UN Peacekeepers Day/ UNIFIL/ Lebanon & other topics - Daily Press Briefing

Alright, good afternoon. Madame Boudre. Frank, come on in. Alright, good afternoon. As you can all see for yourselves, we are delighted to be joined by our colleague, Under-Secretary-General Jean-Pierre Lacroix, who, as you know, heads the Department of Peace Operations. He will be here to discuss the International Day of UN Peacekeepers, which is being observed today with a number of special ceremonies, and he has some special guests with him which he will tell you about. And as you saw this morning, there was a ceremony held to mark UN Peacekeepers Day. The Secretary-General laid a wreath to commemorate the nearly more than 7,500 people who have lost their lives since we began our peacekeeping work almost 80 years ago. Speaking at the ceremony, he said, as the events of this very week remind us, peacekeepers continue to face peril in the cause of peace, and we pay the highest tribute to their service and to their sacrifice. UN peacekeeping has proven to be one of the most— the international community's most effective responses to conflict across the globe, the Secretary-General said the UN Blue Helmet is a symbol of hope for communities at their darkest hours, and I think we'll hear from our guest about that. He said he is inspired by the women and men who wear the blue helmet, as they are protectors of the vulnerable and guardians of hope in places where hope is often in short supply. His full remarks are shared with you, so I will give Jean-Pierre the floor., and then we'll take some questions. Jean-Pierre, please welcome.

Thank you very much, Stephen, and very good afternoon to all of you. Thank you for being here, and it's really a pleasure for me to be joined in the room by two of our colleagues and then another one who I believe is joining us on the screen or will be momentarily. Major Abilashabarak, who is the— this year recipient of the Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award, and Inspector Stephanie Koenig, who is the recipient of the Women Police Officer of the Year Award. So extremely happy and grateful for your presence. And I believe that we are joined or we will be joined by Sergeant Reyes of Uruguay. Who is one of the recipients of the Captain D'Yne Medal for exceptional courage, together with the late Serhiy Pryhotko of Ukraine. In a few minutes, I will ask Major Barak and Koenig, and Inspector Koenig to join me here. But I want to thank all of them. They represent the true spirit of UN Peacekeeping at work. But I also want to start paying my respect to the women and men who have given their lives to peacekeeping. The work of peacekeeping comes with many risks. We know that. The risks are not abstract. They do cost lives. This morning in the ECOSOC Chamber, 68 peacekeepers posthumously received the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal, including 59 who died last year. This includes crew member Serhiy Pryhotko of Ukraine, one of the recipients of the Captain Dianne Medal for exceptional courage. He was killed during a high-risk evacuation in Upper Nile State in South Sudan when he volunteered to take the place of a less experienced colleague. I met his wife and daughter and expressed, of course, my deepest appreciation for what Serhiy selflessly did. Deed, for his courage and the many lives he saved. And of course, I expressed my condolences to his wife, Tetiana, and his daughter, Lisa. Yesterday, we also announced that yet another peacekeeper was killed in Lebanon. Sergeant Milovan Jovanovic from Serbia was the 7th UNIFIL peacekeeper killed since March 2026 in Lebanon. He would have turned 37 tomorrow. He died from critical injuries sustained when mortar shells struck his position. All these attacks against peacekeepers are unacceptable, and I know, Stéphane, you've said this many times, but it bears repeating: the violence must stop. The violence must stop for the civilians who are living under constant threat. Has to stop for the more than 1 million people displaced from their homes and for the peacekeepers who are there holding that position in Lebanon, liaising with the parties, doing their best to maintain stability as they possibly can given the environment and the circumstances. Now, I want to thank you all for the questions that are so often asked by UN correspondents about the worst work of peacekeepers, including Lebanon. Of course, they're mandated by the Security Council. I think that's a very straightforward answer, but it's much more than that. And if there is one message I hope you will help us echo today, it's this: the work of our peacekeepers matter. It is worth defending. Peacekeeping is worth the investment. I know, uh, we all like data, so here are some numbers to illustrate the point. At this moment, UN peacekeeping's entire budget, which is $5.38 billion— $5.38 billion, that's the budget for one year— the same amount is spent in 16 hours, 1/6, on global military spending. So it's not even a full day. And if you want another measure, the budget of peacekeeping for one year for all our operation is less than half the amount it costs to organize the upcoming FIFA World Cup. Now, nothing against soccer, of course, we all love soccer, but I think that this comparison is worth, you know, reflecting on really what is it that the world is investing in peacekeeping and really what the output is relative to that amount, a small amount. It's a fact that the cost of supporting peacekeeping is is far lower than the cost of responding when conflict spirals out of control. And therefore, our call on this International Day of Peacekeeping is clear: Let us invest in peace. We need the political and financial backing of Member States. We need parties to conflict to uphold international humanitarian law and the UN Charter. We need the support from all those who can hold their governments accountable for their actions. Because Peacekeeping at Work is really, you know, a set of concrete, very concrete actions, initiatives, courageous moves every single day. For example, peacekeepers at Abyei Nom in South Sudan who are putting their lives on the line to protect over 2,000 people fleeing violence and seeking protection. The peacekeepers through their presence in Amdafok, a remote town bordering Sudan and Central African Republic, facilitating the work of humanitarians to protect those who fled violence, particularly violence in the neighboring Sudan, and also helping broker a local cease— peace agreement. But of course, all of this, and especially peace, does not happen by accident. It requires political will, sustained support, and investment. Now, just a word to say that, uh, you know, uh, you will see more of me, of course, but it's my last Peacekeepers Day as head of the Department of Peace Operations, and I want to, of course, share with you that the most meaningful moments of those years have always been those that I have had with the men and women who work in in these very difficult, dangerous environments, meeting with them and also meeting with the men and women in the communities that are protected by the peacekeepers. And I know, for having been so often in the field, that those civilians are always expressing gratitude. I never heard any of them saying to us, please leave, we don't want you anymore. They're always telling us, Do more and please stay. I think it's a tribute to what our peacekeepers are doing on the ground day in, day out. And I want to sincerely thank them for all what they do. They represent the very best of international cooperation in action. And also, I want to thank so many of our partners who make this work possible. Now, I will be happy to take your question now, and eventually I will ask my two colleagues to join me after the Q&A.

