 16.7 million people inside Syria — that’s about 90 per cent of the population — requiring some form of humanitarian assistance, and more than 7.4 million Syrians are still displaced within their own country.
**Sudan
And today, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, said that warring parties in Sudan are overseeing a wholesale assault on human rights amid global inaction, with deeply catastrophic consequences for civilians, stressing that two years of this brutal and senseless conflict must be a wake-up call to the parties to lay down their weapons and for the international community to act.
According to the World Food Programme (WFP), nearly half of the population in Sudan — that’s 24.6 million human beings — face acute hunger. Famine is confirmed in 10 locations — eight in North Darfur, including Zamzam Camp, and two in the Western Nuba Mountains. It was first confirmed in Zamzam camp in August of last year. WFP warns that another 17 areas — including areas of North, South and East Darfur, the Nuba Mountains, Khartoum, and Gezira — are at risk of famine.
The food agency is urgently calling for access to be able to preposition food assistance in locations across Sudan, particularly in Darfur, warning that many routes will become impassable during the rainy season and communities will just be cut off.
Also on Sudan, the UN refugee agency warns that the world’s most damaging displacement crisis is now happening amidst the worst humanitarian funding situation in decades. UNHCR notes that less than 10 per cent of $1.81 billion required has been received for the Sudan situation response in 2025, making it impossible to cover basic needs.
And I also want to flag that on Monday, our guest will be UNHCR’s Regional Director for East and Horn of Africa and Great Lakes, Mamadou Dian Balde. He will brief you virtually from Nairobi on the humanitarian needs in Sudan and in neighbouring countries, as we mark the two-year anniversary.
**Democratic Republic of the Congo
Turning to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that clashes in parts of the country’s eastern provinces continue to force people out of their homes and hinder humanitarian operations.
In South Kivu Province, heavy fighting between armed groups in Kalehe and Kabare territories yesterday displaced an estimated 11,000 men, women and children, many of whom are now sheltering with host families, that’s what local partners are telling us.
Our local partners also report that violence has blocked access to the Bukavu-Kalehe road, a vital humanitarian corridor, for over 24 hours now. Humanitarians stand ready to conduct needs assessments once the security conditions allow it.
Moving to neighbouring Tanganyika Province, local authorities report that following clashes in Kalemie territory, civilians were injured and dozens of homes were burned, with residents fleeing violence forcing them to go into the bush or nearby communities.
For its part, UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) said this morning that reports from child protection colleagues on the ground show that children make up between 35 to 45 per cent of the nearly 10,000 cases of rape and sexual violence reported to protection actors in January and February of this year. This, UNICEF added, means that during the most intense phase of conflict in the east part of the DRC, a child was raped every 30 minutes.
The agency is calling for additional prevention efforts, survivor-centred services, and safe, accessible ways for survivors to report without fear. They’ve also called obviously for accountability. More information online.
**Gabon
Turning to the situation in Gabon: On the eve of the presidential election there, the Special Representative for Central Africa, Abdou Abarry, reiterated his call for an election whose results reflect the choice freely expressed by the Gabonese people following a credible, inclusive, and a transparent process.
He calls on all those concerned to prioritize dialogue, consultation, and the search for consensus and to use peaceful means and the relevant institutions to resolve any disagreements or disputes that may arise during the process.
As part of his good offices, the Special Representative reaffirms his readiness to support the Gabonese people in their march towards a return to constitutional order and, in this regard, welcomes the efforts already made to meet the transition timeline.
**Colombia
Turning to Colombia, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warns that fighting between non-State armed groups is taking a growing toll on civilians since the start of the year.
During the first three months of this year, more than 587,000 people have been impacted by confinement due to armed violence by these groups. Entire communities have been barred from leaving their homes to access essential services such as healthcare, food, safe water — and authorities and humanitarian partners have been unable to reach the people in need.
We and our humanitarian partners are doing whatever we can to access areas where communities are confined, especially in the Pacific region and along the border with Venezuela.
**International Maritime Organization
I want to flag that the International Maritime Organization (IMO) today approved new measures that include a new fuel standard for ships and a global pricing mechanism for emissions, which is indeed a positive step.
These measures, set to be formally adopted in October before entry into force in 2027, will become mandatory for large ocean-going ships over 5,000 gross tonnage, which emit 85 per cent of the total CO2 emissions from international shipping.
The IMO Net-Zero Framework is the first in the world to combine mandatory emissions limits and greenhouse gas pricing across an entire industry sector.
In addition, an IMO Net-Zero Fund will be established to collect pricing contributions from emissions. These revenues will then be disbursed to reward low-emission ships and mitigate negative impacts on vulnerable States, such as small island developing States and least developed countries, among other measures.
**Passover
Today on social media, the Secretary-General said that as Jewish communities mark the beginning of Passover [on Saturday], his heart breaks for all those whose Seder tables are missing loved ones.
Once again, he renews his call for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages in Gaza, adding that this may be an opportunity to renew our commitment to peace, cooperation and solidarity. Passover starts tonight.
