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 Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

**Briefings Today and Tomorrow

Good afternoon, everyone.

As a reminder, at 1 p.m., there will be a briefing here by Ambassador Michael Imran Kanu, the Permanent Representative of Sierra Leone, who will be here as the President of the Security Council for the month of November. He will be briefing you on the Programme of Work for November.

It will be an in-person briefing only. You can follow on the webcast, but there will be no Zoom link for that briefing.

And, tomorrow, we will have guests from the World Food Programme (WFP) join us virtually to brief on hurricane Melissa.

WFP's Country Director for their Multi-Country Caribbean Office, Brian Bogart, and WFP's Country Director in Cuba, Etienne Labande, will brief on the impact of the hurricane and WFP's response and operations to support those affected.

**Social Summit

The Secretary-General arrived in Doha a few hours ago; tomorrow, he will open the Second World Social Summit there.

Today, he met with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar. During the meeting, the Secretary-General thanked Qatar for hosting this landmark event. The Secretary-General and the Prime Minister discussed several regional issues, including the situation in Gaza. He thanked the Prime Minister for his decisive engagement for personally facilitating the recent ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza. The Secretary-General underlined the need to establish a political horizon towards a negotiated two-State solution.

**C40 World Mayors Summit

Also today, the Secretary-General addressed via a video message the C40 World Mayors Summit, which is taking place in Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil. He noted that ten years after Paris, a new clean energy economy has emerged.

The Secretary-General pointed out that continuing to invest in fossil fuels is a dead end, but the task before us remains immense. He stressed that COP30 (thirtieth Conference of Parties) must mark the start of a decade of acceleration and deliver a clear plan to close the gaps on ambition, adaptation, and finance.

The Secretary-General stressed that local leadership will be the force that turns this plan to life. He noted that a decade ago, bold leadership gave us the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (Sustainable Development Goals). Today, he added, we must summon that same courage and solidarity - to make the clean energy revolution the engine of climate justice.

**Occupied Palestinian Territory

Turning to Gaza, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that the ongoing scale-up of the aid response is already having a positive impact on people in all areas of the Strip. But much more is needed so that we can address the full scale of the needs and leave no one behind.

This Saturday, the UN and our partners collected nearly 200 truckloads of essential supplies from Israeli crossings along the perimeter fence that encircles Gaza. Among the supplies were nearly 1,900 metric tons of different food supplies and wheat flour and over 100 pallets of food boxes. The supplies also included over 1,000 pallets of mattresses, blankets, tents, tarpaulins and winter clothes. And they included nearly 300 pallets full of hygiene kits, buckets, water containers, and jerry cans; 50 pallets of fortified cereals; and some 200 pallets of dignity kits, menstrual health kits, and midwifery supplies.

On Sunday - based on initial data that's still partial - our teams collected nearly 1,000 pallets of blankets, tents, hygiene kits, water tanks, mats, winter clothes, tarpaulins and jerry cans, alongside one truckload of animal fodder.

All of this data is preliminary, and it covers the UN and our partners but does not include bilateral donations and the commercial sector.

Inside Gaza, the UN and our partners are currently supporting 17 bakeries in Gaza - nine in the south and eight in the north, which produce 150,000 bread bundles every day. That's as of Thursday. These bread bundles are distributed through more than 400 points across the Gaza Strip. We're also supporting 180 kitchens serving nearly 1,160,000 meals every day. This is as of Saturday. And all of this is in addition to the distribution of food parcels.

On the nutrition front, we are currently supporting 133 treatment sites, including 20 in Gaza City, where famine was confirmed in August.

We're also improving services that prevent malnutrition, including by providing blanket supplementary feeding.

On Saturday and Sunday, our teams also delivered 1,000 tarpaulins and 2,500 blankets to people in need.

Since the ceasefire, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) has supported an estimated 90,000 women and girls with reproductive health and hygiene items. This includes the distribution of medical equipment and supplies to 13 health facilities across the Strip, including incubators and surgery equipment. UNFPA has also distributed thousands of post-partum kits and dignity kits to women and girls.

Meanwhile, renovation is ongoing in four schools, and, over the past three days, the UN and our partners have supported the reopening of five temporary learning spaces in Gaza City.

On Friday, the United Nations Satellite Centre published a new comprehensive assessment indicating that some 81 per cent of all structures in the Gaza Strip are damaged. Northern Gaza experienced the largest increases in damage since July 2025, with nearly 5,700 newly affected structures. Overall, more than 123,000 structures across the Strip have been identified as destroyed, another 50,000 are severely or moderately damaged, and 24,000 are possibly damaged. That's nearly 200,000 affected structures in total.