Thank you, Edith, please.

Thank you very much, Mr. Lacroix. On behalf of the United Nations Correspondents, first, thank you for doing this briefing, and thank you for coming here often, and we wish you well in wherever life takes you. And secondly, congratulations to the recipients. My name is Edith Lederer, as you know, from the Associated Press. I have two questions. First, um, of the $5.3 billion that peacekeeping needs this year. Um, how much have you received, and is it commensurate with previous years? And if not, what seems to be the big issue holding up payments? And secondly, um, on UNIFIL, can you tell us whether the UN is committed to keeping UNIFIL in the field fulfilling its mandate until its mandate runs out on December 31st. Thank you.

Thank you very much. I will have to go into some degree of technicality, but not that much. So we have a budget here that ends on June 30th, and what we had to do is to make sure that in the context where we didn't receive all the payments that were to be received commensurate with the budget that were voted for our missions, As you know, we had to save 15%, 1-5% of the cash. That's, again, not a budget problem, it's a cash— it's a question of insufficient payment. And I think I've been already sharing, you know, what we've been doing in that regard. We call that the contingency plan. This resulted in us having to cut about 25% of the capacity of each peacekeeping mission, with one exception, Cyprus, which has modalities of financing slightly different, with two member states paying part of the bill. And obviously, these has had an impact and these continues to have an impact on the ability of our peacekeepers to operate, because if you have less base, if you have to close a number of bases where civilians are in need of protection, then those civilians will be either less protected or non-protected. And I've had a number of examples where, you know, we can have less patrols, we can have less engagement with communities in the context of protection of civilians. Now, that is not to say that the— our colleagues in the field have not made efforts to adapt. To these constraints by doing things differently, by looking at their methodology, by reallocating resources. That has mitigated the impact of these cuts, but that has not annulled that impact altogether. So now the peacekeeping missions have all submitted to member states their budget proposals. Cycles. And the discussion is currently ongoing, knowing that those budgets have to be adopted by June 30th to then allow for the, let's say, the opening of the next budget cycle. I hope that, you know, this discussion will be smooth and that the missions will receive what they need in terms of budget. But I think more importantly, in a way, given what we've been going through last year, I hope that payments of assessed contribution to peacekeeping will be forthcoming and will be— those contributions will be paid in full and on time. So this is an appeal to all our member states. It's a question of consistency because the mandates of peacekeeping operations are decided by member states, so we expect our member states to be consistent and pay those contributions in full and on time. That doesn't mean that we're not committed to continuing our efforts for more cost-effectiveness, more efficiencies, and this will be, I believe, an important elements emanating from the review of all forms of peace operations, which I believe will be released within a few weeks. Now, on UNIFIL, I think the answer is absolutely yes. There is a full commitment by us and, more importantly, our peacekeepers, all of them on the ground, to stay, and continue to deliver until the end of the mandate. Um, they are doing a lot today. It's a very difficult and challenging and dangerous environment. Unfortunately, with the death of Sergeant Jovanovic, we have another example of that. But at the same time, um, they, uh, continue to support, uh, the Lebanese Armed Forces to the extent possible. And what they've been doing a lot over the last week is supporting humanitarian assistance to the civilians who remain in the affected areas south of the Litani River. Very recently, the Force Commander UNIFIL, Major General Abagnara— I really want to pay tribute to him and his colleagues— informed me that they had conducted humanitarian assistance operation in Tia. That follows many other such operations. So you can see that there is strong dedication to support the civilians and to support Lebanon in general. UNIFIL and whatever may come next, if anything, it's about supporting, it's about supporting Lebanese people, it's about supporting political efforts. This is really what peacekeeping is about, and that applies also to Lebanon.

