Sudan, Nepal, Ukraine & other topics - Daily Press Briefing

Yeah. All right. Just as a reminder, Monday, as we were mentioning, is Labor Day here in the U.S., so the office will be closed. There will not be a briefing. However, if you need to reach us, we will always be on call for you. We will return on Tuesday. Aziz, welcome. You're welcome. We'll return here on Tuesday with the briefing. Also on Tuesday, it will be handover day for the presidents of the General Assembly, and we expect a stakeout by the new president of the General Assembly, Dr. Khalilur Rahman of Bangladesh. That will be probably around noon as well on Tuesday, but we'll coordinate so we don't clash with the briefing. The incoming president of the General Assembly will deliver brief remarks at the stakeout on his vision for the 81st session, and he'll take a couple of questions, and that will be at the GA stakeout area in what you know as the East Foyer. Given that This is the eve of a long weekend. Unfortunately, I have quite a few notes for you today. A number of you have been asking me about the activities of Pekka Havisto, the Secretary-General's personal envoy for Sudan. Mr. Havisto, I can tell you, arrived in Khartoum today. There, he will engage with key stakeholders on ways to advance measures to de-escalate violence and strengthen the protection of civilians. Yesterday, he spoke by phone to General Mohamed Hamdan although otherwise known as Hemeti, the commander of the Rapid Support Forces, and he discussed those very issues with him. On Tuesday, the personal envoy will be joined in Khartoum by her partners from the so-called Quintet, which, as you know, brings together the African Union, the European Union, IGAD, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, and the League of Arab States, as well as the United Nations, for a series of meetings. They'll exchange views with key stakeholders on the current political landscape including recent initiatives and proposals to advance the intra-Sudanese dialogue. We continue to emphasize the importance of a negotiated settlement in this conflict that reflects the democratic aspirations of the Sudanese people. Mr. Havisto will continue to engage with a broad range of Sudanese actors, from both inside and outside of the country, to identify the best ways to support the broad-based Sudanese-led and Sudanese-owned process that is inclusive, that is -- and also comprehensive political process to achieve lasting peace in Sudan. Moving to Nepal. A bit earlier this morning in Nepal, we and our humanitarian partners launched a nearly $50 million flash appeal to support the emergency response following the recent catastrophic flash floods and landslides. The four-month appeal aims to help about 84,000 people who've been impacted by the landslides. Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that survivors face tragic losses of family members, loss of homes, and loss of livelihoods. Widespread destruction of critical infrastructure has severed transport routes, disrupted power grids, and washed out local water supply and sanitation systems, leaving isolated populations without basic necessities. The UN Resident Coordinator in Nepal, Leela Peters-Yahya, said the appeal, under the leadership of the government, will help get cash, shelter, health care, food, clean water, and protection to some of the hardest-reached communities. Meanwhile, we continue to support the response. Our colleagues at the World Food Programme, in the first weeks after the disaster, dispatched some food for about 8,000 people and procured further 180 metric tons of food locally. WFP is also standing by with air support, including helicopters, unmanned aircraft. all that to deliver food and other supplies to people in the most isolated areas. And UNICEF tells us that this morning, a flight carrying 84 metric tons of critical humanitarian supplies landed at Kathmandu in Nepal with the support of the European Union humanitarian aid. UNICEF is also dispatching supplies to some of the hardest hit areas. The supplies from UNICEF will help families access safe water, strengthen disease mentioned, support children's learning, and ensure frontline health and nutrition workers have the tools to identify and assist vulnerable children and mothers. Turning to Ukraine, our OCHA colleagues in Ukraine tell us that residents of Kyiv and Odesa have faced repeated attacks over the past two days. We and our humanitarian partners are continuing to support the response despite the damage in our own assets. Our humanitarian colleagues say that hours ago, a drone struck an area in central Kyiv near the St. Sophia Cathedral, which, as a reminder, is a UNESCO global heritage site. We, along with our humanitarian partners, responded rapidly to provide first aid, psychosocial support, and emergency supplies to repair damaged homes in the Kherson areas and also in Kyiv. We continue to support frontline areas. Today, a humanitarian convoy delivered vital aid to the hardest hit areas in Donetsk and Kherson. The supplies included hygiene and first aid kits, along with essential medicine and medical supplies for local hospitals. Humanitarian operations have also been impacted by recent attacks. On Tuesday, UNICEF-contracted water truck carrying drinking water to children and families in Kharkiv was struck, seriously injuring the driver. On the same day, an office of the Ukrainian Red Crescent Society in Kherson was just plain destroyed. And on Wednesday, the World Health Organization told us that an air attack in Kyiv Oblast impacted one of WHO's main warehouses with humanitarian supply. WHO stressed it remains committed to delivering life-saving aid to support people across Ukraine. And Matthias Schmale, our humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine, just returned from a field visit to Sumy, which borders the Russian Federation. He called on the international