Secretary General Press Briefing - UNON, Africa - France Summit

Good afternoon. Yes, good afternoon. Welcome to this press conference. The Secretary General will make a few opening remarks and then we'll take some questions. Sir, please, you have the floor.

Ladies and gentlemen of the media, it

is a great pleasure to be back in Nairobi. And I thank President Rutu and the

people of Kenya from their warm hospitality.

Earlier today we marked two milestones on this campus. The inauguration of the new office blocks and the groundbreaking of a new conference facility. These projects affirm Africa's place at the heart of the UN and at the

heart of international cooperation.

Nairobi is one of the United nations green centers of gravity, the only UN headquarters in Africa. Kenya is a generous host and a strategic partner in diplomacy, development, humanitarian action, environmental leadership and peace. The United nations must be closer to the people it serves, connected to their realities, equipped to support the solutions that they are building. And that is also why I am here. To reaffirm a simple truth. Africa must have the voice, the representation and the resources its people deserve. The continent has enormous potential. But that potential is being constrained by an unfair international system. Too many African countries face egregious borrowing costs. Too many climate vulnerable countries are still waiting for the support they were promised. And too often, African countries are expected to live with decisions made in institutions in which they have no equal voice. That must change. We need deeper reforms of the international financial architecture. Greater investment on terms that allow countries to build, grow and transform. And global institutions that reflect the world as it is today, not as it

was 80 years ago.

And this includes the Security Council where an historic injustice persists in denying Africa permanent seats. We must correct this injustice. And it includes the international financial institutions where Africa is clearly underrepresented. Let's tell it like it is.

Reform cannot wait.

This will be my message tomorrow for the Africa Forward Summit. And it is the message I will carry to Addis Ababa at the annual conference between the African Union and the United Nations. The partnership between our two organizations is central to the future of multilateralism. Nowhere is that partnership more urgent than in the pursuit of peace. No discussion of Africa's future can ignore the conflicts causing so much suffering across the continent. In Sudan, the war is tearing apart one of Africa's largest countries. Especially now that drones have been introduced by both sides and attacking civilian targets. Civilians are paying an unconscionable price as they continue to be targeted. Intentionally starved and forcibly displaced. It is high time for an immediate cessation of hostilities, a sustainable ceasefire and the Sudanese led civilian democratic transition in South Sudan. The priority must be to restore Trust, resume dialogue and implement the revitalized peace agreement in full in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Agreements reached at the negotiation table must become facts on the ground. An immediate and permanent ceasefire, respect for the territorial integrity of the DRC and real progress through inclusive dialogue and in the sil. Terrorism, insecurity, climate pressures and poverty are feeding a grave downward spiral. Communities are being squeezed from every side by violence, hunger, displacement and weakening public authority. There are no military solutions to these conflicts. Lasting peace requires courage. It requires dialogue, institutions people can trust, and regional and international cooperation with African leadership and UN support. And it requires that those many times from outside Africa stop being the spoilers of these conflicts, providing weapons to the parties to the conflict and making it more difficult to find peaceful solutions. At the same time, Africa is being hit by shocks that began far beyond this continent. The war involving Iran is not a distant crisis. Its impacts are being felt across the global economy. Roughly 13% of Africa's imports, largely oil and fertilizers, move through the Strait of Hormuz. And with four in five African countries net importers, every disruption, it's hard. Countries already paying too much to borrow are forced to pay even more to import energy or fertilizers, move goods, feed people and protect the most vulnerable. Prices for Urrea, one of the most widely used fertilizers, have risen by more than 35% in a month at the height of the planting season. That is why de escalation is urgent. Navigational rights and freedoms must be restored. The Strait of Hormuz must reopen fully and safely. And all parties must refrain from any action that would widen the conflict. Diplomacy must be given every chance. Ladies and gentlemen. Kenya knows the value of peace, cooperation and international engagement. Africa knows the cost of injustice and the power of solidarity. That is why the United nations is deepening its roots in Africa. To stand with the Africans, to support African leadership, to help advance peace, development and climate justice, and to keep pressing for a fairer international system, one that gives Africa the voice, resources and representation it has long been denied.

