Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

All right, good afternoon.

**Briefings

A couple of programming notes to share with you.

At 2 p.m. this afternoon there will be a briefing here by the President of the General Assembly of the United Nations, Annalena Baerbock. She will brief you following her remarks she made in the General Assembly this morning.

Tomorrow, the Secretary-General will also speak at the General Assembly to deliver his traditional start of the year remarks. He will underscore in the remarks that we will be sharing with you shortly that we must continue to uphold the principles that guide multilateral cooperation, defend human rights, and promote peace and justice for all.

Tomorrow, also, our guest at the briefing will be Jorge Moreira da Silva, as you know, the Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Project Services, better known as UNOPS. He will be joining us from Jerusalem to speak about his ongoing trip to the region.

And finally, on Friday, our guest will be Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the head of Peace Operations department. He will join us from Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia, to also brief on his recent trip to that same region.

**Secretary-General/Group of 77

This afternoon, the Secretary-General is scheduled to deliver remarks at the ceremony marking the handover of the Group of 77 and China chairmanship from Iraq to Uruguay.

Mr. [António] Guterres will stress that, more than six decades on, the Group of 77 and China remains a strong pillar of multilateralism and an indispensable force for global cooperation.

He is also expected to highlight the urgent challenges facing the world, including conflicts, widening inequalities, climate impacts, debt distress and rapid technological change.

The handover will take place in the ECOSOC (Economic and Social Council) Chamber, and you will be able to follow it on the UN Web TV platform.

**Haiti

I want to start with an update from Haiti, which we haven't updated you on for a while. Our colleagues from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) tell us that clashes continue to drive people from their homes in the capital, Port-au-Prince.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), some 6,000 people have been displaced since 6 January. Most of them sought refuge with host families, while others have settled in two displacement sites.

The escalating violence has significantly impacted humanitarian programmes in the area. Our friends at Doctors Without Borders announced on 8 January that they were suspending all its medical activities in the Bel Air neighbourhood of Port au Prince. That was until further notice. This comes at a time when only 10 per cent of health facilities with inpatient capacity in Haiti are fully operational, while approximately 4.9 million people in Haiti need emergency health assistance.

Internal displacement linked to violence has doubled in the past year and has now reached 1.4 million people - or 12 per cent of the population of Haiti.

This year, 6.4 million people in Haiti - or more than half of the population - need humanitarian aid. We and our partners are appealing for $880 million to help the 4.2 million of the most vulnerable Haitians.

**Sudan

Turning to Sudan: Today, in Cairo, the Secretary-General's Personal Envoy for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, is attending the Sudan Consultative [Group] meeting, which is been hosted by the Republic of Egypt. This is the fifth meeting of this group since 2024. It brings together key international stakeholders working to advance peace in Sudan.

Yesterday, Mr. Lamamra discussed with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty the ongoing efforts to secure a de-escalation in Sudan.

In Cairo, he also met with the Secretary-General of the Arab League, [Ahmed Aboul Gheit], US Senior Advisor for Arab and African Affairs Massad Boulos, as well as other officials, including Djibouti's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Saudi Arabia's Deputy Foreign Minister - all of this to strengthen cooperation and collective efforts to end the horrendous war in Sudan.

**Democratic Republic of the Congo

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, our colleagues at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warn that severe access restrictions, resulting from both insecurity and administrative hurdles, are hampering life-saving operations in the territories of Fizi, Mwenga and Uvira - all of this in the province of South Kivu.

Although a period of relative calm this month has allowed schools to gradually reopen in the cities of Uvira and Baraka, the humanitarian situation remains in flux.

The area hosts more than 330,000 human beings who have fled conflict. It is also facing a surge in cholera cases. In the first half of this month, health authorities in Fizi, Mwenga and Uvira reported more than 1,200 suspected cholera cases and 28 deaths.

While our humanitarian partners are scaling up their response, fighting and red tape continue to slow down humanitarian operations.

Key roads have been designated as zones of military operations, and at least three vehicles belonging to our humanitarian partners have reportedly been confiscated by armed groups since 22 December.