**Sudan

Turning to Sudan, the Humanitarian Coordinator, Denise Brown, continues to warn of ongoing violence against civilians - including women and children - in and around El Fasher, following the Rapid Support Forces' takeover of North Darfur's state capital last week.

We continue to receive credible reports of summary executions and sexual violence. And more than a week after the takeover, the city remains barricaded, and civilians are unable to leave.

Hundreds of civilians, including humanitarian workers, have reportedly been killed, while large numbers remain trapped inside the city with little or no communication to the outside world. The delivery of life-saving assistance remains blocked by the RSF, contrary to its obligation under international humanitarian law to facilitate the rapid and unimpeded passage of such relief. OCHA stresses that this obstruction is unacceptable and calls for immediate and unhindered access to the people trapped in El Fasher. An immediate cessation of hostilities is crucial to ensure the protection of civilians.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports that nearly 71,000 people have fled El Fasher and surrounding areas since 26 October, most towards the locality of Tawila, where camps are already overcrowded. Many new arrivals have reported witnessing or facing killings, abductions and sexual violence along the way.

Conditions in Tawila are dire: Families are living in the open or in makeshift shelters, food stocks are running out, and clean water is scarce. We and our partners are providing emergency assistance - including daily meals, healthcare, water, sanitation, nutrition and psychosocial support - but these efforts cover only a fraction of the needs due to funding constraints.

Meanwhile, in Sudan's Kordofan region, violence has also sharply escalated, triggering large-scale displacement and civilian suffering. In North Kordofan State, grave violations - including the alleged summary execution of civilians - have been reported in the locality of Bara.

IOM reports that between 26 and 31 October, about 37,000 people were displaced from Bara, Um Rawaba and surrounding villages, many fleeing towards Sheikan and White Nile State. Civilians face mounting insecurity, food shortages, and the destruction of basic infrastructure.

In South Kordofan State, UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) said yesterday that at least eight children were reportedly killed and three others injured after missile strikes hit displacement shelters last Friday [31 October]. The reported strikes on these sites in the state capital, Kadugli, underscore the grave risks facing civilians. Continued fighting has displaced about 400 people from Abassiya and Delami towns. Families are sheltering in makeshift locations with little access to food, water or healthcare.

Once again, OCHA calls for urgent, flexible funding to support the millions of people caught in Sudan's devastating conflict.

With just two months left in the year, the 2025 humanitarian response plan for Sudan is only 28 per cent funded in the face of overwhelming needs - with $1.17 billion received to date of the $4.16 billion required.

**United Republic of Tanzania

Over the weekend, we issued a statement on the Secretary-General's deep concern atthe situation in the United Republic of Tanzania following the general elections of 29 October, including reports of deaths and injuries during demonstrations. He deplores the loss of life and extends his condolences to the families of the victims.

He underscores the critical importance of safeguarding fundamental rights, notably the right of peaceful assembly and to freedom of expression including access to information. He calls for a thorough and impartial investigation into all allegations of excessive use of force.

The full statement is online.

**Afghanistan

Turning to Afghanistan, the UN and our humanitarian partners are closely monitoring the situation following reports of a 6.3 magnitude earthquake that hit near Mazar-e-Sharif, in Balkh province, in the country's north last night. Initial reports estimate that 20 people have been killed and over 900 injured, with many homes reportedly destroyed.

The UN is working with local and national disaster management authorities to assess the situation and coordinate the delivery of humanitarian assistance.

Even prior to this earthquake, people in the region were already experiencing drought and limited basic services following the return of over 2 million people to Afghanistan this year, as well as chronic poverty.

The UN continues to call for support to address humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. Our appeal remains severely underfunded, with just over a third of the $2.4 billion Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan funded, leaving a gap of more than $1.5 billion.

**Hurricane Melissa

Over the weekend, you will have seen that we issued a statement in which the Secretary-General said that he had spoken by telephone with the Prime Minister of Jamaica, Andrew Holness, to express his solidarity with the Government and people of Jamaica as they deal with the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa. The Secretary-General emphasized that international support is crucial at this time and called for the mobilization of massive resources to deal with the loss and damage from the hurricane.

