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.

**World Humanitarian Day

As you know, today is 19 August. Twenty-three years ago to the day, we lost 22 of our UN colleagues, murdered by the terrorists who attacked the UN headquarters in Baghdad at the Canal Hotel. Today, our thoughts are with the families of the victims and with the survivors, many of whom return to work at the UN and are still working here today. Some of them, in many dangerous places.

As you know, since 2009, every 19 August is observed as World Humanitarian Day. This morning, the Secretary-General marked the bombing in Baghdad with a moment of silence at a remembrance ceremony here at UN Headquarters, in front of the flag that flew atop of the Canal Hotel, that was rescued and brought back here.

The Secretary-General noted in his remarks that last year, he had the honour of visiting the memorial in Baghdad dedicated to our fallen colleagues. He underscored that their legacy lives on in every humanitarian worker delivering assistance amid conflict, amid disaster and amid despair.

He pointed out that around the world, humanitarians face escalating dangers, attacked, detained, injured and killed. Meanwhile, he added, the rules designed to protect civilians, including humanitarian personnel, are being violated with alarming frequency and impunity. Yet, despite these challenges, humanitarian workers continue to show up every day.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) noted today that last year set another grim record for violence against aid workers. 350 killed, 322 injured and 235 kidnapped. That's according to the Humanitarian Outcomes' Aid Worker Security Database.

For the third straight year, Gaza remained the deadliest context for humanitarians, with 186 humanitarians killed last year, followed by Sudan, with 71 killed. So far, 82 aid workers have been killed, 97 injured and 39 kidnapped across the world this year alone. Humanitarians are also increasingly in the crosshairs of armed drones, which is putting lethal power into ever more hands and sending more explosive weapons into towns and cities.

And now is my pleasure to turn to Tom Fletcher, our Emergency Relief Coordinator and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, who is briefing us from Kyiv on this World Humanitarian Day. So, Tom, thank you and you have the floor.

[Briefing not transcribed.]

We will now go on with the briefing.

**Guest Tomorrow

Tomorrow, our guest will be Jean Philippe Antolin, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Humanitarian Response and Recovery Specialist for Latin America and the Caribbean. He will be joining us from Colombia to brief on the updated humanitarian situation there following the earthquake.

**International Criminal Court

Let me start off with the issues surrounding the International Criminal Court. We have seen the announcement by the United States regarding the imposition of sanctions on the International Criminal Court President, Tomoko Akane, as well as a senior trial lawyer, Abdoulaye Seye. I can tell you that the Secretary-General expresses serious concern about this designation, as well as the ongoing designation of other International Criminal Court employees.

While the United Nations and the International Criminal Court are separate institutions, with separate and distinct mandates, as we often said, the United Nations considers the ICC a key pillar of international criminal justice and the Secretary-General very much respects its work.

**West Bank/Settlements

Turning to the occupied West Bank. I can tell you that the Secretary-General is deeply alarmed by the reports of new illegal Israeli settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank, including new tenders, including for the E1 area. He is particularly concerned about the developments related to the E1 settlement, which would effectively sever the connection between the northern and the southern West Bank. As such, it would have severe consequences for the territorial integrity of the Occupied Palestinian Territory and present an existential threat to the two-State solution. The Secretary-General calls on Israel to refrain from taking any further steps in this regard and to act in accordance with relevant United Nations resolutions and in line with the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion of 19 July 2024.

**Occupied Palestinian Territory

Meanwhile, on the ground, Israeli forces launched today an operation in Dahiriya, in Hebron, imposing a curfew, deploying snipers on rooftops and blocking roads with earth mounds. Our humanitarian partners estimate that roughly 40,000 people, including children, are currently under curfew and not permitted to leave their homes. This is having an immediate humanitarian impact because people cannot replenish supplies, access essential services or just get to their workplaces.

About seven Palestinian homes have also reportedly been used as interrogation centres, after Israeli forces confined families to single rooms. That is what colleagues are telling us on the ground. There are also a number of arrests that have been reported.

Homes and families must be protected, and any security operation must be conducted in a manner that respects international law, including the protection and dignity of civilians. We and our partners continue to provide vital support to people in the West Bank. Yesterday, our colleagues from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said that about 4,000 children joined their summer camps in 34 schools across that area. These children are taking part in sports, arts, theatre and psychosocial support activities.