Thank you. Sylviane Laurian-Lejeune.

Thank you, Mr. Lacroix, and thank you for this briefing. My name is Sylviane Zahir from Lorient-Le Chaud. Secretary-General is proposing a new international force in southern Lebanon to monitor the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

Can you please clarify the key differences between the current UNIFIL mandate and the proposed successor force in terms of mission, authority, force structure, geographic coverage, and operational responsibility, and what kind of budget

Thank you. Um, yes, you're right. I mean, the Secretary-General has communicated to the Security Council proposals on options for a UN presence after UNIFIL to support Resolution 1701. I'm saying this because it's very important. It's It's a request from the Security Council, and it means that Resolution 1701 remains a political framework. And Resolution 1701, as we know, is about essentially restoring the full sovereignty of Lebanon throughout the territory, including full control of weapons and arms by the government. Now, we— in preparing that work, we listened to what the Lebanese told us, the Lebanese authorities. And there are two things that are salient. One is, um, it's a new context where the Lebanese authorities made decisions to actively involve themselves in operationalizing, implementing Resolution 1701, including of course the main item, which is working towards ensuring the full control by the Lebanese Lebanese Army, the Lebanese security forces, of all weapons in the territory. So they made a number of very bold decisions to really empower Lebanese government to achieve that. So that's number one. Number two, they told us that, uh, it was important for them to keep a UN presence focusing on the task of monitoring, observing, reporting liaison and deconfliction. And I believe that in the context where there continues to be a presence of foreign forces in Lebanon, so that aspect of liaison and deconfliction is also important. And they also indicated to us that there were a number of capacities that were still of interest to them, such as engineering and mine action. So based on that, the options essentially focus on these key tasks of monitoring, observing, reporting these on the conflict, which are essentially tasks for military observers. And I believe this is where the difference is, you know, with UNIFIL. And, and I believe that that difference really comes again from the fact that And today we have a different standing from the Lebanese authorities, you know, with the decision that I mentioned, that they clearly decided to empower themselves and the Lebanese Armed Forces to take those responsibilities. The proposals are about supporting Lebanon. They're about supporting Resolution 1701. Again, that's what the Security Council requested to us. It's about supporting the successful completion of the political efforts that are currently ongoing and that the UN fully supports. So I think this has to be seen in the light of these key objectives. Now it's in the hand of the Security Council. We have 3 options ranging from about a bit more than 200 military observers plus what is needed to support them, to about, I believe, 375 military observers. Don't take my word for the figures, but we can communicate more specifically on these figures. A total of 5,500 military personnel. Why the difference between the number of observers and the total number of uniformed personnel? Simply because those military observers unarmed will need to be protected— medical support, mobility. They need to be protected and supported. And given the dangerosity of the environment, uh, the Secretary-General determined that, uh, that support needs to be sufficient for us to be comfortable that if those observers are deployed in southern Lebanon, they will receive adequate support and and potentially, you know, in the medical sphere, as well as mobility and possibility of quick reaction if anything happens. So that is really the rationale behind these options. And depending on the size, then their ability, the ability of these elements to operate, you know, in a smaller or greater part of the area of southern Lebanon will, I think, be— that will be the key difference. There is no difference in terms of tasks across those different options. It's a question of size, and size would determine the reach, the geographical reach.

Great, thank you. Ibtisam, please.

Thank you, Minister. Ibtisam Azem, Al Arab Al Jaddid newspaper. Just to clarify, uh, what you said, um, your— the answer you gave. So these observers, the 300, are they going to be also military observers, or so they will have weapons, or—

