Secretary-General/Durban Declaration, Ethiopia, Sudan & other topics - Daily Press Briefing

All right. Good afternoon. Welcome to this cold room. This morning, the Secretary General delivered remarks at the high level event marking the 25th anniversary of the Durban Declaration and Program of Action. He stressed that the fight against racism and the fight against discrimination is even more urgent today than when the declaration was adopted 25 years ago. He warned that racism continues to poison societies, it continues to deepen inequalities, and it continues to deny people their fundamental rights and freedoms. Mr. Guterres added that the antidote to this poison is unity and tangible action. He urged governments to strengthen anti-discrimination laws, business to create workplaces where everyone can contribute, and technology companies to address bias in artificial intelligence. He also called for concrete measures to deliver reparatory justice and urged everyone to stand against injustice and build societies where racism and discrimination have no place.

Those remarks were shared with you.

Turning to Ethiopia, the Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, Mr. Kwang Kong, is engaging with national and regional interlocutors and is coordinating closely with partners, including the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, IGAD, to support efforts towards de-escalation and dialogue. On the ground, our colleagues from the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warned that worsening security conditions across northern Ethiopia are adding to humanitarian needs and disrupting humanitarian operations, as you can imagine.

Humanitarian access has been severely restricted by disrupted telecommunications, suspended flights to and from the Tigray region and some locations as well in the Amhara area. Restrictions on key roads are also impeding our operations. This has limited the movements of humanitarians, of relief supplies and people. Humanitarian operations are already under severe pressure from funding shortages, as we've been telling you. Several of our partners have scaled back or suspended activities, leaving fewer humanitarian organizations on the ground as the needs grow. Our humanitarian partners are continuing to monitor development, strengthen preparedness, and contingency measures to ensure continued support where access remains possible. Partners also conducted rapid assessments based on reports of displacement and humanitarian needs.

It remains critical that all parties ensure the safe and unhindered access.

To humanitarian goods and humanitarian workers wherever they are needed. Turning to Sudan, there again, our colleagues at OCHA tell us that despite the severe impact of drone attacks and armed clashes around the country, humanitarian workers continue to deliver this vital assistance, including efforts to detect, prevent, and treat cholera. The World Health Organization has reported a sharp decline in cholera cases in recent weeks. WHO pre-positioned 60 metric tons of cholera supplies across Sudan. That's enough to support treatment for about 120,000 cases of cholera. The agency also strengthened the disease surveillance, trained frontline health workers, and supported cholera treatment centers and oral rehydration points. UNICEF and WHO provided support for oral cholera vaccination campaigns that reached over 900,000 people. As you'll recall, the outbreak of cholera began in Al-Nuhud in West Kordofan back in May. It has spread to 20 localities since and across six states, with nearly 3,000 cases and some 250 associated deaths having been reported. Meanwhile, the Food and Agriculture Organization launched a nationwide livestock vaccination campaign to protect 9.8 million animals and safeguard livelihoods for about 1.2 million households that own livestock in Sudan. We and our partners are also prioritizing efforts to bolster agricultural support and food security among growing concerns over the effect of below-average cumulative rainfall during the ongoing rainy season and its potential impact on agricultural production. Once again, here as we do in other places, we call for the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure.

And for aid workers to be able to do their job.

Unhindered and to reach whoever they need to reach, wherever they need to reach them. And just south, a quick update from our peacekeeping colleagues in South Sudan. The Unity State High Court has concluded three weeks of proceedings in the displacement camp in Bentiu. As we told you earlier, the Mission in South Sudan supported the deployment of the court by working with local and national authorities as well as community representatives. The deployment responded to requests from community for stronger justice and rule mechanisms to address drug-related offenses, gang violence, and sexual and gender-based violence, particularly impacting children and other young people. High Court recently adjudicated 20 criminal cases, resulting in 17 convictions, including the first drug related case ever brought to a unity state. More than 70 additional cases are reported for investigation and trial and will continue to be heard from the court's permanent location in Benju.

Uh turning to Pakistan, I can tell you that the secretary.

General condemns the suicide bombing at a police checkpoint in Dera Smile Khan in Pakistan. Uh that bombing took place over the weekend. He expresses his deepest condolences to the families of those killed and wishes a speedy recovery to all those injured. The Secretary-General underscores that terrorism, in all its forms and manifestations, is unacceptable, and reaffirms the solidarity of the United Nations with the people and government of Pakistan, and stresses the need to bring those.

Responsible to justice.

