Myanmar, Sudan, Yemen & other topics - Daily Press Briefing
Press Conferences
Date: 2 November 2026
Language: English
Transcript: https://transcripts.un.org/en/briefing/sg/2026-11-02
Transcripts available through this tool are created by using automatic speech recognition and are not official records nor official documents of the United Nations. Official records and official documents are available on the Official Document System of the United Nations.

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Speaker 1 [10:50]:

How's it going?

Okay, just, once we've done with, you know. When was this, October 15th?

I thought he was elected by sometime in October. Yeah. They needed transition period.

I mean, I moved in a week, and it was crazy, and I moved from Singapore in a week, but it was real.

Well, he also needs to be born up, or she needs to be born up to speed.

Well, if it's easier, I guess, right?

Yeah, but it's a lot.

Indeed.

How are you? Health issues with my wife and I said, "I'll give you a breast cancer, what a minor therapy is, is helping." Yeah. That's why I came out. Sure. I mean, I follow it, I promise. Where are you guys based? East 86th Street. Okay. Well, she's plucky, and, you know, we're still ready to travel. She wants to see. Brother who she hasn't seen in over 20 years, and lives in Las Vegas. So, on Friday, they're going to have dinner. You gotta do these things to try to keep your spirits up. She's retired now, but she's more had a consulting business, advising government.

That's a good business in the US, huh?

Yeah, she enjoyed it, but she can't do it. In Europe? In my group. Never. Yeah, Italy. You've never disappointed. It's my favorite. And the summer we rented this unit for many years. For me, it's always been.

You just hibernate in.

Yeah, and that's more than usual. We used to go to the theater. It's very hard for us now.

I know, because last year I had my accident. I could really put it down.

But she goes to the point that she.

You know, that on Disney Plus they offer a couple of Broadway shows if you like it, like check out which Broadway shows are on TV. Maybe it could be a good alternative, you know?

Well, we have, I mean, we have Netflix, but we have, yeah.

But those wheelchows are, those wheelchows.

But there needs to be, it's a question of where she puts her walker, because, you know, she check it, and then how does she get to the seat?

To the seat, by walker. Yeah, they let me, I was on the aisle, and they let me have it on my side, because I'm like, if there's a fire, I can't escape without it. So you can bargain with them, I think.

Well, then I have to get an ILC.

Because I went once in Europe, and also because I couldn't refund tickets, and it's so expensive. So I went, but it was painful. It was a lot.

What did you see?

Yeah, Gad Elmaleh, who is a French stand-up comedian.

Oh.

And he's pretty funny. So that was a good one. And the second one I watched I think it was a Korean play, but I think it was a good one.

Oh, yeah.

Very good stage.

Very good stage. It was musicals. Galileo. Based on the. Hello.

How are you? My best at the announcement.

No.

Yeah.

Based on the sort of the tune between Galileo.

Theories is what's happening with AI and everything, you know? It's good sometimes to understand that science is infinite, and it's not like science as we know it right now. It's just.

A process. It's not static.

Yeah, exactly. But some people don't get it.

No, it's always... Science is about asking questions and looking for evidence, testing.

And your wife will enjoy that.

She's an interesting person. I think so. How they can turn it into a beautiful home, I'm not exactly sure.

And I'm curious, because in France, by 65, we're retired. In the US, not at all.


Attorney; writer on UN affairs [17:38]:

Well, people can retire, you start getting social security, now it depends when you were born. I'm old enough so I'm living and starting to get social security, full Canada social security at 66. Well, I'm trained as a lawyer. I'm a practicing attorney, but I've been writing about the UN for 15, 18 years.


Speaker 3 [18:09]:

But, so I'm sort of in writing, but I'm not sure that's a good thing.

I'm not sure either. It's mixed for me.

Yes, yes. We're 20 minutes. And then we'll be doing that. When we get through. Oh my gosh.

You're kidding.

Immediately. If the U.S. resolution passed, the resolution And we have done. We get to that session. He's so like you. Yeah, look at that.

So he's Armenian?

Yeah, that's right.

Yes, but we also.

No, second time. The last time was 10 years ago. He was not troubled and unfulfilled. Yeah, look, I produced the New York Times. Where is he? He's like 700. Oh, that's cool. Yeah, it's not bad. I did, and I watched, you know, horridly. But I'm sure I saw him. Oh, in the stands. I got a seat in the stands. So, what happened was, they finished it in 64, and then, but just because of the Senate, so they now.


UN · Spokesperson [32:20]:

