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.

**Guest

We are delighted to be joined by our good friend Denise Brown, who as you know is the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan. We thought of bringing her in at the last minute today to talk to you about what is going on in Sudan. Denise, without further ado, I will give you the floor; then we will take some questions.

[This part of the briefing was not transcribed.]

**Sudan

Okay, thank you all. You obviously just heard Denise, but I wanted and flag the comments the Secretary-General made in Malaysia earlier this morning in responding to a question about the reports indicating that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had captured El Fasher. Mr. [António] Guterres said this marked a terrible escalation in the conflict. He stressed that it is high time for the international community to speak clearly to all countries interfering in the war and providing weapons to the warring parties, urging them to stop. The Secretary-General noted that the problem is not only the fighting between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, but also the growing external interference that undermines prospects for a ceasefire and a political solution. Amid these developments, the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate, as you heard from Denise just now.

**Secretary-General/Malaysia

The Secretary-General as mentioned is just wrapping up his program in Malaysia, where he took part in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-UN summit. In his remarks at the summit, the Secretary-General condemned once again the bloodshed in Myanmar and urged all parties to halt the fighting, protect civilians, allow unimpeded humanitarian access, and also to engage in an inclusive political process. The release of those arbitrarily detained, the Secretary-General said, including democratically elected leaders in Myanmar, is essential. The Secretary-General told ASEAN leaders that under current conditions, any elections in Myanmar risk further exclusion and instability.

Earlier in the day, the Secretary-General held a press conference, in which he reiterated his call for an immediate end to the violence in Myanmar and for a credible path back to civilian rule. Turning to climate, the Secretary-General said the stakes are very high for South-East Asia, where climbing temperatures, rising seas and worsening storms threaten lives; they threaten livelihoods and entire communities, if not countries. Next week, when leaders gather in Brazil for the thirtieth Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP30), they must agree on a credible plan to close the gap to 1.5°C and mobilize $1.3 trillion annually in climate finance by 2035; that's for developing countries, he said.

Also today, Mr. Guterres delivered remarks at an event to mark the UN's eightieth anniversary, organized by the Malaysian authorities. All of those remarks were shared with you. The Secretary-General will be heading to New York shortly.

**Thailand/Cambodia

Also over the weekend, or rather yesterday, we issued a statement in which the Secretary-General welcomed the Joint Declaration between Cambodia and Thailand as a means to consolidate the July ceasefire. The Secretary-General expressed his appreciation for the important role played by Malaysia, as Chair of ASEAN, and the United States in facilitating this Declaration. We are committed to supporting all efforts aimed at promoting peace, stability and development in the region.

**Viet Nam

And just for the record and taking you back to Saturday, when the Secretary-General was in Hanoi taking part in the high-level event marking the opening for signature of the UN Convention against Cybercrime. In his remarks, the Secretary-General said this new convention is a powerful, legally binding instrument to strengthen our collective defences against cybercrime. He added that it is also a promise that fundamental human rights such as privacy, dignity and safety must be protected both offline and online.

Over the weekend, the convention gathered 72 signatories. According to our colleagues in the Treaty section, they tell us that number is one of the most significant for a multilateral treaty deposited with the Secretary-General in the last 10 years. And as the Secretary-General said during his joint press conference in Vietnam, we must turn signatures into action.

**Lebanon

I want to flag the situation along the Blue Line, which as you know lies between Israel and Lebanon. I can tell you that we are very concerned about the incident that occurred on Sunday in which an Israeli drone dropped a grenade in the vicinity of a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) patrol and subsequently an Israeli tank fired a shot at the peacekeepers in Kafr Kila in the UNIFIL area of operations. Fortunately, no one was injured, and no damage was caused to our peacekeepers and assets.

This incident came after an earlier one in the same location, where an Israeli drone flew over a UNIFIL patrol in an aggressive manner. UNIFIL peacekeepers employed defensive countermeasures to neutralize the drone. Any actions that may endanger the safety and security of the peacekeepers are completely unacceptable and must cease immediately.