Back here, Ramiz Al-Kharif, who, as you know, is the acting special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, briefed the Security Council this morning and said that the Secretary-General strongly condemns the relentless expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. This expansion fuels tensions and impedes access by Palestinians to their land and threatens the viability of a fully independent, sovereign, and contiguous Palestinian state. This also.

This expanded footprint also includes outposts, taking place in conjunction with a rising number of attacks by Israeli settlers.

The Secretary General, he added, also condemns a development related to the E1 settlement plan, which would effectively cut the connection between the northern and southern West Bank, further.

Isolating East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank.

The Israeli government's decision to deepen Israeli administrative and territorial control in the West Bank are deeply concerning, he said. The measures are likely to contribute to settlement expansion and the dispossession of Palestinians from their land and property. He added the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains catastrophic. Israeli authorities have confined Gaza's population to about 30% of the territory, and there is continuing killings of civilians. As we approach 10 years since the adoption of resolution 2334. Mr. Lavkaurov said that the situation is morally, legally, and politically intolerable, echoing the words of the Secretary-General. We must recommit ourselves to a two-state solution. It is not too late. Turning to.

Gaza, a quick humanitarian update from today.

Our humanitarian colleagues warned that funding shortfalls, as well as continued Israeli restrictions, are severely limiting the preparations of the rainy season. In the first three weeks of September, partners established community heating points at 88 displacement sites, which together host 10% of Gaza's population. They did so by setting up 170 reinforced tents at those sites. However, many more tents are needed, along with shelter kits, heaters, and sustained fuel imports. Thousands of heating points will be required to meet the needs of the people when the temperature drops. The other ongoing efforts involve replacing worn-out shelters, unblocking drainage, and identifying voluntary relocation options for those in flood-prone areas. Because of funding shortfalls, we and our partners estimate that the tents, tarpaulins, and sealing-off kits they have, or are in the process of buying, will only support 50,000 households. That's in addition to what member states and the private sector can bring in. In the combined pipeline, the UN and our partners, they're also bedding items for another 50,000 households, while winter clothes are currently for some 9,000 households only. More funding is urgently needed. As we've said before, the Israeli authorities need to approve critical items, and they need to do so quickly. In the West Bank, our humanitarian Humanitarian partners estimate that every fifth Palestinian in the Mas'af or Yatta area of Hebron, where Israeli authorities have declared a "firing zone," may have been displaced or otherwise impacted by demolitions in the last four weeks. Over the weekend, humanitarian partners supported Palestinians impacted by last Thursday's demolition of 35 homes and other structures in the Jimba community. And moving north to southern Lebanon, our UNIFIL peacekeepers continue to observe the situation in their area of operations. The Blue Helmets report that between Friday and Sunday, peacekeepers observed 12 Israeli Defense Force naval vessels crossing into Lebanese territorial waters off the coast of Nakoura. Between Friday and Sunday, UNIFIL detected 143 violations of Lebanese airspace by the IDF involving drones, fighter aircrafts, and helicopters. Peacekeepers also observed multiple airstrikes across the area of operations by UNIFIL. During the same period, UNIFIL recorded 166 trajectories of projectiles, all attributed to the IDF. UNIFIL did not detect any rocket or artillery projectile during that period by Hezbollah. On the humanitarian front, UNIFIL and OCHA continue to facilitate humanitarian missions. They did two on Friday and Sunday. Moving to Yemen, where humanitarian colleagues on the ground tell us that civilians continue to bear the brunt of the escalating hostilities, casualties are mounting, displacement is growing, and the risk disease outbreaks is also continuing. Up to today, the escalation in fighting has forced some 142,000 men, women, and children to flee their homes. That's what the International Organization for Migration is telling us. We and our humanitarian partners continue to support the response and have reached more than 115,000 internally displaced people so far. Nearly $20 million in emergency funding has been mobilized by the Yemen Humanitarian Fund and the Central Emergency Emergency Response Fund to support newly displaced families and communities, but we need more money and we need it very soon. The fighting is pushing an already fragile health system in Yemen to the brink, forcing some hospitals to suspend emergency obstetric care in order to treat the wounded. In response, our health partners have deployed more than 20 mobile health partners -- mobile medical teams. activated rapid response teams and delivered 60 metric tons of medical supplies, but life-saving medical supplies are rapidly dwindling and access remains very difficult due to the ongoing fighting. WHO is now warning that overcrowding, unsafe water, and poor sanitation in displacement sites are driving up the risk further of disease outbreaks, with cholera alerts already having been raised in a number of sites. All parties in Yemen and everywhere else must protect civilians and civilian infrastructure and must grant us unhindered humanitarian access. Turning to Nepal, a quick update a month after the devastating floods. Latest government figures indicate that more than 1,450 people were killed and more than 5,000 remain missing following the floods of August 26. The economic impact has also been severe. Thirteen hydropower projects were impacted alongside major damage to transport, to trade, and to tourism, with overall losses estimated to 4 to 5 percent of Nepal's gross domestic product. Under the leadership of the government, the response by the UN team and our partners has reached more than 64,000 people so far, but the focus is increasingly shifting now to recovery. Thousands of families remain displaced, an estimated 2.2 million tons of debris still need to be cleared. Safe land is needed for people who cannot return to their homes, and roads and essential services still need to be restored in many parts. Our colleagues on the ground tell us that winter approaching in the mountainous north, where Nepal's border with China, shelter and livelihood support are becoming increasingly urgent. As you know, the government of Nepal, together with us, launched a $49.6 million humanitarian appeal to assist more than 84,000 people. So far, $22 million million has been pledged, leaving a gap of over $27 million. We continue to call for sustained international support as communities move from emergency response to recovery and rebuilding. And from Ukraine, our colleagues at OCHA tell us that attacks over the past three days have continued to kill and to injure civilians, including children, and damage homes and civilian infrastructure. In Kyiv and the regions of Sumy, Kharkiv, and Odesa were the most impacted, and attacks also impacted civilians in Zaporizhzhia, in Donetsk, Kyiv, Dnipro, Kherson, and Chernihiv. Humanitarian organizations, supported by our own UN agencies and the Ukrainian Red Cross Society, are providing emergency repair materials, hot meals, medical, and psychosocial support. Turning to Honduras, we and our humanitarian partners, together with the government, launched a $60 million flash appeal for one of the most severe droughts in the country in decades. More than three-quarters of Honduras has been seeing extreme shortages of rain and prolonged dry spells. Crops are failing, food insecurity is increasing, and water shortages are on the rise.

