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.
**Briefings Today/Tomorrow
A couple of programming notes. At 1 p.m., there will be a hybrid briefing here with Navanethem Pillay and Chris Sidoti, who are briefing on behalf of the Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, and this follows their presentation to the General Assembly’s Third Committee.
Then, at 2 p.m., there will be a hybrid briefing by Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, and that will also be following her presentation to the Third Committee. Both will be virtual briefings.
Tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. there will be a briefing here by Annalena Baerbock, who as you all know is the President of the General Assembly for the eightieth session of this Organization. She will be joined by Ambassador Sheikha Alya bin Saif Al Thani, who is the Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar. They will brief you on the upcoming of the Second World Summit for Social Development, which is kicking off next week in Doha.
And, at 2:15 p.m. tomorrow, there will be a briefing here by the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi.
Then, bring more paper because at 3:30 p.m., there will be a briefing by Tom Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar. He will be here in person.
**Secretary-General/Cameroon
I will start off with a statement on Cameroon. The Secretary-General has taken note of the announcement of results of the presidential election held in Cameroon on 12 October. He is deeply concerned by post-electoral violence and by reports of excessive use of force that we have seen. He deplores the loss of life and injuries among both protesters and security forces and extends his condolences to the families of the victims. He calls for a thorough and impartial investigation into these incidents.
The Secretary-General urges all political stakeholders and their supporters to exercise restraint, reject violence and refrain from any inflammatory rhetoric and hate speech. He stresses the critical importance of safeguarding human rights and fundamental freedoms and calls on the authorities to ensure a safe and secure environment where the rights of all citizens are protected, and to ensure due process for anyone who may be arrested.
The Secretary-General encourages inclusive dialogue to address grievances and preserve national unity and stability and resolve any disputes through legal and peaceful means. He reaffirms the commitment of the United Nations to supporting sustainable peace and development in Cameroon.
**Occupied Palestinian Territory
Turning to the situation in Gaza, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tell us that we and our partners continue to scale up the humanitarian response, in line with our 60-day plan.
Our partners providing water and sanitation report that water distribution is expanding in northern Gaza, where they are now able to deliver 4,600 cubic metres daily in 585 different locations across the governorates of Gaza and North Gaza.
Additionally, our partners have launched a comprehensive assessment of critical public water and sanitation facilities across the Strip in order to identify the major repair needs of that infrastructure, and support planning for longer-term rehabilitation of the water and sanitation infrastructure.
In parallel, our partners also report that efforts to help people prepare for the rainy season are under way across areas so they can access in the governorates of Deir al Balah, Khan Younis and Gaza, including cleaning stormwater drainage systems.
Focusing on nutrition, between 1 and 25 October, our partners provided treatment for more than 4,300 acutely malnourished pregnant and breastfeeding women. During the same period, malnutrition prevention support was provided to more than 134,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women and children under the age of five.
Yesterday, our friends at the UN Office for Project Services, UNOPS, provided more than 300,000 litres of fuel to our partners operating across Gaza to keep critical generator-powered operations going.
Meanwhile, our partners monitoring population movements said that families continue to move across the Strip. More than 480,000 movements from southern to northern Gaza have been observed since the onset of the ceasefire, while nearly 100,500 movements from western to eastern Khan Younis have also been observed.
Our partners report that many people continue to shelter in makeshift displacement sites, often in open areas and in damaged buildings.
To mitigate exposure to the elements, our partners are helping displaced communities repurpose flour and rice bags — originally distributed as food aid, obviously — into repurpose those into sandbags to reinforce shelters and provide protection against rain and wind.
Efforts to collect humanitarian cargo from Gaza’s crossings are ongoing. However, starting yesterday, Israeli authorities are rerouting humanitarian and commercial truck movements to and from Kerem Shalom/Karem Abu Salem crossing through the Philadelphi Corridor and the Coastal Road. That’s instead of the Morag Corridor and Salah Ad Deen Road.
In response to the rerouting, several agencies have temporarily reduced the number of trucks in their convoys pending an initial assessment of the road conditions.
Teams have also already reported congestion and heavy traffic along the new route, leading to delays in aid cargo movements. We continue to engage with Israeli authorities and others to address the impact of this new development on aid collection and delivery.
