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. Welcome to this cold room.
**Secretary-General/Durban Declaration
This morning, the Secretary-General delivered remarks at a high-level event marking the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. He stressed that the fight against racism and the fight against discrimination is even more urgent today than when the Declaration was adopted 25 years ago. He warned that racism continues to poison societies, it continues to deepen inequalities, and it continues to deny people their fundamental rights and freedoms.
Mr. [António] Guterres added that the antidote to this poison is unity and tangible action. He urged Governments to strengthen anti-discrimination laws, businesses to create workplaces where everyone can contribute, and technology companies to address bias in artificial intelligence.
He also called for concrete measures to deliver reparatory justice and urged everyone to stand against injustice and build societies where racism and discrimination have no place.
Those remarks were shared with you.
**Ethiopia
Turning to Ethiopia: The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, Mr. Guang Cong, is engaging with national and regional interlocutors and is coordinating closely with partners, including the African Union and Intergovernmental Authority on Development, IGAD, to support efforts towards de-escalation and dialogue.
On the ground, our colleagues at Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warn that worsening security conditions across northern Ethiopia are adding to humanitarian needs and disrupting humanitarian operations, as you can imagine. Humanitarian access has been severely restricted by disrupted telecommunications, suspended flights to and from the Tigray Region and some locations, as well as the in Amhara area. Restrictions on key roads are also impeding our humanitarian operations. This has limited the movements of humanitarians, of relief supplies and people.
Humanitarian operations are already under severe pressure from funding shortages, as we have been telling you. Several of our partners have scaled-back or suspended activities, leaving fewer humanitarian organizations on the ground, as the needs grow.
Our humanitarian partners are continuing to monitor developments and strengthen preparedness and contingency measures to ensure continued support where access remains possible. Partners also conduct rapid assessments based on reports of displacement and humanitarian needs.
It remains critical that all parties ensure the safe and unhindered access for humanitarian goods and humanitarian workers, wherever they are needed.
**Sudan
Turning to Sudan: There again, our colleagues at OCHA tell us that, despite the severe impact of drone attacks and armed clashes around the country, humanitarian workers continue to deliver this vital assistance, including efforts to detect, prevent and treat cholera.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported a sharp decline in cholera cases in recent weeks. WHO prepositioned 60 metric tons of cholera supplies across the Sudan. That’s enough to support treatment for about 120,000 cases. The agency also strengthened disease surveillance, trained front-line health workers and supported cholera treatment centres and oral rehydration points. UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) and WHO provided support for oral cholera vaccination campaigns that reached over 900,000 people.
As you will recall, the outbreak of cholera began in Al Nuhud in West Kordofan back in May. It has spread to 20 localities since, and across six States, with nearly 3,000 cases and 250 associated deaths reported.
Meanwhile, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has launched a nationwide livestock vaccination campaign to protect 9.8 million animals and safeguard the livelihoods for about 1.2 million households that own livestock in Sudan. We and our partners are also prioritizing efforts to bolster agricultural support and food security, amid growing concerns over the effects of below-average cumulative rainfall during the ongoing rainy season and its potential impact on agricultural production.
Once again, here, as we do in other places, we call for the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, and for aid workers to be able to do their job unhindered, and to reach everyone they need to reach, wherever they need to reach them.
**South Sudan
Just south, a quick update from our peacekeeping colleagues. In South Sudan, the Unity State High Court has concluded three weeks of proceedings in the displacement camp in Bentiu.
As we told you earlier, the Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) supported the deployment of the court by working with local and national authorities, as well as community representatives. The deployment responded to requests from the community for stronger justice and rule of law mechanisms to address drug-related offences, gang violence and sexual and gender-based violence, particularly impacting children and other young people.
The High Court recently adjudicated 20 criminal cases, resulting in 17 convictions, including the first drug-related cases ever brought to Unity State.
More than 70 additional criminal cases were reported for investigation and trial, and these will continue to be heard from the Court’s permanent location in Bentiu.
**Pakistan
Turning to Pakistan, I can tell you that the Secretary-General condemns the suicide bombing at a police checkpoint in Dera Ismail Khan, in Pakistan. That bombing took place over the weekend. He expresses his deepest condolences to the families of those killed and wishes a speedy recovery to all those injured.
The Secretary-General underscores that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations is unacceptable and reaffirms the solidarity of the United Nations with the people and Government of Pakistan and stresses the need to bring those responsible to justice.
**Security Council
Back here, Ramiz Alakbarov, who as you know, is the acting Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, briefed the Security Council this morning and said that the Secretary-General strongly condemns the relentless expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. This expansion fuels tensions, impedes access by Palestinians to their land and threatens the viability of a fully independent, sovereign and contiguous Palestinian State. This expanding footprint also includes outposts and is taking place in conjunction with a rise number of attacks by Israeli in settlers.