Restrictions on transport across lakes have delayed the delivery of supplies to respond to cholera.

OCHA continues to engage with local authorities to secure guarantees for humanitarian access to all those areas that need to have it, and we continue to advocate for unhindered access for aid workers and their supplies.

We also continue to urge all parties in the ongoing conflict in the eastern part of the [Democratic Republic of the Congo] to respect international humanitarian law and humanitarian principles, and to facilitate immediate, safe and unhindered access.

**Occupied Palestinian Territory

Turning to Gaza, our Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ramiz Alakbarov, is continuing his visit to Gaza that we started to talk to you about yesterday.

In Gaza City and North Gaza governorate, he visited several health service pointsand nutrition facilities, as well as atemporary learning space. He met with our partners and heard from Palestinians who are receiving services at these locations.

He also went to a food distribution point in Beit Lahyia, which was activated to serve thousands of peoplewho have recently returned to the area, as well as a joint distribution point in Gaza. Dr. Alakbarov thanked ourpartners for their tireless efforts to serve people in need and reaffirmed his support for their continued dedication.

Tomorrow, he will be visitingmore different facilities in southernGaza.

Meanwhile, our humanitarian colleagues on the ground warn that insecurity in Gaza - that includes airstrikes, shelling and armed clashes- is on the rise, leading to civilian casualties. Last week saw the highest number of incidents resulting in casualties since the ceasefire went into effect, with more than 300 of those [incidents] reported.

OCHA reiterates that under international humanitarian law, civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected at all times.

Meanwhile, our partners continue to distribute shelter assistance to people in need across the Gaza Strip. Since Sunday, we and our partners have provided more than 9,700 families with tents, mattresses, blankets and warm clothes, as well as hundreds of cooking pots and kitchen utensils.

OCHA also continues to stress the need for the unrestricted flow of critical supplies into Gaza.

These include timber, plywood,cement and tool kits to reinforce shelters and repair people's homes, in addition to equipment to clear debris and break down rubble, along with water pumps and sandbags to drain stormwater and mitigate flooding.

Our partners report thatsince the ceasefire took effect, they havere-opened 36 health facilities and established26 new ones. They also warn, however, that only around 40 per cent of health facilities are functioning, most of them only partially.

**Yemen/Security Council

Earlier today, you may have seen that the Security Council met to discusses Yemen.

Hans Grundberg, our Special Envoy for Yemen, spoke via videoconference from Riyadh, in Saudi Arabia. He focused on the developments in southern Yemen. He highlighted his ongoing engagement with Yemeni stakeholders, regional partners, and the international community, including recent discussions in Cairo, in Muscat, and in Riyadh, where he is currently is. All of those aimed at easing tensions and supporting a political path forward.

Also briefing was Ramesh Rajasingham, the Director [of the humanitarian division] at OCHA. He briefed the Council remotely from Geneva, warning that more than 18 million Yemenis, that's half the population of that country, are expected to face acute [food] insecurity just next month. This is of course compounded by the severe funding cuts that humanitarian colleagues have seen.

Mr. Rajasingham has urged Security Council members to use their influence to secure the release of 73 of our colleagues who remain arbitrary detained by the Houthi authorities in Yemen. He also encouraged them to boost funding for the worsening crisis and stay united in their response.

**Global Temperatures

Last, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in Geneva today confirmed that 2025 was one of the three warmest years on record. This is continuing the streak of extraordinary global temperatures. WMO also pointed out that [the past] 11 years have been the 11 warmest on record.

The global average surface temperature on earth was 1.44°C above the 1850-1900 average. That is what WMO's consolidated analysis [of eight datasets] tells us. Two of these datasets ranked 2025 as the second warmest year in the 176-year that we have been keeping records, and the other six ranked it as the third warmest year.

The World Meteorological Organization added that a separate study published in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences shows that ocean temperatures were also some of the highest on record in 2025, reflecting the long-term accumulation of heat within the climate system.

More depressing information is available on WMO's website.