Our humanitarian colleagues note that the Central Emergency Response Fund has released $4 million to scale up the response. The funds will focus on providing support in the areas of food, health, water, shelter, logistics, and sanitation and hygiene.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that logistics continue to pose major challenges, with debris and destroyed roads blocking access to some affected areas. Assessments are continuing, and OCHA is coordinating information management efforts. More members of a UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination team arrived today, joining others who reached Jamaica yesterday.

WFP, with support from local residents, is setting up a mobile storage unit on the grounds of a church in the town of Santa Cruz in Saint Elisabeth Parish. The site will serve as a staging point for supplies moving to the west of the country.

Turning to Cuba, the UN has finalized an emergency action plan, focusing on the eastern part of the island, which was severely impacted by the hurricane. We will share with you more details on the plan tomorrow.

In the meantime, we, along with our partners, continue to support the response. Nearly 300 heath facilities and 600 schools have been significantly damaged, and some 25,000 people remain in shelters. Electricity, running water and the availability of medicine are critical concerns.

UNICEF has dispatched kits with medical supplies for 90,000 people. The kits include critical medicine, medical supplies, mosquito nets and oral rehydration salts, which are critical for preventing vector-borne diseases and treating dehydration among children. WFP is also providing food assistance to 180,000 people.

**Haiti

We have an update on our work in Haiti, where over the weekend, a technical assessment mission for the UN Support Office in Haiti was completed.

You will recall that the Support Office was authorized by the Security Council in resolution 2793, adopted on 30 September. As you can imagine, the purpose of this assessment mission was to move forward with this process and to validate the mission support concept for the establishment of the UN Support Office.

A team of technical experts and planners from the Department of Operational Support - including engineering, procurement, logistics, telecommunications, together with our security colleagues [DSS], travelled to Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

The team, alongside representatives from the departments of Peace Operations and Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, also went to Washington, D.C., to work with key interlocutors.

Throughout the mission, the team met with a variety of stakeholders to prepare for the transition of support. This included Haitian authorities, the UN Country Team and our political mission in Haiti - BINUH. They also met with Dominican Republic authorities, current contractors, the Organization of American States and member states who are supporting Haiti.

Immediately following the adoption of the Security Council resolution in September, the Department of Operational Support initiated its operational planning across all mandated areas to assume responsibility for full logistical support to the Gang Suppression Force by the end of March next year - and to meet the six-month timeline of the mandate.

Planning and delivery for the UN Support Office will be undertaken with strong coordination and cooperation across the UN system, also in line with the Security Council Resolution.

And we will keep you updated on the process.

**Ukraine

From Ukraine, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that attacks and hostilities continued over the weekend, with more reports of civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure.

According to authorities, at least 24 civilians were killed and another 84 injured, including children, between 1 November and this morning. The most affected areas include the regions of Dnipro, Donetsk, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Odesa.

The attacks also damaged schools, railway and energy infrastructure, as well as residential buildings, disrupting access to electricity and heating.

Meanwhile, the security situation continues to deteriorate in the front-line town of Pokrovsk and surrounding areas in the region of Donetsk. As of the end of October, more than 1,200 civilians remain in the town, which has become the epicentre of hostilities in the region. Authorities report that evacuations are currently impossible due to ongoing hostilities.

Between 31 October and 2 November, around 500 people were evacuated from Donetsk region, according to humanitarians on the ground. More than 200,000 people, including over 13,000 children, remain in the region, according to the authorities.

Between January and September, our humanitarian partners provided vital help to more than 300,000 people in the region of Donetsk. Around 150 organizations delivered food assistance, emergency water supply, and repaired water and wastewater systems. In addition, some 40,000 people, including older residents and those with disabilities, received transportation and evacuation support.

**Land Degradation

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today released a report showing that approximately 1.7 billion people live in areas where crop yields are falling because of human-induced land degradation. FAO warns that this is a pervasive and silent crisis that is undermining agricultural productivity and threatening ecosystem health worldwide.

Yet the State of Food and Agriculture report also offers hope: reversing just 10 per cent of human-induced degradation on existing croplands could restore enough production to feed an additional 154 million people every year. To achieve this, the report calls for integrated land-use strategies and policy interventions - including regulatory measures like deforestation controls and incentive-based programs.

The full report is available online.

**Marathon

If you are like me, you may have followed the New York marathon on television, but we do have colleagues who took part in the race.

I want to flag two of them - two colleagues we work closely with.

The first is Duncan Nyasinga, one of our security colleagues. He finished with a time of 2 hours 36 minutes and 16 seconds. I know, it's really impressive! He finished 269th out of over 59,000 runners and he was the sixth Kenyan man to finish the race.

