Source: United Nations (video statements)
Noon briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Highlights:
Secretary-General/Travels
Secretary-General/Washington
Lebanon
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Ukraine
Sudan
Abyei
MONUSCO
SECRETARY-GENERAL/TRAVELS
This morning, the Secretary-General arrived in The Hague to participate in the commemoration of the eightieth anniversary of the International Court of Justice, which will take place tomorrow at the Peace Palace.
This afternoon, the Secretary-General met with the Mayor of The Hague, Jan van Zanen.
Afterward, the Secretary-General said that he couldn’t be in The Hague in a better moment, as we mark the 80th anniversary of the International Court of Justice that is the fundamental pillar of the international justice system.
He added that “this is a difficult moment, a moment in which international law has been putting into question by many.” He said that lawlessness brings chaos and destruction, and so it is very important to reaffirm the primacy of international law, and to reaffirm that the force of the law must prevail over the law of the force.
Tomorrow, apart from addressing a Solemn Sitting of the ICJ, the Secretary-General is expected to hold bilateral meetings with the Prime Minister and Minister for General Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Rob Jetten, and with the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Tom Berendsen. He will also meet the Council of Ministers of the Netherlands and with Judge Graciela Gatti Santana, President of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals.
SECRETARY-GENERAL/WASHINGTON
Yesterday afternoon in Washington, the Secretary-General joined World Bank President Ajay Banga at the closing of the Bank’s Water Forward Initiative. He told participants that the UN fully supports the Bank’s initiative and added that no strategy for development is sustainable if water is not an essential part of that strategy. It is totally unacceptable, he said, that access to water is not considered a basic human right.
Mr. Guterres called on governments to show the political will to engage in bilateral or multilateral dialogue to manage water crises, which can, all too often, be drivers of conflict.
The Secretary-General then helped launch the Borrowers’ Platform, which he called a historic breakthrough to address deep inequities in the global financial and debt architecture. He said borrower countries have long lacked a space comparable to creditor coordination forums.
The Platform will allow borrowing countries to sit together, share experience, build technical capacity and speak with a collective voice. The Secretary-General stressed that changing power relations is essential to achieving a fairer, more inclusive international financial system, noting the central role of UNCTAD as its secretariat.
While in Washington, the Secretary-General met with the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, and also with the Finance Minister of Pakistan, Muhammad Aurangzeb. The Secretary-General and the Finance Minister discussed the recently-launched platform. The Secretary-General took the opportunity to once again thank Pakistan for its effort in helping to resolve the current conflict in the Middle East.
Full Highlight: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-04-16