Ukraine, South Sudan & other topics - Daily Press Briefing

In a very short while, we're going to be joined by our friend Francisco Pichon, who is the Resident Coordinator for the United nations in Cuba. He will be joining us from Havana. As soon as I'm done with you and you are done with me and I'm getting something, to me, breaking news no doubt important, but not breaking. All right, we'll start off with Ukraine today. And I can tell you that we continue to condemn the attacks by the armed forces of Russian Federation against civilians and civilian infrastructure in the Russian in Ukraine, such attacks, wherever they occur, violate international humanitarian law and unacceptable and unjustifiable and must stop immediately from the ground.

Our colleagues at the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian affairs tell us that overnight a large scale drone and missile attack combined with frontline hostilities resulted in civilian casualties and damaged homes and critical infrastructure across the country. Between yesterday and the early hours of today, an overnight large scale drone attack and missile attack across Ukraine and in frontline and frontline hostilities resulted in dozens residential buildings damaged in Kyiv as well as Kirovodratska, Kievska and Vinytska oblasts. In the Odessa region, some 40,000 families were left without electricity. And in the Poltava region, damage to gas facilities disrupted power supply for around 20,000 families and businesses. The Ministry of Energy reported additional outages in several eastern and southern regions, continuing a pattern of winter attacks on energy systems.

Our humanitarian partners on the ground provided materials for basic repairs as well as first aid. Last month, authorities and our partners said nearly 7,000 people were evacuated from frontline areas in eastern Ukraine. Turning to South Sudan, where we've seen the violence spiraling across the country and particularly an incident I wanted to flag over the weekend which involved the brutal killings of civilians in IoT county, which is in Zhonglei state. I can tell you that we understand an investigation is underway this particularly horrific incident. We reiterate once again that violence against civilians is unacceptable.

Civilians must be protected at all times. We call again on all parties to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law. As Tom Fletcher witnessed in South Sudan earlier this week, the humanitarian situation in the country is rapidly deteriorating, driven by renewed clashes, soaring civilian displacement due to insecurity and constraints on humanitarian access. Turning to Gaza, Ramis Al Akbarov, our Deputy Special Coordinator and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory, wrapped up his two day visit to the Gaza Strip. Before leaving Gaza, he joined a medical evacuation mission at the Rafah crossing where we and our partners help patients and their caregivers go to Egypt for urgent medical treatment.

He also visited a Reception center in Rafah supporting people who are returning to Gaza. Mr. Lakbarov spent the last two days in Gaza meeting with our partners, visiting humanitarian facilities, supported by ourselves as well as others, and assessing gaps and challenges in the response. Meanwhile, our partners leading on water, sanitation, hygiene services tell us then the last few months they have delivered 17,000 hygiene kits to children and their families. Hundreds of water tanks have been installed near tents since the ceasefire took hold. This makes it easier for people to find access to clean water.

While needs remain immense, our humanitarian partners continue to do everything possible to scale up assistance under what remains very challenging circumstances. And on food security, our partners report that this month families in Gaza have on average had two meals a day compared to one meal a day in July of 2025. While this marks a modest improvement, many families tell our colleagues that they are struggling to afford food and other essential goods. To help put food on the table in January, humanitarians provided cash assistance to three quarter of a million people in Gaza. And on shelter, partners tell us that they've provided tents, tarpaulins and other supplies to more than 27,000 families.

Additionally today in the city of Bani Sohaila in Khan Younis, more than 400 vulnerable families living in this area receive food and other essential assistance. Aid workers are also distributing emergency shelter material consisting mainly of salvaged timber and metal pallets. In Khan Younis and Gaza, the material is being used to build housing units that can endure harsh winter conditions which are continuing. Most families across Gaza live in unsafe structures as hundreds of thousands of housing units have now been damaged since October 2023. We once again appeal for the lifting of restrictions on the entry of construction materials into the Gaza Strip so families can move towards a safe and sustainable housing solutions.

I want to flag a report by the International Organization for Migration that today shows that at least 7,667 people died or went missing on migration routes in 2025. According to IOM, sea crossings remain among the deadliest routes. In 2025, at least 2,185 people died or went missing in the Mediterranean and while 1,214 were recorded in the Western Africa Atlantic routes towards the Canary Islands. Despite year round declines, IOM says the real toll is likely much higher as at least 1500 additional people were reported missing at sea but could not be verified due to limited access to search and rescue information. IOM also tells us that the numbers in 2025 are lower than the nearly 9,200 deaths recorded in 2024 and said the decline reflects fewer people attempting dangerous irregular migration routes, particularly in the Americas.

However, the agency says the decline is also due to restricted access to information and funding constraints for humanitarian actors documenting migrant deaths and key routes. IOM is calling for urgent funding to strengthen data collection to better guide the humanitarian system in delivering life saving response. Also another report, the International Narcotics Control Board published its annual report today which highlights how the health and well being of people worldwide has been protected by international cooperation through the framework of drug control conventions. The report describes how the collective action of states has played a vital role to reduce the social and economic harms of illicit drugs. For example, last year the Board's work prevented the diversion of three metric tons of a fentanyl precursor which could have been used to illicitly manufacture up to 3.3 metric tons of fentanyl.