We also want to flag our colleague Alix Genetay, one of the Secretary-General's Special Assistants. She ran her first marathon yesterday and finished in less than 5 hours.

Congratulations to both of them, and to all our other colleagues - and runners - who took part in this great event yesterday.

**Questions and Answers

Deputy Spokesman: I'll now take some questions. Yes, Gabriel?

Question: Thank you, Farhan. And congratulations to those two UN colleagues. Yesterday was the International Day to end impunity for crimes against journalists. As I think you know, more journalists have been killed in Gaza in the last two years than the Civil War in the United States, World War I, World War II, Korean War and the Vietnam War combined. More than 240 journalists in Gaza. Does the Secretary-General have a statement specifically about how to end the impunity for those who kill journalists?

Deputy Spokesman: We have long believed that there needs to be an end to all the impunity with which countries around the world have seen journalists killed. Journalists are the eyes and ears of the world, and it's small surprise that there are forces on the ground, including governments, who try to silence them. That cannot be acceptable in any place. Certainly, in what you've said about Gaza, we've spoken out at length about this, including through the Secretary-General and through the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and both of them have said repeatedly that there needs to be accountability for all the crimes committed in Gaza, including against journalists.

Question: I have one more question; OCHA did a survey of households in Gaza, asking them, has your access to food improved last month since the ceasefire? Fifty per cent said it's improved and 50 per cent said it's the same or actually less access to food, since the ceasefire. How can we say that Palestinians in Gaza are receiving the food aid they need if half of them say they're not?

Deputy Spokesman: Yes, we've been pointing out the problems in getting food to all of those in need, and you've seen what we've had to say since the ceasefire started. We believe that on a day-to-day basis, we're reaching more places and so the access to food is improving gradually, but we need to get aid to all the people who need it. Therefore, we need a lot of different things, not just more crossing points open, but, for example, we need to make sure that all distribution points are working. We need to make sure that everyone who needs visas to do their work in Gaza, including international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), have that access. And ultimately, we need to make sure that there are no areas that are off limits for whatever reason, whether it's bad road conditions or the level of destruction in the surrounding areas. We need to get to every place and provide to everyone. Abdelhamid?

Question: I first want to follow up with Gabriel's question. His question was, was there a statement on this occasion, the International Day of the impunity of killing journalists? Why, if there is no statement, especially for this occasion, why?

Deputy Spokesman: There was a message that the Secretary-General puts out every year. I was repeating some of the sentiments of that, but I was speaking specifically to Gabriel's question concerning Gaza.

Question: So, there was a statement?

Deputy Spokesman: Yes, there's a message that comes out every year.

Question: Okay, my questions now. First, Israel passed with the first reading the death sentence on Palestinians who accused of committing terrorism or killing among Israelis. Any comment on that?

Deputy Spokesman: What was the question again?

Correspondent: Israelis now accepting the idea of death sentence against Palestinians.

Deputy Spokesman: You know what our position is against the death sentence in any country. And we've made clear that even those countries that have capital punishment should put a moratorium on any actual death sentences.

Question: My next question. Is it okay?

Deputy Spokesman: Okay, yeah, one more, and then we'll go around.

Question: Okay. Since the beginning of the year, 43 children were killed in the West Bank. Today, two of, two Palestinians were killed. And in the last two days there were two children, one of 15 from the village of Silwad and one of 17 from the village of Beit Furik. And yet this important development, especially killed by the settlers, it doesn't show in your briefing.

Deputy Spokesman: That's simply not true. Every few days, we mention the killings by settlers. I did so and Stéphane [Dujarric] did so last week, as well. Yeah. Linda?

Question: Thank you, Farhan. Apropos of Afghanistan, you mentioned that the appeal is not very well funded. My question to you is this. I know that the Taliban, of course, had banned Afghan women from working with the UN in humanitarian efforts. I was just wondering what the status, if that was still on, and if international women perhaps are replacing them, or how is it all working for the UN?

Deputy Spokesman: Well, we have to deal with this in a number of aspects, but we are talking to the authorities, the de facto authorities, to make sure that women can participate. In terms of the earthquake that I just mentioned, for example, I can tell you that the initial assessments did include women, and that was approved by the de facto authorities. And discussions are ongoing with them regarding the ongoing engagement of female humanitarians, who are critical to the earthquake response. Namo? Oh, yeah, one more.

Question: But in general, prior to the earthquake, are Afghan women back working with the UN?

