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.

**Briefing Today

Alright, thank you. Good afternoon again. After you are done with me, you will be joined by Ambassador Jamal Fares Alrowaiei, who, as you know, is the Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the United Nations and for today's purposes President of the Security Council for the month of April. He will brief you on the Programme of Work, and we have our wonderful interpreters for English and Arabic provided. And for those of you listening online, a reminder that the Zoom function will not work, it will just be questions in the room, but it will be webcast on UN WebTV of course.

**United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon

Turning to the Middle East, as the situation continues to be volatile, with ongoing hostilities especially impacting our peacekeeping operations in Lebanon. Tragically, as you know, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, has suffered three fatalities in the last few days. And as we've said repeatedly, these incidents are unacceptable and demand full accountability.

Investigations by us are under way, and despite the challenging situation on the ground, we should be able to update you with those results as soon as possible. These investigations take time, as technical experts examine physical evidence on the scenes, while others look at context and liaise with parties to collect and verify information. The circumstances on the ground are such that deconflicting with parties in some instances have prevented timely access of UN personnel to the incident scenes for the investigation, and that, of course, has caused delays.

However, as Jean-Pierre Lacroix told troop-contributing countries, just a few hours ago here, our firm commitment remains to establishing the full facts and the circumstances surrounding each and every one of these events. He reminded them that attacks on United Nations peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law.

Meanwhile, he stressed that developments on the ground were continuously being monitored to enhance safety and security and to mitigate risks, including physical measures, reduced exposure and strong communications. He also expressed his most sincere gratitude for the commitment of the courageous women and men serving in our peace operations in the Middle East under such challenging conditions, fulfilling their mandates given to them by the Security Council.

**Lebanon

Also, on Lebanon: Today, Tom Fletcher, our Under-Secretary-General [for Humanitarian Affairs], remains in Lebanon, as we told you. He met today with Nabih Berri, the Speaker of Parliament. Mr. Fletcher spent the last two days witnessing first-hand the devastating impacts on the conflict that Lebanon has been dragged into on the humanitarian situation in the country. He visited a collective shelter and met with displaced families and front-line responders, including Lebanese Red Cross staff and ambulance teams.

The scale of humanitarian needs continues to outpace available resources. We've received just $94 million of the $308 million we asked for in the recent Flash Appeal. We urgently need more funding to sustain and scale up our operations. We and our humanitarian partners are continuing to do whatever we can to protect and to help people. We have reached thousands of children and their caregivers with psychosocial support and are working to reunite families and alert people to the dangers posed by unexploded ordnances.

Mr. Fletcher also visited the country's border with Syria. More than 200,000 people have crossed from Lebanon into Syria since the start of the escalation. Tom met with families who have chosen to return to Syria from Lebanon. Many told him of their determination to return to their communities and contribute to rebuilding their country. We and our partners on both sides of the border continue to support people on the move and ensure that aid reaches those who need it.

**Syria

Following his visit to Lebanon, Tom Fletcher will travel to Syria, where he will be joined Under-Secretary-General Alexander De Croo, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Their joint visit is there to underscore the need to move from a humanitarian response to a development, recovery and reconstruction phase.

During their visit, they are expected to meet with President Ahmad al-Sharaa, Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani, and other senior Government officials, as well as with people who have returned to Syria following years of conflict. They will visit a UNDP-backed site that support the clearing of debris and explosive remnants of war.

Together with the Government, Mr. Fletcher and Mr. De Croo will take part in the launch of this year's Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan and the launch of Syria's Statement of Recovery Priorities. And we expect both Mr. De Croo and Mr. Fletcher to brief here via video from Syria, and that will be tomorrow at 11 a.m. in this very room.

**Strait of Hormuz

Our good friends at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) have said in a report today that maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has come to a near halt, with a 95 per cent drop in daily ship transits over the past month. As a result, UNCTAD forecasts a drop by at least a percentage point in annual merchandise trade growth, as well as rising inflation, spurred on by a surge in crude oil prices. UNCTAD forecasts a drop in world GDP to about 2.6 per cent by the end of the year, as well as a fall in stock markets and a depreciation of currencies in developing countries.

Among other things, the agency calls for Governments to consider a policy mix to stabilize price levels as inflation pressures rise, particularly for vulnerable populations; and for development banks to be empowered to provide emergency loans.

