Category: United Nations

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Highlights:

– Secretary-General/Travels
– Afghanistan
– Deputy Secretary-General/Travels
– Ethiopia
– Sudan
– Occupied Palestinian Territory
– Lebanon
– World Food Programme (WFP) – Yemen
– Yemen
– Ukraine
– UN Refugee Agency/HC Travel
– New Resident Coordinator – Egypt
– International Days

SECRETARY-GENERAL / TRAVELS
The Secretary-General has left New York for a previously scheduled trip to Pakistan, where he is expected to arrive on Tuesday morning. During his visit, he will have meetings in Islamabad with senior government officials, including with Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, as well as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar. He will also meet with President Asif Ali Zardari.

The Secretary-General was last in Pakistan in 2022, when he visited regions impacted by the devastating floods. This time, he will again visit the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), where he will see firsthand the progress Pakistan has made in strengthening its preparedness and resilience since the floods.

In Islamabad, the Secretary-General will visit the headquarters of the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan, otherwise known as UNMOGIP.

The visit will also be an opportunity for the Secretary-General to discuss Pakistan’s diplomatic and mediation efforts between the United States and Iran, including its constructive role in supporting negotiations between the two countries.

The Secretary-General is expected to be back in New York on Thursday.

AFGHANISTAN
The U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo concluded her visit to Afghanistan today, following meetings with the de facto authorities, civil society representatives, women leaders and Afghan female U.N. personnel.

In her meetings with de facto authorities, Ms. DiCarlo reaffirmed the United Nations’ commitment to advancing the Doha process. She noted progress in its two working groups on counter-narcotics and private sector and emphasized the importance of translating dialogue into further practical results for the Afghan people. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to continued engagement.

Ms. DiCarlo conveyed Member States’ concerns about the situation of women and girls, particularly girls’ access to education. She emphasized that progress on women’s and girls’ rights would advance the country’s development. Ms. DiCarlo also raised the restrictions affecting Afghan female United Nations personnel.

The Under-Secretary-General highlighted the challenges facing Afghanistan, including socioeconomic pressures, climate change, and natural disasters. She affirmed the United Nations’ readiness to assist Afghans returning from the neighbouring countries. In her meetings with civil society representatives and women leaders, the Under-Secretary-General recognized their vital contributions to communities across Afghanistan.

Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-10-05

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-PE4cBwI54

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Message from António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General, read by Anacláudia Rossbach, Under-Secretary-General and Executive-Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) at the World Habitat Day 2026 – "Adequate Housing for All" (Muscat, Oman).

"Adequate housing is the foundation of dignity, security, and opportunity.

Yet more than 3 billion people are denied this universal human right. Over 1 billion live in informal settlements and slums, and many more experience homelessness or have been displaced by conflict, disasters, and climate change.

Investing in adequate housing and transforming informal settlements reduces poverty, tackles inequality, builds climate resilience, and fosters peaceful and inclusive societies.

This demands coordinated action at every level, with national and local governments shaping bold policies, building partnerships, and grounding decisions in sound data. The international financial architecture must also be reformed to mobilize the adequate, predictable, and affordable financing developing countries need to invest in housing at scale.

On this World Habitat Day, let us treat housing as a public good and build a world where everyone has a place to call home."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifOn4oY6NtE

Source: United Nations (video statements)

This year’s World Habitat Day puts the focus on one of the defining development challenges of our time: ensuring adequate housing for all. We are living through a global housing crisis affecting up to 3.4 billion people, including more than 1.1 billion people living in informal settlements and slums.

The theme video for the global observance of World Habitat Day 2026 in Muscat, Oman, explores what adequate housing means for people, communities and cities around the world, and why a home is much more than a roof over our heads.

World Habitat Day website: https://urbanoctober.unhabitat.org/whd

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRB9TSQu608

Source: United Nations (video statements)

The UN Secretary-General’s SDG Advocates occupy a unique place at the intersection of business, public life, culture, philanthropy, and grassroots leadership, bringing together perspectives that span sectors, communities, and geographies.

Through a series of conversations, heads of state and leaders from across business, philanthropy, advocacy, and culture will explore the leadership, partnerships, and breakthroughs needed to accelerate progress in a rapidly changing world.

From global finance reform and expanding opportunity to innovation, trust, and the voices shaping the future, the discussion will challenge assumptions, surface fresh insights, and examine what it will take to move from commitments to delivery and from promise to progress for people and communities around the world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faNKrlvB4Y8

Source: United Nations (video statements)

It’s a double quiz today!