**Questions and Answers

Spokesman: Edie and then Gabriel.

Question: Thank you, Steph. First, the [Donald] Trump Administration announced today the start of phase two of the Gaza ceasefire deal. Does the Secretary-General have any comment on that announcement?

Spokesman: I mean, we just saw the announcement made literally a few minutes ago. I think we continue to urge all parties to abide by the commitments they made under the agreement. And the agreement, as you know, includes a number of phases. We saw that, in the past month, we have been able to do as much as we can to deliver much-needed humanitarian aid. That was what was expected of us, and I think that's what all our colleagues on the ground did. There remains a lot of hurdles as we speak to every day on the humanitarian front and the humanitarian needs continue to be great. You know, as we said when the ceasefire was announced, what's important is that all of the parties involved in this conflict have been given an opportunity, and they need to seize it to put a credible political path forward, leading, as we continue to say, to a two-State solution. Sorry. Go ahead.

Question: On Iran, is there any update on contacts between the UN and senior Iranian officials?

Spokesman: Yes. We're trying to schedule something. As soon as something is confirmed, you will be the second to know. Gabriel?

Question: Thanks, Steph. Follow-up to Edie's question. How does the Secretary-General assess phase one of the ceasefire?

Spokesman: Look. I think phase one, as I just told Edie, phase one allowed us to deliver much more humanitarian aid than we had done, obviously, while the conflict was going on to start to meet the humongous needs of the Palestinian people. Obviously, there continue to be clashes. We've seen continued Israeli airstrikes. We've seen clashes between Palestinian armed groups. This is an opportunity that needs to be seized as we move forward.

Question: And does the Secretary-General anticipate the role of the UN changing at all in phase two?

Spokesman: I think we will see. Obviously, we are ready to support the full implementation of the agreement. Dezhi, then Pam.

Question: A follow-up on Edie's question on Iranian situation now. We saw both US and Iranian started to have a very… yeah, how to say that, have a very vicious rhetoric against each other. Is the Secretary-General worried that there might be another major escalation to destabilize the region?

Spokesman: I think, of course, we are concerned. You were concerned by the rhetoric. We continue to be extremely concerned by the situation in Iran on the ground, by the pictures that are coming out of protesters having been killed of violence in the demonstrations. And we once again urge the Iranian authorities to allow people to protest peacefully and protect their right to protest peacefully.

Question: Another question. I heard the rumour that the US Mission is considering paying part of the contribution to the UN. Do you have any confirmation on their…?

Spokesman: Confirmation of your rumours?

Question: Yeah.

Spokesman: No. I will tell you something. Given our past experience, and this is life advice to all of us, don't count your money until the check is cleared. [laughter]

Question: Okay. Just to be clear of one thing. If the US or whichever Member States pay their dues, can they choose to pay which year or they have to pay up their arrears?

Spokesman: Member States have dues that are owed per year, right? We want them, and we've encouraged them, and the Secretary-General did that in writing a few days ago when he sent out the assessment letters is for them to pay in full as quickly as possible. And you saw a number of countries heeded that call.

Question: But…

Spokesman: Hold on a second. When they give us partial payments for the regular budget and if they have arrears going back, they will say to us, this is for the arrears of such and such a year.

Question: But can they put the arrears aside and pay the New Year's contribution?

Spokesman: I'll have to check on that technicality.

Question: Okay.

Spokesman: Miriam?

Question: Steph, after killing more than 12,000 people, the Islamic Republic of Iran and their officials are threatening protesters who were arrested to be executed now. And Mai Sato, the Special Rapporteur for Iran in Geneva, already warned the international community about that. What does the Secretary-General think about that?

Spokesman: We stand firmly against the use of the death penalty in all circumstances. And we have spoken out in the past on the high numbers of executions in Iran.

Question: Do you have a number, now that communication has been restored?

Spokesman: Yeah. I do not have a number that we can use as our own. We've seen numbers vary from 2,000 to 12,000. All of those numbers are horrendous, but I don't have a number to share with you.

