Trip Announcement/Syria, Security Council, Syria/Transitional Justice & other topics - Daily Press Briefing

Hello, everyone. Good afternoon. I will get to first things first, which is the SG candidates' televised town hall on Thursday, the 23rd of July. This will take place— it will be a live 90-minute televised town hall in the General Assembly Hall with all 6 nominated candidates for the position of Secretary-General. The town hall will be moderated by Romaine Bostick and Haslinda Amin of Bloomberg News and will be streamed streamed on UN Web TV. The moderators, member states, civil society representatives, and United Nations staff will pose questions to the candidates to provide them with the opportunity to outline their vision for the organization, the future direction of the United Nations, its role in responding to global crises, and how it can better serve people around the world. Journalists who would like to attend the town hall in person can reach out to colleagues in Malu for tickets and information on accessing the GA Hall. Please note that the doors will close at 4:45 PM sharp and no one will be let into the hall after this time. Further details on the pool feed will be provided by UNTV and MALU in their daily sheets. A few other things that are happening in the GA this week. We have the continued high-level meeting on improving global road safety, which continues today. Tomorrow, Wednesday, the 22nd of July, we also have informal consultations on the political declaration for the high-level meeting on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response, and that will continue, uh, into Thursday as well. Uh, today in the afternoon at 3:00 PM, we also have the informal meeting of the plenary to hear a briefing by the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic, and there will be a briefing provided by, uh, Ms. Carla Quintana. on who is the head of this independent institution, and that will be this afternoon in Trusteeship Council Chamber. On Friday morning, there will be the interactive— informal interactive dialogue of the Assembly on Accelerating the Global Energy Transition, Advancing Renewables, and Mobilizing Investment, and that will take place in Trusteeship Council Chamber. And then at 3:00 p.m. in GA Hall, there will be the 106th plenary meeting of the GA, and they will— there will be action on several draft resolutions, including on the culture of peace, on enhancing the role of parliaments in accelerating social development, and several other items. And you can get that full list on the UN Journal. Given that we have a guest today and our regular noon briefing, I'm going to wrap up there. And can quickly take any questions you may have. Gabriel, I see you're preparing for a question.

Yes.

Thank you, Lanise. Have you confirmed that all 6 candidates will be there?

Yes, all 6 candidates will participate.

And it's a hard out after 90 minutes, correct?

Correct.

And 90 minutes isn't a lot of time for 6 diplomats to answer questions.

Correct.

How do you foresee managing that process?

This will be up to the moderators to manage time. It's my understanding— I have asked colleagues— it's my understanding that we will not be cutting microphones. So it will certainly be a tough job for moderators to keep it within the 90 minutes, especially given that there will be questions from the floor as well.

And no stakeouts afterwards, correct?

No stakeouts before or after with the candidates. Okay, excellent. Thank you. Oh, yes, we have another question, and I don't see anyone online.

You said moderators, you used the plural form. Do you mean that there are more than one moderator?

Yes, the 2 moderators that I mentioned before are 2 Bloomberg anchors, Romaine Bostick and Haslinda Amin. So there are 2. Yes.

Thank you.

Is there any list yet for the general debate, please?

No, I will be able to provide that. I also had another colleague, uh, ask that, so as soon as that's available from colleagues, I will share that with you. Okay, excellent. Thank you all.

Edie, welcome back.

Thank you.

How was your vacation?

Very nice.

Excellent. Excellent.

Good.

All right.

All right.

Good afternoon. We're going to start with the guests today. If we could put them all on the screen, that would be fantastic. I see Maximo. Great. And I see Peter Nel Boogaard, right? And I see Jean-Martin. Maximo, if we could ask you to take out the blur in your background. That would be good.

Sure.