Yeah, they will be military observers. Uh, they're unarmed. That's the case for military observers. But like I said, they have to be obviously protected. They also have to be transported. They have to have medical support. They— so that's why I'm saying about— I'm talking about, you know, the, the relatively small numbers in a few hundreds of observers, or depending on the option, but then a much greater support capacity, which is today, we think, warranted by the context in which those personnel would operate. Now, I think another thing to say is obviously in the letter we have that notion that, you know, should there be an evolution on the ground, should there be a political evolution, then whatever presence could be decided by the Council could eventually be scaled down, you know, adapted to the evolving situation. So we're not— Secretary-General is not proposing something that, you know, is meant to be there for another sort of many years. But this is what, based again on what we heard from Lebanon, the host government, we also consulted others, based on what we believe would be best in terms of supporting Lebanon in this journey to to operationalize and implement Resolution 1701, hopefully operationalize and implement the outcome of the current dialogue process. This is what we believe could be best adequate. But I think that it's important to emphasize that Lebanon will need a lot of international support in addition to a UN— potentially a UN presence post-UNIFIL to provide better support and greater support to the Lebanese Armed Forces and security forces, and also to increase the level of support in terms of humanitarian assistance to the more than 1 million Lebanese civilians who are currently displaced in in that country.

Yes, please, Paolo.

Thank you very much. Paolo Mastrolilli with the Italian daily La Repubblica. In terms of the country that will be participating possibly in this new mission, do you foresee the same that have been involved in UNIFIL participating? And did you have any contact with the Italian government about contributing?

Uh, well, on that one, I believe it's, uh, it, it's too early to tell. Um, we, we're pending a decision by the Security Council, uh, to, uh, sort of, uh, go into really the thick of planning and, and determining exactly who would do what. Of course, uh, you know, we currently have a number of troops and contributing countries in UNIFIL. We are extremely grateful to them, including Italy, of course, who is also providing the outstanding force commander. Obviously, you know, we start to think in our head, but at this stage, again, we would be in need of a Security Council decision to actually go much further in terms of that kind of planning.

Great. Thank you very much, Jean-Pierre. Maybe you can introduce and bring on board our special guests. And if I could ask our technician colleagues to put our guests from the Congo up on the screen. So if I could ask Major Barak and Inspector Koenings, please, to come and join Jean-Pierre Lacroix.

Well, as I say, I mean, I'm extremely honored and happy to be with you, Major Barak, and Inspector Koenig. I won't say much more because I've already said what I had to say. The very important, prestigious award that you just received. Just to say that once again, we're extremely proud of you, and I really thank you for not only what you've done, but what you represent, and the very, I would say, accurate and positive image of peacekeeping that you're giving. I will leave it at that, and happy to hear from you. I don't know who wants to—

Maybe we can go to our guest on the screen.

If you—

maybe you can— ask him to speak in Spanish. All right. There'll be interpretation.

Okay. So Sergeant Reyes, me escucha?

Can you hear me?

Hola, Sergeant Reyes.

Sergeant Reyes?

Sí. Give you the floor. You could speak Spanish.

We have a translation here. We have interpretation here. You have the floor.

Good afternoon to everyone. First of all, I'd like to congratulate the two blue helmets that were also recognized by the United Nations. So congratulations. In January of 2025, during the fighting in the city of Goma, I was providing security at one of the gates to the MONUSCO base. In the midst of a situation of extreme tension, confusion, conflict, intense fire, dozens of soldiers of the FARDC who were— had been who had been wounded sought refuge and assistance in the base. When I saw them in that situation, I acted immediately. I carried on my shoulders some 12 of these Congolese soldiers that were severely wounded, and I took them to a safe area within the base where the medical tent was located. At the time, I didn't think of myself or the risks. Involved. I felt deep concern for their lives because I knew that each second, each second was vital, could make a difference. What pushed me forward was my duty as a soldier, my training, my principles, the commitment to serve and protect those in need most. Also, the support of my comrades was very important. And receiving this medal is an extreme honor. I accept it with gratitude and humility. I'm not only receiving it on my own behalf, but rather on behalf of all the Uruguayan soldiers that served or are serving in peacekeeping missions. And particularly those who gave up their lives under the UN flag. And I would like to— I would like to thank you very much. Thank you.

I congratulate you. On your heroism. You saved the lives of over 12 people in a very dangerous situation. I'm very, very proud of what you did.

With this, I will hand over to the two colleagues who are sitting next to me. I believe that the best order would be the alphabetical order. I think that's the least controversial. So I will hand over first to you, Major Varak, and Inspector Koenig.

Thank you so much, sir. I will go about a brief intro of mine. I am in Indian Army and I was an Army aviator, combat helicopter pilot, and also an air traffic controller prior to this. One odd day I got an interview call from my headquarters and I volunteered for the same and I cleared the interview and I was selected as the first engagement team commander from India to UNIFIL. And now coming to my role in UNIFIL as an engagement team commander, my aim was to interact and engage with all the members of the community, especially with women and adolescent girls who had a, had a resistance in interacting with the male peacekeepers. At the same time, we also tried to make them self-reliant and financially independent by organizing various capability programs, vocational training. At the same time, we provided them with awareness sessions for education and health. We carried out physical fitness activities, recreational activities, and we also did some cultural exchange programs. We also gave them civic support such as water delivery and repair of electric pump. So this was overall, and within a matter of 6 months, we were able to engage with 5,900 women. And also, this award to me is not just a personal achievement. It is a matter of pride for my country and for UNIFIL as well. It is a recognition for each and every peacekeeper who is standing day in and out trying to build trust, maintain peace, and to make mission a success. And this is also in special dedication to those 7 bravehearts we lost this year in UNIFIL. So kudos to those, and I pay my deepest tribute to them.