Thank you.

Thank you very much. We'll take a few questions. Yes, please, go ahead. Go ahead. If you could speak loudly and identify yourself.

Eric Randall from afb. You've spoken about often about the need for Security Council reform again today, particularly African representation. Do you, more than anyone, knows the difficulty of really putting that into practice? No permanent Security Council member will vote to dilute their own power, let alone all five. Is there a risk you're even complicit in prolonging the problem by giving the impression that change is coming when it's not. Do you see a real path? What does that look like to report?

I see a number of important initiatives that must be recognized.

Until now, no permanent member of the

Security Council has denied the need to have an African representation with two permanent members of the Security Council. Until now, all have pronounced themselves favorably.

On the other hand, I know that

the UK and France are preparing legislation, I mean, for the Security Council, limiting the right of veto in case of genocide or very horrible equivalent situations. So these questions are on the table or will be soon on the table.

So we need to have all countries

recognizing that the country that a Security

Council in which there are three European

members, one Asian member and one North

American member, and no Latin America or

African members, and just one nation doesn't correspond at all to the world of today.

And this creates a problem of legitimacy. And with the legitimacy comes its effectiveness

in guaranteeing peace and security in the world.

So the reform will be difficult, but

there are some steps already in the right direction. And I think it's important to say that reform is absolutely necessary because with the geopolitical divides we are witnessing, to secure peace and security in the present world is becoming extremely, extremely difficult. And we need an effective Security Council.

Thank you. A gentleman in the right there, if you could.

Secretary General, My name is Melito. I'm a famous for Citizen tv. My question is in regard to the infrastructure expansion today that you witnessed, how are Kenyans going to tap into the opportunities that will come with the construction of the facilities? And my second question is this sets the stage after the relocation of departments to Nairobi, perhaps. Are you in talks with the Kenyan government to ensure that there is carving of runaway, for instance, rental prices and things like that, and how this will be benefiting the entire economy?

We are in very close contact with the Kenyan government. And I'm very grateful for the fact that the Kenyan government is taking very seriously to transform Nairobi into a true international center, but to the benefit of the Kenyan people. And indeed, what we are doing here is creating, first of all, we have the groundbreaking ceremony today, a center of

conferences, which will be the third UN

location where the General assembly and the Security Council can meet. And it will create numerous opportunities for other kinds of conferences to take place in Nairobi.

And.

And today we know our international conferences are an important factor to stimulate tourism and the development of the country. Secondly, we are moving stuff into Nairobi and creating in Nairobi conditions to have here a true global center. And this is done in very close cooperation with the Kenyan government. And the truth is that this, those national Kenyans and internationals that are now

coming to work in the UN in

Kenya, they will, I'm sure, contribute in a positive way to the Kenyan economy. So I am convinced that to expand these headquarters of the UN is a matter of justice. This is only headquarters in the south.

And again, the reason is the same.

All this was devised in 1945. And in 1945, Africa was not yet represented and many other countries of the developing world would not yet exist.

And so the centers of the UN were created in the global north. And now we are correcting this situation.

We have less staff in New York, we will have a bit of less stuff in Geneva, and we have more stuff in Nairobi. And I think this is the right thing to do.

Thank you, Chairman. In the back there, if you could go ahead.

Thank you very much. Mr. Secretary General, my name is Daniel from CEN Africa. Mr. Secretary General, we've already spoken about the big picture about fuel prices going up. Otherwise the price is going up. I just wanted to know from you, from a very small person, how should it took to ride?

How should.

Motorcycle rider, normal person. Yeah, okay.

Yes, thank you.

How could.