**Lebanon/Israel

Also to mention that our Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, began a visit to Israel today as part of her regular consultations with stakeholders who are key to the implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1701 (2006). During her visit, Ms. Hennis-Plasschaert is scheduled to meet with senior Israeli officials for discussions on recent developments, particularly those related to the resolution and the November 2024 Cessation of Hostilities arrangement, all with the overarching goal of advancing security and stability on both sides of the Blue Line. Earlier this month, the Special Coordinator also held meetings in Lebanon with senior officials, including President Joseph Aoun. They discussed prevailing regional and domestic developments, with a focus on resolution 1701 (2006).

**Occupied Palestinian Territory

Turning to Gaza: Our colleagues at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) tell us that, over the weekend, people continued to move across the Gaza Strip. Since the ceasefire, more than 470,000 movements of people have been recorded towards the north. Families are trying to return to their destroyed homes, though many structures are unstable and unexploded ordnance poses a risk. Our partners tell us that water, food and essential services are still desperately needed.

Meanwhile, aid continues to enter the Strip. Between Friday and Saturday, more than 300 truckloads were collected from the Palestinian side - mostly from the Kerem Shalom/Karem Abu Salem crossing. The aid in these trucks included thousands of pallets of wheat flour, supplies for hot meals, canned food as well as rice. The supplies also included diapers and jerrycans, as well as hundreds of pallets of health supplies, such as medical equipment and medicine. Tarps, tents and winter clothes also entered Gaza.

While we don't yet have the data on the cargo collected on Sunday, I can tell you that hygiene kits, shelter supplies and post-partum kits entered Gaza. Additionally, yesterday, the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) distributed some 329,000 litres of diesel - and that was to support health, food security, telecommunications and other critical humanitarian operations.

As of Sunday, our partners, working with 170 community kitchens, delivered more than 1 million hot meals, mostly in Gaza with 15 UN-supported bakeries producing tens of thousands of loaves of bread in Deir al Balah, Khan Younis and Gaza City; community kitchens and shelters across hundreds of sites are distributing bread for free.

Over the weekend, our partners continued their work on reducing the risk of unexploded ordnance, reaching nearly 3,200 people in central and southern Gaza. This is increasingly important as people are on the move. Overall, since 7 October 2023, humanitarians have recorded 150 explosive ordnance incidents which led to casualties, including among children.

As for the West Bank, OCHA tells us that since the olive harvest season started on 9 October, more than 85 Israeli settler attacks on farmers and their land have repeatedly disrupted harvesting. These incidents have resulted in the injury of more than 110 Palestinians and the vandalization of over 3,000 trees and saplings across 50 villages. Last week alone, 17 attacks were recorded in 14 towns and villages, mostly in the Ramallah Governorate.

**Yemen

Also, I want to update you on the situation in Yemen with our staff in Sana'a. I can tell you that today, the de facto authorities arbitrarily detained one more of our UN colleagues. This follows the detention of five of our colleagues in recent days, including two UN female colleagues, bringing the total number of detainees to at least 59, and as you know some of them has been held for years. We reiterate our strong condemnation of their continued arbitrary detentions by the Houthis.

In a related development, Houthi security members entered several UN offices in Sana'a on Sunday and over the past few days, confiscating IT and communications equipment and assets. We continue to call for the immediate and unconditional release of all personnel from the United Nations, from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society organizations and diplomatic missions. They must be respected and protected in accordance with applicable international law.

**Ukraine

From Ukraine, our humanitarian colleagues on the ground are telling us that attacks over the weekend and this morning led to dozens of civilian casualties and further damage to homes and energy infrastructure. Children are among the injured. The most impacted regions are Dnipro, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Kyiv, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia.

Meanwhile, our humanitarian colleagues tell us that evacuations of civilians continue from front-line communities in the Donetsk region. Between 24 and 26 October, more than 900 people were evacuated. The Ukraine Humanitarian Fund continues to support local and national NGOs in facilitating safe evacuations and rehabilitating collective centres ahead of the upcoming winter. Since May, the Fund has released $13 million for the Kharkiv region to assist people living near the front line whose lives are impacted by airstrikes.

The allocation, implemented by 15 partners, nearly 60 per cent of them local NGOs, reached some 76,000 residents; half of those are women and girls. They were assisted through cash assistance, as well as shelter, health, water, sanitation and hygiene support. Our partners also provided assistance on the prevention of gender-based violence.