I did not run the marathon. We have a lot of colleagues who did a great job, and we will get to that in a second. Bear with me two seconds. One second. Yes, there was a 5K race. Yeah. Yeah. Not raising funny money for me. That's what I can tell you. All right. On that note, happy Monday to all of you. Yes? It's OK. It can be a call and response, you know? As soon as you are done with me, you will hear from Ambassador Sanita Pavluta-Deslandes, Permanent Representative of Latvia to the United Nations, and she’s here because she will also be the – or she is the President of the Security Council for this month, and she’ll speak to you by the program of work. For those of you who are connected via Zoom, they will only take questions in the room, but you’re welcome to follow. Today, and I don't have to tell you this, is the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists. And in his message today, the Secretary-General says that at least 34 journalists were killed over the past year. Six of every seven such killings go unpunished. In conflict settings, the rate of impunity is sadly close to 100%. The Secretary-General calls for every case to be investigated and every perpetrator to be prosecuted and brought to justice. Turning to the situation in Myanmar, I can tell you the Secretary General is deeply concerned by the airstrikes in Rakhine and Kayah states that took place over the weekend. Those strikes reportedly killed at least a dozen civilians, including children, and wounded many more people. The strikes also hit civilian infrastructure, including a maternity clinic, a school, and a bridge. The level of violence we have seen in recent months has escalated. And our thoughts are with all civilians affected and with their families. The Secretary General strongly condemns the violence and calls on all parties to end hostilities immediately, to protect civilians and comply with all of their obligations under international humanitarian law. This includes human rights law. The Secretary General also calls for the perpetrators of these attacks to be held to account. As you saw on Sunday, November 1st, that marked the start of the liquidation period for the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara, otherwise known as MINURSO, which ceased its operations following the non-renewal of its mandate by members of the Security Council. On the ground and with the support from headquarters, a smaller team reporting to our Department of Operational Support will now oversee the orderly and environmentally responsible closure and handover 13 sites that were operated by MINURSO. The liquidation of the mission will be carried out in a phased manner, established, excuse me, in line with our established resolutions. Key activities of the liquidation include the repatriation of approximately 160 military observers, the drawdown of 180 civilians and affiliated personnel, and the closure of about 13 mission facilities and team sites, the disposal or transfer of United Nations property and equipment, also the drawdown of communications and logistical support system, management of mission archives and records, and the closure of contractual agreements on the ground. All of this will be done accordance with our rules and regulations that we do when we close missions. We are also taking the necessary measures to ensure continued administrative, financial, and security oversight throughout this liquidation period while maintaining the safety and well-being of all our personnel. In the statement the Secretary-General issued over the weekend, he said that he counts on the full cooperation of the parties to ensure this process is completed as soon as possible. MINURSO, as you'll recall, was established to protect and serve the people of Western Sahara, and particularly to allow them to realize their inalienable right to self-determination. The Secretary-General underscores that the departure of MINURSO does not abrogate these inalienable rights and calls on all parties to respect and promote the rights of the people of Western Sahara. The Secretary-General calls on all concerned to exercise maximum restraint and to refrain from actions that could further increase tensions and undermine regional stability. Excuse me. Turning to Sudan, the Secretary General’s personal envoy for Sudan, Pekka Havisto, yesterday concluded a two-day visit to Manama in Bahrain, where he participated in the Manama Dialogue convened by the International Institute for Strategic Studies and held engagements on the margins with several interlocutors, including the Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain. That follows his participation last week in the Tana Forum in Addis Ababa, and the annual retreat of regional envoys to the Horn of Africa convened by our Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, Gwasong, that took place in Nairobi. Mr. Havisto is planning to return to Sudan in the coming weeks to continue his engagements with key stakeholders, including the Sudanese authorities, on ways to de-escalate violence and strengthen the protection of civilians. And in a statement we issued over the weekend, you noted that the Secretary-General strongly condemned the escalating drone attacks we have been seeing in Sudan by the parties to this conflict. Across Sudan and in Abyei, drones have killed hundreds of civilians, including women and children, in what constitute a clear violation of international humanitarian law. The Secretary-General is appalled by attacks directed against civilians and the critical infrastructure on which they depend. That includes health facilities, and he calls on the parties to agree without delay to a cessation of hostilities and to engage in good faith with mediation efforts, including the work of Mr. Havisto. But sadly, as you all know and you’ve seen, these attacks are continuing. Our colleagues at OCHA says they’re alarmed by the continuing drone attacks on critical energy infrastructure, which is causing widespread power outage and disrupting essential services across many states in Sudan. Drone strikes today reportedly hit two power stations in Kassala state and an electricity substation in Meroe, all of that in northern state. Yesterday, all attacks also hit electricity facilities in River Nile in northern states, and on Saturday, a substation in Red Sea state. In North Kordofan and Al Jazeera are Humanitarian partners tell us that power outages and several fuel shortages are disrupting the supply of clean water, forcing people to rely on untreated sources and increasing the risk of waterborne diseases. People are also continuing to flee their homes in search of safety. In North Darfur, the International Organization for Migration estimates that some 2,000 human beings were displaced from villages in Kurnoi and Umbaru last week. And in Blue Nile State, nearly 120,000 men, women, and children have been displaced between January and the middle of last month. Once again, we call in Sudan, as we do in other conflicts, for the protection of civilians, and for the respect of international humanitarian law and for humanitarians to be allowed to deliver humanitarian goods wherever they are needed and whenever they are needed. On Saturday, we shared with you a statement from the Secretary General on Yemen in which he condemned the death of one of our colleagues, Mohammed Al-Shami. He died while in custody of the Houthi de facto authorities in Yemen. Mr. Al-Shami served with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and he had been arbitrarily detained by the Houthis since June 6th of 2024. The circumstances surrounding this appalling tragedy remains unclear. clear this time. Since his detention in 2024, the Houthi de facto authorities have provided neither information about his well-being nor had provided proof of life, despite repeated requests by the United Nations. We are urgently seeking answers from them about the circumstances of Mr. Al-Shami’s death. The Secretary-General calls for an immediate, impartial, transparent, and thorough investigation into this incident. The Secretary-General remains gravely concerned for the safety and physical and psychological well-being of the 70 United Nations personnel, five former UN staff members, and personnel from humanitarian civil societies who remain arbitrarily detained to this day. He reiterates his call for their immediate and unconditional release. And on Saturday, Volker Turk, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, also said that Mohammed al-Shami’s death was utterly devastating and urged also for an impromptu – for a thorough investigation. And we extend our condolences, deep condolences, to Mr. al-Shami’s family, friends, and colleagues. Further on Yemen, our humanitarian colleagues tell us that nearly now 300,000 people have been forced from their homes since the beginning of August. 5.2 million out of a total of some 42 million people were already displaced in the country before the latest escalation. Earlier today, Tom Fletcher, our emergency relief coordinator, spoke by phone with Yemen's foreign minister, Ms. Afra Abdulaziz Saleh Al-Zuba. They spoke about the growing humanitarian crisis we've been telling you about. almost every day. They discussed the displacement of civilians in Taiz, the rising humanitarian needs, and the urgent need for humanitarian access so our partners can deliver aid to those who so desperately need it. The situation in Taiz city is particularly alarming. All roads to the city are now closed due to the fighting. No commercial supplies are getting through. Health services in the city, as you can imagine, are failing under the strain of lack of supplies into the city. Nearly a quarter of a million human beings have lost access to essential health care, including more than 186,000 children. All of those under the age of five, and 23,000 pregnant women. 