Thank you so much, Major Barak. I will now then hand over to you, Inspector Koenig.

Thank you so much. Thank you all for coming here, and I'm very happy that there's such huge interest in women and peacekeeping. And to be honest, when I was deployed in South Sudan, many times I was the only woman in the room when we were planning and coordinating patrols. Going out in the field, it's very obvious that half of the population is women. So it's for them much more comfortable to talk to a woman police officer and to share their concerns, their opinions, their perspectives. So these conversations, they are not just nice, they shape what we are doing on the ground in our operational daily life, and they gave us their perspective. And this is why I would like to emphasize on the importance of the deployment of women police officers in the peacekeeping, that it really matters what I saw with my own eyes on the ground. And maybe you will ask me if it was tough or if it was difficult in South Sudan, and I will tell you, yes, it was absolutely. And I would do it again, because this is the next question probably, so I would definitely do it again, and I hope to see more women police officers in the room next time. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Before we close, maybe Edith, if you have a question for our guests.

Again, congratulations to you all on behalf of the United Nations. Correspondence Association. At a time when both the United Nations and UN peacekeeping have come under attack from various quarters, I wonder what your message would be to governments about keeping peacekeepers in global hotspots around the world?

SHAFIQ] Thank you for your question, ma'am. The situation is very critical. As we know, it is very volatile and challenging at the same time. And at this very time, the role of peacekeepers enhances, especially for those 1.2 million people displaced and more than 3,000 killed. Especially in southern Lebanon. So what I foresee further is that talks should take place, diplomacy, diplomacy should come into action, and hopefully the ceasefire will continue. And then we can move on to rebuilding the community, not just physically with their roads and destructive homes, but also the post-trauma which they are going under. So we must work on that as a community, as a government, and as peacekeepers, and rebuild Lebanon.

Thank you. So I believe that being on the ground in a field mission shows what the United Nations and this community is able to achieve. it is once being in the field, seeing the community, the support, the working together on the same goals for international peace and security is one thing, and then coming here, of course, to New York, to the headquarters, is exactly the reflection of what is happening in the field. Thank you.

Great. Pierre, maybe if you could just Ask the questions in Spanish to Mr. Reyes.

Sargento Reyes.

Sergeant Reyes. The question was what kind of message would you like to share with us and with the journalists gathered here at a time when UN peacekeeping operations are facing so many challenges? You have the floor.

Well, first of all, I think it's very important in any conflict situation to make sure that we always maintain hope. We need to take a cool head and analyze the situation calmly.

And we need to make sure that everybody is fully committed to the effort.

Jean-Pierre, thank you. Sergeant Reyes, muchas gracias. And thank you very much to Major Barak and Inspector Koenings. Congratulations to all of you. You make us all very proud. Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Thank you so much. And we're going to take a short break and then I'll start the briefing in about 5 minutes. Thank you. All right, thank you very much. We'll get back down to business. Madame, thank you. I didn't know you spoke.

Yeah, I know.