Given that you are the person with the most guest appearances at a noon briefing, we want you to look good. Jean-Martin, I think, is a close second. All right, excellent. Good afternoon. We're delighted to be joined virtually by our friends, Maximo Torero, who, as you well know, is the FAO's Chief Economist. He is briefing on the launch of the State of Food Security and Nutrition 2026 report. Co-authored by FAO, by IFAD, otherwise known as the International Fund for Agricultural Development, and UNICEF, as well as the World Health Organization and, of course, the World Food Programme. Joined online is, as I mentioned, Piet Ternel Boogaert from IFAD, who is the Managing Director in the Office of Technical Delivery, and Jean-Martin Bauer from WFP, who is Director of Food Security and Nutrition analysis. Maximo will present the report and then all 3 of them will be available to take questions. So please, Maximo, go ahead.

Thank you very much and a pleasure to be with you again. As you know, the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World provides an update on estimates of global hunger, food insecurity, diet affordability, and nutrition outcomes. It also examines factors behind the high cost of a healthy diet that we discuss Last week, so let me focus today on the numbers that are coming out in the report. So we start with hunger. The latest estimates indicate that 7.8% of the global population was undernourished in 2025, equivalent to 645 million people, with a range between 608 and 696 million people. So the midpoint, 645 million people. This compares with 8.1% in 2024 and 8.6% in 2022. Which means in terms of numbers that there has been a reduction of 14 million between 2024 and 2025, and 43 million compared with the 2022 peak. However, the numbers remain approximately 50 million higher than in 2050 when the SDGs were adopted. Now, the regional trends remain uneven. In 2025, Africa became the region with the largest number of undernourished people, with approximately 309 million people passing Aisha, and around 1 in 5 people in Africa face hunger. This partially reflects demographic trends. Africa population is growing by approximately 2.3% per year and by around 2.4% in sub-Saharan Africa, while Asia is 0.6%. But at the same time, it also reflects the problem of increasing hunger prevalence in Africa, which is because of conflicts, and economic pressures and structural short-term shocks. Between 2024 and 2025, the prevalence of undernourishment declined, which is important. It moved down by 0.3 percentage in Africa and 0.4 percentage points in Asia and 0.3 percentage points in Southeastern Asia and 0.9 percentage points in Southern Asia and 0.2 percentage points in Latin America and the Caribbean. Western Asia was the only subregion where hunger clearly increased. By 0.6 percentage points. So in all the regions, with the exception of Western Asia, we see a decline. And the reason of this is because of the rapid population growth in the case of Africa, as I mentioned before, that the number is bigger. Turning to another indicator that we report, which is the moderate or severe food insecurity, which looks at undernourishment and overnutrition, we find 2.1 billion people, or 25.8% of the global population, which experienced moderate or severe food insecurity in 2025. And this represents approximately 135 million fewer people than in 2020 and nearly 86 million people fewer than in 2024. So it's important progress. Poorest has been recorded in Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean since 2020. In Africa, also registered an improvement in 2025 for the first time since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda. Nevertheless, 56.6% of Africa's population remained moderately or severely food insecure in 2025. The corresponding figures were 20.3% in Asia, 22.9% in Latin America and the Caribbean, and 8.7% in North America and Europe. Important inequalities also persist. Moderate or severe food insecurity affected approximately 30% of the population in rural areas compared to 22% in urban areas, and it also affected 24% of women compared to 23% of men. Now, it's important to mention that the gender gap has narrowed between 2024-2025, especially when it has increased substantially during the COVID pandemic. The report also assesses if people can access a healthy diet, can afford a healthy diet. And what we found in 2025 is that 2.7 billion people, or 32.7% of the global population, were unable to afford one. The regional proportions were approximately 67% in Africa, 29% in Asia, 26% in Latin America and the Caribbean, and 7% in Northern America and Europe and Oceania. Africa was the only region where the proportion unable to afford a healthy diet increased compared with 2021. In 2025, 66.6% of the African population could not afford a healthy diet. We also present an indicator of dietary diversity, which remains still important and has shown problems still. Only 30.8% of the children aged 6 to 23 months consume a minimum diverse diet, meaning that 69.2% did not. Among women aged 15 to 49, 62.7% achieve a minimum dietary diversity, while 37.3% did not, and the significant data gaps remain, particularly for women and children in several regions. The world is currently off track to achieve all 7 global nutrition targets for 2030. Although stunting declined from 26.4 percentage points in 2012 to 23.2% in 2024, compared with a target of 16.8%, wasting declined from 7.4% to 6.6% against the target of being below 5%. Overweight, on the contrary, has increased from 5.3% to 5.5%, while the target is again below 5%. Exclusive breastfeeding increased from 37% to 47.4%, compared with a target of 60%. Low birth weight declined 15.0% to 14.7%, compared to a target of 10.5%. Surprisingly, anemia among women increased from 27.6% to 30.7% against the target of 13.8%, and adult obesity increased from 12.1% in 2012 to 16.2% in 2024. So finally, the global average cost of a healthy diet reached 4.28 PPP dollars, purchasing power parity dollars, per person per day in 2025. This was 25% higher than in 2021. This is a result, of course, of food inflation. The cost was approximately 40% above the international extreme poverty line, which is $3 per day PPP, exceeding the $4.20 poverty line used to the lower middle income countries. The report emphasized the importance of increasing the access to a healthy diet, and there are 3 elements that we look in the report. One is Affordability, the number I reported, 2.7 billion people that cannot afford. The second one is the cost of the healthy diet. And the third one is essentially the behavioral change of people that can afford but also consume. Why is it so important? Because healthy diets are crucial to minimize undernutrition and overnutrition and to minimize the $8.1 trillion of indirect, or what we call hidden cost, created on health because of non-communicable diseases and because of deaths in these respective sectors. So, in summary, the report brings for the first time a reduction for the 3rd year in terms of the prevalence of undernourishment, but it shows it is fragile. It shows that there is heterogeneity among regions in the world. It's the first time that the prevalence is reduced in Africa, which is good news, but the absolute numbers are increasing. even more than Asia because of the population growth and the conflicts and the different problems that this region is facing. And of course, the report emphasized the importance of increasing the access and the affordability to healthy diets because 2.7 billion people is creating significant problems to health because of undernourishment and overnutrition. Thank you very much.