12 hospitals are at risk of closing, have had to reduce services due to a lack of fuel and critical supplies. More than 1400 cases of acute diarrhea and suspected cholera were also reported in just one week. OCHA and our health partners are coordinating a 90 day emergency plan to keep life saving services running. restore disrupted care and strengthen disease surveillance. Our humanitarian partners have now provided more than 254,000 displaced people with food, hygiene supplies, and emergency cash assistance. We reiterate our call on all parties to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, and to respect international humanitarian law and allow for the safe, sustained, and unimpeded humanitarian access, including passage into the city of Taiz. Turning to the occupied Palestinian territory, our humanitarian colleagues there as well tell us that today seven UN agencies who are part of the humanitarian country team visited Hebron in the West Bank. Their visit aimed to assess the humanitarian situation in the wake of the displacement of thousands of Palestinians from the city of Hebron. The mission took place after a nine-day operation by Israeli forces in Hebron following a deadly Palestinian shooting attack last month. The end of the operation paved the way for the return of hundreds of families who've been forced out of two neighborhoods in Hebron where the attacks perpetrators apparently lived. In Al-Jalade, one of the affected neighborhoods, the humanitarians spoke to Palestinian residents, including some who had been able to return. Initial reports tell us damage to belongings in homes that have been searched or just used by the Israeli security forces. UN agencies in the mission assured residents and local authorities of their intention to maintain humanitarian humanitarian support as people return home, students resume school, and business owners get back to work. The delegation recalled that Palestinians must be protected, further forced displacement and demolitions must be prevented, safe and unhindered humanitarian access must be secured and must be facilitated. Any collective punishment must end. Turning to Gaza, reports of Palestinian civilian casualties and attacks hitting populated areas continued over the On Saturday, humanitarian partners met with eight families in Gaza City staying in a war-damaged building slated for demolition for being structurally unsafe. They discussed ways these families could be voluntarily relocated. Partners have provided them with tents and are working with mine action specialists to ensure their safety and site identified for the relocation. During the last week of October, shelter partners provided more than 8,500 families with shelter and non-food items assistance. including hundreds of tents and blankets, and thousands of winter clothing items, tools, and sealing off kits. Partners also provided more than 100 relief housing units, which offer some more durable shelter compared to tents. And heading north to southern Lebanon, our peacekeepers reported continued Israeli military activity across the area of operations. Since my last update on Thursday, they've recorded 430 artillery and mortar trajectories and 18 airstrikes, including north of the Litani River. One strike southeast of Froun was about 1.5 kilometers from a UNIFIL civil-military position. Restrictions on freedom of movement persisted in Sector East, including a roadblock of Rabat Talatin, where IDF personnel stopped a UN patrol from proceeding. Earlier today, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the head of the Peace Operations Department, briefed troop contributing countries on UNIFIL, stressing that as the mission approaches the end of its mandate, its work remains vital in supporting the parties in upholding their obligations and fully implementing Resolution 1701. Mr. Lacroix will join us as guest at noon on Wednesday, where he'll share further insights from his recent visits to the Middle East, which we've been telling you about. From Ukraine, we're getting reports from our humanitarian partners on the ground that they've provided food, medical, and psychological assistance to people evacuated from the city of Oleshky. Emergency relief coordinator Tom Fletcher said that Oleshky shows what is possible when parties put civilians first. Aid got in and hundreds were able to leave safely. He said there was a respite at last for so He stressed that we must now build on this opening to get aid to more people wherever they are. Our colleagues at the World Food Programme tell us that they are providing emergency food assistance to more than 400 people in Kyiv who were able to leave the city of Oleshky in Ukraine during a brief localised ceasefire. WFP notes that many arrived in worrying conditions at a medical facility on Saturday after being trapped by fighting and having endured months of severe shortages. shortages of basic necessities, including food and medical supplies. Our humanitarian colleagues also tell us that attacks over the weekend continue to kill and injure civilians while disrupting electricity and heating supplies as the temperature continues to drop due to the oncoming winter. In Dnipro and Donetsk regions were among the hardest hit, and the city of Sloviansk came under repeated attacks. Attacks have also damaged heat and power plants in Kyiv and Chortka, as well as electricity substation in Dnipro. Hundreds of households and businesses lost power, while more than 650 towns and villages in the Zhytomyr region experienced outages. Electric supplies remain under strain in Dnipro and Kyiv, and our humanitarian partners, including those supported by the UN agencies, have been providing emergency assistance to people impacted by recent attacks. Today, we launched a new insurance program that could unlock up to $40 million to help communities prepare for disasters before their strike. Led by OCHA in partnership with World Food Program and UNICEF, the initiative will provide additional funding when multiple disasters threaten at the same time, allowing our humanitarian partners to reach more people. Tom Fletcher put it that way: “Disasters don’t wait for us to get our act together.” This insurance gives us another line of defense, helping protect more people before the worst hits and making a dollar work even harder. More information for those of you who want to find out is on the OCHA website. Quick, I'm almost done here. Quick update on the biodiversity conference, which concluded over the weekend in Yerevan in Armenia. They adopted a full range of decisions to advance the work of the Convention of Biodiversity, which is very important. Those decisions cut across scientific, technical and implementation-related topics. One major outcome was the Yerevan Pathway, a negotiated response to the first review of collective progress in the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, otherwise known as the KMBGF. New acronym for you. The conference comprised of the 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, the meetings of the parties of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing. The global review undertaken at this conference of parties was a stock-taking exercise grounded in the evidence distilled in the State of Biodiversity Action Report that was launched by the Secretary-General shortly before the conference, bringing together negotiated decisions, new financial commitments and initiatives, and action across governments and society. The conference helped clear obstacles to implementation, mobilize resources to narrow the nature of financing gap, and strengthen the conditions needed to turn to global commitments into action. A couple of senior personnel appointments. We have a new Head of Mission and Chief of Staff for the UN Truce and Supervision Organization, known as UNSO, and that person is Major General Nicholas James Foxall of Australia. Major General Foxall succeeds Major General Patrick Gauchat of Switzerland, who completed his assignment in February of this year. The Secretary-General is grateful to Major General Gauchat for his exemplary leadership over the last four years. Major General Foxall brings together with 32 years of experience at both national and international levels, including a distinguished service in the Australian Defence Forces. New resident coordinators, our good friend, Mr. Bernardini. of Brazil has been appointed the new UN Resident Coordinator in Uruguay, and our friend Samir Abdeljaber of Jordan has now been appointed Resident Coordinator in Yemen. In Yemen, Mr. Abdeljaber will also serve as Humanitarian Coordinator. Both Resident Coordinators officially took up their post on November 1st. They bring together decades of senior leadership across the UN development and humanitarian settings, and they will lead successfully country teams where they've been named. No quiz required to tell you about what yesterday was, which was marathon day. Just want to flag, I don't know of any journalists that ran. No. But a couple of our staff and diplomats ran. And I wanted to give a shout out to a few of our friends who had the courage to Travel 26.2 miles on foot from Staten Island to Central Park, especially when there are subways and ferries available, but they chose to run. Our fastest runner was our friend Duncan Yasinga, who finished an impressive two hours and 37 minutes. Yeah, coming in 250th out of more than 61,000 runners. Duncan's day job is being on the Secretary General's protective detail, so we know he's fit to run after the Secretary General. And on this floor in our office, Ignacio Lopez Ochoa, the newest member of the spokesperson's office, completed his first ever marathon in three hours and 13 minutes. Congratulations to him. No surprise he's working from home today. And our former colleague, Florencia Soto Nino, who's now with UNESCO, came back all the way from Paris and ran the race and crossed the finish line six hours and 49 minutes. which is better than I would have done. And our friends in the diplomatic community were also out there. Ambassador Archie Young, the Deputy Permanent Representative of the UK, we believe, was the top diplomatic finisher at a time of three hours and eight minutes. close behind him was Latvia's Deputy Permanent Representative, Oleg Ilgis, who finished three hours and 46 minutes. I do not know if he will be here for the briefing, but it is good practice for long Security Council meetings. And we also want to recognize Iceland's permanent representative, Ambassador Anna Jóhannsdóttir, who finished in five hours and 20 minutes. Congratulations to everybody. But we do have money today, so we have a quiz. One of the oldest world records in track and field is the men's high jump, where the record was set back in July of 1993. over 33 years ago and still stands today. The record jump was by an athlete from which country with a height of 2.45 meters? What? No. Javier Sotomayor, where was he from?


