The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
**Briefings
All right, good afternoon. I know you are complaining about the number of briefings today, but you are not done yet.
At 1 p.m. after you are done with me, we will have our good friend Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
At 1:45 p.m., interesting briefing by the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan, so you will want to stick around for that.
And, tomorrow, at 2 p.m., there will be a briefing by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Kelley E. Currie and Nick Koumjian, the Head of the United Nations Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM).
**Secretary-General’s Remarks
This morning, the Secretary-General spoke at the event on “Honouring Our Values at Home”, which deals with fighting against racism and sexism at the United Nations, and he said that the United Nations cannot credibly defend equality around the world unless we uphold it within our own walls. Our values, he said, can’t live only in the words we address to others.
Mr. [António] Guterres said that a Secretariat survey in 2020 found that one in three staff members reported experiencing racial discrimination, which he said is totally unacceptable. The survey made clear that condemning racism was not enough, and that we had to become actively anti-racist, he added.
Regarding gender, the Secretary-General asserted that the United Nations has achieved parity across all senior leadership, and all Headquarters and Professional staff. We did this not by lowering standards, but increasing opportunities, he said.
Going forward, the Secretary-General said that gender gains and expertise must be protected, and anti-racism must remain a priority and decisions on recruitment, promotion, assignments and retention, those decisions must be transparent, consistent and bias-free.
**Sudan
All right, you will have a briefing by the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Sudan, so I don’t want to go into that, but they do speak a lot about the increasing drone strikes and displacement in Sudan.
And the report, I would add, comes amid continued deadly attacks in Blue Nile State and elsewhere across the country.
You also have seen disturbing reports of drone strikes in South Darfur State on Monday, which hit a market and a residential neighbourhood in Nyala, the state capital, killing dozens of people and injuring more than 150 others.
Civilians were reportedly killed and injured in two separate drone strike attacks near the airport in El Geneina, in West Darfur State, as well as in another strike in South Kordofan State yesterday.
We condemn this and all killings of civilians and reiterate that civilians must be protected at all times, in accordance with international humanitarian law.
Vital infrastructure has also come under attack. Today, in Al Jazirah State, drone strikes reportedly damaged an electricity station and fuel stations.
We reiterate our call for an immediate end to attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, and for all parties to meet their obligations under international humanitarian law.
OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) says that despite severe funding shortfalls and insecurity, humanitarian organizations continue to deliver life-saving assistance across the country.
During the first nine months of this year, humanitarian organizations reached more than 17 million people across Sudan with at least one form of assistance.
However, OCHA warns that significant gaps remain in the humanitarian response. Just 3 million people, or 18 per cent of the overall people reached, received assistance across multiple sectors, underscoring the impact of underfunding and other challenges in ensuring that people receive the full range of support that they need.
**Yemen
From Yemen, our colleagues at OCHA tell us that more than 281,000 people have been displaced since the start of August, more than half of them sheltering in Taiz governorate alone.
Humanitarian access has become increasingly difficult over the past three weeks. Damage to a key road linking Taiz to southern governorates has forced aid supplies onto narrow mountain routes, which is slowing deliveries.
Shelter remains a pressing need. Three quarters of those displaced are living in sites where shelter, clean water and sanitation are in short supply, with more than 35,000 families still lacking shelter assistance and more than 230,000 people needing emergency water and sanitation support.
Women and girls also face growing risks of exploitation.
The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) warns of sexual violence, trafficking and forced marriage, particularly in overcrowded sites in Yemen that do not have adequate privacy, lighting or separate sanitation facilities.
Our partners are responding wherever access permits, deploying mobile protection teams to displacement sites, screening displaced children for malnutrition across eight governorates, and providing emergency water and latrines in areas receiving displaced families.
We once again call on all parties to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, and to allow safe, sustained and unimpeded humanitarian access wherever it is needed and whenever it is needed.
**Occupied Palestinian Territory
Turning to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, our humanitarian colleagues at OCHA tell us that farmers in the West Bank continue to harvest olives where and when possible, amid daily settler attacks, harassment and access restrictions. Recent attacks have involved physical assault and theft of harvesting equipment and yield.
Humanitarian partners say that this week, Palestinian farmers were unable to harvest near Israeli settlements or behind the Barrier in parts of Jenin, Nablus and Qalqilya governorates, this after Israeli authorities suspended previously announced access arrangements for Palestinians.