Maximo, we'll go to Edith. Please go ahead, Edith.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Thank you, Maximo, on behalf of the United Nations Correspondents Association for doing this briefing. My name is Edith Lederer from the Associated Press, as you know. 2 follow-ups and a question. I think you said that the African region now has the largest number of undernourished people. What region had the largest number before? And also, when you said that West Africa had the big— a 0.6% increase, which apparently was the only one, could you shed some light on why it increased? And my question before listening is, what impact has the cuts in U.S. and other international aid had on these figures on undernourishment? Thank you.

Thank you very much, Ileana. Very nice seeing you again. Look, in terms of the numbers, in terms of Africa, as I said before, it was Asia, the one that had the absolute number higher in terms of hunger in the world. Now it's Africa, and these 309 million people in hunger. And the reason of the increase is because of the population growth. and also because— so Africa is 2.4% population growth in Sub-Saharan Africa relative to 0.6% in Asia. So this trend we were already observing now is realized in surpassing the number in the case of Asia. Now, to your second question, West Asia, we see that there is a significant increase on undernourishment, and the report elaborates a little bit on it, But the major increase is driven by conflict and displacement. That's the major issue that is affecting these countries, together with the problem of high prices, high prices and macroeconomic instability and depreciation, which is creating significant challenges and dependence on food import. So that's why the reason is increasing in this, in this region. Now, your final question regarding the ODA. So we know that ODA in Africa, for example, has decreased in around 24 to 26% in 2025, which is the year of the report. Now, the way to look at this is a little bit different and where we need to be careful, because the way to look at it is, okay, what will be the counterfactual? The counterfactual will be a case in which we have the ODA and potentially what could have happened is that the numbers would have been a lot better. Than the 0.3% reduction in prevalence. We don't know what are the impacts now because these impacts will, will take time. But clearly we are losing that opportunity of having those resources to be able to allocate. Now, how it will be so difficult to assess the net impact because countries are also adapting and changing and there is other sources of funding that is coming through other mechanisms. But of course, there is an absolute reduction. But the net effect will be very difficult to disentangle. But let me pass the floor to my colleagues because this has impacted them, especially WFP and IFAD, so they can elaborate a little bit more on that.