Speaker 5 [55:40]:

Cuba.


UN · Spokesperson [55:41]:

Exactly. So we thank our friends in Havana for their full payment to the regular budget. Cuba's payment brings the number of fully paid-up member states to 148. Cuba sent us a check for $3,881,387. Who said-- did you have a question? You said Cuba. OK, all right, that's fine. Edie.


Journalist [56:07]:

A couple of follow-ups, Steph, and thanks. On Minurso, is there any estimate of when the pullout will be completed.


UN · Spokesperson [56:23]:

Honestly, no. I know our friends at Doss will try to do this as quickly and efficiently in an environmentally friendly way as possible. To be honest with you, I mean, there is contingency planning for everything, but this I mean, this came rather abruptly, but they mobilized – our friends at DOS mobilized immediately, and they will move forward.


Journalist [56:48]:

Secondly, does the Secretary General have any comment on both Ukraine and Russia saying that their energy alert apps sent fake warnings after being hacked.


UN · Spokesperson [57:06]:

I mean, it is another sign of the cybersecurity challenges that every one of us faces, and countries in the middle of a conflict, countries who are at war with each other or in conflict with each other, are facing. I mean, we saw it with, you know, the hack of the cryptocurrency exchange recently. I mean, we're seeing it all over the place, and I think it is also another reminder that cyber criminality is one of these issues that cut across borders, and there was a There was a recently – let’s try it again. And there was recently – who’s that? Yes, so Okay. There was recently a convention. Really? I don’t know. There was recently a convention on cybercrime that was opened up for signature, and we encourage all member states to sign it and ratify it.


Journalist [58:10]:

And on a fun, positive note, does the Secretary General have any comment on British walker Carl Bushby, who spent 28 years circumventing the globe walking 31,000 miles, which is 50,000 kilometers, and he returned home to his mother's house today.


UN · Spokesperson [58:41]:

I mean, what mother would not want her son to return home after 51,000 miles? We congratulate him, and I think it is an amazing feat of human strength and human solidarity. Mr. Klein, then Pam.


Journalist [58:55]:

Yes, I have questions, actually a couple, on blockchain technology. The first one, actually, you alluded to with regard to the hack of the crypto technology exchange. What additional safeguards, if any, is the UN taking with respect to its use of blockchain technology? That would be number one. Did this raise even more of a heightened concern? to opt to security. And secondly, where I know that the Secretary General has long encouraged the use of blockchain technology in UN operations, it's pretty widespread. When it's used in the field for humanitarian purposes, tracing supply chain, and identification of refugees, et cetera, what platforms Does the UN rely on, does it rely on local telecom and other related services, or does UN have a overarching platform?


UN · Spokesperson [1:00:06]:

You're going down a path which I am utterly ignorant. So I don't know, is the short answer to your question. I will try to find out.


Journalist [1:00:16]:

Would you be able to send me that information?


UN · Spokesperson [1:00:18]:

I mean, if I find out, I will not hold on to the information. I will share it.


Journalist [1:00:21]:

I would appreciate that, because my knowledge of technology probably is about the same as yours.


UN · Spokesperson [1:00:25]:

Well, both of us are anchored in the 20th century, Joe. That's okay.


Journalist [1:00:28]:

We'll get over there.


UN · Spokesperson [1:00:29]:

Pam.


Journalist [1:00:29]:

Thank you.


Speaker 22 [1:00:31]:

Thank you.


Journalist [1:00:33]:

One is, there is a news story today about the rapid increase of Ebola. I know it's WHO, but is there a way we could get some kind of a briefing about it?


UN · Spokesperson [1:00:45]:

Yeah, we'll see if you can get a, I mean, either contact WHO, I'm sure they have regular briefings out of Geneva, which you can dial into, but we'll see what we can get.


Journalist [1:00:53]:

All right. I'm sorry, on MINURSO. How worried are you about an escalation? This has been around for over 30 years.


UN · Spokesperson [1:01:00]:

I mean, this is the Secretary General's message was clear, is calling on the parties to avoid any escalation. I mean, this, there was a UN mission. It provided services. There were military observers. Of course, we're concerned.


Journalist [1:01:20]:

And the final is just, there was a cyberattack against refrigerators again, this time in Belgium and other countries. Is there anything the UN can do? Can UNODC.


UN · Spokesperson [1:01:32]:

Or I mean, again, this goes to, i mean, to kind of the answer I was giving to Edie. I mean, these are problems that need to be dealt with at the global level. through, I mean, and our UNODC colleagues are in the lead. There's a convention that is open for signature. We encourage people to sign it. We encourage greater cooperation on issues of cybercrime.


Journalist [1:01:56]:

Thank you.


UN · Spokesperson [1:01:56]:

Madame.


RFI · Journalist [1:01:58]:

Merci, Steph. Just a question about the unfortunate 70 member of UN personnel who are imprisoned in Yemen. Can you tell us how, as a Secretariat, interacted with some of the P5 members who have particular ties with Iran and Hezbollah and could act in behalf of the release of them? Has anything been done? I'm sure you have back tracks. Also, According to the SG, can we say that there's a deterioration in the way P5 members' influence acting for the defense of UN personnel has been done over the last few months and years?


UN · Spokesperson [1:02:44]:

Let's take a step back. First of all, we do have a person who's in the lead on the contact with the Houthis to try to gain the freedom of our colleagues. I can tell you that no door has been left unknocked, so to speak, in terms of member states to try to member states who have maybe better contact with the Houthis than we do to try to push for their release. It is incumbent on all member states of this organization to do whatever they can to protect UN staff. The UN staff is there in the field on their behalf, on missions sometimes created by the Security Council, on humanitarian work mandated by the organization. I mean, it's not a P5 issue. It is an issue for all member states to consider. Gabriel, then I'll come back.


AJE · Journalist [1:03:37]:

Thank you, Steph. I have a question on freedom of navigation in the Gulf. By some accounts, there were more than 30 attacks on commercial tankers in the Gulf in October. That's almost double from what it was in September. And there was also another attack on Friday of an LNG tanker. Does the SG have a response to the attack on Friday specifically, but also to the wider increase in attacks?


UN · Spokesperson [1:04:07]:

I mean, we're very, Secretariat is very concerned about these increased hits on commercial shipping for a number of reasons. They're against the law, let's be clear. They take us farther away from freedom of navigation inside the Strait of Hormuz. They increase the price of commodities for everybody, especially those who can't afford it. And I think the latest case against the Qatari tanker, the LNG tanker that we saw on Friday, is a case that we condemn. firmly, and it is incumbent on all parties involved to ensure that ships can travel in and out of the Strait of Hormuz freely. Volodymyr.


Ukrinform · Journalist [1:04:50]:

Thank you, Stefan. I have two questions. Today, Russia launched massive aerial bomb attacks on the settlement of Komashuvakha in the Zaporizhzhia region. After the initial airstrike, Russian forces dropped another nine bombs, especially targeting a shelter where people were taking refuge. The death toll has risen to 18. Have you any comment on that?


UN · Spokesperson [1:05:18]:

We condemn all and every attack against civilians, and we have seen, and civilian infrastructure, and we have seen an increase in these attacks in the recent past, and we want to see them stop immediately.


Ukrinform · Journalist [1:05:34]:

And there's another question.


UN · Spokesperson [1:05:35]:

Yes, please.


Ukrinform · Journalist [1:05:37]:

Russia officially withdrew from the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture on 1 November. Of course, this is not a UN mechanism, but it gives us a pretty clear picture of the Kremlin's regime, doesn't it? Does the Secretary General have any comment on this?


UN · Spokesperson [1:05:58]:

Look, as I said, this is not a UN text, but to say that we stand firmly against torture and in support of all instruments, international instruments, that help us fight against torture is clear. Linda, then Lincoln.


Journalist [1:06:13]:

Thank you, Steph. Apropos of the 30 attacks, recent attacks on tankers in October, I was just wondering, does the SG believe that the Security Council is doing all it can to get this to stop, or specific talks with those parties who are responsible for these attacks.


