Category: United Nations

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Hybrid press briefing by the Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, following their presentation to the General Assembly’s Third Committee. Speakers are Ms. Navanethem Pillay (South Africa) and Mr. Chris Sidoti (Australia), who both briefed reporters virtually.

Chris Sidoti, one of the members of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI) on the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) said the 20-point “peace proposal” for Gaza, was “precarious right from the start” and “with fighting taking place in Rafah and Israeli bombing having resumed in the Rafah area, it is more precarious than ever.”

Sidoti and Navi Pillay, who is also a member of the COI, briefed reporters in New York virtually after presenting their report to the General Assembly’s Third Committee.

Pillay said, “analysis concluded that the State of Israel is responsible for the commission of four genocidal acts in Gaza with the specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza. We also found that the Israeli President, Prime Minister, and former Defence Minister have incited the commission of genocide.”

She said, “these findings remain fully valid and continue to serve as a cornerstone of the Commission’s ongoing efforts to ensure accountability.”

Pillay, who is a former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said, “Israeli officials have demonstrated a clear and concise intent to establish permanent military control over Gaza and to change its demographic composition.”

She expressed deep concern that “changes already made to land and borders have not been meaningfully reversed, despite the recent ceasefire, and statements by Israeli officials make it clear that objections of ethnic cleansing and the establishment of settlement in the Gaza Strip remain firmly in place.”

Sidoti for his part said, “the criminal activities of both the Palestinian militant leadership and the Israeli political and military leadership must end, and they will only end when those who are responsible for the crimes are held to account.”

He said, “one of the failures of the 20-point proposal is that there is no provision for accountability. There can be no peace in Israel and Palestine without accountability. There can be no justice in Israel and Palestine without accountability.”

Sidoti said, “the hostages have been released – apart from 12 bodies that are still being sought; the Palestinian prisoners and detainees have been released; but humanitarian and aid has not been resumed at the levels of were agreed and there is not a complete ceasefire taking place.”

The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory was established by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate alleged violations of international law and human rights abuses in the region.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gblHJ2mOWQE

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Hybrid press briefing by Mariana Katzarova, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation, following the presentation of her report to the General Assembly’s Third Committee.

"Russia is now run through a state-sponsored system of fear and punishment where dissent is erased and civic space is dismantled,” said Mariana Katzarova, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation, briefing correspondents following the presentation of her report to the General Assembly’s Third Committee.

Special Rapporteurs and other human rights experts appointed under the special procedures mandate of the Human Rights Council are not UN staff and are independent of any government or organization. They receive no salary for their work.

Katzarova outlined what she described as an expanding network of repression targeting journalists, activists, and ordinary citizens in Russia. She said that “the most fashionable tool, if you wish, for repression, has become the abuse of the national security legislation,” citing charges such as treason, espionage, confidential cooperation with a foreign organization or foreign state, and broad applications of counter-terrorism and extremism laws.

According to the Special Rapporteur, these measures are designed to create a chilling effect. “People from different professions, different walks of life, just simply for posting or reposting messages on social media against the war have been penalized,” she said. “At first with administrative offenses, then with criminal offenses, imprisoned for their opposition against the war. And this works as a preventive mechanism for other people really to be afraid to show their true sentiments.”

Katzarova also drew attention to the plight of Ukrainian civilians held in Russian detention, saying, “Thousands of Ukrainian civilian detainees, we don’t know the exact count, because the Russian authorities are not revealing it, are lavishing in Russian detention, virtually disappeared.” Many of those known to be held, she added, remain without access to families or the outside world. She also raised concern over the treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war. “POWs are not recognized in the Russian Federation as prisoners of war, because Russian authorities do not recognize this as a war, but just as a special military operation. Therefore, the POWs do not enjoy the protections of the Geneva Conventions.”

The Rapporteur noted that “Russia is the third in the world biggest jailer of journalists,” adding that “29 probably 28 because one actually was released recently,” referring to Vladislav Yasipenko, a journalist from Crimea who “spent four years in Russian detention being tortured to secure confession.”

Katzarova said punitive psychiatric treatment reminiscent of Soviet-era practices had returned “as a tool against antiwar voices.” She said her team documented 51 cases of activists subjected to forced psychiatric measures since 2022, including journalist Maria Ponomarenko, who “was ordered to undergo compulsory psychiatric treatment for maintaining her antiwar stance in prison.” The journalist subsequently tried to commit suicide three times in one week, according to Katzarova.