All right, good afternoon. I think you heard Jean-Pierre speak extensively about UNIFIL, but I just want to give you a bit of an update on the status quo of our two peacekeepers who were injured on Wednesday, and I can tell you that they are continuing to receive treatment at UNIFIL medical facility in South Lebanon, and we of course continue to wish them a quick and swift recovery— full recovery. Their colleagues meanwhile continue to do their work, and they're continuing to observe intensive IDF activity across UNIFIL's area of operations, including sustained airstrikes and helicopter fire in both sectors, that is east and west. Yesterday, UNIFIL peacekeepers reported total of 773 firing incidents originating from IDF positions south of the Blue Line within its area of operations. In addition, 15 trajectories of projectiles were detected from north to south and 1 crossing the Blue Line, while ground forces observed 29 projectile interceptions by Israel over— in that area. Peacekeepers also observed IDF personnel and vehicles establishing two roadblocks near a UNIFIL position in Sector West. As we have said repeatedly here, a full freedom of movement for UNIFIL throughout its area of operations is essential for it to carry out its mandate. Also yesterday, UNIFIL observed two armed drones flying over, over or near a UNIFIL position just north of Bayada. One of these drones dropped a grenade in the vicinity before turning back. Incidents of this nature are of concern, to say the least, and we reiterate that all parties must avoid any action that puts in danger the lives of UN peacekeepers or threatens UN peacekeeping property. In coordination with our humanitarian colleague, I think as Jean-Pierre mentioned, the mission facilitated 3 humanitarian missions in— to Tyre in Sector West yesterday. And on the humanitarian front, our colleague Imran Riza, the Resident Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon, launched with the Lebanese government the revised flash appeal for Lebanon that is calling for an additional $331.5 million to cover the period from June to August. This brings the overall ask for the flash appeal running from March through August to nearly $640 million, and this is to sustain life-saving efforts to— for 1.4 million human beings. As you'll recall, the Secretary-General announced the initial flash appeal in person 3 months ago. Donors— and that was done in Beirut— donors have up till now provided about $186 million to bolster the humanitarian response. We and our partners have so far reached some 680,000 people. However, humanitarian needs are rising, as we've been telling you. Essential services, including healthcare and water systems, continue to be severely impacted very negatively. Emphasizing that some 1 million people remain displaced because of the conflict, Mr. Riza called for sustained international support to enable the delivery of a broad range of life-saving assistance, protect civilians, and help restore critical services in affected areas. Turning to the occupied Palestinian Territory, our— UN Deputy Special Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator there, Ramiz Al-Abkaroff, today highlighted the impact of the conflict on the environment in Palestine and the importance of integrating environmental considerations into humanitarian recovery and development efforts. The statement issued for World Environment Day, Dr. Al-Abkaroff, who is— said that environmental damage has affected people's health, livelihoods, and well-being,— and placed additional pressure on vulnerable ecosystems and natural resources. He warned that damage to essential infrastructure, including water and sanitation systems, as well as pollution and the accumulation of debris, has immediate consequences for communities and may have long-term implications. Meanwhile, our colleagues working on sanitation in Gaza report that solid waste management continues to rely on temporary dump sites that are near or where— that are near where displaced people live and therefore has an immediate negative impact on public health. Over the past 3 months, our partners have transferred about 100,000 cubic meters of waste from the Firas Market in Gaza to a newly identified dumpsite in Abu Jarad. But the new site cannot be fully developed or effectively utilized without specific fabrics, also called geotextiles, that have only now been approved to be brought into Gaza and are in the procurement phase. There's a need to secure Gaza's access to landfills close to the eastern perimeter. We also need approval to bring in equipment and other inputs to clear explosive ordnance and remove water— wastewater— remove waste and rubble. Finally, our mine action colleagues tell us that in the last 2 weeks of May, they've raised awareness in the risks linked to explosive ordnance among more than 16,000 children and adults, but they still lack approval to take into Gaza the necessary equipment to dispose of the actual explosive devices. And you saw that yesterday we issued an update on the activities of our colleague Jean Arnaud, who since the start of his assignment as the Secretary-General's Personal Envoy for the Middle East Conflict and the Consequences, has been conducting extensive consultations with countries of the Middle East affected by the conflict, members of the Security Council, and other member states, including with counterparts at headquarters and in the region. In his engagements, Mr. Al-Nuwas amplified the Secretary-General's call for an urgent de-escalation and the consolidation of the ceasefire, as well as comprehensive and durable settlement, and the need to avert the devastating consequences of a resumption of hostilities and to restore to restore the freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz as an urgent matter. As he prepares to undertake further consultations, Mr. Arnaud is encouraged by the broad regional convergence on the need to bring the current conflict to a quick and definitive end, and among other steps, steps to undertake the difficult but necessary work of restoring trust and cooperation that has been broken by this conflict. This emerging consensus can make a powerful contribution to the settlement of the conflict and long-term regional stability. And also in terms of travel, an update on Ms. Mariângela Holguín, who as you know is the personal envoy of the Secretary-General, and she will be in Cyprus from the 7th to the 14th of June, meeting with Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders separately on June June 8th to discuss a way forward. From Cyprus, she will travel to Ankara and Athens