Deputy Spokesman: No, this continues to be a problem. So, we're continuing to deal with them on this. They've placed restrictions, and you've heard us repeatedly say that this is unfair and it's damaging our humanitarian work. Namo?

Question: Thank you, Farhan. I have two questions. One on Iraqi elections, which are scheduled to take place in about a week. Is the United Nations playing any role in the elections? And also, are you aware of the participation of militant groups in the elections? Doesn't that pose any threat to the integrity of the vote? And my second question is on Western Sahara. I can ask after you answer.

Deputy Spokesman: Well, first let me tell you about Iraq, but why don't you ask me… While I'm finding the thing to tell you, why don't you ask me a question on Western Sahara?

Question: So, the Security Council resolution, which was passed on 31 October, approving of the proposal by Morocco to grant autonomy to that region, does the Secretary-General have anything to say on that? And what role would the United Nations play to make sure the parties would agree to that resolution, to abide?

Deputy Spokesman: We are going to abide by the language of the resolution, and the lead on that is taken, of course, by the Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General, Staffan de Mistura, who will now use the resolution to reach out to the parties to see whether we can open another round of negotiations. And we'll brief you on that, as it happens.

Now, regarding your question on monitoring the elections in Iraq, I can tell you that the UN does not have a mandate to observe the parliamentary elections in Iraq. We're providing robust technical electoral assistance to Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) on the electoral process, which is what we've done for 17 previous elections since 2004. And regarding the registration of armed groups, I can say that the registration of political parties and coalitions for elections in Iraq is a nationally led and owned process administered by the Independent High Electoral Commission, in accordance with relevant Iraqi laws and regulations. The UN is providing technical assistance to support the IHEC's efforts to promote transparency, inclusion and trust in the electoral process. Okay, Stefano?

Question: Thank you, Farhan. First a question, then a follow-up. President [Donald] Trump tells military to prepare for action against Islamist militants in Nigeria. What does Secretary-General think about that? And especially does the Secretary-General think that, you know, the Christians in this moment in Nigeria are in danger? And so, in this case, will it be an intervention by the United States, legal or not?

Deputy Spokesman: Our principled position on this is that Member States must ensure that their actions are in accordance with international law, including the UN Charter, which specifically calls on all Member States to refrain from threat or use of force against the territorial integrity of any state or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations. Regarding the claims about religiously based violence in Nigeria, what I can say is, tragically, Nigerians of all faiths have suffered the scourge of terrorism and violent extremism. We stand ready to continue to support Nigeria's efforts to address the root causes of violence and protect human rights.

Question: Okay. And then on a follow-up on the question before on West Sahara, I know that it's a resolution of Security Council and you know that the Secretary-General has nothing to do with it, but at least does the Secretary-General think that this resolution basically acknowledges sovereignty of the Morocco, sovereignty on West Sahara or not? Because, you know, they went out and there were half of the of the Security Council saying that this is what happened and another half of them say that is not at all.

Deputy Spokesman: We would refer you to the language of the resolution itself…

Question: But can you help to understand?

Deputy Spokesman: Which has certain elements of nuance. And I don't want to describe it in a way that would be inaccurate.

Question: To, at least for the Secretary-General. We want to know, what if he read it? He read the resolution. So, does he think this is an unknown?

Deputy Spokesman: Of course, he's read the resolution. Yes, Pam?

Question: Thank you. Farhan. There were attacks Sunday that you mentioned in Odessa in Ukraine by Russia, targeting infrastructure. One of those areas without power was Zaporizhzhia. And we heard from the Director-General of the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) last week, that there was a sort of small, dedicated truce that was negotiated with Ukraine and Russia to not attack Zaporizhzhia. Do you know if Zaporizhzhia - these were drones, I haven't seen anything - was in any way impacted by these drone strikes on Ukraine?

Deputy Spokesman: Basically, the areas I can tell you that were affected were Dnipro, Donetsk, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Odessa. Zaporizhzhia was not included in that. Prosper?

Question: Thank you very much. Last week, during the conference on Peace and Security on Great Lakes that has been held in Paris, France has expressed the wish of reopening Goma International Airport for humanitarian flights. But shortly after, we have seen that Congolese authorities and M23 are disputing over the reopening of the airport. Each other is claiming that he has the authority about the reopening of that infrastructure. What is the UN comment about this dispute?

Deputy Spokesman: Our comment is that we want the parties on the ground to resolve the matter in such a way that the airport can be used and can be open and that humanitarian activity can be carried out in the region unimpeded. Have a good afternoon, everyone.