The Secretary-General, he added, also condemns developments related to the E1 settlement plan, which would effectively cut the connection between the northern and southern West Bank and further isolate East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank. The Israeli Government’s decisions to deepen Israeli administrative and territorial control of the West Bank are deeply concerning, he said. These measures are likely to contribute to settlement expansion and to the dispossession of Palestinians from their land and property.
He added that the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains catastrophic. Israeli authorities have confined Gaza’s population to about 30 per cent of the territory, and there is continuing killing of civilians.
As we approach ten years since the adoption of resolution 2334, Mr. Alakbarov said that the situation is morally, legally and politically intolerable, according to the words of the Secretary-General. We must recommit ourselves to the two-State solution before it is too late.
**Occupied Palestinian Territory
Turning to Gaza, a quick humanitarian update from today. Our humanitarian colleagues warn that funding shortfalls, as well as continued Israeli restrictions, are severely limiting preparations for the rainy season. In the first three weeks of September, partners established community heating points at 88 displacement sites, which together host 10 per cent of Gaza’s population. They did so by setting up 170 reinforced tents at those sites.
However, many more tents are needed, along with shelter kits, heaters and sustained fuel imports. Thousands of heating points will be required to meet the needs of people when temperature drops.
Other ongoing efforts involve replacing worn-out shelters, unblocking drainage, and identifying voluntary relocation options for those in flood-prone areas.
Because of funding shortfalls, we and our partners estimate that the tents, tarpaulins and sealing-off kits they have, or are in the process of buying, will only support 50,000 households.
That’s in addition to what Member States and the private sector can bring in. In the combined pipeline of the UN and our partners, there are also bedding items for another 50,000 households, while winter clothes are currently for some 9,000 households only. More funding is urgently needed.
As we’ve said before, the Israeli authorities need to approve critical items, and they need to do so quickly.
In the West Bank, our humanitarian partners estimate that every fifth Palestinian in the Masafer Yatta area of Hebron, where Israeli authorities have declared a “firing zone”, may have been displaced or otherwise affected by demolitions in the last four weeks alone.
Over the weekend, humanitarian partners supported Palestinians impacted by last Thursday’s demolition of 35 homes and other structures in the Jinba community.
**UN Interim Force in Lebanon
Moving north to southern Lebanon. Our UNIFIL peacekeepers continue to observe the situation in their area of operation. The Blue Helmets report that between Friday and Sunday, peacekeepers observed 12 Israeli Defense Force (IDF) naval vessels crossing into Lebanese territorial waters off the coast of Naqoura.
Between Friday and Sunday, UNIFIL detected 143 violations of Lebanese airspace by the IDF involving drones, fighter aircraft and helicopters. Peacekeepers also observed multiple airstrikes across the areas of operations by UNIFIL.
During the same period, UNIFIL recorded 166 trajectories of projectiles, all attributed to the IDF. UNIFIL did not detect any rocket or artillery projectile during that period by Hizbullah.
On the humanitarian front, UNIFIL and OCHA continue to facilitate humanitarian missions. They did two [between] Friday and Sunday.
**Yemen
Moving to Yemen, where our humanitarian colleagues on the ground tell us that civilians continue to bear the brunt of the escalating hostilities. Casualties are mounting, displacement is growing and the risk of disease outbreaks is also continuing.
Up to today, the escalation in fighting has forced some 142,000 men, women and children to flee their homes. That’s what the International Organization for Migration (IOM) are telling us. We and our humanitarian partners continue to support the response and have reached more than 115,000 internally displaced people so far.
Nearly $20 million in emergency funding has been mobilized by the Yemen Humanitarian Fund and the Central Emergency Response Fund to support newly-displaced families and host communities. But we need more money, and we need it very soon.
The fighting is pushing an already fragile health system in Yemen to the brink, forcing some hospitals to suspend emergency obstetric care in order to treat the wounded. In response, our health partners have deployed more than 20 mobile medical teams, activated rapid response teams and delivered nearly 60 metric tons of medical supplies. But life-saving medical supplies are rapidly dwindling and access remains very difficult due to the ongoing fighting.
WHO is now warning that overcrowding, unsafe water and poor sanitation in displacement sites are driving up the risk of further disease outbreaks, with Cholera alerts already being raised at a number of sites.
All parties, in Yemen and everywhere else, must protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, and must grant us unhindered humanitarian access.