community to continue to support Ukraine, including in hard-to-reach areas. And turning to Yemen, I've been asked by various reports Concerning the recent sharp escalation in military action in various parts of that country, I can tell you that we saw these reports and are deeply concerned by the ongoing military clashes across multiple front lines in Yemen, including Taiz. We call on the Yemeni parties to exercise restraint, de-escalate tensions, and refrain from actions that could lead to further military escalation with risk devastating political, economic, and security ramifications for Yemen and all of its people. The parties must prioritize dialogue and engage constructively with the United Nations-led efforts towards a negotiated political settlement. And turning to Lebanon, today our humanitarian coordinator there, Imran Riza, visited Nabatieh in southern Lebanon. There, he met with communities receiving many returnees and displaced people. Authorities outlined the challenges that people returning to their homes face, including damage to vital infrastructure, impacting basic services like water and sanitation. As an example is the village of Maifadun, where Mr. Riza visited. There, damage to a water well station, including solar panels and pumping equipment, has impacted water supply in parts of the village. He stressed the importance of early recovery efforts to restore these essential services to support municipalities and help communities recover. OCHA says the 2026 Flash Appeal, which we launched, as you'll recall, back in March, wrapped up last month, despite being less than 52% funded, with only $330 million, our partners reached more than 1.2 million people with at least one form of critical assistance since the current escalation began. This includes more than 900,000 people who received cash assistance, over half a million people with food and agricultural support, and nearly 556,000 with health assistance. Yet, as Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher stressed the needs continue, access remains constrained, and many families in Lebanon still cannot return home safely. To support people in need of critical humanitarian assistance, our partners will update the Lebanon response plan to cover the period this month through the end of the year. We reiterate the need for continued humanitarian access and support the people in need, including those who are trying to return home. And moving south to the occupied Palestinian territory, I can tell you that looking at what is going on on the ground, we remain very concerned about the safety of civilians both in the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank. Meanwhile, we and our humanitarian partners on the ground in in Gaza continue to support people's preparations for the rainy season, although more funding and access are urgently needed for that support anywhere to be sufficient. Yesterday, the Director General of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tedros, said that public health risks are growing as winter approaches, with most people still displaced in overcrowded, tented sites. Dr. Tedros warned that Gaza's already overwhelmed health system cannot withstand additional surge in diseases and illness. With the onset of rains, flooding is likely to spread sewage and contaminated water through densely populated areas, increasing the risk of disease. He called for increased access to lab and diagnostic supplies that remain restricted, as well as by essential medicines, rehabilitation equipment, and public health. Turning to the West Bank, our humanitarian colleagues there tell us that since 2023, more than 6,400 Palestinians have been displaced in 130 communities by settler violence. Of those displaced, more than 25,000 people were forced out this year alone, more than half of them children. That has left 48 Palestinian communities fully displaced since 2023, including a dozen just this year. Our partners warn that cumulative impact of repeated displacement, recurrent attacks by Israeli settlers, damage to homes and infrastructure, and restrictions on access to land and essential services is deepening our humanitarian needs. And moving to Syria, I wanted to flag the danger facing civilians from explosive remnants of war remain deeply worrying, particularly for children. Our OCHA colleagues tell us that over the past week, a dozen explosive ordnance incidents were recorded across six regions in Syria, killing nine people, including six children, and injured 13 others. The deadliest incident occurred in Deir ez-Zor on Monday, when a landmine detonated on a civilian vehicle, killing five children injuring three others. Raqqa recorded the highest number of incidents, underscoring the continued dangers of war, remnants of war in northern Syria. The scale of the contamination remains immense. More than two-thirds of these incidents have occurred on agricultural grazing land, underscoring the urgent need for large-scale clearance operations to reduce the risks. Our partners working on mine action tell us that explosive ordnance risk education, clearance operations, and assistance distance of those affected or essential to protect civilians and allow them to return safely home. In 2024, our mine action partners surveyed 215 million square meters of land. In 2025, that increased to more 18 full to 4 billion square meters, roughly five times the size of this city, New York, while nearly three times as much explosive ordnance was destroyed. Our Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, is in Rome, where she's meeting with senior government officials in Italy, as well as the Holy See, to discuss their sustained commitment to the U.N. and efficient support to multilateralism, including to advance food system transformation. The Deputy Secretary-General also met with the heads of the Rome-based agencies. She will also participate in the