for further meetings and consultations. Turning to Libya, as I've been asked, I can tell you that we are deeply concerned by the violent protests that took place yesterday outside the UNHCR and UNSMIL headquarters in Tripoli. The UN strongly condemns any attack or threats against personnel or premises. We are concerned by the spread of misinformation and disinformation. Misinformation regarding the work of the United Nations in Libya. We want to clarify that UNHCR works closely with the Libyan authorities to identify and support solutions outside of Libya for people fleeing war and persecution and in need of international protection, including through third countries such as resettlement and voluntary returns when feasible. The UN appreciates the support of the Libyan authorities in maintaining public order and ensuring the safety of protesters and UN personnel and facilities. Update for you on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where our humanitarian colleagues warn of intensifying violence claiming civilian lives and severely restricting humanitarian access in the provinces of North and South Kivu. In North Kivu province, an armed attack in Beni territory on the night of June 2nd reportedly killed at least 24 civilians, triggered fresh displacement according to local authorities. In neighboring Massissi territory, heavy clashes on June 3rd caused further displacement, compounding a crisis that had already displaced some 270,000 people as of May. The renewed violence has compelled humanitarian organizations to restrict movements in several areas, further limiting access to affected populations. And in South Kivu, hostilities on June 3rd in Fizi and Wenga territories reportedly involving the use of drones sparked new displacement, according to local civil society. Over the past 2 years, persistent insecurity in that area has cut off more than 165,000 men, women, and children from regular assistance. Our OCHA colleagues say they are very concerned about the ongoing violence in the two eastern provinces and that it could hinder the response to the Ebola epidemic as well as ongoing humanitarian work. Despite these challenges, provision of life-saving assistance continues wherever possible. Since April, humanitarian partners have provided cash assistance to more than 8,000 people in Beni territory, and we call on all parties yet again to respect international humanitarian law and provide unimpeded safed and sustained humanitarian access. And earlier today, on Ebola, the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention, along with the World Health Organization, launched a joint continental preparedness and response plan for the ongoing Ebola outbreak. The plan aims to raise $518 million to support countries together with partners to prepare, detect, and respond to the outbreak. The 6-month plan will cover the period from now until November and bring together governments, partners, and communities under a unified one-response approach to strengthen outbreak response measures, including emergency coordination, disease surveillance, lab testing, infection control, and many other aspects. The plan complements the national response plans launched by the governments of the Democratic Republic of the Congo as well as Uganda. And on behalf of our friends at UNOPS in Copenhagen, we wanted to flag their new annual report that was issued today, in which it outlines how the agency provided technical, operational, logistical support through more than 1,100 projects across 130 countries and territories. In those projects, it delivered around $2.7 billion worth of support in terms of humanitarian response. Sustainable development and peace and security initiatives. The majority of the projects were in response to conflicts and crises, including in high-risk areas. Two-thirds of UNOPS' work was in complex situations, in line with the continued focus to operate in some of the world's most challenging places. Though it's— through its projects, the report says its organization created around 26 million days of paid work for local communities, among them the poorest, including 10 million days of work for women. And the Global Food Price Index— for those of you who may have put some money on the Global Food Price Index on Polymarket— global food prices were largely unchanged in May, according to data released today by the Food and Agricultural Organization. The Food Price Index, which tracks international prices for major food commodities, averaged 130.8 points in May. The index was down 0.2% from April but remained 2.9% higher than a year ago. FAO says that while global food commodity markets have remained broadly resilient, disruptions to key trade routes, including the Strait of Hormuz, of course, could reduce fertilizer use and place additional pressure on food prices. Underscoring the need for international cooperation. And today is World Environment Day. In a message, the Secretary-General said that warning signals are everywhere. He noted the past 11 years have been the 11 hottest on record and that damage goes far beyond rising temperatures. He pointed out the world is heading for a temporary overshoot of 1.5 degrees, and every fraction of a degree brings greater harm, especially to the most vulnerable. He stressed that our task is to make that overshoot as small and as short and as safe as possible, rapidly bringing temperatures back down. The Secretary-General stressed this means slashing emissions, accelerating a just transition away from fossil fuels and towards renewables, cutting methane, protecting forest, land, sea, and helping communities adapt to already devastating impacts. His message was shared with you. And also today, Volker Türk, the High Commissioner for for Human Rights, in his own message stressed that over the past 3 years his office has recorded nearly 600 environmental and land defenders killed or disappeared worldwide. In at least 55 countries, environmental defenders have been detained for just defending the environment. Mr. Turk urged all governments to ensure the safety of environmental defenders and accountability for all abuses. His message is shared with you. Today is also the International Day for the Fight Against Illegal, Underreported, and Unregulated Fishing. According to FAO, over a third of fish stocks globally are being overexploited. It's estimated that 1 in every 5 fish caught comes from illegal, underreported, or unregulated fishing. I have a little mini quiz for you today. A well-known poet was born on June 6th. Who is that? And we are celebrating the language of that poet tomorrow. Excuse me?