**Nepal
Turning to Nepal, a quick update one month after the devastating floods. The latest Government figures indicate that more than 1,450 people were killed and more than 5,000 remain missing following the floods of 26 August.
The economic impact has also been severe. Thirteen hydropower projects were impacted, alongside major damage to transport, trade and tourism, with overall losses estimated at 4 to 5 per cent of Nepal’s Gross domestic product (GDP).
Under the leadership of the Government, the response by the UN team and our partners has reached more than 64,000 people so far. But the focus is increasingly shifting now to recovery.
Thousands of families remain displaced, an estimated 2.2 million tons of debris still need to be cleared, safe land is needed for people who cannot return to their homes, and roads and essential services still need to be restored in many parts. Our colleagues on the ground note that with winter approaching in the mountainous north, near Nepal’s border with China, shelter and livelihood support are becoming increasingly urgent.
As you know, the Government of Nepal, together with us, has launched a $49.6 million flash appeal to assist more than 84,000 people. So far, $22 million has been pledged, leaving a gap of over $27.6 million.
We continue to call for sustained international support as communities move from emergency response to recovery and rebuilding.
**Ukraine
From Ukraine, our colleagues at OCHA tell us that attacks over the past three days have continued to kill and injure civilians, including children, and damaged homes and civilian infrastructure. Kyiv and the regions of Sumy, Kharkiv and Odesa were the most impacted, and attacks also impacted civilians in the regions of Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Kyiv, Dnipro, Kherson and Chernihiv.
Humanitarian organizations, supported by our own UN agencies, and the Ukrainian Red Cross Society are providing emergency repair materials, hot meals, medical and psychosocial support.
**Honduras
Turning to Honduras, we and our humanitarian partners, together with the Government, launched a $60 million flash appeal to one of the most severe droughts in the country in decades. More than three quarters of the country have seen extreme shortages of rain and prolonged dry spells. Crops are failing, food insecurity and water shortages are on the rise. All of that increasing the potential health risks.
More than 700,000 human beings are estimated to need assistance. Today’s appeal aims to reach more than half a million of those most impacted, so they can get food, they can get water, sanitation and hygiene assistance, as well as protection services, including support for women and children.
Some 32 humanitarian organizations, including UN agencies, NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and our local partners, are supporting the response together with national and local authorities.
We and our partners are calling for urgent funding so we can help those who need the most.
**Radio Frequency
A couple of reports to flag. Our friends in Geneva at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) today called on Governments, regulators, and meteorologists to safeguard access to radio frequency spectrum essential for weather forecasts, early warnings, climate monitoring and water management.
The appeal comes with the release of a joint handbook offering updated guidance on the use and protection of radio frequencies supporting critical meteorological systems. These systems enable observations of the atmosphere, the oceans, and land, and the transmission of data that supports life-saving warnings.
The ITU-WMO handbook also highlights the potential impact of radio-frequency interference on the accuracy and availability of essential environmental data. More information online.
**Forests
Also, releasing a report today are our friends in Rome, this time, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). It shows that forest and landscape restoration is a cost-effective response to food security, biodiversity, climate and other development challenges.
FAO points out that investing $2.6 trillion over 15 years in land degradation and drought mitigation could yield an 8 to 1 social return. Under favourable conditions, restoration can generate returns of up to $30 for every $1 invested.
**International Day for Universal Access to Information
Today is a Day that is important to all of you, I assume. It is the International Day for Universal Access to Information. This year, the question is not just whether you can get information, it’s whether you can trust it. And we trust all of you.
In a world overflowing with information and disinformation, access alone is not enough, and what matters is whether people can rely on what they find.
**Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Last, I want to welcome a new member to the UN family. Tom Fletcher has told us that Dr. Mehmet Güllüoğlu of Türkiye is joining us as the new Director of OCHA’s Humanitarian Sector Division and Head of the OCHA office in Geneva. He brings more than two decades of experience in humanitarian action, disaster management and public health, including as head of Türkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority and Director General of the Turkish Red Crescent.
Most recently, he served as Türkiye’s Humanitarian Aid Coordinator for Palestine, coordinating the country’s activities in Gaza.
We welcome him and we welcome your questions. Pam and then Edie.
**Questions and Answers
Question: Thank you, Steph. The SG has often, over the 10 years he’s been in office, gone to the G20 meetings. Do you expect that he will go to the G20 meeting coming up in December before he leaves office? And what is the Secretary[-General]’s view of the fact that this G20 has excluded South Africa and included an invitation for [Vladimir] Putin, for Russia? Thank you.
Spokesman: Who the G20 invite, include or not include, is a question to them. We don’t have a comment on that. As to whether or not the Secretary-General will attend, I think he doesn’t intend to crash parties. So we’ll wait to see if we get an invitation.