Meanwhile, the Human Rights Office, citing data from the Israeli NGO Peace Now, said that over the past year, there have been 84 new settler outposts compared to 49 the year before. This marks a rapid escalation compared to the yearly average of eight outposts in the past decade. And our Human Rights Office said that settler violence is also surging, with 757 attacks recorded in the first half of this year alone.
**Sudan
Just moving to Sudan, one of the other many crises we are following. Last night we issued a statement yesterday in which the Secretary-General expressed his grave concern over the recent military escalation in El Fasher. He strongly condemns reports of violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights in El Fasher, including indiscriminate attacks, targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure, gender-based violence and ethnically motivated attacks and ill-treatment.
For over eighteen months, El Fasher and the surrounding areas in North Darfur have endured immense suffering, with hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped under a tightening siege by the Rapid Support Forces, with malnutrition, disease and violence continuing to claim lives daily.
The Secretary-General reiterates his calls for an immediate end to the siege, and safe, rapid and unimpeded humanitarian aid delivery and access to all civilians in need.
He is also deeply alarmed by the continued influx of weapons and fighters into Sudan, further contributing to the already desperate situation in the country. He demands that this end immediately.
The Secretary-General once again calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities and urges both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces to engage fully with his Personal Envoy for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, and to take swift, tangible steps toward a negotiated settlement.
**Sudan/Humanitarian
And yesterday, I think it was Islam, but I don’t see him here, asked about the number of civilians killed in El Fasher. Our human rights colleagues tell us that they have documented some 1,850 civilian deaths in North Darfur, of these, an estimated 1,350 were in El Fasher.
This is considered, however, an under-representation of the real number of conflict-related deaths in El Fasher, and North Darfur, given the challenges related to telecommunications and just access issues on the ground.
Although access to El Fasher remains blocked and humanitarian capacity continues to shrink as needs soar, we and our humanitarian partners remain committed to scaling up the much-needed support across Darfur and reestablishing a presence on the ground and soon as it is practicable.
Many civilians flee toward Tawila seeking relative safety or whatever humanitarian assistance they may receive. Humanitarian workers continue to operate under extraordinary danger to assist them. In Tawila, our UNHCR colleagues and their partners report that families, and especially children, are arriving malnourished, they are arriving sick and they are arriving traumatized after a dangerous journey to safety. UNHCR is providing essential assistance and vital services to displaced families, and that includes shelter.
In a statement issued today, we and our humanitarian partners urged the international community for urgent action to protect civilians and for humanitarian workers in Sudan, and to guarantee safe passage and humanitarian access to people trapped in El Fasher as well as scaling up funding to support humanitarian operations in El Fasher and elsewhere in Sudan.
Fighting has also intensified in North Kordofan State. According to the International Organization for Migration, nearly 2,500 people fled Bara town over the weekend, and up to 1,000 others were newly displaced from Zuraiba village yesterday due to heightened insecurity.
We stress once again that civilians must be protected wherever they are, whether they decide to seek safety or whether they have to stay.
**Hurricane Melissa
Also, an update on hurricane Melissa from our humanitarian colleagues, which as you know, is in the process of making landfall in Jamaica, or will do so shortly. Thanks to the pre-positioning of relief supplies ahead of the hurricane season, WFP is coordinating a sea-lift operation from Barbados carrying supplies from World Food Programme, the International Organization for Migration and UNICEF. An airlift of some 2,000 relief kits is also planned for deployment once airports reopen and the weather conditions permit flights.
Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that a joint warehouse established earlier this year in Barbados by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency and the World Food Programme, with support from the European Union and Canada, is already proving to be instrumental in this unfolding disaster.
Additional relief stocks are available at the UN Humanitarian Depot in Panama from UN agencies, NGOs and international cooperation partners.
In Cuba, where the hurricane is expected to make landfall overnight in the eastern part of the island, preparations and prepositioning of supplies and assets are still under way, and authorities plan to evacuate about half a million people to safer ground. OCHA also said that two staff members have arrived in Cuba today to support UN agencies that are already there. And national authorities ahead of the impact.
And in Haiti, authorities have placed the departments of South and Grand’Anse on red alert, while other areas remain on orange alert.
More than 3,600 people are sheltering in emergency sites in the Grand Sud département, with IOM supporting sheltering of 3,000 people preventively and the setting up of 100 shelters.