Question: Question on Afghanistan. Is Rosemary DiCarlo traveling to Afghanistan at the end of this month? And what is the purpose of this trip?

Spokesman: Yes. I can confirm that Rosemary DiCarlo and her staff are working on a visit later this month. We'll obviously make the announcement when we're ready to make it. We've seen that something has come out of Kabul. The visit is to follow up on the Doha process, which the Secretary-General initiated in May 2023. And the visit is also aimed as a principled and pragmatic engagement with Afghanistan for the benefit of all the people in Afghanistan. Namo? Sorry, I'll go to you, Pam. Go ahead, Namo, and then I'll go to Pam.

Question: Just one question. Is there any update on the humanitarian and security situation in Aleppo? Yesterday, you said about 120,000 people remain displaced. And have you been able to deliver aid to… [cross-talk]

Spokesman: No, I was not given an update today. So, if I get something, I'll let you know. Pamela, welcome back.

Question: Thank you. Following up on phase two of the Gaza plan, what do you foresee the UN aid or UN agencies from UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) to OCHA and the demilitarization of Hamas? How do you see that moving forward? Is there… [cross-talk]

Spokesman: Well, we hope that phase two will also allow us to deliver even more humanitarian aid, right? And as I said, we stand ready to help the parties in the implementation. The UN is not involved in the demilitarization of armed groups in Gaza. Our focus right now is on the humanitarian work, but we stand ready to be helpful in any other way that we could.

Question: And you usually don't answer these questions, but are you optimistic…?

Spokesman: Then I won't.

Question: Are you optimistic about phase two?

Spokesman: I think we all have to be realistic. Ibtisam?

Question: Yes. My question is on that regard to, does the UN have any other role than delivering humanitarian aid?

Spokesman: At this point, our focus as outlined in the agreement is to focus on the humanitarian aid. We will be, as [the] Secretary-General said, we will be ready to support the initiatives that help restore political horizon for both Palestinians and Israelis towards a two-State solution.

Question: And who's from the UN in contact with the Americans and Israelis on the ground when it comes to the…?

Spokesman: I mean, the lead is Mr. Alakbarov, who's the senior UN representative on the ground. But obviously, other contacts are being had. But in terms of the day-to-day contacts with Israelis and Americans in the region, it is Mr. Alakbarov.

Question: And is there any plan to appoint a Middle East envoy, a new one?

Spokesman: You know, it's kind of like Dezhi's question about money. We'll announce it when it's in the bank. Linda and then Evelyn.

Question: Thank you, Steph. Apropos of Iran, I was just wondering what is the UN presence in Iran these days, particularly since the bombings last June.

Spokesman: We continue to have a full country team. I can even give you the number. I think we shared it by email yesterday. To tell you the truth, to all of you anyway, I'll find you the numbers. We have about 46 international staff and about 448 national, and they're all accounted for. Evelyn and Miriam.

Question: Thank you. On the Sudan meeting in Cairo, is there any hint there might be a product?

Spokesman: Let's wait for the meeting to end.

Question: Okay. And secondly, in case I missed it, has there been any official announcement on the White House order eliminating so many UN programmes?

Spokesman: No updates.

Question: Thank you.

Spokesman: Zahra?

Question: Thank you, Steph. Iran's Mission, in second letter to the UN Secretary-General regarding President Trump's remarks, stated the United States and Israeli regime bear direct and undeniable legal responsibility for resulting loss of innocent civilians' lives, particularly among the youth. What is the position of the UN Secretary-General on this matter?

Spokesman: Look, right now, the letter, I'm sure will be responded to. The Secretary-General was very troubled about what he saw - the pictures coming out of Iran. We have no way of commenting right now on the claims made by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. What we want is to see people be safe as they protest peacefully and just as people have a right to protest peacefully anywhere around the world. I'll get back to you. I have two people on screen. I need to put my glasses on. Islam, please.

Question: Thank you, Stéphane. I have two questions. One question is just to clarify. You said last week the highest number of incidents resulting in casualties, around 300 incidents. I believe it was the number of incidents, right?