**Hurricane Melissa

And as you know, there is a horrific hurricane south of the United States heading to the Caribbean. Hurricane Melissa has reached Category 5, bringing destructive winds, dangerous storm surges and catastrophic rainfall across the region. The Regional Office for OCHA is coordinating closely with resident coordinators and UN country teams, as well as with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency and emergency authorities, on readiness and response. OCHA is deploying staff to Cuba and Jamaica this week, as conditions allow, to reinforce preparation and coordination efforts across the region. In Jamaica, the UN team, led by Resident Coordinator Dennis Zulu, is supporting national preparedness and response efforts, of course in close coordination with the Government.

The World Food Programme (WFP) is providing logistics support, including generators, while the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has pre-positioned water and sanitation supplies, as well as materials for child protection. The Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) is reinforcing health emergency operations, while the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is preparing shelter support. For their part, the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) are mobilizing for early recovery and protection.

In Haiti, a country that is already suffering from many different issues, OCHA and its partners are supporting authorities with ahead of further impact. This includes pre-positioning relief supplies, including medical and nutrition supplies, as well as supporting with cash assistance, early warning messaging and community outreach. Authorities report that priority needs include emergency shelter, essential household items, hygiene and cleaning kits, safe water and additional logistical support to reach isolated areas.

And finally, in Cuba, where the hurricane is anticipated to hit tomorrow night, the Anticipatory Action Framework was fully activated yesterday, with a $4 million allocation released from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) ahead of the storm. This allowed our partners to pre-position food and essential supplies - including rice, grains, hygiene kits, fuel vouchers and portable water-treatment plants - in the eastern provinces. OCHA continues to support the resident coordinator and the UN country team to prepare alongside the authorities.

**UN-Women

A couple of things I want to flag - one, a new UN-Women report called "At Risk and Underfunded", which warns that sweeping aid cuts are jeopardizing the organizations essential to ending violence against women and girls. Based on a global survey of 428 women's rights and civil society groups, it finds that over a third have suspended or shut down their programmes, while more than 40 per cent have scaled back critical services, including shelters, legal aid and healthcare. With an estimated 736 million women experiencing physical or sexual violence, UN-Women calls on Governments and donors to protect and expand funding and prevent backsliding.

**Exhibition

This afternoon, at 6 p.m., you are all invited to be in the Visitors Lobby to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the women, peace and security agenda. There will be an exhibit. Our colleague Melissa Fleming, the Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, will be joined by the head of peace operations, Under-Secretary-General Jean-Pierre Lacroix, and other senior officials, will present the photo exhibition Through Her Lens: Women Rising for Peace. The exhibition comes courtesy of our Peace and Security pillar, UN-Women and the Elsie Initiative Fund. The event will also include a creative performance by Do Nsoseme Dora, a Congolese poet and photographer whose work focuses on women's rights and gender equality in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as a guided tour of the exhibition. Please contact our peacekeeping colleagues for more information.

**International Day

Today is World Day for Audiovisual Heritage. Under the theme "A Window to the World", this year's observance celebrates how film, sound and video connect cultures, histories and generations. It reminds us that audiovisual archives preserve our shared memory, reflecting humanity's diversity and keep our collective story alive for future generations.

**Briefings Tomorrow

Speaking of the future, busy day tomorrow: At 11 a.m., there will be a briefing here by Mariana Katzarova, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation, following her presentation of her report to the General Assembly's Third Committee. Then, at 1 p.m., there will be a hybrid briefing by the Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, and that follows their presentation to the General Assembly's Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural).

Lastly, 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, that will also be following her presentation to the General Assembly's Third Committee. I've spoken enough. Pam?

**Questions and Answers

Question: Thanks, Steph. A big picture question and a narrow one. Given what you talked about the attacks during the weekend on civilians in Ukraine, including a kindergarten, and what you may have seen at the ASEAN meeting, the lack of any or the stalling of current peace proposals for Ukraine - did you get any sense that any country is taking the lead? Did you or the SG in ASEAN…?

Spokesman: No. I have no development to report.

Question: Okay. And just a UN question. This morning, the 42^nd Street [entrance] was closed, and security said it was lack of personnel. How bad are these cuts in terms of security?