In Gaza, our partners leading on security and safety reported Israeli military activities on areas located to the west of the so-called Yellow Line. According to initial local reports, an Israeli air strike killed at least seven people and injured others in Gaza city seaport yesterday. Such incidents, obviously, put civilians at risk and will restrict their ability to seek safety, medical care and humanitarian assistance.

**Lebanon

Turning to Lebanon, to mark World Humanitarian Day, our Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon, Imran Riza met today with partners to pay tribute to aid workers and reaffirm the need to protect them. He heard from those who have continued working throughout the escalation of hostilities while being directly affected by hostilities themselves, highlighting the importance of mental health and the vital role of women-led organizations and our partners.

Since 2 March, 21 humanitarian aid workers have been killed and 25 wounded in Lebanon. That is according to our database. This follows the Humanitarian Coordinator's visit yesterday to the Tebnine Governmental Hospital in Nabatieh, where he met health workers who have continued providing care despite repeated damage to the health facilities. Since 2 March, the hospital reported 14 security incidents impacting the facilities, including injuries to staff and damage to infrastructure, as well as ambulances.

He also met with local authorities, as well as the Lebanese Red Cross paramedics and volunteers, to honor the volunteers killed and injured during the escalation of hostilities. We reiterate that civilians, including health and humanitarian workers, and civilian infrastructure must be protected. Humanitarian workers must be able to carry out their work safely and without interference.

**Deputy Secretary-General/Trip Announcement

An update on travel of our Deputy Secretary-General. She is on her way to Xi'an, in China, where, in cooperation with the Government of China, she will convene the third dialogue on Artificial Intelligence and Human Development. That will take place tomorrow and Friday. The convening is part of a global series of high-level dialogues bringing together leading thinkers from around the country, around the region and around the world to examine how one of humanity's most transformative technologies is shaping human progress.

While in China, she will also meet with senior Government officials. On Saturday, she will be in Beijing, where she will meet with members of the UN country team there to discuss cooperation in support of national development priorities and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

On 23 August, she will head to Ulaanbaatar, in Mongolia, on behalf of the Secretary-General, to attend the seventeenth session of the Conference of the Parties of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP17). During the visit, she will underscore the need to accelerate land restoration, strengthen resilience and advance sustainable development in the face of the growing challenges posed by desertification, land degradation and drought. On the margins of the Conference, she will meet with heads of delegation, senior Government officials, as well as UN colleagues.

On her return journey, she will stop over in India, where, in New Delhi, she will meet with senior Government officials to discuss UN-India cooperation and India's engagement in advancing sustainable development. In India, she will also meet with students at the Indian Institute of Technology to exchange on the opportunities and challenges to leverage digital innovation in support of the Sustainable Development Goals. The Deputy Secretary-General will be back here on the 28th of this month.

**Sudan

Moving to Sudan. Our colleagues at IOM tell us that, over the past 72 hours, they have delivered 1,750 metric tonnes of humanitarian supplies, including 17,700 hygiene kits and 850 tents, directly benefiting more than 110,000 people in areas where needs are most acute. This assistance is expected to reach more than 400,000 people in the next coming days.

The scale of the needs remains enormous. IOM estimates that 8.6 million human beings are internally displaced across Sudan, alongside significant cross-border movements into neighbouring countries. This is a man-made humanitarian crisis. It has been driven by the continuing conflict and compounded by displacement, attacks on critical infrastructure and seasonal floods.

Just to give you a sense of how dire the situation is, in North Kordofan, intensified fighting and drone strikes on El Obeid's main electrical transformer have caused prolonged power outages, disrupting water pumping, health facilities and telecommunications, conditions that are inevitably forcing more people to flee their homes and to seek safety often in places where there is no safety. Heavy rainfall in Tawila in North Darfur, destroyed or damaged nearly 1,300 homes last week, displacing over 1,000 families. IOM is calling for greater international support to ensure lifesaving assistance can continue to reach millions of people.

**Somalia

And in Somalia, our OCHA colleagues warn that severe drought and shrinking humanitarian assistance, including funding shortfalls, are taking a heavy toll on communities and their livelihoods, especially in the north and central regions of the country. The situation is particularly dire in the northern and north-eastern regions, where up to 1.9 million people are estimated to be acutely food insecure. Because of the drought, more than three quarters of traditional water sources in some regions having dried up. This is obviously threatening health and nutrition, and agriculture, at a time when 1.9 million children are suffering from acute malnutrition. Ten public hospitals in three of these northern districts are also struggling to remain open because of insufficient funding.