**Middle East

Also, I just want to flag something that caught our interest today, and that's an update from Volker Türk, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, who warned today that restrictions on civic space and freedom of expression have significantly risen across the Middle East since the US and Israeli attacks on Iran at the start of the conflict. He said that waves of arrests and broad clampdowns, mostly on vaguely defined accusations, have had a deeply chilling effect on people, many of whom are already living with uncertainty, fear and anxiety. The rest is online.

**Occupied Palestinian Territory

Turning to Gaza, our colleagues in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) tell us that we and our partners are continuing to deliver critical assistance despite the pressure on Kerem Shalom/Karem Abu Salem, the only crossing that is open for cargo.

Yesterday, humanitarians brought over 270,000 litres of fuel into Gaza to keep critical humanitarian services running. Meanwhile, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) collected animal fodder, while the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) retrieved more than 240 pallets of supplies - that includes nutrition, medicines and kits containing sanitary pads, toothpaste, body wash, underwear and scarves. OCHA reiterates that to scale up the response, more crossings must be opened for the movement of people and cargo.

Today, our colleagues from FAO announced a scale-up of their cash assistance to reactivate local crop production for an additional 1,000 farmers in Gaza. The assistance builds on a successful pilot from last year, when 200 farmers managed to grow more than 500 metric tons of fresh vegetables, with support received through the Humanitarian Fund for the occupied Palestinian territory. With today's scale-up, FAO estimates that farmers will be able to feed some 95,000 people for a whole year by producing roughly 5,000 metric tons of vegetables. This will help address food insecurity while boosting employment and income generation in Gaza.

**Sudan

Also, I was asked earlier by some of you about the latest travels of the Personal Envoy for the Secretary-General for Sudan, Pekka Haavisto. He concluded at the weekend his visit to Sudan where, as we told you, he met with a range of Sudanese stakeholders, including General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the Chair of the Sovereign Council and Commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces The Personal Envoy then travelled to Addis Ababa, where he is based, for introductory meetings with senior African Union officials, including the African Union Commission Chairperson.

Mr. Haavisto is now in Cairo for engagements with the Egyptian authorities, the League of Arab States and Sudanese political actors. From there, he will travel to Nairobi for further discussions. Mr. Haavisto will continue to engage with the parties and other stakeholders in support of urgently needed progress toward durable peace.

**Haiti

And moving to this continent, the United Nations Support Office in Haiti (UNSOH) today said that it has met the timeline to provide the Gang Suppression Force (GSF) with full logistical and operational support, in accordance with Security Council resolution 2793 (2025). The mandated timeline of 1 February to assume full responsibility for the provision, on a cost recovery basis, of the standard range of mission support services to the UN Integrated Office in Haiti has also been met.

Our Under-Secretary-General for Operational Support, Atul Khare, travelled to the Dominican Republic and Haiti this week to mark this successful achievement. Yesterday, Mr. Khare and Daniela Kroslak, Head of UNSOH, met with the Prime Minister of Haiti, Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, and also with Foreign Minister Raina Forbin. The Prime Minister and Foreign Minister confirmed their intention to continue to work closely in partnership with UNSOH throughout the design and construction phases.

UNSOH is now prepared to provide living and office accommodation, medical support and other key services to the Gang Suppression Force. The Support Office has deployed two helicopters, which will provide the necessary mobility between Port-au-Prince and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. A small office has also been established in Santo Domingo to provide back-office support to both our UN entities in Haiti.

**Peacebuilding

And just to flag, today the Justice and Corrections Service of the UN Peacebuilding and Peace Support Office is marking the fifteenth anniversary of its Justice and Corrections Standing Capacity. Over the past 15 years, the Standing Capacity has provided rapid, specialized support to 37 United Nations peace operations and other UN settings, helping to strengthen justice and corrections systems as a foundation for sustainable peace. Its work has focused on supporting transitions, advancing climate, peace and security, and reinforcing the rule of law - including efforts on criminal accountability and conflict-related sexual violence.

**Resident Coordinators - China, Kenya and Papua New Guinea

A couple of new Resident Coordinators today. The Secretary-General has appointed Stephen Jackson of Ireland as United Nations Resident Coordinator in China, Garry Conille of Haiti as a new Resident Coordinator in Kenya, and Shalini Bahuguna of India as a new Resident Coordinator in Papua New Guinea. All three took up their posts today. They all bring decades of experience, and we congratulate them on their new appointments.