Spokesman: I mean, it's not that they were cut…

Question: How long will it last?

Spokesman: Today is a staffing issue, so it's just that - a staffing issue. We have a lot of staff also traveling to various conferences. Greg? And then Abdelhamid.

Question: On the Blue Line, I wonder if you could tell us about any contacts between UNIFIL commanders and UN officials in the Israeli side, if there's been any, and what steps have been taken to deescalate the situation?

Spokesman: Obviously, our colleagues at UNIFIL are in touch with the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] to protest vehemently what has happened. It's not the first time that we feel we've been targeted in different ways by the IDF, whether it's things like pointing lasers or warning shots. It's very, very dangerous. Abdelhamid?

Question: Thank you, Steph. First, Francesca Albanese - has she been denied a visa to enter?

Spokesman: I mean, she's briefing virtually. I think you'd have to ask.

Question: But, why? That's my question.

Spokesman: I mean, you need to ask her. I can't speak for her.

Question: Okay. My second question. An Israeli drone killed two Palestinian in the town of Abbasan in Gaza, and a number of people were injured. Are you aware of this?

Spokesman: I personally had not seen that report, but we will look into it.

Question: And also, there are five orders issued by the Israeli Army to confiscate 73 dunams in Al Bir and Ramallah under the pretext that… security necessities. So, are you aware of also these developments?

Spokesman: I mean, not this particular incident, but I think we've been very vocal in speaking out against the confiscation of Palestinian land by Israeli security forces. Okay. Islam?

Question: Thank you, Stéphane. On Sudan again, according to the Sudanese Doctors' Network and also some NGOs over there, past a few days, like almost 50 civilians were killed. My question is, does UN have any reliable sources? What is the number that past two years, you know, civilians number that, you know, people killed?

Spokesman: Over the past two years that have been killed?

Correspondent: Yes.

Spokesman: I don't have those numbers on top of my head. We will ask our humanitarian colleagues. Namo?

Question: Thank you, Stéphane. Yesterday, I don't know if you saw the reports in Türkiye that PKK started withdrawing its fighters in what's considered the most significant practical step towards ending this conflict. Does the Secretary-General have any comment on this?

Spokesman: Yes. The Secretary-General is obviously following very closely the progress made regarding the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and its decision to dissolve, disarm and we take note of the announcement by the PKK that it's withdrawing its forces from Türkiye to Iraq. The decision, if implemented, would represent another important step towards the peaceful resolution of this long-standing conflict. The Secretary-General encourages all concerned to continue acting in good faith towards implementation. Yes, Prosper?

Question: Thank you very much. I want to know, the UN has appointed a committee that will be following up about human rights situation in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. So, can we say that it is a beginning of holding accountable all warring parties or all stakeholders that are being accused of perpetrating atrocities in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo? That's my first question.

Spokesman: It is part of an ongoing process of documenting human rights violations. As you know, our peacekeeping colleagues and their human rights cell have been doing that a lot, consistently throughout the years. The Office of the [United Nations] High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has also been doing that. We are not short of facts about human rights abuses in the eastern DRC [Democratic Republic of the Congo], and we've been calling them out repeatedly in as transparent a way as possible. There will need to be accountability for all those who have perpetrated crimes in the DRC. We've seen already some movement, but sadly, and it's unfortunately a fact that accountability takes a long time, but accountability there will need to be. Your next question, sir? Did you have another question?

Question: Another question: On 30 October, in Paris, Emmanuel Macron will host a conference aiming to bring about peace and prosperity within Great Lakes region, especially it will be more focused on situation in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. What does UN think about that conference, really?

Spokesman: I will see if we have any representatives at that conference, and I will let you know. Okay. Sorry. Abdelhamid?

Question: Thank you. The Prime Minister of Israel said that the security of Gaza will remain in the hands of Israel. That's on one hand. And he said also that Israel has to approve who will be part of the stabilization force in Gaza. Your thoughts on that?

Spokesman: The issues and negotiations around the stabilization force is not one that includes the UN at this point. We understand, I think we read the same reports that you do, that there may very well be a resolution in front of the Security Council. So that's what I have to say at this point. Okay. Thank you all. Have a great day, and happy Monday.