fourth regional convening on artificial intelligence and human development, building on previous gatherings in Cairo, Mexico City, and Xi'an. Together with experts and thought leaders in the country and the region, the convening will explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping societies, economies, and communities, and how its development can be steered to advance human development. And just to tell you put for the record, as you saw, the Secretary General briefed Member States late yesterday afternoon on the UN80 initiative, telling them that last 18 months since UN80 was launched, we've moved from diagnostic to design and increasingly implementation, as you saw from the merger of the learning and training entities of the UN. Also, just to note on Colombia, our humanitarian colleagues tell us that relief efforts continue following the recent earthquake. So far, 29 humanitarian organizations have reached nearly 125,000 people across 49 municipalities in the departments of Valle del Cauca, Choco, Risolda, and Caldas. They provided water, they provided sanitation, as well as hygiene, health, shelter, food, and protection assistance. Our UN Resident Coordinator, who has briefed you in this room, Maria Jose Torres Macho, recently visited Choco, one of the most impacted areas. She was there with other humanitarian partners to meet impacted communities, local authorities, and helped ensure coordinated response. Meanwhile, the UN Development Programme and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean are working with the government and other partners already on early recovery. This takes place amid continued violence involving non-state armed groups, is hampering humanitarian access and putting civilians at risk. We and our partners continue to appeal for additional resources, as we've only received $40 million of the $148 million required to respond to the earthquake. There are a lot of stories about migrants dying at sea, and I think it's important not to forget them. You may have seen one particularly tragic story. Our colleagues from the International Organization for Migration tell us they're deeply concerned by the news of a boat that was adrift in the Atlantic for almost a month before it was found and by the loss of so many lives. Our thoughts are with the survivors and the families still waiting for news. IOM noted that, unfortunately, cases like this are not an exception on this route. The distances were enormous, and monitoring and rescue capacity along the West African Atlantic route remains very limited. UNHCR said this tragedy underscores the extreme risk faced by those undertaking dangerous journeys, including people fleeing conflict, violence, and persecution. IOM says Spanish authorities recovered 44 survivors. More than 80 people are believed to have died or gone missing during the crossing. Only five bodies were recovered. And the FAO released its monthly food price index. As we've been warning, food prices are climbing again, and the weather is driving much of that. FAO says the benchmark index for world food commodity prices edged up in August as high temperatures and other weather-related risks raise concern over supply. The index averaged 133.3 points last month, up 1.9% from July and 2.5% from a year ago. Sugar saw the sharpest rise with nearly 12%, driven by adverse weather hitting sugar beet yields in the European Union and lower sugar production in Brazil. Also behind the rise were concerns about the impact of El Nino on production prospects in key Asian producing countries and India's announcement of duty-free raw sugar imports. Wheat prices were up 15% from a year earlier amid disruptions in the Black Sea exports, logistics, and high temperatures in much of Europe. Looking ahead, FAO forecasts global cereal production this year to be at 2.98 billion metric tons. That's still the second largest harvest on record, but down 2% from last year. Lastly, it's a long weekend, so a whole long list international days for you to observe. Tomorrow is the International Day of Charity. In fragile regions, charitable efforts often fill critical gaps, and at its core, charity is an expression of global solidarity, bringing us together to build more just and resilient societies. Tomorrow is the first International Day of the World's Indigenous Women and Girls. Indigenous women and girls remain disproportionately affected by poverty, violence, and unequal access to health care and to justice and to land. Tomorrow is about making sure their leadership is seen and their challenges are not forgotten. Monday, besides Labor Day, we mark three international days, the International Day of the Clean Air for Blue Skies. I will not sing that song for you. In his message for the day, the Secretary-General notes that for too long, we've been told to choose between economic growth and environmental protection, between today's priorities and tomorrow's climate. These are false choices, he says, pointing out that air pollution is taking a devastating toll on lives and economies. And Monday -- also Monday, UN -- our friends at UNEP and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition will release new findings from their global economic assessment of integrated climate and clean air action. On policing, the Secretary-General says in his message for the International Day of Police Cooperation that by working together across borders, law enforcement agencies can better support survivors, apprehend perpetrators, and advance safety for all. And lastly, Monday is also World Duchenne Awareness Day. Duchenne is a muscular dystrophy. is one of the most common childhood genetic rare diseases and there's currently no cure. This year's theme puts the focus on families, the role they play in the lives of those living with the disease. Any questions? Excellent. Excellent. All right, I've bored you all to death, so enjoy the weekend.