Our humanitarian colleagues are coordinating with Haitian authorities, UN agencies and humanitarian partners to support preparedness and early action. WFP has pre-positioned more than 800 metric tons of food to assist 86,000 people in Haiti for two weeks. UNICEF has pre-positioned water, sanitation and hygiene kits for about 14,500 people and nutritional supplies for more than 4,000 children. For its part, the United Nations Population [Fund] has stocked reproductive health kits for 5,000 people and dignity kits for 4,000 people, while the Pan American Health Organization provided medical kits for about 11,000 people.
**Central African Republic
Back here, Valentine Rugwabiza, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for the Central African Republic, told Council members that the peace process in that country has regained momentum and witnessed significant progress since the 19 April ceasefire agreement signed between the Government of CAR and the two most active armed groups.
She said that the implementation of the 19 April agreement and subsequent disarmament and demobilization operations have translated into tangible security gains in several areas in the north-west and centre of the country.
She also said that the presidential, legislative, regional and municipal elections scheduled for 28 December are expected to be a turning point to extend and consolidate State authority as well as anchor institutional stability. The peacekeeping mission has continued to provide multifaceted electoral assistance as mandated, as the electoral cycle has entered an active and decisive phase.
She said that the peacekeeping mission continues with its full authorized strength and remains essential to support the Central Africans in their quest to lasting peace, and also serves as a critical buffer against the broad regional instability that continues to impact the subregion.
**Afghanistan
A quick note from Afghanistan, where the UN Human Rights Office and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan published a report on the serious and far-reaching human rights impacts of last month’s telecommunications shutdowns in the country. Among the documented impacts are delayed or no access to healthcare and emergency services and disruption to humanitarian operations.
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan also released today an update on the human rights situation in the country, covering the period from July to September of this year. The update pointed out that the de facto Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice continues to enforce, often arbitrarily, a range of decrees and edicts that hinder the lives of women and girls. Both reports are online.
**Nationally Determined Contributions Synthesis Report
Our friends at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) today released its 2025 Nationally Determined Contributions Synthesis Report, which covers national climate plans formally submitted up until the end of September. The report said that the new NDCs, as they are called, have shown improved quality, credibility and economic coverage. They show that countries are setting national climate targets, and plans to achieve them, that differ in pace and scale to any that have come before.
In order to provide a wider picture of global progress ahead of COP30, which will take place in Brazil next month, UNFCCC has done some additional calculations which also capture new NDCs or targets submitted or announced up to publication of the report, including at the Secretary-General’s Climate Summit. They say that this wider picture shows global emissions clearly falling for the first time, by around 10 per cent by 2035. The report underscores that while clear progress is evident, major acceleration is needed to deliver faster and deeper emission cuts, to keep the 1.5 limit within reach.
Both the Secretary-General and the UNFCCC have noted that the science is very clear: it is entirely possible and essential to bring temperatures back down to 1.5 degrees, after temporary overshoot of that limit.
The full report is online.
**Women Peacekeepers
The Department of Peace Operations released a new report today highlighting progress in advancing women’s participation in peace and political processes.
Titled “Women at the Frontlines of Peace: 25 Years of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in UN Peacekeeping”, the report notes an increase in the number of women serving among uniformed peacekeepers since 2018.
To mark the launch of the report and the twenty-fifth anniversary of Security Council resolution 1325, there will be high-level event tomorrow hosted by the Department of Peace Operations at 10 a.m. in Conference Room 6. You are all invited to attend.
**Peace Circle
Later today, you can join UN-Women and the Departments of Peace Operations and Global Communications at 6 p.m. in the public lobby for a special intergenerational Peace Circle marking the anniversary of the women, peace and security agenda.
The discussion will bring together young women leaders as well as UN experts.
And just to note that Peace Circles are part of our communication colleagues “Hear Us. Act Now for a Peaceful World” campaign, which aims to inspire and empower young people to take action for peace.
**Democratic Republic of the Congo
And Prosper, I think you have a question yesterday about the conference in Paris, on the Great Lakes […] there will be a Great Lakes Conference organized by France and Togo in Paris this week, and from the UN side we will have Huang Xia, the Special Envoy for the Great Lakes, Bintou Keita, the Head of the Peacekeeping Mission in the DRC, and Bruno Lemarquis, the Deputy Special Representative and Humanitarian Coordinator in the DRC, and he will be here, virtually, [tomorrow], to brief you on the conference. There will be a video message from the Secretary-General.