One country is home to the world’s largest clock face and a fountain that shoots water 1,000 feet into the air.

The second has tree-climbing lions, and a street food called the Rolex, an omelette and vegetables rolled up in a chapati.

Any guesses?

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/go04ub9v-Hw

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Noon Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Highlights:

– Central Emergency Response Fund
– Food And Agriculture Organization – Food Prices
– Ethiopia
– Ethiopia / Humanitarian
– Yemen
-DR Congo
– U.N. Mission In South Sudan / Presidential Meeting
– Haiti
– Ukraine
– Refugee Children / School
– Senior Personnel Appointment – ASG Department Of Safety And Security
– International Day Of Non-Violence
– World Space Week
– Financial Contribution

CENTRAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE FUND

Today, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) released $160 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to support life-saving assistance in 12 of the world’s most underfunded humanitarian crises across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

This allocation is part of a wider push to reach 87 million people facing the most severe humanitarian crises this year.

Tom Fletcher, the Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, said that today’s new funding will help us get aid to people who might otherwise be left behind. But he stressed that money alone won’t get us there. He called for leaders to exercise political will to open access, to remove obstacles and to help reach people whose lives are on the line.

Of the new allocation, $150 million will support life-saving responses in Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Cuba, Mali, Niger, the occupied Palestinian territory, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan and Yemen.

Five of the crises, that includes Afghanistan, the OPT, South Sudan, Sudan and Yemen, are among the 10 places where Mr. Fletcher has called for urgent diplomatic action to secure humanitarian access to unlock assistance for 11 million of the 87 million people prioritized for support this year.

The allocation also includes $10 million to address the urgent needs of people with disabilities in the 12 crises and make humanitarian assistance more accessible and to make it also more inclusive.

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION – FOOD PRICES

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced that the benchmark index for the world food commodity prices rose in September, driven by higher sugar, cereal and vegetable oil prices.

The FAO Price Index averaged 136 points last month, up from 1.5 per cent in August and 5.8 per cent from just a year ago. Sugar saw the sharpest rise, with 6.1 per cent to its highest level since April 2025, as global supplies are expected to tighten.

Cereal prices were up 5.1 per cent on the month, and wheat reached its highest level since August 2023, largely because of logistical constraints in the Black Sea region. Maize hit a three-year high, as supplies tightened and uncertainty continued over shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

ETHIOPIA

The U.N. is concerned by rising tensions among countries in the Horn of Africa at a time when unity, dialogue and cooperation are urgently needed to support peace and stability in the region.

The Secretary-General calls on all States to exercise restraint, refrain from any actions that would further enflame tensions and commit to resolving their differences though dialogue.

Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-10-02

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8WV5ItO2QA

Source: United Nations (video statements)

In remote South Sudan, the UN peace operation (UNMISS) is helping young people leave gangs and rebuild their lives through new initiatives.
#southsudan #peace

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-_geHbDLZdw

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Recent weeks, including at the opening of the UN General Assembly, have seen intensifying debates about the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
How do we make sure that it is powered for good and in the service of humanity? One such AI tool – the SDG Chat – has just been launched to make reliable sustainable development information more accessible to people around the world. This innovative platform offers a wealth of trusted data and resources produced by UN DESA on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Its goal: help accelerate action towards their delivery.

Learn more: https://desapublications.un.org/un-desa-voice/feature/october-2026/new-sdg-chat-launched-empower-global-engagement-sustainable

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eT_7GH24mJk

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Press conference by Aglaia Balta, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Greece to the United Nations and President of the Security Council for the month of October 2026, briefed reporters on the programme of work of the Security Council for October.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbJKPfHNY0o

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Chief Executive Officer of Hugging Face, Clément Delangue, made a case for open-source AI models.

Delangue said, “cyber-attacks and risks may increasingly come from proprietary models behind closed doors, while much of the defence may end up being powered by open-source tools because they are less restricted, more privacy preserving and orders of magnitude more affordable for organisations across the globe. The world needs open-source AI more than ever to defend itself.”

He said, “even though we were the victims of this cyber-attack, we believe more strongly than ever that AI will be beneficial to cybersecurity and make the world safer, just as major technology before it. We were attacked by AI, but more importantly, we defended ourselves with AI.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLMzC3JAtpg