Of that increasing the potential health risks.

More than 700,000 human beings are estimated to need assistance. Today's appeal aims to reach more than half a million of those most impacted.

So they can get food, they can get.

Water and sanitation, hygiene assistance, as well as protection services, including support for women and children. Some 32 humanitarian organizations, including UN agencies, NGOs, and local partners, are supporting the response together with national and local authorities. We and our partners are calling for urgent funding so we can help those who need it the most. And a couple reports to flag. Our friends in Geneva, the International Telecommunications Union and the World Meteorological Organization today called on governments, regulators, and meteorologists to safeguard access to radio frequency spectrum essential for weather forecast, early warning, and climate monitoring, and water management. The appeal comes with the release of a joint handbook offering updated on the use and protection of radio frequencies supporting critical meteorological systems. These systems enable observation of the atmosphere, the oceans, land, and the transmission of data that supports lifesaving warnings. ITU-WMO handbook also highlights the potential impact of radio frequency interference on the accuracy and availability of essential environmental data. More information online. Also releasing a report today, our friends in Rome, this time at the Food and Agriculture Organization. It shows that forest and landscape restoration is a cost-effective response to food security, biodiversity, climate, and other development challenges. The report points out that investing $2.6 trillion over 15 years in land degradation and drought mitigation could yield an 8 to 1 social return. Under favorable conditions, restoration can generate up to $30 for every dollar invested. Today is a day that is important to all of you, I assume. It is the International Day for Universal Access to Information. This year, the question is not just whether you can get information, it's whether you can trust it. And we trust all of you. In a world overflowing with information and disinformation, access alone is not enough. What matters is that people can rely on what they find. Lastly, I want to welcome a new member to the UN family. Tom Fletcher has told us that Dr. Mehmet Gululu of Turkey is joining us as the new director of OCHA's Humanitarian Sector Division and head of the OCHA office in Geneva. He brings more than two decades of experience in humanitarian action, disaster management, public health, including as head of Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority and Director General of the Turkish Red Crescent. Most recently, he served as Turkey's humanitarian aid coordinator for Palestine, coordinating the country's activities in Gaza. We welcome him, and we welcome your questions. Pam and then Edie.

Steph. The SG has often, over the 10 years he's been in office, gone to the G20 meetings. Do you expect that he will go to the G20 meeting coming up in December before he leaves office? And what is the secretariat's view of the fact that this G20 has excluded South Africa and included an invitation for Putin, for Russia? Thank you.

Who the G20 invite include or not include is a question to them. We don't have a comment on that. As to whether or not Secretary General will attend, I think he doesn't tend to crash parties, so we'll wait to see if we get an invitation.

And anyone else in the Secretariat heard from?