Jean-Martin, please go ahead.

Thank you. And if I could elaborate on what Maximo was saying about the impacts of lower ODA numbers in 2025, one of the impacts that that's had on institutions like FAO and WFP has been the ability to collect data on the ground. Now, data systems have been weakened, have been fragile, and the risk is that we're not able to pick up the impacts and we're not able to answer the question that you asked. So one of the key things we're saying to those who support us, to our donors, to our constituencies, is that we need to safeguard data systems in this day and age.

Thank you, uh, thank you very much. Um, Piet Törnel, did you want to add something?

Yeah, no, sure. And, um, it's, it's exactly as Jean-Martin was already alluding to, the data issue is, is a big issue. Uh, we don't have the evidence, uh, uh, to say one-on-one what the effect has been of the, uh, consequences of lower ODA. We will see that in the, in the near future. What we need to do in general, for that matter, is what we are focusing on, is to see how we can also involve the private sector in different ways to fill the gaps where possible. We've seen in our investments that if we involve and engage with the private sector, the impact is actually also 4 times bigger than without. There's also a very compelling argument from that perspective to increase the number of actors active in development and not just— not only the public side. Thank you.

Thank you. Any other questions for our guests online or in person? Going once, twice. Thank you very much to the 3 of you. Appreciate it. We hope to see you back very soon. Thank you.

Thank you.

Bye-bye.