She emphasized that “counter terrorism and extremism laws are really used to punish speech, not danger.” She said the repression now extended to the digital sphere. “Coupled with, of course, the absolute crackdown of Russian authorities – this is now intensifying – is freedom of the internet. So, for example, there is now a new law on extremism for searching extremist materials on the internet.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cv5EHg2paSo

Source: United Nations (video statements)

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

Highlights:
Secretary-General/Cameroon
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Sudan/Humanitarian
Hurricane Melissa
Central African Republic
Afghanistan
Nationally Determined Contributions Synthesis Report
Women Peacekeepers
Peace Circle
Democratic Republic of the Congo

HURRICANE MELISSA
Thanks to the pre-positioning of relief supplies ahead of the hurricane season, the World Food Programme (WFP) is coordinating a sea-lift operation from Barbados carrying supplies from WFP, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). An airlift of some 2,000 relief kits is also planned for deployment once airports reopen and the weather conditions permit flights.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) noted that a joint warehouse established earlier this year in Barbados by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency and the WFP, with support from the European Union and Canada, is already proving to be instrumental in this unfolding disaster.

Additional relief stocks are available at the UN Humanitarian Depot in Panama from UN agencies, NGOs and international cooperation partners.

In Cuba, where the hurricane is expected to make landfall overnight in the eastern part of the island, preparations and prepositioning of supplies and assets are still underway, and authorities plan to evacuate about half a million people to safer ground. OCHA also said that two staff members have arrived in Cuba today to support UN agencies that are already there. and national authorities ahead of the impact.

And in Haiti, authorities have placed the departments of South and Grand’Anse on red alert, while other areas remain on orange alert.

More than 3,600 people are sheltering in emergency sites in the Grand Sud département, with IOM supporting sheltering of 3,000 people preventively and the setting up of 100 shelters.

Our humanitarian colleagues are coordinating with Haitian authorities, UN agencies and humanitarian partners to support preparedness and early action. WFP has pre-positioned more than 800 metric tons of food to assist 86,000 people in Haiti for two weeks. UNICEF has pre-positioned water, sanitation and hygiene kits for about 14,500 people and nutritional supplies for more than 4,000 children. For its part, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has stocked reproductive health kits for 5,000 people and dignity kits for 4,000 people, while the Pan American Health Organization provided medical kits for about 11,000 people.

SUDAN/HUMANITARIAN
In answer to questions about the number of civilians killed in El Fasher, the Spokesperson said the UN Human Rights Office said that they have documented some 1,850 civilian deaths in North Darfur, of these, an estimated 1,350 were in El Fasher.

This is considered, however, an under-representation of the real number of conflict-related deaths in El Fasher, and North Darfur, given the challenges related to telecommunications and just access issues on the ground.

Although access to El Fasher remains blocked and humanitarian capacity continues to shrink as needs soar, we and our humanitarian partners remain committed to scaling up the much-needed support across Darfur and reestablishing a presence on the ground and soon as it is practicable.

Many civilians flee toward Tawila seeking relative safety or whatever humanitarian assistance they may receive. Humanitarian workers continue to operate under extraordinary danger to assist them. In Tawila, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and its partners report that families, and especially children, are arriving malnourished, they are arriving sick and they are arriving traumatized after a dangerous journey to safety. UNHCR is providing essential assistance and vital services to displaced families, and that includes shelter.

In a statement issued today, the UN and its humanitarian partners urged the international community for urgent action to protect civilians and for humanitarian workers in Sudan, and to guarantee safe passage and humanitarian access to people trapped in El Fasher as well as scaling up funding to support humanitarian operations in El Fasher and elsewhere in Sudan.

Fighting has also intensified in North Kordofan State. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), nearly 2,500 people fled Bara town over the weekend, and up to 1,000 others were newly displaced from Zuraiba village yesterday due to heightened insecurity.

The UN stresses once again that civilians must be protected wherever they are, whether they decide to seek safety or whether they have to stay.

Full highlights:
https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2025-10-28

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA_9KaK6DWI

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Following reports of intensified fighting in El-Fasher, in the Darfur region of Sudan, the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in the country, Denise Brown, today (27 Oct) called on the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militias “to allow safe passage” for civilians to leave the city.