Our partners are supporting olive pickers by distributing tools, ladders, tarpaulins and other equipment; by arranging volunteer harvesting campaigns, cash-for-work activities, and collective harvesting; and by helping transport olives to presses.
We urge authorities to secure the sustained and safe access of farmers to their agricultural land so that they can maintain their livelihoods.
**Spain
I also want to say that the Secretary-General was deeply saddened and shocked at learning of the train accident that we saw in Spain that killed over 60 people, and he extends his deepest condolences to the families of the victims, as well as to the people and Government of Spain.
**Democratic Republic of the Congo
Turning to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, our humanitarian colleagues tell us that renewed violence in Ituri Province, in the north-east of the country, is driving more displacement and worsening humanitarian needs in communities already affected by the Ebola outbreak.
Since last Sunday, and according to our humanitarian partners on the ground, at least 19 civilians have been killed in armed clashes in and around the village of Muganga in Djugu Territory. More than 25,000 men, women and children have fled to neighbouring Mahagi Territory, where many are sheltering in displacement sites and require urgent food, healthcare and all sorts of services.
The movement of people and access constraints continue to complicate the Ebola response, as well as community engagement and the delivery of life-saving health services.
So far, national health authorities have reported more than 10,100 confirmed Ebola cases with over 4,900 deaths.
Despite these challenges, we and our partners continue to support the Ebola response while providing life-saving assistance and protection to communities affected by violence and displacement.
We reiterate our call on all parties to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, respect international humanitarian law and ensure safe, rapid and unhindered humanitarian access to people in need.
**Haiti
Turning to Haiti, our humanitarian colleagues say that heavy rains since Saturday have caused severe flooding across the Grand Sud region, damaging homes, damaging infrastructure and disturbing livelihoods. Four people have reportedly been killed, with Nippes the hardest-hit department, where more than 1,900 families have been affected and 1,700 homes flooded.
We and our humanitarian partners are supporting the Government-led response. Local authorities have activated emergency operations centres and opened temporary shelters, while our partners are helping assess needs and prepare assistance.
In Grand’Anse, partners are preparing to provide food, cash assistance, hygiene and other essential supplies to more than 5,500 households, while three mobile health clinics are also planned in affected communities.
The floods are hitting communities already struggling with food insecurity and displacement, and shortages of supplies and funding constraints, all of this hampering our humanitarian response.
As I told you before, the $880 million Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for Haiti remains less than half funded. Additional resources are urgently needed to respond to these growing needs.
**UN Biodiversity Conference
As you know, the UN Biodiversity Conference, is ongoing in Yerevan; otherwise known as the COP17, it is also the 12th Meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the 6th Meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing, that ends in Yerevan, and we have some updates for you.
In its first week, 14 initial decisions were adopted, including four COP17 decisions on invasive alien species, gender, education and knowledge management; eight substantive decisions on advancing the Cartagena Protocol including on monitoring and reporting, compliance and strengthening national processes for its effective implementation; and two advancing the Nagoya Protocol on monitoring and reporting and compliance.
From 27 to 28 October, COP17 convened approximately 1,500 people at the High-Level Segment (HLS), including more than 100 ministers and deputy ministers of finance and environment, all to address barriers to implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which was adopted in 2022.
By the end of the High-Level Segment, 1.8 billion dollars had been pledged, as governments now tackle tough negotiations on biodiversity finance and economic incentives driving nature loss in week two. And among other decisions still expected this week, the Global Review will consider evidence provided in the State of Biodiversity Action report ahead of COP that was launched by the Secretary-General, António Guterres, just before the COP got under way, which found widespread national commitment but substantial gaps in ambition and delivery.
**Climate Technology Progress Report
Related to climate, our Climate Technology Progress Report was released today, warning that climate change is already affecting the ocean’s ability to absorb and store carbon. The report stressed that the world must strengthen its understanding of the ocean’s carbon system if it is to safeguard one of the planet’s most important climate allies. It highlights Ocean Carbon Intelligence, a framework that connects ocean science, monitoring technologies, data infrastructure and analytical tools to improve understanding of ocean carbon dynamics and support evidence-based climate action.
According to the report, the ocean absorbs around 30 per cent of human-induced carbon dioxide emissions and approximately 90 per cent of excess heat generated by climate change.