All right, let's get down to business. I think you saw Thank you, Mr. President. I would like to inform you that this morning we issued a note on the Secretary-General's upcoming travel to Syria. He will arrive in Syria later this week at the invitation of the government of Syria. In Damascus, he's scheduled to meet with President Ahmed al-Sharar, as well as other government officials, including Foreign Minister Assad al-Shaibani. This will be Antonio Guterres' first visit to Syria as Secretary-General of the United Nations. Throughout his stay in Syria, he will reaffirm the UN's commitment to supporting the Syrian government and the Syrian people at this defining period in the country's history. He will also underscore the importance of respecting Syria's sovereignty, its unity, and its territorial integrity. The visit will offer the Secretary-General an opportunity to witness both the hope and the challenges of the political transition and recovery, as well as the impact of the enduring years of conflict. During the visit, he will hear firsthand from representatives of Syrian civil society, women's organizations, and diverse communities. While in Syria, the Secretary-General also plans to visit our colleagues from the UN Disengagement Observer Force, otherwise known as UNDOF, and we will continue to keep you informed of more details on the visit as it happens. This morning, the Security Council also met to discuss Syria. Claudio Cordone, the Secretary-General's Deputy Special Envoy for Syria, briefed from Damascus and told Council members that despite challenges, the opportunities for Syria are indeed real. He said the past months has demonstrated both the opportunities and the fragility of Syria's transition. He told Council members that institutional milestones have been reached, but building confidence will require an effective and balanced system of governance with the meaningful participation by women and all components of Syrian society, continued progress on accountability and transitional justice, tangible improvements in the daily lives of the Syrian people. Mr. Cordone also reiterated our support for the Syrian-led and the Syrian-owned political transition. Adding that sustained commitment from international community, including this, the Security Council, remains critical. Also briefing was our colleague Edem Wosornu, as you know, is OCHA's Director of Crisis Response. She also briefed on the humanitarian situation in the country. Since December of 2024, she said some 1.7 million refugees and 1.9 million internally displaced people have returned to their communities. But recovery is not measured only by how many people returned. It is measured by whether or not they can stay, whether they can rebuild, and whether they can survive. For many families in the country, she said, daily life continues to be defined by difficult choices and uncertainty. She asked Council members for sustained and predictable humanitarian funding, investments in the foundations of recovery, and finally, she called on them to prevent further instability, protect civilians, and preserve humanitarian access. Those remarks have been shared with you. Also staying on Syria, there is a— sorry, there will be an ARIA Formula meeting on the Security Council on transitional justice and the issue of missing people in Syria. Our friend, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, will be briefing. He will stress that justice and inclusivity centered on victims and survivors and the families of the missing are essential to rebuilding trust and securing a more peaceful future for all Syrians. His remarks will be shared with you and posted online. Staying in the region, I can tell you that the Secretary-General remains deeply concerned by the continuing and expanding military escalation between Iran and the United States over the past few days. The crisis has already affected Iran, Bahrain, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Qatar, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates, placing pressure on trade systems, placing pressure on humanitarian access, on transport costs, and the price of fuel and basic commodities in those countries and beyond. The Secretary-General is particularly concerned about attacks on civilian infrastructure in Iran, including a nuclear power plant under construction and a desalination plant. And also across the region, we've seen attacks on power plants and desalination plants in Kuwait and other places. Such attacks are unacceptable and must stop immediately. The Secretary-General reiterates once again that there is no military solution to this conflict, and he calls for intensifying diplomatic efforts towards a peaceful and durable settlement. Such a settlement should include the full restoration of international navigational rights and freedom of navigation in and around the Strait of Hormuz. Vital infrastructure on which civilians rely for survival, including hospitals, water supplies, must be spared. All parties must respect their obligations under international humanitarian law, including the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution. I was just given a senior appointment today. The Secretary-General has appointed Damien Mama of Bénin as his Ad Interim Deputy Special Representative for the UN Peacekeeping Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Ad Interim Resident Coordinator in the DRC. He will also serve as Humanitarian Coordinator— triple-hatted, as we call them. Mr. Mama takes up his ad interim appointment following the departure of Bruno Le Marquis of France, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his leadership and dedicated commitment to advancing humanitarian development efforts in the DRC. Mr. Mama brings more than 25 years of experience in development, humanitarian affairs, peace operations, and strategic leadership across the country. His last post was Resident Representative of the UN Development Programme in the DRC. During recent visits to collective shelters, families described to our colleagues worsening shelter conditions, reduced access to water and hygiene services, and limited opportunities to earn an income. Many also said they're increasingly relying on borrowing funds to meet basic needs, including the purchase of essential medicines. Families have also said that repeated attempts to return home have often been reversed due to insecurity, damaged infrastructure, and limited access to basic services in their— back in their home areas. Many also reported challenges accessing adequate water, nutrition, and