**Questions and Answers
Spokesman: Gabriel, because he’s all alone, then Dezhi.
Question: Thanks, Steph. On Gaza, can you tell us a little more detail about what are the complications with delivering aid now that Israel is forcing the aid through the Philadelphia corridor on the coastal route?
Spokesman: Well, the issue for us is new routes that, we had not planned for, and we need to test the… look at the quality of the roads, just to avoid damage to the trucks. And just it’s an unexpected change of plans, but we’re adapting.
Question: And on Sudan, from the UN’s perspective, who controls El Fasher right now?
Spokesman: Look, we’re not on the ground in El Fasher. I think we’ve seen the statements, notably from President [Abdelfattah] Burhan saying that he told his… ordered his troops to evacuate El Fasher. The point is, is that it’s extremely unstable and extremely violent and extremely dangerous situation for the people who live there.
Dezhi, then Michel.
Question: Yes. Several questions. First, just during the briefing, we received a statement from the office of Prime Minister of Israel saying, following the security consultations, Prime Minister Netanyahu instructed the military to immediately carry out powerful strikes in the Gaza Strip. Has UN been pre-warned about this result? What is the position… [cross-talk]
Spokesman: I don’t know if my colleagues on the ground have been pre-warned. I just saw the press reports as you came in. I can tell you that those reports are extremely concerning. We don’t want to see the situation be set back. It is important that all of the parties involved in the ceasefire adhere to the ceasefire, and we don’t want civilians to be bombed again. We don’t want our operations to be derailed again.
Question: And you mentioned that 60 day objective day by day here in the briefing room. You gave us all those numbers. But generally speaking, how much does this current situation fit, I mean, a cheat for that 60 day target?
Spokesman: Look, we’re getting more aid in, right? We’re distributing more fuel. We’re distributing more water. More medicine is going in. We need a lot more. But we are… we’ve been saying since the beginning, we will utilize every space that is afforded to us to deliver humanitarian aid, and that’s exactly what we’re doing.
Question: Okay. One last question. The Jerusalem Post has been reported that a WHO representative told Israeli podcaster that in December 2023, international organizations has already discussed how important it would be to demonstrate the occurrence of a famine in Gaza to use it for communication political pressure on Israel. Have you read that report? And what’s… [cross-talk]
Spokesman: I’ve seen the report. Listen, I’ve read the article. I think the word famine was explicitly used by us here at the podium following a very thorough IPC [Integrated Food Security Phase Classification] report.
Michelle?
Question: Thanks, Steph. Just a quick couple of follow-ups. On Sudan, you mentioned some death tolls. What period is that on human rights?
Spokesman: It’s a good question. It’s a very good question. I will try to find an answer to your very good question.
Question: That will be awesome. And then just on the hurricane and all the UN preparations, has the US offered? Or has the US been coordinating at all with the UN on potential help?
Spokesman: As far as I know, not with the UN. Whether there is bilateral support, which there may very well be, that is something to check with The US, but I also check on my end, and I’ll try to get back to you on the numbers.
Benny?
Question: Okay, got you.
Spokesman: It’s only been 25 years, Benny, since you’ve been in the briefing room.
Question: I don’t know. I’m new here. Have you watched last night game? Anyway, Steph, so you said that you just saw the report of the Prime Minister’s order to attack. Have you seen, though, the report that led to it about a drone documentation of Hamas people putting a body in a hole and then calling the Red Cross to show that they found it. And then it turns out that the body was not even somebody on the list. It was remains of somebody who has already been buried in Israel. The violations of the ceasefire, including returning of all bodies within the first 72 hours. Anything for the UN to say about that?
Spokesman: Well, I mean, it’s the same answer I gave Dezhi. We’re calling on both parties in this to abide by the commitments they made as part of the ceasefire agreement. And of course, and I’ve seen the other report, which is extremely concerning. Human beings need to be respected, and the remains of human beings need to be respected.
Question: So wait a minute. Is the Secretary-General, I don’t know, condemn it? Does it have any… [cross-talk]
Spokesman: Well, I mean, as I’ve said, we want both parties to follow their commitments, right, in the ceasefire. We are not part of the monitoring mechanisms. We’re not part of the mediators. So that is something the mediators also have to push for. We want the ceasefire to continue so we can continue to deliver humanitarian aid. So the Trump plan can also move to its second phase, to a more political phase, to try to bring this peace process back on track regardless of how far away from it we may appear to be.