**International Day of Human Space Flight
Meanwhile, tomorrow is International Day of Human Space Flight. Anybody know why tomorrow is this International Day? [response from the crowd: “Yuri Gagarin.”] Yes, thank you to our Russian colleague. It would have been embarrassing if you didn’t answer that question. The aim of the Day is to celebrate each year at the international level the beginning of the space era for mankind, reaffirming the important contribution of space science and technology in achieving sustainable development goals and increasing the well-being of States and peoples.
12 April 1961 was the date of the first human space flight, carried out by Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet cosmonaut. This historic event opened the way for space exploration.
**Financial Contributions
We have a quiz for you today. Two Member States paid in full.
This first country is the smallest Member State in the Middle East at only 780 square kilometres. It is also the first country in the Middle East to host a Formula One race. [response from the crowd: “Bahrain.”] Exactly, Bahrain.
This next country has a rich coffee heritage and is famous for its high-quality Arabica coffee beans. Colombia.
We say thank you to our friends in Bahrain and Colombia for their full payments to the Regular Budget. We are now up to 91.
**Questions and Answers
Spokesman: Gabriel, I think you were the first one in the room.
Question: There’s a report that Tom Fletcher has informed staff at OCHA that they’ll be cutting 20 per cent of their staff due to budget shortfalls. Is that correct?
Spokesman: Yeah. I mean, it’s not just a report. I would encourage you to look at OCHA website, which has a letter from the USG (Under-Secretary-General) to staff. I think as he makes it clear, this is due to a cut in funding and not at all to a cut in needs.
Question: And funding specifically from the United States, or is that…
Spokesman: Funding from our major donors. Okay.
Question: On a separate topic, the humanitarian office in Geneva’s spokesperson said Israel appears to be inducing on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life increasingly incompatible with their continued existence as a group in Gaza. Does the Secretary-General share that assessment?
Spokesman: I think the Secretary-General supports the work of the High Commission for Human Rights, and I think his statement was pretty clear. I’m just going to go down the line here.
Question: Hi. Just regarding funding cuts, can you confirm if some of the cuts come from the US? Is the SG worried about it?
Spokesman: Yeah. I mean, some of the cuts have come from the US. Some have come from other countries. I mean, our funding source is very transparent, especially for our humanitarian colleagues.
Question: Regarding the case of Mahmoud Khalil, we expect a decision in Louisiana today. Does the Secretary-General have any response to what’s going on regarding deportations in the United States and in particular the possible targeting people for their ideas? When pressed for evidence, the US Government cited its power to deport people for their beliefs, in the case.
Spokesman: Look, I think a couple of points here. I’m not going to talk about a particular case, which is, in fact, pending. What we strongly stand for is for the rights of people everywhere to be able to freely express themselves, peacefully and without fear of harassment, arrest, detention, or anything. And that goes across the board. And I’ve said it repeatedly about different situations. On the broader issue, you know, we’ve always recognized that States have a sovereign right to manage their borders and migration. We just call on all States to do it in a way that respects people’s rights and dignity. Ahmed then Edie.
Question: Thank you, Steph. With regard to funding, yesterday, we had Sean Hughes from World Food Programme, coordinator in Sudan. And he said that there is a gap of $600 million, and when I asked him about if the US contributions were suspended for these programmes, he said, no, they are all — the US programmes are still active. What about this gap and measure on that on different areas, whether it’s Myanmar, whether it’s Ukraine or whichever? How the UN deals with it? I mean, is there an emergency fund?
Spokesman: Well, we can’t… I mean, let’s be honest. We can’t print money, and we can’t borrow money. So, if no money comes in, less aid goes out. It’s a very simple formula, right? And this is why I think every day, almost every day, I talk about the humanitarian appeals, and I note how barely funded they are. And this happened before this recent wave of cuts. We’ve spoken about the heartbreaking decisions that colleagues have to make when it comes down to cutting food rations in refugee camps, which is heartbreaking for them, but it’s devastating for the people who receive it. We encourage every Member State who has the capacity to give to give. Edie?
Question: I’m sorry. Just to follow up. Do you see it as there is a global fatigue for the ongoing appeals for funding?
Spokesman: Member States have to deal with make political decisions on funding. We also recognize that they have a responsibility to their own people to cover needs at home. We believe that there is enough money for everything, right? And it needs to be said, there is a lot of money in this world. There could be more allocation and more solidarity, and we will continue to call for that. Edie?
Question: Thank you, Steph. First, I wonder what if you can tell us why Rebeca Grynspan, the head of the UN Trade Organization, UNCTAD, gave an interview to UN News on the pressing global issues on trade and tariffs and not to UN journalists either in Geneva or here in New York.
Spokesman: I will pass along your very pertinent comment.
Question: Secondly, on Myanmar, is any aid getting into opposition areas? I know you’ve just made a lot of comments about fighting still going on, but has anything gotten to those people?