But rising temperatures, acidification, deoxygenation, pollution and ecosystem degradation are disrupting the ocean processes that enable this critical climate-regulating function.
The report is available online.
**Financial Contribution
Before I take your questions, I have a little quiz, thanks to our quiz master for countries, David Hunter.
Which country proudly displays a knife on its flag? [response: “Oman.”] Oman, yes. Saudi Arabia is a sword. Very good, Jordan.
Let me just thank our friends in Muscat for their payment in full to the Regular Budget. We now have 147. We still have about 60 days left till the end of the year; it’s never too late to pay your bills.
Oman sent us a cheque for $3,664,434. We cash the cheque and thank them. Jordan, please, you go ahead, you won.
**Questions and Answers
Question: I hope you like my question as well. If you remember, your former boss, Ban Ki-moon, once said before Security Council that resisting occupation is normal. He was talking about the Middle East issue. Do you think Palestinian people, not the government, as you spoke about the farmers, do they have the right to resist the occupation? And how, if you agree?
Spokesman: Look, people have an inherent right to defend themselves. We are not… What we have been calling for, and the Secretary-General has been calling for, is a political horizon to be renewed for Palestinians and for Israelis, leading to a two-State solution.
Question: And my — as a free question, this is my second question. Was the SG visit to Egypt, how do you evaluate the outcome of the visit?
Spokesman: Yes, it was — I mean, it was a successful visit. He had very good discussions, as we’ve been briefing you, with the President of Egypt, the Foreign Minister. He also had a very useful discussion with the Secretary-General of the Arab League, who was joined by a number of his predecessors. A number of issues were discussed, notably the general situation in the region, including Gaza, the conflict in the Gulf, and Sudan. If you have one more, I will take it. Otherwise, I will move on. Okay. Edie, then Pam.
Question: Thank you, Steph. Does the Secretary-General have any additional comment on the election result in Brazil, with the opposition candidate now in the United States? And does he have any comment on the Israeli election?
Question: No, I mean, I think both, whether it’s the Israeli elections or the elections in Brazil, I think we commend all the people who participated in this act of democracy, this vote. I think a lot of people voted in both elections. Pam?
Question: Two things. One is, Luke Lindberg, the new ED (Executive Director) of WFP (World Food Programme), said that he was heading for Sudan. Is that something that the Secretariat would also join in, or it’s just his…?
Spokesman: No, no. I mean, this is part of his activities.
Correspondent: Often, it’s combined.
Spokesman: No, I mean, this will be his first field visit. He will go there by himself as the newly minted Executive Director of World Food Programme.
Question: And number two is, was the UN consulted at all on the expulsion of the first secretary of the Cuban Mission?
Spokesman: I’m not aware that we were consulted in any way.
Correspondent: Thank you.
Spokesman: Okay. Islam?
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. There have been reports that the US has warned Gulf countries for the short and intense military campaign against Iran after the midterm elections. They even sent Patriots to defend Israel for this. What is the Secretary-General’s reaction, especially if you have any update with Special Envoy, Personal Envoy to the Middle East, Jean Arnault, if he has any development?
Spokesman: No, no specific update on Mr. Arnault’s contacts. We’ve seen these press reports. We’ve not been privy to any information that’s not been reported. As outlined in the article, what we continue to push — and this was part of the Secretary-General’s discussions he’s had with the President of Egypt, with the Prime Minister of Pakistan — is to push or continue to push for diplomacy. We also saw that the envoys from Qatar were in the Islamic Republic of Iran. I think the world needs more diplomacy; we do not need more military action.
Question: And second question, Reuters has reported that the US military has spent more than $47 billion against the military campaign to Iran. Considering the UN humanitarian operations shortfalls, what’s your reaction to this?
Spokesman: Well, I mean, listen, I have no way to judge the Reuters report, but what I can tell you is that there was the Swedish study that comes out every year on military expenditures, and we saw how much that expended, and we see how much more countries are spending on arming themselves, on weapons and weapons systems, instead of spending money on development and humanitarian issues. It’s not to say that countries cannot spend on defence, because every country has a responsibility to protect itself and to defend its people. I think what has been shocking to us is the widening gap between those two buckets. Ephrem, then Volodymyr, then I’ll go that way.