Brown reported that yesterday, “a few hundred people arrived in trucks just outside of Tawilah” and noted that “civilians escaping, fleeing El-Fasher are often held for ransom along the road, part of the road being controlled by militia.”
She stressed that “there are civilians in El-Fasher. It is a fact,” and said, “these individuals are increased risk of being injured or killed.
Brown said, “the RSF needs to demonstrate respect for international humanitarian law and let those people leave. Alternatively, they need to let us in, and we have asked for that multiple times,” and noted that “more than 120 aid workers” have been killed since the war began in April 2023.
She said, “the blockade of humanitarian assistance and food aid in particular is tantamount to using starvation as a weapon of war,” and “people are getting on a very dangerous road because we have not been given guarantees of safe passage.”
Brown said, “it’s the people of the Sudan who are suffering the consequences of this war. Those consequences are widespread. They’re affecting not only individuals, but families and communities. And a peaceful solution needs to be found,” adding that a humanitarian response alone “is not a solution to the war.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUZe1vBPqk0

Source: United Nations (video statements)

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

Highlights:

-Sudan

-Secretary-General/Malaysia

-Thailand/Cambodia

-Vietnam

-Yemen

-Occupied Palestinian Territory

-UNIFIL

-Lebanon/Israel

-Ukraine

-Hurricane Melissa

-UN Women

-Exhibition

-International Day

-Briefings Tomorrow

———————————

SUDAN

During his press conference in Malaysia, the Secretary-General responded to a question about reports indicating that the Rapid Support Forces had captured the Sudanese army headquarters in the city. Mr. Guterres said this marked a terrible escalation in the conflict. He stressed that it is high time for the international community to speak clearly to all countries interfering in the war and providing weapons to the warring parties, urging them to stop. The Secretary-General noted that the problem is not only the fighting between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, but also the growing external interference that undermines prospects for a ceasefire and a political solution. Amid these developments, the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate.

According to the International Organization for Migration, more than 26,000 people fled El Fasher between yesterday and today towards the localities of Melit and Tawila, where OCHA teams are on the ground monitoring the situation and coordinating the response to the needs of the impacted population. We underscore that people seeking to leave the area must be able to do so safely, voluntarily and with dignity.

Fighting has also intensified in North Kordofan State, where reports indicate that several civilians were killed and infrastructure looted over the weekend. We once again call on all parties to immediately halt hostilities, uphold international humanitarian law, and ensure the unhindered delivery of life-saving assistance to people in dire need across Sudan.

SECRETARY-GENERAL/MALAYSIA

The Secretary-General has just wrapped up his program in Malaysia, where he took part in the ASEAN-UN summit. In his remarks at the summit, he condemned once again the bloodshed in Myanmar and urged all parties to halt the fighting, protect civilians, allow unimpeded humanitarian access, and engage in an inclusive political process. The release of those arbitrarily detained, including democratically elected leaders, is essential, he added.
The Secretary-General told ASEAN leaders that under current conditions, any elections in Myanmar risk further exclusion and instability.

Earlier in the day, the Secretary-General held a press conference, in which he reiterated his call for an immediate end to the violence in Myanmar and for a credible path back to civilian rule.

Turning to climate, the Secretary-General said the stakes are perilously high for Southeast Asia, where climbing temperatures, rising seas and worsening storms threaten lives, livelihoods and entire communities and countries. Next week, when leaders gather in Brazil for COP30, they must agree on a credible plan to close the gap to 1.5 degrees and mobilize $1.3 trillion annually in climate finance by 2035 for developing countries, he said.

Also today, Mr. Guterres delivered remarks at an event to mark the UN’s 80th anniversary, organized by the Malaysian authorities. All of those remarks were shared with you. And Mr. Guterres will be back in New York tomorrow.

THAILAND/CAMBODIA

In a statement issued yesterday, the Secretary-General welcomed the Joint Declaration between Cambodia and Thailand as a means to consolidate the July ceasefire.

The Secretary-General expressed his appreciation for the important role played by Malaysia, as Chair of ASEAN, and the United States in facilitating this Declaration. We are committed to supporting all efforts aimed at promoting peace, stability, and development in the region.

VIETNAM

On Saturday, in Hanoi, Vietnam, the Secretary-General took part in the high-level event marking the opening for signature of the UN Convention against Cybercrime.

In his remarks, the Secretary-General said this new convention is a powerful, legally binding instrument to strengthen our collective defences against cybercrime. He added that it is also a promise that fundamental human rights such as privacy, dignity, and safety must be protected both offline and online.