Russian?

Yes, it's Alexander Pushkin was born on June 6th, and that is— we mark that because it will mark the annual Russian Language Day, and if you're in Paris next week, UNESCO will open its doors for an official ceremony to celebrate the day, following— followed by a concert. Sunday is World Food Safety Day. Food safety helps to ensure that we remain safe, to state the obvious. And just a programming note, on Monday we will be joined by a number of guests. Leading that list is Stephen Hill, our new Assistant Secretary Director General for Legal Affairs. He will be joined by Ms. Baja Tazeeb, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the UN, Rafael Gonzalez Quiros, Director of Oceanographic Center of Gijón, and Fabien Cousteau, the oceanographer, explorer, and founder of the Fabien Cousteau Oceans Learning Center. They will be here to brief you on the World Ocean Assessment.

Thank you, Steph. In these intensifying attacks in North and South Kivu, are those areas that have been affected by Ebola?

Ebola cases reported there, and as we mentioned, I mean, already the humanitarian work that we do there is extremely challenging. When you add Ebola to it, it makes our work even more complicated, and it makes the response to the— the insecurity makes the response to the disease that much more complicated.

And in these protests against the UN Refugee Agency in Libya, it sounds like an issue of poor communications and messaging with the local population. What is the UN going to do to try and rectify that?

Well, I think we are trying to communicate either through here or locally in— obviously in Arabic and in Libya. But in this case, as in many others, the fight against disinformation and misinformation disinformation online is extremely challenging, and for that, we also need the assistance of the platforms, the social media platforms, to help combat disinformation. Ms. Ibtisam Azim.

Thank you. So the new humanitarian reporting that— I'm quoting— cyberattack on May 14th on the World Food Programme exposed sensitive data from the— from its Gaza self-registration app, People's Portal, affecting 600,000 households. It may be the largest known breach of humanitarian beneficiary data to the date. The data included names, IDs, mobile numbers, and neighborhoods information. End of quote. Any comments?

Yeah, I mean, the comment is I can tell we've been in touch with our colleagues, uh, at WFP. They were the holders of this, uh, of this database. Uh, they're very much aware of the, um, of the situation. Um, they took— once they detected the breach, uh, they took immediate action to shut down the platform, uh, to try to contain, uh, the intrusion. No other WFP system was impacted, and cash assistance, food delivery, all of that thankfully remains in place in Gaza. They're working to try to restore the— and secure it and trying to investigate it. And I can tell you, you know, whether it's WFP or any other organization, organization. We all have to try to stay one step ahead of hackers, but it remains a challenge, but I know it is something they take extremely seriously.

I mean, the same report by the New Humanitarian also raising some questions regarding unresolved issues that remain when it comes to the UN or the WFP handling the issue. And one of the questions they are raising is whether the wider digital strategy, including Palantir-linked systems, creates unacceptable data protection risks, given the fact that back then, when the UN in 2019 contracted with Palantir. There were also a lot of critics saying that the connection between Palantir and CIA is a problematic issue.

So, uh, I can't comment on the actual, on the actual contract, but I know that, uh, you know, WFP has been in this business for a long time. They take, uh, the fact that people people trust them with individual data very seriously, and they're trying to do whatever they can to remedy the situation. Okay. Yes, please go ahead.

It's been a while.

Thank you, Steph. Jerry Cao from the China Central Television. Ukrainian President Zelensky has publicly called for direct talks with Russian President Putin, and President Putin has responded publicly yesterday And the US President Trump has also weighed in, encouraging direct engagement between the two leaders. Does the Secretary General view this exchange as a potentially meaningful opening for diplomacy? And does the SG believe the condition now exists for a direct meeting between the two leaders?

I think in any context, in any conflict, Direct negotiations on— within the right basis and on an equal basis is critical to resolving the conflict. And we will always be there to support the parties in order to reach a just and comprehensive and sustainable ceasefire and an end to the conflict within the parameters that we always state.

If such talks or to move forward, will the United Nations be prepared to support it?

We are and have always been prepared to do whatever we can to bring this conflict to an end.

However, today Russian President Putin called the open letter as rude and disrespectful while he's speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, and he also said that there was currently no point in holding a meeting with President Zelensky.

I mean, I'm not here to provide color commentary as the, you know, as the volleys go back and forth. I mean, my answer to you was what our general position is, and it remains the same. Thank you.

Abou Soufiane.

Thank you, Steph. First of all, I want to know, do you have any update about my yesterday's question?

I asked about Bangladesh and India, India's border. India is pushing Bangladesh—

Muslim people to Bangladesh, and they are violating Vienna Convention.

No, I do not have anything for you as of yet. Yes, Eric.

Hi. So Kim Jong-un was— I hope it's working fine. Is it? Okay. Kim Jong-un was recently photographed visiting a nuclear enrichment facility, a new nuclear enrichment facility. Do you have any comment?

Look, our stand on the need for full, complete, verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula remains unchanged. What remains unchanged is my quest to have lunch. Have a good weekend.