Question: So just to be clear, since the Secretary-General was in Sharm El-Sheikh, what exactly is the UN position on the ceasefire agreement on the whole 20 point plan? Is it a part of it? Are you? Does the UN support it fully or what?
Spokesman: I mean, of course, we support it. That’s why the Secretary-General was there. Our operational part at this point is focused on humanitarian assistance.
Sorry, go ahead, Evelyn.
Question: Thank you.
Spokesman: No, I said go ahead, Evelyn, but I will… if you’re Evelyn, you should go ahead. If he’s Evelyn, he should go ahead.
Question: I think I’m Evelyn. To follow-up on Gabriel’s question, I was in Darfur in 2003 with the Security Council, and I remember it quite well. Who is doing most of the damage now? The Janjaweed’s not there?
Spokesman: I mean, Evelyn, as you know from news reports, the RSF and the South, the Sudanese Armed Forces have been fighting horrendously, and civilians have been paying the price.
Question: And… right. Is somebody helping from the outside? Is another country helping the outside?
Spokesman: Those are questions I think have been reported on. The Secretary-General yesterday was very clear in decrying the external influence on this conflict, which has been negative for the most part, to say the least.
Question: Who was the external?
Spokesman: I think you could do that research.
Abdelhamid.
Question: Thank you, Stephane. Going back to the ceasefire question. It talks about 600 trucks every day. It talks about opening the all the crossing points, and it talking… it talks about seizing all fires. Israel did not seize the fires. It kills every single day some Palestinian, and including today, and they bombed Jenin by air force, but I’m talking about Gaza. The number of trucks are not met, and the opening or the crossing are not fully opened. So who is in violation of ceasefire?
Spokesman: There have been violations of the ceasefire. As I told your colleague, we are not monitoring the ceasefire. We are not the mediators. Right now, our focus is on delivering humanitarian assistance. We have said, there is more aid going in. There’s not enough aid going in. There are not enough crossings open. We want both parties to uphold their obligations so people can eat, so people can get medicine, so we can help them with shelter. We need the ceasefire to be observed so we can do our work.
Question: Second question, a US General, I think his name is Gabavics, said to BBC that the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh was deliberate. Do you have any comment on that?
Spokesman: I’ve seen that. I’ve spent a lot of time reading the articles. Yes, I’ve seen that report as well. I think we were very clear in condemning the killing of Gabriel’s colleague.
Stefano, and then we’ll go that way.
Question: Thank you, Stephane. Two questions. First, Sudan. Why the Secretary-General didn’t send a letter yet to the Security Council on the responsibility to protect Sudanese civilians.
Spokesman: The Secretary-General has been extremely focused on the situation in Sudan. We have Mr. Lamamra involved. You heard, I think, yesterday, I don’t know if you were here, Denise Brown gave very explicit briefing. I know Tom Fletcher has been spending a lot of his time in the last few days dealing with Sudan, reaching out to various parties. When we have something else to report, I will share that with you.
Question: Second question is… [cross-talk]
Spokesman: And we have not been shy let me add, we have not been shy in reminding the parties of their responsibility under international law to protect civilians. Good.
Question: Second question, does the Secretary-General believe that US strikes that killed 14 people on alleged drug boats in international waters were legal under the UN charter?
Spokesman: I don’t have a position on that as of yet, but I can tell you that we’re very concerned by the increased kinetic activity that we’re seeing out on the open waters.
Question: And what the Secretary-General think about Colombia and Colombia’s President called the US attacks murders?
Spokesman: Look, every time someone is killed, there needs to be accountability.
Yes, Namo, please.
Question: Thank you, Stephane. I have a couple of questions on Venezuela. Where does the Secretary-General stand on the rising tensions between The United States and Venezuela with the US boosting its military presence there?
Spokesman: I mean, as I said, we’re concerned by the developments we’re seeing in the region, whether it has to do in the Caribbean Sea, in the Pacific. It is important that there not be any greater escalation and that all of these issues be dealt with diplomatically.
Question: Has the Secretary-General been in touch with Venezuelan and US officials to prevent further escalation?
Spokesman: Nothing to share with you at this point.
Hold on, Prosper [phonetic], and then Alex.