Spokesman: So, what part of the world are we talking about?

Question: We are talking about the Gaza. You said the last week about it was the highest since the ceasefire. So, you said with the 300 of these reported, it was the number of incidents. I believe I just would like to clarify that.

Spokesman: Since you need clarification. I need to clarify, before I clarify, so I'll get back to you on that.

Question: And also, could you add if you have any casualty number in that clarification concerning the last week? And second question, special envoy Steve Witkoff shared a post today on his social media account, and he said: "In phase one, delivered historic humanitarian aid." What's your reaction to this phrase?

Spokesman: I mean, the UN was able to deliver a humongous amount of humanitarian aid, but not enough, right? And I think we talked about all the impediments and the challenges that continued. But the UN was asked to scale up humanitarian aid and the UN delivered. We did not deliver as much as we wanted to, but I think we delivered as much as we were able to, given all of the challenges that remain.

Question: And to the best of your knowledge, Stéphane, in past three months, is there any day that 600 trucks enter to Gaza as a humanitarian aid, as far as you know?

Spokesman: Okay, so, on the trucks, and I know we love truck counting, I would encourage you to look at the dashboard of the 2720 mechanism, which has, I think, a lot of good data. But that only shows humanitarian cargo that we coordinate. It does not show the bilateral arrangements made by some countries. But their data is out there. You need to analyse it. And I think your colleague above you on the squares has a question, so please go ahead.

Question: Hi, Steph. Thank you. So, there is actually a report that claimed that a confidential MOU (memorandum of understanding) was signed between the US and the UN that signalled a shift in balance of power among UN relief agencies. So, do you think this could pave a way for other countries to pick and choose where they want their money to go to? And does the SG think that this could lead to politics getting in the way of humanitarian efforts in certain parts of the world? Yeah, that's my question.

Spokesman: I'm not sure what MOU you're referring to?

Question: Apparently the US pledged to give approximately 2 billion [dollar] throughout 2026, and they asked this money to go to certain relief areas that is operating in.

Spokesman: This was no secret. I think, it was done very publicly at the US Mission to the UN in Geneva, I believe on 29 December. Mr. [Tom] Fletcher attended on behalf of the UN. We thank the US for its $2 billion donation. I will remind you that all our humanitarian operations are voluntarily funded. So, donors have always had the flexibility to give to agencies that they want, right? This is the difference between the voluntarily-funded humanitarian agencies and the Secretariat and the peacekeeping, which is funded through assessed contributions, which is in a sense not voluntary. Those are treaty obligations. So, all Member States who give have traditionally chosen which agencies to give to. I mean this was done very much in the open. There is nothing secret about what happened. Okay, Linda, then Ibtisam.

Question: Thank you. Following up on the UN staff in Iran, can you just share with us, like, what are their… what agencies and organizations? Are they affiliated like OCHA?

Spokesman: I don't have the list in front of me, but I would encourage you… We can try to get you something but just look at the UN in Iran website. It'll show which agencies work there, the kind of programmes they're working on, which are humanitarian development, refugee related, all of that. Okay. Ibtisam?

Question: Just to follow up on your answer. Do members regarding donation that Member States give the UN to different agencies, can they also decide to which countries these donations like?

Spokesman: For humanitarian work, whether it's WFP (World Food Programme), UNHCR (United Nations refugee agency), UNICEF. They are country appeals, right? So, donors have always been able to choose. I mean, I look at our humanitarian appeals, right? Donors give more to some rather than others. We want people to give to all of them with equal generosity. But the fact is that Member States and private donors and public donors can choose where the money goes. All right, thank you all. Dezhi, you have a question and then we'll go to lunch.

Question: Sorry. Something we just learned. According to Reuters report, the US could launch military strikes against Iran within the next 24 hours.

Spokesman: I'm not going to comment on press reports, A, that I haven't seen and that are unconfirmed. But I think you know what are our position is on, as you put it, the rhetoric that we've seen. Okay, thank you.