**Senior Personnel Appointment

Also, I just want to read into the record the appointment we shared yesterday in which the Secretary-General appointed Mari Yamashita of Japan as his Senior Representative for the Implementation of Security Council resolution 2792 (2025). Does anyone remember what 2792 is? I didn't think so.

In her role as Senior Representative, she will support continued progress on the outstanding issue of Kuwaiti missing persons and property, including the national archives, as outlined in that Security Council resolution and that follows the conclusion of the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq, which was holding that file. Ms. Yamashita brings to the position a broad range of experience she was the Officer-in-Charge of the Support Mission in Hudaydah. We congratulate our good friend Mari on this important appointment.

**Financial Contribution Summary

We don't have a quiz, but I do want to talk to you about money. Bring it in, I'll pass the hat soon. I want to give you a summary of full Regular Budget contributions received for the first three months of the year. From 1 January to 31 March of this year, we received full contributions from 97 countries for a total of $1,433,605,419.

For comparison purposes, for the same January to March period last year, we received full contributions from only 85 countries and we received less money - we received about $47 million less. Just as a reminder, our target, our budget, is $3.45 billion. So, we thank those who've paid up, and we encourage those who have not, to pay - especially if they want a quiz. Edie?

**Questions and Answers

Question: Thank you, Steph. When Under-Secretary General Tom Fletcher met Nabih Berri, did they discuss the Israeli announcement about a chunk of hundreds of thousands of Lebanese not being able to return to southern Lebanon, which is going to be occupied by Israeli forces, and the humanitarian impact?

Spokesman: I don't have the details of what they discussed, but I can safely say that the issue of the humanitarian disaster that is facing the people of Lebanon, especially those who live south of the Litani River, was high, if not number one item on the agenda.

Question: And secondly, on Sudan. Our new envoy, the UN's new envoy, met with General Burhan. Has he made an effort to meet with the RSF [Rapid Support Forces] commander? And I didn't hear any mention of that meeting taking place. [Cross talk]

Spokesman: No, of course, I can assure you that in his role, he will meet at some point with the head of the RSF. As I mentioned, Mr. Haavisto was in Sudan, went then on to Addis, is now in Egypt, and then will head off to Nairobi, a place where there is also a number of Sudanese political actors who were there. Gabriel?

Question: Thanks, Steph. On the investigation to the killing of the three UNIFIL blue helmets, I know you normally don't like to prejudge how long investigations will take. However, I'm going to ask you, given the serious nature of this, what is the expectation by the Secretary-General on when this will be concluded?

Spokesman: The expectation of the Secretary-General is for it to be done as quickly as possible, as safely as possible. We're talking about doing a forensic investigation in the midst of a conflict zone. As I mentioned, for the right people from UNIFIL to go back to the place where those incidents happen, they need to deconflict. We do not want to see a situation where those who are investigating an attack or an incident are themselves put in harm's way as part of that investigation. So, I think Mr. Lacroix is determined to get this done as quickly as possible, because we've seen a lot of people comment about saying who's responsible and who's not responsible. So, we need to establish the facts so we can come out with it and come out with it as quickly as possible.

Question: And the expectation by the Secretary-General is that the investigation will determine not only what killed them, but who killed them?

Spokesman: Inasmuch as possible. I mean, I can't prejudge not only the timeline, but what they will find. They may not be able to conclude, but I don't want to prejudge anything. Sylvianne and then Joe.

Correspondent: Thank you, Steph. Lebanon has informed the United Nations in a letter that it has outlawed Hizbullah's military wing. This letter has been…

Spokesman: Has what, sorry?

Question: Lebanon has informed the UN in a letter that it has outlawed Hizbullah's military wing. This letter has been published yesterday, but it has been sent three weeks ago. Any reaction and follow-up from the UN on this issue?

Spokesman: I mean, the Secretary-General's position has been very clear from the beginning, and he said it to the Lebanese president and prime minister and the speaker of the house when he went there recently, and we went there last year, is that we fully support the Lebanese Government's efforts to ensure that they are the sole holders of force, that their authority is extended throughout the territory. And we call on all of those, everyone, to respect the Government and the authority of the Government of Lebanon in that regard. Mr. Klein, nice to see you.