UN · Spokesperson [1:06:37]:

I mean, I think we have seen, especially over the last 3-4 days, an increase in diplomatic activity, notably, if I'm not mistaken, delegation from Qatar was in Iran. We will continue to support. all diplomatic activities that will help us see an end to this conflict, and of course, a resumption of freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.


Journalist [1:07:04]:

I just have one question regarding the administration of the UN, can I just ask you what happens on January 1st in terms of – I’m not going to ask you if there’s no Secretary-General. I’m just asking you, what happens, for example, how long do special envoys and people like that appointed by this current Secretary-General stay in office?


UN · Spokesperson [1:07:27]:

Well, I mean, they have varied contracts. It varies individually. I think most people – most of the senior officials have contracts that take them two, three or four months into the new year. It will then be up to the new leadership to assess how he or she wants to staff senior posts. Lenka.


Journalist [1:07:52]:

Thank you, stef. There was a new wave of protests in Europe, and with some turning very violent, using Molotov cocktails. Does the SG think that enough is being done to prevent such escalation? And is there any role the UN can actually play in calming the situation?


UN · Spokesperson [1:08:09]:

I’m not aware of any role we can actively play in what we’ve seen in Europe and other places. I think the Secretary-General, when he spoke to you last week, was very clear that demonstrations need to be peaceful, that peaceful demonstrators have a right to demonstrate, the authorities have a responsibility to protect them, that violence is to be condemned, but that the violence that we have seen cannot overshadow the legitimate grievances that are being pushed forward by peaceful demonstrators. Alex, then I'll come to you.


Journalist [1:08:50]:

Thanks, Dev. Do you have anything on the constitutional crisis? Do you have anything on the constitutional crisis in Poland?


UN · Spokesperson [1:08:57]:

I do not. Thank you. Short answer. Zora, please go ahead. Mona, sorry. I'm sorry, Mona.


Journalist [1:09:05]:

It's funny because it's my grandma's name.


UN · Spokesperson [1:09:08]:

Well, I'm sure she was a wonderful person.


Journalist [1:09:10]:

Okay. Just a quick question on the UN. A follow-up on the decision to ban Al Jazeera Media Network operation in Israel for another 90 days. Is the UN looking into how this decision could affect the UN's own work, specifically given the role, the very important role this network plays in covering United Nations activities, including attacks against its agencies and personnel.


UN · Spokesperson [1:09:45]:

Look, we believe journalists should be able to operate everywhere, right, without restrictions. So, and we also believe that journalists play an extremely important role in covering the UN's activities, and we want to see more coverage, and we want to see more free coverage. Edith, then Eric.


Journalist [1:10:15]:

Thank you, Steph. This is a day that deals with journalists and freedom of the press. There has been talk for many, many years about the Secretary General appointing a special representative for the protection of journalists and freedom of the press. Is this alive or a dead possibility?


UN · Spokesperson [1:10:43]:

Look, I think this is something that has come up on the Secretary-General's discussions a number of times. I think he has been very clear in defending your right to work, your right to ask questions, your right to be able to exercise your work freely. And also, sometimes we know that protecting journalists can be used as a pretext to restrict journalists work. There are a number of different mechanisms, including the human rights mechanisms. At this point, I don't foresee the appointment of such a person. Eric, and then I think our Latvian friends are ready to go.


Kyodo · Journalist [1:11:21]:

All right. Thank you, sir. ICC President Tomoko Akane addressed the UN General Assembly this morning. And owing to sanctions, she had to address the assembly virtually. What is the SG’s view?


UN · Spokesperson [1:11:38]:

I think it’s a shame that the President of the International Court of Justice was not able to travel to the seat of the United Nations to deliver a statement to the General Assembly of the United Nations.


Speaker 57 [1:11:54]:

The International Criminal Court.


UN · Spokesperson [1:11:55]:

I’m sorry. Thank you for somebody paying attention. Thank you all. We will leave you with the President of the Security Council.


Speaker 59 [1:12:08]:

Is she starting her private wire?

She is, she is.

Thank you. There's a little sign on it. I love it. I love it.

That's the main news.


Latvia · Spokesperson, Permanent Mission [1:13:04]:

Hard. Okay, let's start. Dear journalists, dear colleagues, it's my pleasure to welcome you all to this press briefing, marking the start of Latvia's presidency of United Nations Security Council for the month of November. My name is Signe Znotiņ-Znota and I'm spokesperson for Latvian Mission. It's wonderful to see so many familiar faces, and also the new ones, of course. Today also marks the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists. This is an important occasion to recognize the essential role journalists, you, play in keeping the public informed, drawing attention to conflicts and humanitarian crises, and holding those in power accountable. Journalists must be able to tell the truth without fearing for their lives. Thank you for your work. It's my pleasure to introduce Her Excellency Ms. Sanita Pavlute Deslandes, Permanent Representative of Latvia to the United Nations and President of the Security Council for November. The Ambassador will present the Security Council's programme of work for November, as well as Latvia's priorities for its presidency. We are also joined today by Mr. Ivis Klevinskis, Latvia's Political Coordinator. Following Ambassador's remarks, we will open the floor to your questions. I would kindly ask you to introduce yourself and indicate the media organization you represent before you ask your question. I intend to take it in batches of three questions. We will do our best to accommodate as many questions as time allows, but I guess it's approximately 40 minutes. Let's see. Madame Ambassador, the floor is yours.


Latvia · Permanent Representative; President of the Security Council [1:14:55]:

Thank you, Signe. And first of all, I join Signe in saying that it is a pleasure to be here with you and see familiar and friendly faces and see that there is so much interest. And as Mr. Dujeric going out said, that the room was warmed up, so I'm happy to continue. And first of all, also join Signe's gratitude and thanks to you for your work. Because I think it is highly symbolic that we have this press conference precisely on the day on ending impunity for crimes against journalists. And we have deep appreciation for your work and the work and courage of those of your colleagues who work in conflict zones and on front lines. So this is a matter of high importance also for my country. I will begin by extending on the record the gratitude and appreciation to the Greek Presidency, Ambassador Balta and her team for how they handled the work of the Council in October, and we very much hope to be as good and efficient and also open to you. So, as you probably know, this morning, the programme of work for the month of November was adopted. So it will shortly be available on the Council's website. I'm told it's maybe not there yet, but it is adopted. So, for Latvia, this is a historic day, because November for us is the month of our national day, and it is a historic month, because in 1918, this is when our independence was declared. So, our statehood month is November. So, it is also quite a good context for us. This is the first presidency ever, as this is the first time we are on the Council, and this is the only presidency. So all eyes on us, and we'll work hard. And a little bit, a few words on how we work and what our key priorities are on the Council during the presidency, but also throughout our work in the United Nations. First, we deeply believe in the UN Charter. We deeply believe in the international law, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states. And we also insist that the Council responds to the impact of conflict on civilians and protection of civilians, and always insist that international humanitarian law must be respected by all at all times, anywhere. The second set of priorities is linked to the implementation of Women, Peace and Security agenda. We do believe and stand up for participation of women in political processes and decision-making, peace processes, peacebuilding, and prevention as well. And empowerment of women is something that is very dear to us, and I believe my country has quite a good track record to be able to talk about that. The same goes about protecting women and conflict-related sexual violence. It is a cross-cutting priority for us, and so we will do that also during the month of November. But more broadly, we always insist on this when mandates or sanctions regimes are discussed. And the third, Latvia champions Council's attention to the issue of emerging threats. This is a broad set of issues. It is also about how climate affects peace and security, how emerging technologies affect peace and security, both in terms of threats to the protection of civilians, protection of peacekeepers, and protection of humanitarians, and also, obviously, media workers. But these emerging technologies also are an opportunity. So we believe that that needs to be also discussed on the Council, and we've been doing so over during our term, and we'll continue to do that. And these are not just positions that we hold. This is who we are and what we believe in. And as a country with quite a complicated history, we do have a legacy of resilience. So you might remember, together for peace and resilience is our motto. And we believe that is quite necessary all across the world. Turning to the program of work, our signature event will be on the 24th of November. And the topic of the signature event, which we'll have at a high level, high political level, is conflict resolution in an era of rapid technological change. It builds up on our own work on the Council, organizing different events and seminars and also interactive dialogues on the topic. It is also a continuity of the previous presidencies highlighting these issues, because clearly there is a link with peace and security. You might also remember that Latvia, together with Greece, established a new informal expert group so that the Council can explore more in detail and advance discussions on this topic in an informed and competent manner. Another high-level briefing is expected the day before, but details will follow later. Then, obviously, the basis of our programme of work is the mandated meetings as they come on the Council's agenda. But we will start this month, tomorrow, with the elections of International Court of Justice. So it will take some time. It happens both in the Security Council and in the General Assembly. So we will plan accordingly as long as it is needed, in close collaboration with the President of the General Assembly. On the other mandated meetings, there are several African issues on the programme of work. So I'll mention South Sudan and UNMISS, South Sudan, South Sudan, which is Abyei. We also have a private meeting on AU-SOM, so Somalia, and the semi-annual briefing of the ICC prosecutor concerning Libya. On the Middle East, we have planned a briefing by the Chair of the Yemen Sanctions Committee, monthly meeting on Syria, Consultations on Lebanon on the implementation of the resolution 1701. You might know that this is an important point in time where there is a need for discussing and charting the way forward for post UNIFIL and how the Council can support Lebanon after that. We do have the monthly meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, planned at the end of the month, on the 30th of November. And I would kindly note that we are expecting the Board of Peace report on the 17th of November, also recalling that this will be one year since the resolution 2803 was adopted. And the Board of Peace is reporting every six months to the Council. So that will be the main focus. On Asian issues, consultations are scheduled on 17-18 Sanctions Committee, which is DPRK. And always there are options kept open by Member States to call additional meetings on issues of that need, that require urgent attention of the Council, be that on conflicts that are not on the mandated cycle, we might imagine Sudan, we can certainly imagine that as every month there will be a meeting on Ukraine. And you know the hotspots across the different regions, be it wider Middle East, so we are in the hands also of the other Council members. And we will plan accordingly. For the thematic issues, besides what I already mentioned, we do have a briefing from the chairs of counterterrorism related committees planned. And in terms of adoptions, it is MINUSCA Central Africa mandate renewal, mandate renewal for UNISFA, so Abiy, mandate renewal for the Yemen sanctions regime and their panel of experts. the renewal of Al-Shabaab sanctions regime. We have circulated our commitments on working methods. As being proud member of the ACT Group, we stand for promoting transparency, efficiency, and accountability in the work of the Council. We do not intend to put forward any specific products of the Council, but we will seek to agree on press elements whenever the Council meets in closed consultations, obviously we're in the hands of the Member States, but that is our intention. We are also committed to meaningful participation of civil society briefers with due regard for their safety and zero tolerance for reprisals, and because we believe that the Council benefits greatly from the perspectives and briefings of the civil society. We intend to bring civil society briefers to the meetings on South Sudan, Syria, Middle East, and also to our signature event. Latvia is part of the joint pledges on climate, peace, and security, and also co-chair of the informal expert group on climate, peace, security. So we're planning also a stakeout on climate, peace, security before the meeting on South Sudan. And again, as part of Women, Peace, and Security shared commitments, we are also planning a stakeout on WPS before the meeting on Syria. Then there is an annual seminar by the Council and the incoming members of the Council. every November, organized by Finland, the so-called Hitting the Ground Running workshop, which is an occasion for the Council members to discuss informally a lot of issues, including working methods and how the Council's work can be improved and made more efficient. So we're looking forward to that as well. Finally, while regretting the continued lack of agreement on Chairs and Vice-Chairs for subsidiary bodies, The Presidency will continue and organize the work of the subsidiary bodies to tackle issues that require urgent attention and that they are taken care of. So we have foreseen time slots for that. And finally, the question that is on everybody's minds, the selection of the Secretary General. As presidency, we will continue to organize the Council's work and organize the necessary meetings and straw polls so that the recommendation by the Council can be taken forward. sent to the General Assembly in a timely manner, but there again, that is the Council's common work. So we are facilitators for that and very much hope that a consensus will emerge at some point sooner than later. Yes, so I think this is very briefly my introduction, and I'm very happy to take questions. Nice ones, please.


Latvia · Spokesperson, Permanent Mission [1:27:31]:

Thank you, Ambassador. So I give first floor to UNCA President, Valeria.


ANSA · UNCA · UNCA President; Journalist [1:27:36]:

Thank you so much. Thank you, Ambassador, on behalf of the UN Correspondent Association, and congratulations on Latvia's first presidency of the Security Council. It's Valeria Robeco for ANSA and La Stampa USA. On the SG race, do you expect the Council to recommend a candidate during your presidency? And if you can give us a little bit more details when you expect the next trople, color-coded or not, do you expect other candidates to jump into the race? Thank you so much.


Latvia · Spokesperson, Permanent Mission [1:28:17]:

Edith.


Journalist [1:28:19]:

You’re not going to take it? Oh, okay.


Latvia · Spokesperson, Permanent Mission [1:28:21]:

Yes, go ahead.


Journalist [1:28:23]:

Thank you, Madam Ambassador. On your open debate, are you planning any outcome document? And I see that on the 23rd there’s a briefing to be determined. Did you propose a meeting on Ukraine, and is that a possibility? that it might happen there, and in the open debate, is that going to be chaired by your Prime Minister or Foreign Minister?


Latvia · Spokesperson, Permanent Mission [1:29:04]:

Thank you, Eddy. And then there is a Latvian journalist joining us today from D.C. Ina? No, we need micro.


LTV · Journalist [1:29:20]:

Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Ina Strazdina, Latvian Television, based in Washington, DC.


Latvia · Spokesperson, Permanent Mission [1:29:29]:

Speak louder.


LTV · Journalist [1:29:30]:

Louder, yeah.


Latvia · Spokesperson, Permanent Mission [1:29:30]:

Yeah, louder.