We've had contacts with the next G20 presidency, which is the UK.

Edith Lederer.

Thank you, Steph. Has the Secretary General, during all of his many, many meetings in the past week, seen any prospects for trying to end conflicts from the Middle East and especially Iran and Ukraine, but also to Sudan, Myanmar, Congo, lots of other places.

I mean, it is, you know, diplomacy takes time, it takes patience, it requires political courage more than testosterone. I think the Secretary-General appreciates All the diplomatic efforts we've seen on the sidelines of the General Assembly, including on putting an end to the conflict in Iran. But, you know, there were thousands of bilateral meetings, discussions. Diplomacy is a process. We want to see an end to these conflicts based on international law, based on the Charter, and we will continue to push for that.

One other quick question on Yemen. You said that there's been 20, they've gotten $20 million already, and that more money is needed quickly. How much more?

I'll get you a four figure. Deepak, yes, please.

Thank you, Steph. 26 September was International Day for Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, and there is a meeting on it today. So I would like to have views of the Secretary General as to how to move forward in this to achieve this goal of elimination of nuclear weapons, disarmament, in the light of new weapons that have come, super intelligence weapons, like drones, space.

So I would like to hear-- I mean, I would first of all refer you to the message the Secretary General issued for that day. But the total elimination of nuclear weapons is something that the Secretary-General has been pushing for, has been very vocal about. There are a number of member states, I think, who have been strong allies in this fight. The idea of nuclear weapons ever being used again is terrifying. But we do see a proliferation of nuclear weapons and nuclear.

And I would say nuclear know-how for military purposes, all of which is very worrying.

And as.

Far as the merging of weapons and artificial intelligence, I think also there the Secretary General has been very vocal in especially pushing for an agreement that autonomous weapons free of human control should never, ever be used.

Yes, sir, go ahead. Do you have another question?

One more. Deepak Arora with the Tribune Online, New Delhi. Another question, well, Secretary General had a lot of meetings during this high-level debate. Could you give us some updated figures as to how many presidents?

And -- He's -- well, we'll get you -- the general debate is still going on today. Secretary General is still having bilaterals. I think he had -- he himself, I think, Had more than 140, but we'll get you the final countdown tomorrow. And Melissa from the PGA will be here also with some data. So we'll have all that to tomorrow once it actually closes.

Gabriel and then Stefano.

Thank you, Steph. Speaking of meetings, is the SG still meeting with Iran's foreign minister later today?

Yes, as far as I'm aware, he will be meeting with him this afternoon.

And I know there's only so much you can say about a meeting that hasn't taken place yet. Given that, though, Is there any sort of background that you can give on this meeting, given that he's already met last week with Iran's president and now meeting with the foreign minister?

I mean, this is part of the Secretary-General's continued engagement in trying to help those efforts underway and help the mediators who are working to end this conflict. And it is, you know, I think it is symbolic of the business that goes on here during the General Assembly. I mean, we have The foreign minister, I mean, is still here, spent a lot of time here. Others have also spent time here. This is part of the work of diplomacy that goes on. Stefano.

Thank you, Stefan. Does the Secretary-General actually listen to all or read? all 193 speeches delivered during the general.

Well, I mean, you know that he doesn't listen to all of them because he's having bilateral meetings. He has been he gets updated regularly with summaries of the remarks of those that he hasn't had the pleasure of sitting on the on the podium for.

So we don't know if there is one. Now we cannot know if there is something that really impressed him. was the lever or troubled him?

I mean, like I would say, if you ask me which one of my children I love the most, he appreciates the.

Fact that all of these leaders of delegation take the time to speak to the young.

Okay, so that was the premise to a question.

That was only the premise to a question.

I thought that was an actual question, Stefan.

No, no, no, no. The question is, I haven't seen any reaction from the Secretary General to President Trump attack on the International Criminal Court from this podium. Trump called the ICC an out-of-control institution, anti-American tribunal, and then say they are an evil group of people. He also urged every ICC member state to withdraw.

I would say, can you finish the speech so you.

Don't need to read me the whole speech.

I know what it is. So does the Secretary-General condemn the language, particularly the description of the people about the court as an evil group of people.

There are a couple of things to say.

One, as you well know, the ICC is independent of the secretariat. We do have points of agreements and cooperation with them on certain administrative issues.

We do believe that the International Criminal Court plays a very important role in international law, in accountability.

A global level and we firmly stand against unilateral sanctions against staff members of the court.

Okay, thank you all.

See you tomorrow and our colleague Melissa will be here tomorrow to brief you on behalf of the PGA.