Question: I’m excited that you are paying attention to the ongoing…
Spokesman: Yes, your microphone, please. The microphone.
Question: Okay. I’m excited that the UN is paying attention to the situation that is ongoing in my country. So I want to know if there is or if there are concrete mechanism that UN has taken to make sure that the Paris conference is successful because there are many peace initiatives that have already being made in order to stop violence in Eastern DRC, but war is still raging on. People are paying heavy price. Thank you.
Spokesman: Well, you know, the Secretary-General very much hopes that the Paris conference will be a turning point. What we need to see is a unified will from the international community to support the Congolese people, both in terms of humanitarian assistance given the underfunding of the humanitarian appeal and in terms of political assistance and diplomatic assistance in order to settle the tensions in the region.
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. Yesterday, you shared with us the information that a new UN staff member was detained by the Houthis in Yemen. Can you elaborate as to… if there’s any reason for this person to be detained? Did the Houthis told you and is it a national or international…
Spokesman: All the staff that are currently detained, UN staff currently detained in Yemen, are national staff, but they are UN staff. They are our colleagues. There is no reason for them to be detained. As to why they are being detained, I think it’s important to ask those who are doing the detention.
Question: Do you have any updates as to their situation as of today?
Spokesman: No.
Alex?
Question: Thanks, Stephane. A quick follow-up on Mr. Grossi [phonetic]. Will he be here in person or online?
Spokesman: He will be here in the flesh. In person.
Yes, sir.
Question: So talks between the Afghanistan and Pakistan have ended in a deadlock after three days of negotiations in Türkiye. Is this a cause of concern for the UN as it could lead back to the clashes between the two countries?
Spokesman: Yes, it is, of course. But we very much hope that even if the talks are on pause, the fighting will not renew.
Okay, Okay. So yes, go ahead, Mike, and then we’ll go to Dezhi.
Question: Thank you, Professor Dujarric. A couple of questions about your… [cross-talk]
Spokesman: Yes. I’m waiting for the Rate of My Professor review.
Question: Five stars for sure. Is the UN providing any legal counsel to special repertoire Albanese in the defamation suit that was filed against her?
Spokesman: What I do know is that our legal office has been in contact with the US Mission. We believe that sanctions against UN officials are not in line with the Vienna Convention.
Question: This is a private civil suit. This doesn’t have to do beyond… [cross-talk]
Spokesman: That’s why I’m not… That’s why I’m responding to your question in a sideways manner,
Mike.
Question: Second question, I’ll try to turn it back upright. The Commission on Inquiry, as we know, the three members are retiring, resigning, coming up here shortly. Given the financial state of the UN right now, has the Secretary-General recommended to the General Assembly an adjustment of their very expansive and expensive mandate?
Spokesman: No. That would be up for the Human Rights Council to do.
Okay. Dezhi?
Question: Yesterday, you mentioned the temporary closure of the 42 Street entrance. And this is what happened today on the 45th. You have all a bunch of diplomats waiting to get in there if through just one open door. There are reports online that’s suggesting there is a sick out of the security people, which actually contradictory to what you just… what you said yesterday, I think.
Spokesman: It’s not at all, I said it was a staffing issue, not enough staff showed up for work. I was not interested. It was not contradictory.
Question: Okay, so give us some details about this thing… Okay. So what… can you give us more details about this staffing?
Spokesman: Yes. I mean, there is, I think, a number of security officers have not reported to work. And you should ask them what their motivation is, but I can tell you that in the face of the liquidity crisis confronting the UN, the Department of Safety and Securities had to look at reductions in operating costs like every department, right? As the majority of costs are personnel related, the proposed reductions aim to reduce the overtime cost incurred by the Organization. The Department of Safety and Security is very much focused on the fact that while posts may be eliminated through… because they’re vacant or through attrition, that no one will lose their job. And then the leadership of that department is very much focused on that. And I think the specific issues and again, I’m not going to go into details, has to do with break times and others. And it’s understandable that staff, would anyone who works in any Organization, if their things are being reduced, may not be happy. But we are facing unprecedented financial hardship. And lowering break times in order to avoid job loss is a necessary measure. But what I can also tell you is that the building is very much secure at this point.
Question: Do you have an expectation when will the service… [cross-talk]
Spokesman: We hope people will come back to work as quickly as possible. Okay. On that note, I will leave you in the hands of the next briefers, and enjoy what remains of the day.