LTV · Journalist [1:29:31]:

Thank you so much. Ina Strazdina, Latvian Television, based in DC, Washington, DC. Congratulations to Latvia, to my country. for this big month task. My question is, also a colleague asked, what specific actions can Ukraine expect from Latvia in this month? Thank you so much.


Latvia · Spokesperson, Permanent Mission [1:29:57]:

Okay, let's answer those three questions, and then let's take next round.


Latvia · Permanent Representative; President of the Security Council [1:30:01]:

Thank you very much for those questions. Indeed, so, Valerij, on the Secretary General selection, Do we expect to recommend a candidate by the Security Council to the General Assembly? Well, I think it is a shared expectation that time is running out and we should be able to provide the next Secretary-General with a strong mandate. And as I said in the introduction, sooner than later, we are already in November, so obviously it would be very welcome if the Council could agree on a candidate. Whether that is going to happen in November or not is not exactly in our hands, but we will certainly do everything in our power to keep the momentum and continue with the deliberations and the struggles in the Council to try to make that possible. But again, this is the agreement among the 15 members of the Council. And if that happens, it will be a joint success, not necessarily the success of the Presidency. We would be happy to do that, but then we will see how that evolves. On the next straw polls, there is no clear decision yet, so whenever the Council agrees, it will be known and we will not fail to inform when decisions are taken. That is also the answer to whether this is going to be colour-coded or not. You also know that I am bound by certain rules what the presidency may or may not say, so this is exactly what you can expect from me in the coming weeks. And on the more candidates, well, you also know that a new candidate emerged during the weekend, and we cannot exclude more candidates appearing, definitely, but I would say there is a lot of Rumors and speculations are there. At the same time, a candidate is a candidate when a letter is submitted to the General Assembly and the Security Council. Until that, we cannot comment on anything more. To Edith, on the question of the open debate, no, we are not planning any specific product for that occasion. We believe that the issue of emerging technologies, including the artificial intelligence and their impact on peace and security, is a topic that will stay on the Council's agenda. It has already entered the Council's work. And it will be an ongoing debate, and we will see later if there is anything, if the Council is willing to produce any outcomes. On the briefing on the 23rd, well, that will be determined at a later stage. Replying already to the third question, as you know, since Russia's full-scale aggression against Ukraine in February 2022, it has been on the Council's agenda every month. So you can certainly expect at least once a month. So you can certainly expect that this will also happen in November. Usually, the requests are made by Ukraine following specific events, increasing attacks or any other evolution on the ground, or maybe in the political process. So we can certainly expect that there will be meetings on Ukraine in November, as it is always the case when It is requested by Ukraine and backed by some of the Council members, including ourselves. So for Latvia, speaking in national capacity, Ukraine is certainly a topic of major importance, and we will continue our efforts throughout our term to keep it high on the Security Council agenda until just and lasting peace is achieved. On the open debate and the level, it will be at the highest political level. We will certainly convey the exact name. Let's keep it at this point, the highest political level. Thank you.


Latvia · Spokesperson, Permanent Mission [1:34:51]:

Thank you, Ambassador. So here is Pamela Falk, and then I will give you floor in order.


Journalist [1:34:58]:

Oh, thank you, Signe, and thank you, Madam Ambassador. It's Pamela Falk from U.S. News & World Report. My question, I have one quick follow-up to the first question, which was, are you confirming that the PGA did receive the letters on the Turkish nomination for the Secretary General? That’s just a quick follow-up. But my other question is, As of today, we did hear news about another freezer attack, meaning attack on foods, a cyber attack that hit Belgium, Luxembourg. I think it was Sweden, Ireland, Estonia, I mean, it's a lot of countries. And the UN Security Council can do some kind of meetings on this kind of cyber attack. Do you plan anything? Obviously, it wasn't in your earlier plans because it just happened today. Thank you.


Latvia · Spokesperson, Permanent Mission [1:35:59]:

Thank you. Gentleman there. Yes.


Ukrinform · Journalist [1:36:02]:

Thank you very much. My name is Volodymyr Chynko, National News Agency of Ukraine, Ukrinform. a perhaps specific question. You know very well what Russia is as a state and how little credibility can be attached to the words of Russian diplomats. But still, I'd like to ask you, what do you personally feel when on Security Council meetings, you hear Russians Russian representatives spreading lies about Bucha, the causes of the war against Ukraine, the so-called Kyiv regime, the alleged threat posed by the West, and so on. Thank you.


Latvia · Spokesperson, Permanent Mission [1:36:52]:

Okay, the third question, the gentleman there was first.


Journalist [1:36:57]:

Thank you so much, Madam President, for this briefing. In a recent Security Council meeting, you called Syria's transition truly impressive. Can you please elaborate more on that? And what are your thoughts, I mean, in your capacity as the ambassador for Latvia, about Syria turning the former Russian bases into joint military training centers with Russia, essentially deepening ties with Moscow? Should this be conditional on your support or EU support? for Syria? Thank you.


Latvia · Spokesperson, Permanent Mission [1:37:33]:

Okay, let's answer those three questions now, and then next questions. One, two, okay, three. Okay, we have next three.


Latvia · Permanent Representative; President of the Security Council [1:37:45]:

Well, thank you very much. Now we are expanding the geography. That's good. First of all, to Pamela, about the nomination of the Turkish candidate. Indeed, there has been an official letter from Türkiye. on the nomination addressed to the President of the Security Council and the President of the General Assembly. It has been duly circulated, so the candidature is official. On the cyberattacks and meetings, well, we do see, all of us, that cyberattacks are part of hybrid warfare, and cyberattacks are unfortunately a daily occurrence across the globe. So, indeed, when I was saying that we do pay attention to the emerging threats, that definitely covers also the cyber attacks. And we have malicious cyber attacks, we have ransomware cyber attacks. It has been on the Council's agenda in the past. We see it as part of the issues that we qualify as emerging threats. Whether there will be a meeting of the Council on this, as you know, the Presidency plans according to the mandatory agenda, but then every Member State is free to request additional meetings, and if that happens, then the Presidency calls the meeting. So at this point, we haven't received any requests. I think this is also rather fresh, and we will see what happens in the coming days. Thank you. On the question from the Ukrainian journalist, well, I can only say again in my national capacity in this case, that we have been vocal on the Council also on what the facts are, and insisting, along with the vast majority of the Council members, that it is crucial that there be access to independent monitors, to the humanitarians, to international NGOs, to the UN system, representatives to be able to document and verify what is happening on the ground. And Ukraine is providing that access, but there is no access neither to Russia and the detainees or prisoners of war that are in the Russian territory, and there is no access to the occupied, temporary occupied territories either. So we will certainly keep exposing facts and rely on verified information provided by the UN system, but also by any other independent sources of information. On Syria, indeed, it is a shared assessment from the Council that the transition in Syria has been as you quoted, impressive. There, of course, are a number of issues to be addressed, and so the Council here focuses on the issue of Syrian transition regularly, as you know. So we are going to have one meeting this month as well. And on the, well, Syria is opening up and establishing relationships with all regions of the world. The relations between the European Union and Syria have significantly improved as well, including the political dialogue and also the economic cooperation. There are no specific conditions attached. This is part of the bilateral, multilateral dialogue between Syria and any other region of the world. So that would be my point so far. Thank you.