Our colleague's work has also strengthened the knowledge and capacity of national authorities to implement drug control conventions. The International Narcotics Control Board, as you know, is an independent quasi judicial body mandated to monitor government's implementation of the three International Drug Control Commission interventions, which is the backbone of the global drug control system. Unfortunately, no money. So I have no questions for you, but you may have some for me before we go to Francisco. Please.

Edie. Sorry. I didn't even think I needed to call on you after all these years. Go ahead.

Thank you. Steph. The first lady of the United States, Melania Trump, will be chairing a Security Council meeting on Monday afternoon. Can you check whether she will be the first wife of a world leader to chair a Security Council meeting? And will the Secretary General meet with her?

We actually did check and I can confirm that. According to our records, this will be the first time a First lady, or first gentleman for that matter, has ever presided over a Security Council meeting. Though there have been instances of First Ladies having participated in a meeting on behalf of non members of the Council. I will get back to you on a potential meeting. I know Rosemary DeCarlo will be briefing on behalf of the Secretary.

During that meeting and as a follow up to the President, President Trump's recent speech, he indicated that he wanted to speak with the Secretary General and was quite positive in his remarks. Has any conversation been set up?

No, no phone call for me to confirm as of yet. But if it happens, trust me, I will share that with you.

And will the Secretary General take the initiative or will the UN wait?

As soon as something is confirmed, I will let you know.

Gabriel.

Thanks, Steph. I normally wouldn't ask you a question about countries, consular services that they're providing because that wouldn't be under your remit, of course. However, this is a potentially unique situation. The United States has announced that they will be providing consular services in two settlements in the occupied West Bank.

What is the Secretary General's reaction to that?

I mean, we've seen those reports for the Secretary General. His position, the position of the UN is unchanged, that settlements remain illegal under international law as well as the architecture around them. And for us, the occupied west bank remains occupied territory.

Does the Secretary General have any comment about Cindy McCain stepping down as the head of the.

Well, first of all, I think the Secretary General has greatly, greatly appreciated the work that Cindy McCain has done as the head of the World Food Program. Also, just so everybody's clear, she's stepping down in three months. But I do want to make that clear. And I think the work that she's done in leading the agency and reforming the agency at a time of extreme humanitarian needs, at a time where there is less and less resources to go around, is something that the Secretary General has hugely appreciated. Benno, thank you.

I want to go back to the visit of the first lady. So how do you see it, given that the President of the United States is criticizing the United nations very often and very strongly? Do you see it as a sign of a good sign of hope for the relationship or something?

Far be it for me to comment on the question itself, but I don't really. I mean, I think as Edie mentioned and in his last remarks, the President of the United States was rather complimentary towards the UN has always said very nice things about the Secretary General.

Obviously, it's a sign of the importance of that the United States feels towards the Security Council and the subject at hand, namo. And then we'll go to Pan on the report about the ANCB report about drugs.

It says that illicit manufacturing and trafficking of synthetic drugs are expanding in West Asia, including from fragile countries like Iraq and Syria. My question is, does the United do you believe that the United nations and the world sees West Asia, the Middle east as a priority in the drug response?

Look, there is, there are every region demands a priority, right? I mean, we know about the, the trade illicit drugs in the Western Hemisphere. We know the issue of notably of Captagon has been a big issue in the Middle East. And I think we've seen the efforts made by governments in the region and especially the new government in Syria to try to crack down on the Captagon trade. Pan then Benny and then Amy.

Thank you, Steph. The Washington Post listed The demands that the United States has brought to Geneva for talks with Iran, which include destroying all three nuclear sites and handing over all enriched uranium to the United States. Does the SG have any comments on that?

We're not going to comment on the talks as they are going on. We very much hope that they will help lower the temperature and solve the issues, the issues at hand.

But we're not going to discuss these things while the talks are going on. Ms. Daphne, as far as you know, by the UN charter. Ken, I forgot the words. It's only the charter. Yeah.

Can somebody who is not a full member of the United nations become a diplomat who is not a full member of the United nations become the President of the General?

I will leave that question, that answer to your questions to member states. And you should ask the President of the General Assembly. All right.

Oh, Amelie. And then. Sorry. And then we'll go to our guest who's been very patient.

Yes, thank you.

Just a follow up on the visit of the First Lady. Again, sorry. I mean, you said it's a sign of the importance of the UN, but just to be sure, the US still didn't pay anything from the last year 2025 budget. For the 2025 budget, they paid 160 million as part of their years for the 2025 budget. This was about two weeks ago.

Okay, and so how much is the areas now?

I will have to do the math for you. I don't do impromptu math.

Okay, thank you.

I do impromptu answers, but not impromptu math.

All right, on that note. Sorry. Any questions online?

No. Okay.