other basic services for children. We reiterate that civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected. Humanitarian assistance must be sustained and facilitated for families to be able to return home safely and in dignity. cooperation with Uganda and the region with a view to helping end the conflict in Sudan. While in Uganda, Ms. Tavistock also met with Sudanese political actors and representatives of Sudanese civil society, including women's groups, youth groups, refugees, and members of resistance committees. Sorry, I should have included this after Lebanon, but I'll go to the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Our colleagues at the Humanitarian Affairs Office tell us that over the past few days, several people have been reportedly killed and injured in the Gaza Strip. Last Friday, 7 Palestinians were reportedly killed and others injured in an Israeli drone strike outside of a grocery store west of the Nusayrat refugee camp. The strike coincided with mourners leaving a nearby funeral prayer when the area was crowded. Again, we condemn all killings of civilians. Earlier last week, on Wednesday, a teacher was injured after reportedly being shot at by following— receiving fire by Israeli forces while she was working inside a temporary learning center just west of Khan Younis. According to our partners supporting education, some 26 education-related incidents have been reported since the beginning of the year. We reiterate again that under international humanitarian law, civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected. Despite persistent security issues and despite severe operational constraints, our humanitarian partners are continuing to restore and expand access to basic education wherever possible. After more than 2 years of prolonged disruption to learning, during the, during the first year of first half of this year, our partners helped 435,000 pre-primary and school-age children, including approximately 93,000 children with disabilities get access to structured learning through 610 temporary learning spaces. Around 344,000 children will also receive essential learning and teaching materials. Our partners also supported 11,000 teachers and education personnel through initiatives focused on education in emergencies, disability-inclusive programming, quality learning, and safe learning environments. And yesterday, our Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator, Susana Kallik met with the leadership at the Emirati Hospital in Rafah to discuss some practical solutions for strengthening medical waste management in Gaza. They focused— they discussed addressing risks linked to safe collection, handling, and disposal of medical waste, which is a big problem. This amid continued pressure on health facilities throughout Gaza Strip. Further on the health front, the World Health Organization and its partners yesterday supported the medical evacuation of 9 child patients and 15 of their companions to Jordan, as well as 1 adult patient and companion to Türkiye. Since October of 2023, 12,700 patients, including 6,193 children, have been evacuated abroad to more than 30 countries for treatment. Many more people need to be evacuated from Gaza to receive medical help they cannot get currently there. A quick update from Afghanistan, where humanitarian colleagues are responding to the impact of heavy rainfall and flash flooding that hit the— certain parts of the east of the country yesterday. Preliminary reports indicate that more than 40 people were killed, dozens are injured, and many remain missing. The flooding also caused extensive damage to homes, public buildings, and businesses. Are being mobilized. OCHA tells us they are coordinating with partners and local authorities through damaged roads and difficult terrain makes the response that much more difficult. And in Rwanda, we and our humanitarian partners are continuing to support the government-led efforts to strengthen preparedness measures against Ebola. While no Ebola cases have been confirmed in Rwanda, the country remains at risk due to its proximity to affected areas. And the movement of people across borders. The government, supported by ourselves and our humanitarian partners, have a national Ebola preparedness plan which calls for $40 million. We're supporting their work in surveillance, lab capacity, case management, and infection prevention, control, water sanitation, and risk communication. The UN Emergency Response Fund allocated $2 million last week to support in La Guaira, the worst-impacted state. Water, sanitation, hygiene support makes up the largest share of assistance that's been provided. We and our partners are providing vital relief through 5 temporary camps as well in La Guaira, as well surrounding communities. Since the onset of the emergency, the World Food Programme has reached 97,000 people with food assistance, while IOM has reached more than 88,000 through shelter, site coordination, health protection, and other services. Meanwhile, our partners at the Pan American Health Organization are coordinating the response of emergency medical teams. To date, 16 such teams have been deployed, providing consultation and treatment, including some 250 surgeries to more than 17,000 people. Again, we call for the international community to show solidarity and help fund our humanitarian appeal. Thank you, Mr. Secretary-General. Appeal, which includes a 6-month plan to assist 1.3 million people impacted by the earthquakes. The appeal is less than 40% funded. And we and our colleagues at UNHCR are deeply saddened and concerned at reports that 144 human beings are either dead or missing as a result of the tragic maritime accident off the coast of Mauritania last week. UNHCR, national authorities, and humanitarian partners were there for the 3 rescue and disembarkation which took place last week. 387 people were safely brought out. It's a stark reminder that despite sustained efforts by various partners to save lives, the route from West Africa towards the Canary Islands is one of the world's deadliest mixed movement corridors, with refugees and migrants attempting to reach Europe. Facing the highest risk. Against this backdrop, the rescues in Mauritania, as we have said there— have we said here many times— and concerted efforts need to be targeted towards creating alternatives to dangerous sea crossing, including meaningful, quicker access to legal pathways, as well as increased labor and educational opportunities. Speaking of educational opportunities, Edie, waiting to be taught.