Latvia · Spokesperson, Permanent Mission [1:41:55]:

Thank you, Madame Ambassador. Okay, let's take next three questions.


RFI · Journalist [1:41:59]:

Thanks, Signé. Carrie Norton from Radio France Internationale. Good luck, Madame Ambassador, for this first and only presidency. A quick question about your, the group of experts that you Latvia and Greece have created about a new era of technological changes and emerging threats. Can you let us know a little bit more about the framework this group is evolving? Is it supposed to brief the Council? Is it going to disappear when you guys are not on the Security Council anymore? And is it a bridge with AI group of experts of the Secretariat.


Latvia · Spokesperson, Permanent Mission [1:42:45]:

Thank you for your question. The next goes to the gentleman.


Journalist [1:42:48]:

Thank you so much. A question on UNIFIL. As we know, its mandate ends next month, at the end of the year. Are there any continuing discussions on what’s going to happen afterwards? Has the report of the Secretary-General still being studied? What is the latest thinking from member states on the post-Tunifil presence? And could you share with us your fears in case a drawdown leaves a security vacuum in South Lebanon? Thank you.


Latvia · Spokesperson, Permanent Mission [1:43:22]:

Thank you. So the next is to the gentleman. Yes, please.


Kyodo · Journalist [1:43:26]:

Thank you. It's Eric Peters with the Kyodo News Agency. It's a Japanese news agency. So my question on the IAG was asked, but if you could add or elaborate if any AI leaders are expected to provide expertise to the informal expert group. Sorry. Can you provide and then. Yeah, on the informal expert group on technology, can you add if any AI leaders are expected to brief or provide expertise to this group? And then also, the Board of Peace is expected to submit a written report. Has there been a request for a meeting? Thank you.


Latvia · Spokesperson, Permanent Mission [1:44:02]:

Okay, thank you. So now we take those three.


Latvia · Permanent Representative; President of the Security Council [1:44:07]:

Well, thank you very much. RFE on the informal expert group. Well, the Council has several informal expert groups on various topics. So this particular group was created on the initiative of Greece and Latvia together. So for the time being, this year, both our countries are co-chairs of that group. Ten Security Council member states joined as members. This is open to any Council member, but the participation is for those who wish so. This is an expert level working group, so the first meeting will take place in November, on our month, but not exactly related to the presidency activities. And the idea, these expert groups convene at the expert level. They can invite, and they do invite briefers, either from the Secretariat or from any other, also external briefers are possible. The idea is that when Greece concludes its term on the Council, another country, most probably among the incoming, might replace Greece as the other co-chair. And there are terms of reference for such informal expert groups that define how that group works. Again, this is to build the understanding and the knowledge among the Council members. It is not that the group directly briefs the Council, but it feeds into the Member States' understanding and expertise. So that is basically how that works. So it will not most hopefully disappear as there are 10 members, including 10 Member States are members of that group. And there are also some permanent members who were interested and joined. So I would hope that this group continues to work because this issue is on, I would say, of great importance for the international community. And maybe jumping to the third question, indeed, AI is part of this set of topics. And as far as AI is concerned, we are all well aware that the AI is not only government business, it is not only private sector business. It is a topic that requires a very close cooperation among all stakeholders. So, yes, I would not exclude that at some point there are also private sector involvement, but as far as our program of work is concerned and the signature event is concerned, the intention is, yes, to have also some contribution from the AI private sector, but we will confirm that at the later stage. We're working on that. But certainly, as you saw in September, there were contributions from the big names of the AI companies, and it was very useful. So I would expect in the future that we hear more from them. On UNIFIL. Oh, yes, and the question whether the informal expert group is linked with the Secretariat. Well, obviously, the Secretariat and, let's say, under the umbrella of the General Assembly, there are several initiatives, and the work on the AI is rather broad. The Security Council is certainly not about how to regulate the global response to the IR in terms of governance. It is specifically focused on peace and security aspects. But the Secretariat, obviously, we always work with the Secretariat in whatever we do at the UN. On UNIFIL, indeed, I think the answer was partially in your question. Indeed, it is on the Council's agenda also in November. It is, if I'm not mistaken, the 17th, is that so? Well, yeah, I refer to the calendar that I actually don't have in front of me, but on the 19th. So yes, the discussions among the Council members are ongoing and will continue. And the issue of Security vacuum after the UNIFIL starts to withdraw is on everybody's minds, indeed. Now, at this stage, we will have – we are expecting a draft from the penholder at some point, so – and the Council members will be engaging on that. And certainly, Again, we are getting closer to the end of the year, so it is a matter of importance and urgency also from our side. And on the Board of Peace written report, indeed, as required by 2803, every six months the Board of Peace provides a written report. The date for that report, as announced, is the 17th of November. So, as per practice, the Council usually needs four to five working days to be able to consider that matter once the report is received. So that's why the debate will take place, the briefing will take place on the 30th of November with having examined the report. And we will also have the briefers, obviously. Thank you.


Latvia · Spokesperson, Permanent Mission [1:50:12]:

Thank you, Madam Ambassador. There was a question from Blue Pass, and then we take Reuters, and then gentleman. Okay? Please go ahead, pass blue.


Journalist [1:50:25]:

Thank you, Ambassador. Sorry to take you back to the Secretary General race, but could you confirm that there will be straw polls during your presidency? I don't know if you talked about it earlier, but there are speculations that there might not be straw polls in November. Thank you.


Latvia · Spokesperson, Permanent Mission [1:50:43]:

Okay, then Reuters, please.


Reuters · Journalist [1:50:46]:

I just wanted to follow kind of in the same vein, if you have any specific dates in mind or weeks in mind for a straw poll, or I understand you're facilitating the broader council's work on that, but if there are any kind of ideas around dates, that would be useful. And sort of more broadly, obviously, we are two months out. This time, 10 years ago, we already had the process was completed. So I think we're quite late in the game, and we are getting new candidates joining the race, as you highlighted. What are your thoughts on this sort of shrinking timeline? And what are the contingency plans? How is the presidency likely to be involved in any conversations around that? Yeah, thank you.


Latvia · Spokesperson, Permanent Mission [1:51:40]:

Thank you. And then, please, gentleman.


AJE · Journalist [1:51:43]:

Hello, this is Gabriel Zando from Al Jazeera English. How are you? You're probably tired of straw poll questions, but I'll ask one more quick one. As president of the council this month, are you really going to push for color-coded ballots, or what's your opinion on that? Because clearly, as you well know, the color-coded are what are going to push this process forward. And the second question is on Yemen. nothing on the agenda on Yemen this month, with the exception of the Red Sea report on the 10th? Given the situation in Taiz City that we just heard from Stefan, as you probably heard, if you were watching it. Okay. Situation in Taiz City is very bad. Just thinking on Yemen for this month. Thanks.


Latvia · Spokesperson, Permanent Mission [1:52:27]:

Maybe before we answer any other questions regarding SG rights, because there were