Well, how should that person, should that small person be concerned about the increase in field price? Should a small farmer in the village with a small garden be concerned about increasing fertilizer prices?

No.

We are witnessing high increases in prices because of the Strait of Hormuz being blocked. And that is the reason why we consider that it's absolutely essential and we have appealed to the two parties to open the Strait of Armuz completely without restrictions. That is the only way to bring energy prices and fertilizer prices back to the levels that we had before the war. And this is vital for countries like Kenya. Kenya, from the point of view of fertilizers, is better equipped than other countries because most of the planting season had already taken place. But others are now facing the planting season. And without fertilizers, you can imagine that we risk to have a serious

food

security problem next year. So this is the moment in which the opening of the Strait of Hormuz

without restrictions is a must from the point of view of the interests of

the international community as a whole. It doesn't make sense that a conflict between a few countries has an impact that undermines the global economy everywhere in the world.

Thank you. Yes, please, in the front.

You could speak a little louder, please.

Sorry.

My name is Lucia. I work for Nationalization and I wanted to ask you about the recent sanctions, the Recent sanctions that were announced by the US against Cuba. Do you think this is the right way to go in the current context? And are you also worried about a similar attack to the one that you saw in Venezuela?

Well, in relation to the situation in the Gulf, I think it is absolutely essential to find a diplomatic solution. And my strong appeal is for the negotiations to go on until that diplomatic solution is found. The ceasefire to be maintained and in between the Strait of Hormuz to be completely open. I think that is the only way to address the problem. Any restart of the fighting would have terrible consequences.

Sorry, the question was about the sanctions on US, sanctions on Cuba.

Our position in relation to the sanctions in Cuba is very clear. There is a resolution every year of the General assembly that considered those sanctions to be in violation of international law. And obviously we are very worried with the humanitarian situation in Cuba. And we believe that there are no solution, no military solution that can be sought for Cuba, that we need to have a meaningful dialogue in order to make sure that the Cuban people do not go on suffering as dramatically as they are. I think it's not possible to have a similar situation because Venezuela was completely different. In Venezuela, to be honest, we saw a military operation against Maduro, but I have the idea that there were very large complicities within the Venezuelan political system. So to compare Venezuela to Cuba, I think is an unfair comparison.

The gentleman in the front right here.

Thank you so very much, Mr. Secretary General.

My name is Rafael Bony. I comment on global trades and global affairs, especially on the. And my question is, of course, the expansion of UN offices in Nairobi signals a global shift and which is really great for Kenya and for Africa, but it comes at a time where there was so, you know, financial support to international organizations like the UN issuing.

How do you ensure that movement of

offices here and expansion of Nairobi office remains strong, especially when it comes to resources.

So that Africa, well, the biggest advantage of Nairobi, it is a cheaper location than other UN location. So one of the ways in which we can reduce our costs is exactly moving several of our areas from other places to Nairobi. And that is the best guarantee that Nairobi will go on growing. Because from the strictly financial point of view, to invest in Nairobi is good business for the un.

Last question over there, gentlemen.

Speak a little louder, please.

Thank you.

I am a bit deaf, I must say. I can show you my devices.

My name is Bill O from Prime Africa.

So in regard to the ongoing conflicts across the world, we've been seeing some alarming number of journalists in the. My question is what is the United nations doing?

One question.

The question was the killing of journalists

in around the world what we're doing. Go ahead.

Yeah.

So I'm asking what is the United Nation doing in matters of the journalists then secondly, has the United Nation acknowledged or recognized the journalist who have done

well? This is a major concern for us. We have been extremely active namely in relation to advocacy for accountability. I recently made an intervention exactly on this situation and the question is that not only we have more and more journalists being killed and of course others suffering all kinds of harassment, but there is no accountability in relation to perpetrators of these crimes. And so I've been mobilizing the Human Rights High Commissioner in order to take all possible initiatives in order for effective accountability to be established in relation to the crimes committed against journalists.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, sir.