Question: Thank you, Steph. On Yemen, you said that the damage to a key road is forcing aid onto mountain routes into Taiz. Can you be more specific? Is it the road damaged or is it encircled by the Houthis, as the governor of Taiz said?
Spokesman: I don’t want to guess. Let me try to get you some more granularity on that. Volodymyr?
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. In September, Russia recorded a new high in military personnel losses in its war against Ukraine, with 46,230 Russian troops killed or seriously wounded. In October, Russia is on track to reach another record, with its military losses approaching 50,000, yet [Russian President Vladimir] Putin still refuses to stop the war. What would you say to him in light of these figures?
Spokesman: I’m not going to comment on the specific issue you raise because we don’t have access to these numbers. But it is clear that in conflicts around the world, people are losing lives in great numbers, right? And this is one of the reasons that the Secretary-General keeps pushing for diplomacy, both publicly and privately. It saves lives and it saves us from horrific disruptions that we see to our world due to the ongoing conflicts. Abdelhamid?
Question: Thank you, Stéphane. I’ll start my first question about the debate about the sanctions in Cuba. There are some Member States who deny there are sanctions, and there was debate in the General Assembly, heated debate, as you know. The geographical groups spoke, Singapore, Uganda, Uruguay, all spoke there about the severity of the sanctions. However, one State denied that. What does the UN say about the sanctions?
Spokesman: Look, we have spoken out over and over again, a lot in the recent months about the humanitarian situation in Cuba and the impact that all these restrictions are having. And if we are going to be mandated by the General Assembly, the Secretary-General, as he does every year, will draft a report on the US embargo against Cuba, based on inputs from the UN system.
Correspondent: My second question has two parts. It’s about Palestine; first, about casualties in Gaza. Three people were killed in Mawasi, Rafah and 10 wounded by drones, and one in Khan Younis. So, these are the casualties of today, which is a filling the gap in the noon briefing about these human beings who are killed.
Spokesman: We’ve never… I mean, Abdelhamid, I’m not going to question the intention of your questions, and I know you, so I will not question that. But the briefing is not there for journalists to inform me; it’s to ask questions. We regularly inform journalists of what is going on, either through the briefing or through… the Secretary-General writes more reports than any human being could read in a year. Those reports are all filled with extremely important facts and information, and so they also reflect our position. Your other question?
Correspondent: My second question, my last question about the city of Hebron is still under collective punishment, and many numbers of institutions were stormed in today.
Spokesman: In where, sorry?
Correspondent: In the city of Hebron.
Spokesman: No, I didn’t get an update. I don’t, I’m not questioning that, I just didn’t get an update on that. Okay, Min Lu?
Question: So, we’ve seen the confrontations at the General Assembly Hall yesterday, and it seems like there are also some physical back and forth get involved. And today a Cuban diplomat is expelled. What is the United Nations’ position?
Spokesman: I don’t have any first-hand information on the member of the Cuban delegation that was reportedly expelled by the United States. I heard what Ambassador [Michael] Waltz said at the briefing, in the General Assembly. You know, we also saw what happened yesterday during the speech given from the podium by Ambassador Waltz, and I can tell you that we expect every delegation to respect the decorum of the General Assembly Hall and to respect the rules of procedures of the General Assembly. Our colleagues from Safety and Security were deployed in higher numbers than usual, and I think they did a great job in ensuring that the situation did not go out of control. Okay, I think there’s a question online from Rafael, if I can see your name correctly.
Question: Yes, you can. Hi, Stéphane. I was wondering if you could share any information and comments on reports that are sent by El Salvador of some troops to Haiti, following the disappearance of the four soldiers there.
Spokesman: Sorry, your sound is really bad and metallic, so I cannot understand. If you could use fewer words to ask the question, I’ll try to understand it.
Question: Okay. My question is on the reports that El Salvador has sent over 1,000 troops to Haiti. Could you share any information on comments on that?
Spokesman: I do not have that information. That would be something to check with the Gang Suppression Force. We can send you their contacts. But obviously, we support increased support, both financially and in kind, to the Gang Suppression Force. But on the exact details of that and confirmation, you’d have to talk to the Gang Suppression Force folks, and we’ll send you their details.
Question: Thank you.
Spokesman: Thank you. You all have a break. I think we have five, six minutes until Volker comes. All right. I need a break.