Over the weekend, the convention gathered 72 signatories. According to our colleagues in the Treaty section, that number is one of the most significant for a multilateral treaty deposited with the Secretary-General in the last 10 years. And as the Secretary-General said during his joint press conference with the Prime Minister of Vietnam (Pham Minh Chinh) on Saturday, now, we must turn signatures into action.

Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2025-10-27

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLcmfObI2CY

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Press Conference by Professor Attiya Waris, UN Independent Expert on Foreign Debt and Human Rights, following the presentation of her report to the General Assembly’s Third Committee.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0kxg0_7Esk

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Press conference by Tlaleng Mofokeng, UN Special Rapporteur, on the right to mental health.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELrrVuEjq2w

Source: United Nations (video statements)

"The privilege to sit at this table carries a duty — above all — to honour the faith" of those people who, for the last eight decades, have placed their trust in the United Nations to save them from the scourge of war, said UN Secretary-General António Guterres, addressing the Security Council.

Marking the 80th anniversary of the United Nations Charter entering into force, the Security Council held an open debate titled “The United Nations Organization: Looking into the Future”, reflecting on the body’s legacy and the urgent need for reform amid deep global divisions.

Calling the Security Council “a vital necessity, and a powerful force for good,” Guterres warned that its “legitimacy is fragile.” He said too often members act outside the Charter’s principles, stressing that “when one nation flouts the rules, others think they have licence to do the same. And history tells us, with brutal clarity, where that road leads.”

Guterres urged Council members to remember the spirit of the Organization’s founders: “The United Nations emblem does not bear the laurel wreath of a victor, but the olive crown of a peacemaker. To the privileged few who sit at this table, I urge you — be worthy of that crown.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mo1WLPNNRas

Source: United Nations (video statements)

The Heroes of Tomorrow: UN SDG Action Awards, a signature programme of the UN SDG Action Campaign, will unveil the winners of the 2025 edition, selected from over 5,500 applications across 190 countries and territories, honouring extraordinary individuals and initiatives advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through creativity, resilience, and collective action.

The Ceremony will feature the presence of Emma Theofelus, Minister of ICT of the Republic of Namibia; Manuela Kasper-Claridge, Editor-in-Chief of Deutsche Welle; Nomzamo Mbatha, South African actress and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador; and Andrea Macrì, four-time Paralympian, alongside artistic performances by Italian singer-songwriter Diodato and Nigerian singer and artivist Cill, among many others.

The Heroes of Tomorrow: UN SDG Action Awards programme is made possible thanks to the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

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

Source: United Nations (video statements)

UN Special Representative for Haiti said, “We need to avoid, at all costs, that the situation worsens” in the country.

Addressing the press Carlos Ruiz Massieu said, “We reported in our latest report that the situation in Port au Prince has been maintained, has not improved, but is not worsening. But we also reported there’re more activities in advance of the gangs in other departments.”

He stressed, “It’s important to maintain, hopefully, to improve the situation while the GSF is fully deployed, and whoever really can provide additional support to the GSF and to Haiti general, I think is very much welcome because of the dire situation that they are facing.”

Answering a question on security operations, he said, “We have offered already to monitor constantly activities of whatever measures they implement in order to make them aware first, if there is a highest risk of hitting population at large, let alone children.”

He added, “Also, as we do with the Haitian National Police, more institutionally, as we do with, obviously, the MSS as part of the endeavor in the past, and we’ll do with the GSF in terms of providing all the training needed so they abide by the principles of human rights, in terms of proportionality, in terms of accountability, but also the training they need in general.”

He continued, “And with the government, what we will try to do is to offer to the government all additional capacity that they may need to implement this or to make sure that when they conduct security operations of whatever nature they decide to conduct, they have – the government – all the information needed in order to abide by these principles and to avoid the situations that we have faced in the past. “

He highlighted, “At the end of the day, the government can implement whatever security measures they believe they need to implement in order to reduce gang violence, in order to increase security, but in whatever decision they take and to utilize whatever measures they take is obviously the Haitian government, Haitian authorities have the obligation to abide by the human rights standards, and we will be working with them on that.”

He reported, “Already by first week of November the Mission will be back around 75 percent of its international capacity, 84 percent of the overall capacity of the mission, and by the end of the year, or before, we will have 100 percent capacity of the mission. And that will allow us, then really to deliver fully our mandate.”

He also said, “According to the resolution, the Office from the UN should be there by 31st March in country, the UNSOH, our enabler presence, I would say. And the GSF should be probably in full deployment – that doesn’t mean they will have all deployment after that – but in full deployment a couple of months later.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlXO-jhw6J8