Spokesman: Let me check on the movements, because I know it kind of it’s a moving target. I’d rather not use that word. Dezhi?
Question: Hi, Steph. Several topics. First, we know that US and Iran is going to have a direct talk tomorrow.
Spokesman: We do.
Question: It seems they tried probably, they will try to figure out a way to had a nuclear deal. Will UN be ready to help or participate, or UN has the intention to participate?
Spokesman: I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves. There’s on the nuclear issue, the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) is in the lead, and I don’t want to speak for them, but, obviously, they have remained very involved in this file, and they continue to do so. So, on the dialogue, that we understand will be happening in Oman tomorrow, we very much hope that this will be a successful venue for Iran and the United States to resolve a lot of the outstanding issues and to help lower the tension between the two countries.
Question: What about JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) now, if they met together?
Spokesman: Well, again, we’re not sitting, we’re not at that table in Oman. I don’t want to get ahead of anything. Iran’s responsibilities vis a vis the IAEA remain in place.
Question: Okay. Another topic since we’re talking about the funding issue. Couple of months ago, Farhan [Haq] told us that US owes UN money about $2.8 billion, I believe, if I remember correctly. What’s the numbers now?
Spokesman: I will check the figures. I don’t have the figures top of my head. [He later said the US owes $1.495 billion to the UN Regular Budget.]
Question: Right. Okay. So how is the UN80 initiative goes now? Are we going to see any…?
Spokesman: it is very, very much full steam ahead. Guy Ryder, who’s been appointed by the Secretary-General to lead the effort, is leading on the various streams. A lot of interesting proposals are coming forward. And I think within next… Well, before the General Assembly, we’ll see some proposals come to light.
Question: So, are we going to see, like, some, reports or briefings?
Spokesman: Yes, we will keep you updated.
Question: Oh, okay.
Spokesman: Okay, Let’s go to the screen. Mike?
Question: Oh, sir. Firstly, the UN mentioned two Jewish holidays in a row, so after never mentioning a Jewish holiday ever, so on behalf of absolutely none of the world’s Jews except for me, thank you very much. Secondly, I’ve got a question for you here. It’s a story that I’ve been tracking for a while. The trip that special rapporteur [Francesca] Albanese took to Australia and New Zealand back in November of 23. It took a long time for the UN to respond to this, almost seven months. But the Human Rights Office told me in July of last year, after we questioned funding for that trip, that “her travel was funded by the UN with respect to her Australia trip”. So I thought that was that was it. They cleared up the matter. It wasn’t funded by any Hamas-aligned organizations, as was initially alleged. And that’s the story I went with because, silly me, I trusted what they told me. There was a report that came out, about a week ago from the Coordination Committee of special procedures as part of an OIOS (Office of Internal Oversight Services) investigation, and that report from the Coordination Committee states that partial external funding for internal travel within Australia and New Zealand was actually part of the equation. So I asked Human Rights Office to reconcile those two things, what they told me last year and what was in the report, about a week ago. And what they told me, reminiscent of Bill Clinton and his “it depends on what the definition of ‘is’ is”, they told me that her funding to Australia, literally to Australia landing at the airport was funded by the UN, but some of the internal travel within Australia and New Zealand was funded by these external organizations, which they would not name. That, Steph, is, I mean, that’s an outright lie by the UN spokespeople, which is very, very unsettling that they would that… just complete disinformation that they put out there on this particular subject. So, I’m asking you two things. Number one, does the Secretary-General condemn UN spokespeople dis-informing the media in this way? And secondly, does the Secretary-General support finally releasing the information surrounding this trip so we can find out who actually funded this anti-Israel tour that the special rapporteur took in November of 23?
Spokesman: Happy Passover to you, Mike. I’ll go backwards. As you know, the Secretary-General has no authority, no oversight of Ms. Albanese or any of the Special Rapporteur’s work, funding, et cetera. She reports to the Human Rights Council. We support transparency in the activities of any official affiliated with United Nations. On your first part, I have the utmost respect for all of my communications colleagues, and I will look into the matter. Thank you. Gabriel?
Question: Thanks, Steph. On Gaza, I just wanted to make sure that we understand everything correctly, because you brief every day about the situation. Can you just confirm that the way that I understand it is correct assessment? The UN has aid outside of Gaza that is not being allowed in by Israel, number one. The UN has aid inside Gaza that Israel is not allowing the UN to access. And number three, the Israel is continuing to mostly block the majority of requests for the UN to distribute aid in Gaza that you do have.
Spokesman: Okay. So I’ll go backwards as well. We have to coordinate with the Israeli security forces movements that take place within the buffer zones, right? As I’ve said and others have said repeatedly, the vast majority of those movements are blocked when it comes to the distribution of aid. Some of the movements have been allowed when it comes to the movement of people. There is aid that had crossed into Gaza that was in the holding zones that we talked about a lot in the beginning. We are unable to access that aid, right? And there is aid in the pipeline, that’s on the other side of Gaza, that we’re unable to access as well. Okay. Thank you all. Happy Friday.