Question: Thank you. My question regards again the Secretary-General's repeated call for return to negotiations between the US, Israel and Iran. As you know, President [Donald J.] Trump is going to be speaking tonight on the subject of Iran. Would the Secretary-General be happy with a conditional ceasefire proposal? In other words, a proposal that ties agreement to a ceasefire to Iran's agreement to, for example, abandon its uranium enrichment programme and surrender the stockpiles it already has? Or does the Secretary General believe there should be an immediate and an unconditional ceasefire?

Spokesman: The Secretary-General is not going to prejudge. He is not - not that he needs to be reminded - he is not a party to this conflict, right? We support negotiations. We want to see an end to the conflict. We want to see an end to civilians not being in the crossfire but being the target in this conflict throughout the region. The quicker this conflict ends, the better it will be for the world. I mean, I know you listened to what I just said in terms of the UNCTAD findings of the impact this will have globally. I mean, when 95 per cent of the ships that usually transit through the Strait of Hormuz stop transiting, it has an effect on oil, has an effect on fertilizer, which has a knock-on effect on people's ability to plant and to grow food. And let's not forget, the Strait of Hormuz, which needs to be returned to a state of freedom of navigation according to international law, works in two directions. So, there are lot of goods that are also not getting to the countries in the Gulf, goods that are desperately needed. So, we want to see an end to this conflict, but we're not going to prejudge whatever agreement can be negotiated.

Question: Well, it's a question of, to use a trite phrase, the chicken and the egg here: which comes first? For example, would the Secretary-General be amenable, and I know he's not a party, but he's expressed his opinion many times about the importance of negotiation. Would you see a path forward of at least tying a ceasefire to Iran's agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz? After all, it was Iran, one party, that illegally closed the Strait.

Spokesman: We want to see freedom of navigation restored to the Strait of Hormuz. And that is not just the Secretary-General asking for it. That is the Security Council. They passed a resolution along those lines. The Secretary-General, as you know, also appointed a personal envoy, Jean Arnault, to see what he can do to bring a return to peace to the region. Mr. Abdelhamid Siyam.

Question: Thank you, Stéphane. Follow-up to the issue of the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, just stated that they're willing to share the administration and the open and closing of Hormuz with Oman. Do you see that a kind of softening their position? Would the UN reach out to Oman and to Iran to see if there is a breakthrough with UN Special Envoy now?

Spokesman: I will let you and your colleagues do the analysis. You're better at that than I am. As you know, also the Secretary-General announced a mechanism that is being led by our colleague, Jorge Moreira da Silva of UNOPS [United Nations Office of Project Services], to try to get fertilizer and key fertilizer ingredients out of Hormuz and key humanitarian aid into Hormuz. And to that effect, he is speaking to all the permanent representatives and others who are involved.

Question: My second question on Gaza. In the last 24 hours, 4 Palestinians were killed and 12 were wounded. I did not hear these numbers come in your brief. Every time there is a missing piece of information about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, it's all about how many people killed - 700 now, 13 Palestinians were killed since the so-called ceasefire, and 1,940 were wounded. And normally, I listen always to your briefing. When there is a piece of information about the lives of Palestinians is missing, I have to raise my voice and ask you why?

Spokesman: Well, I mean, we relay the information we get from the ground. The information on fatalities comes to us from the Ministry of Health in Gaza, and I think we've been very transparent in laying out the horrific situation that Palestinians are facing day in and day out in Gaza. Talal?

Question: Thank you, Steph. Tomorrow, there are two sessions at the Security Council. One in the morning about the GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] and the UN cooperation, one in the afternoon about the Arab League and the UN cooperation. A procedural question, can you tell us or do we know if the Secretary-General will attend either of them or both of them, or neither of them?

Spokesman: At this point, I don't think the Secretary-General will be attending the sessions, but I'll keep you updated if he does or who will represent him, in case he does. Alex?

Question: Thanks, Steph. Do you have any updates on that task force on the Strait of Hormuz?

Spokesman: No. I mean, what I can tell you is I spoke to Jorge this morning. He's having a whole host of contacts here meeting with a lot of permanent representatives, outlining what the proposal is and how to move forward. And I know there's a lot of interest on this effort. Okay. I will leave you with a permanent representative, not me. I will see you later.