Meanwhile, the ripple effects of the conflict in the Middle East are also adding further pressure in Somalia, causing higher fuel prices and disruptions to maritime supply chains, which are driving food prices up by as much as 20 per cent.

The Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher allocated $10 million for a rapid response to the drought in Somalia. But, overall funding remains critically low, hampering the humanitarian response. As of today, the humanitarian appeal is less than a third funded. The situation could worsen between October and December, when El Niño is expected to increase the risk of widespread flooding. We and our partners have stepped up preparations for El Niño, but we urgently need more money.

**Venezuela

From Venezuela, our humanitarian colleagues tell us that humanitarian organizations continue to support communities impacted by the devastating earthquakes that hit the country almost two months ago now. The death toll according to local authorities has surpassed 6,400.

Our humanitarian colleagues are supporting more than 80 international and local organizations, as well as the authorities, to help people recovering from the earthquakes and floods. More than 300,000 people have received food, health services, clean water and hygiene support through the earthquake response, which aims to reach 1.3 million people in the next six months.

At the same time, we and our partners continue to support people in need across the country through the broader Humanitarian Response Plan for 2026, which predated the earthquake and has reached as many as 1.2 million people as of the end of July. The Humanitarian Response Plan is just over 40 per cent funded, leaving a funding gap of more than $530 million.

**Financial Contribution

Speaking of money, we have a little quiz for you today. This country is host to the architect Frank Gehry's only design in Latin America, and he designed a museum called the Biomuseo, which opened in 2014. What country hosts the only Frank Gehry's design in Latin America? Not Mexico. […] It is Panama. We thank our friends in Panama City for their full payment to the Regular Budget. It brings up to 129, and Panama paid us $2,738,209, and we appreciate every single one of those pennies. We have money, and I'm ready to answer questions now that we have money. Morad, then Ephrem.

**Questions and Answers

Question: Thank you, Stéphane. Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said during a broadcast interview that between 30 and 40 Palestinians should be killed every night. He added that Palestinians are not even people. Does the SG condemn these remarks?

Spokesman: These remarks are appalling. They're outrageous. They're dehumanizing and they're dangerous, and we condemn them unequivocally. Ephrem.

Question: Thank you so much, Steph. On El Obeid, what's the situation now with the UN humanitarian partners there? Who is there on the ground? And any update on Mr. [Pekka] Haavisto's diplomatic efforts recently? Thank you.

Spokesman: I expect some news on Mr. Haavisto's travel in the next coming days, which we'll share with you immediately. And I need to get a bit more of an operational update for you on El Obeid. Alright. Please. You may. You may.

Question: I want to ask about France. We are seeing how the extreme heat waves and the wildfires are affecting currently agriculture. I want to ask if the UN or specialized UN agencies are currently working on developing any innovative methods to help the government mitigate the impact, especially given the fact that France is one of the EU's major agricultural producers.

Spokesman: Let me take a step back. The fires that we're seeing, not only in France, but we saw in Spain, we saw in Belgium, in Germany, in many, many places in Europe, and as you know, Europe is the region in the world that is heating up the fastest, and I think we have new data that came out today also on the heating of the oceans in Europe. It is all a sign of the adaptation that's needed for climate change. And I know many UN agencies, including FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization] or IFAD [International Fund for Agricultural Development] and others, are working on helping the agricultural sector adapt. On the specific question, I'm not aware of any UN agencies currently working directly with the French government, which has a lot of its own resources, but I'm happy to double-check.

Question: Can I, just a quick follow-up on displacements, please? How concerned is the UN that if these climate shocks become more frequent, it can eventually create lasting impacts and demographic changes on the ground?

Spokesman: Well, Mona, it's something we've been talking about for a long time, right? And how the many reasons we're seeing people on the move. Some of it is due to conflict. Some of it is due to climate impact. We've seen, I mean, we talked today about desertification, right? When people who lived and relied on agricultural lands which have now turned to desert, they're forced to move. Human beings will, by nature, move to seek safety, to seek food, to seek livelihoods. It is clear that climate change is having an impact and will have a growing impact on population movements throughout the world.

Question: No, I definitely know that this is one of the most important topics you talk about regularly, but my question is, is the UN tracking how these displacements are creating long-term shifts on the ground?

Spokesman: I mean, these are things our population migration people are looking at all the time. Alex.

Question: A quick one. Does the United Nations play any role in organizing Trump-Kim meeting, by any chance?

Spokesman: I'm not aware of any role in that. Hasta luego.