Thank you, Steph. 2 questions. First, is the Secretary General personally involved in trying to promote a restoration of diploma— diplomacy in the Iran conflict?

I think his message both publicly and privately is the same. Through contacts he's had, contacts that his personal envoy, Jean Arnault, has, has had and continues to have, is that we are teetering. Right. We do not want to see a return to a full-scale conflict. We're seeing the price of commodities rise again. I think our friends from the food agencies gave a pretty sober assessment of food security in the world currently, and I think it is incumbent on the Secretary-General and all parties to do whatever they can to push for a return to diplomacy. And we're very thankful at the mediating lead that Pakistan has taken, assisted by others in that regard.

Has he been speaking to any leaders that you can tell us about?

I have nothing to share with you

And my second question is, is the Secretary General planning any other stops in the Middle East after he's in Syria?

Nothing to share with you on that. As you will recall, we had announced a trip to Cyprus, which will take place in the same calendar zone as the trip to Syria.

Thanks, Steph. On the conflict in the Gulf, just some more specifics. Did the Secretary-General receive the letter from the Permanent Representative from Qatar in the last 24 hours, and does he have any specific reaction to it?

I mean, I know we've raised— we've received a number of letters which have been circulated. They will be— the letters will be answered, but obviously the Secretary-General, as we said, is extremely concerned by the attacks we've seen on civilian infrastructure in places like Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and other places, as well as the Islamic Republic of Iran.

And you said that the Secretary-General does not want to return to full-scale hostilities, I think was the word, or whatever word you want to use. Similar, right? Fair point. My question is, how do you define that? We've had bombing by the United States on Iran for 10 straight days now in some way, shape, or form, including some from Iran to other regional countries. How do you define when we get to that point?

I think, listen, I think, Gabriel, yours is a fair point. Point as well, right? It's a moving line. Do we call this a full return to war? Could it be worse? Could it be better?

Clearly.

But I think we've seen since the start of the conflict, we have seen periods of much higher intensity kinetic activity involving more countries, right? We do not want to go back to that. We do need to see a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz as quickly as possible based on, on the historical freedom of navigation that should exist. Yes, please, Sinan.

Thank you, Steph. I have a question regarding SG's visit to Syria. You said he's going to meet diverse communities, and I was wondering if he's going to meet these diverse communities in Damascus, or is he going to, for example, coastal area, meet the Alawite communities and in south, in northeast?

I think most of his meetings will take place in the Greater Damascus area. The Secretary-General, I should say Antonio Guterres, has a long history with Syria. As High Commissioner for Refugees, he spent a lot of time there, a number of visits, also to at the point back then to thank the Syrian people for their generosity in hosting many Iraqi refugees. I think if it was up to him, he would go to a lot of different places, but obviously the constraints and security constraints especially that exist will really limit him to, for the most part, to the greater Damascus area, but he hopes to meet as many representatives of that reflect the diversity of Syria. Okay, anybody online?

Okay.

That's me, Stefano. Thank you, Stefan.

Mr. Vaccara, please.

Yes, I hope they didn't ask you this question before, but Mayor Mandanis recently declared that he's looking into the possibility that the NYPD could arrest the Premier of Israel, Netanyahu, when he's coming in September. Again, then President Trump said this absolutely is not going to happen. So what is the position of the— can you hear me?

I can hear you. I'm just waiting for you to finish your question.

What is the position of the Secretary General? this kind of debate in the possibility or not that Premier Netanyahu could be arrested in New York?

We will not get in between the debate between our host mayor and the president of our host country at this point.

Yes, but there is any— I don't know— any— what is the preparation, okay, for when that the Premier of Israel or any leader of a country comes to the UN, right? Is there any advice that the UN gives them to do or not to do when they are in the city?

We do not tell our visiting dignitaries where they should go, what they should do outside of the UN. We let them do their own program. We are responsible for them. While they are inside the United Nations. The rest is coordination of a mix of federal, state, and city authorities. So I would encourage you to ask any one of those entities outside of the gates of this place. Okay, thank you all. Hasta mañana. Yeah, okay.