Question: Anyone else in the Secretariat heard from the G20?
Spokesman: We’ve had contacts with the next G20 presidency, which is the UK. Edith Lederer?
Question: Thank you, Steph. Has the Secretary-General, during all of his many, many meetings in the past week, seen any prospects for trying to end conflicts from the Mideast, and especially Iran and Ukraine, but also to Sudan, Myanmar, Congo, lots of other places?
Spokesman: Edie, as you know, diplomacy takes time. It takes patience. It requires political courage more than testosterone. I think the Secretary-General appreciates all the diplomatic efforts we’ve seen on the sidelines of the General Assembly, including on putting an end to the conflict in Iran. But there were thousands of bilateral meetings, discussions. Diplomacy is a process. We want to see an end to these conflicts, based on international law, based on the Charter, and we will continue to push for that.
Question: One other quick question. On Yemen, you said that they’ve gotten $20 million already and that more money is needed quickly. How much more?
Spokesman: I’ll get you a full figure. Deepak, yes, please.
Question: Thank you, Steph. 26 September was International Day for Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, and there is a meeting on it today. So I would like to have views of the Secretary-General as to how to move forward in this to achieve this goal of elimination of nuclear weapons, disarmament, in the light of new weapons that have become superintelligence [sic] weapons like drones, space.
Spokesman: I would first refer you to the message the Secretary-General issued for that day. But the total elimination of nuclear weapons is something that the Secretary-General has been pushing for, has been very vocal about. There are a number of Member States who I think have been strong allies in this fight. The idea of nuclear weapons ever being used again is terrifying, but we do see a proliferation of nuclear weapons and nuclear know-how for military purposes, all of which is very worrying. And as far as the merging of weapons and artificial intelligence, I think also there, the Secretary-General has been very vocal in especially pushing for an agreement that autonomous weapons free of human control should never ever be used.
Question: Another question was the Secretary-General had a lot of meetings during this high-level debate. Could you give us some updated figures as to how many presidents?
Spokesman: The general debate is still going on today. The Secretary-General is still having bilaterals. I think he himself had more than 140, but we’ll get you the final countdown tomorrow. And Melissa [Summers] from the PGA (President of the General Assembly) will be here also with some data. So we’ll have all that too tomorrow, once it actually closes. Gabriel, and then Stefano.
Question: Thank you, Steph. Speaking of meetings, is the SG still meeting with Iran’s Foreign Minister later today?
Spokesman: Yes. As far as I’m aware, he will be meeting with him this afternoon.
Question: And I know there’s only so much you can say about a meeting that hasn’t taken place yet. Given that, though, is there any sort of background that you can give on this meeting, given that he’s already met last week with Iran’s President and now meeting with the Foreign Minister?
Spokesman: I mean, this is part of the Secretary-General’s continued engagement in trying to help those efforts under way and help the mediators who are working to end this conflict. And it is, you know, I think it is symbolic of the business that goes on here during the General Assembly. I mean, we have the Foreign Minister, I mean, he is still here, spent a lot of time here. Others have also spent time here. This is part of the work of diplomacy that goes on. Stefano?
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. Does the Secretary-General actually listen to all or read all 193 speeches delivered during the General Assembly?
Spokesman: Well, I mean, you know that he doesn’t listen to all of them because he’s having bilateral meetings. He gets updated regularly with summaries of the remarks of those that he hasn’t had the pleasure of sitting on the podium for.
Question: So we don’t know if there is one, now we cannot know if there is something that really impressed him, that was delivered or troubled him.
Spokesman: I mean, like I would say, if you ask me which one of my children I love the most, he appreciates the fact that all of these leaders of delegation take the time to speak.
Question: Okay, so that was the preamble to a question.
Spokesman: That was only the preamble of the question? I thought that was an actual question, Stefano.
Question: The question is: I haven’t seen any reaction from the Secretary-General to President [Donald] Trump’s attack on the International Criminal Court (ICC) from this podium. Trump called the ICC an out-of-control institution, anti-American tribunal, and then said they are an evil group of people. He also urged ICC members to withdraw. So does the Secretary-General condemn the language, particularly the description of the people of the court as an evil group of people?
Spokesman: There are a couple of things to say. One, as you well know, the ICC is independent of the Secretariat. We do have points of agreements and cooperation with them on certain administrative issues. We do believe that the International Criminal Court plays a very important role in international law, in accountability at a global level, and we firmly stand against unilateral sanctions against staff members of the court. Okay, thank you all. See you tomorrow, and our colleague Melissa will be here tomorrow to brief you on behalf of the PGA.