Description
Noon Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Highlights:
- Secretary-General Travel
- Ukraine/Russian Federation
- Yemen
- Occupied Palestinian Territory
- Ethiopia
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Burundi
SECRETARY-GENERAL TRAVEL
This afternoon, the Secretary-General will depart for Spain and is expected to arrive in Madrid tomorrow morning.
In Madrid, the Secretary-General will participate in the 30th Ibero-American Summit. He will deliver remarks during the plenary session, underscoring the power of culture to strengthen a sense of belonging and shared humanity, and to foster dignity, reconciliation, and peace.
The Secretary-General is also scheduled to meet with His Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain and António Costa, President of the European Council. He will also visit the new headquarters of the United Nations Tourism Organization in Madrid, where he will meet the Secretary-General of the United Nations Tourism Organization, Ms. Shaikha Al-Nuwais.
On Friday, the Secretary-General will travel to Salamanca, where he will be awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Salamanca. In his remarks, he is expected to reiterate the importance of international law, cooperation, and solidarity in overcoming today's collective challenges.
On Monday, the Secretary-General will arrive in Antalya, Türkiye, to attend the thirty-first session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP31).
The conference will take place from 9 to 20 November. The Secretary-General will attend the opening segment and deliver remarks during the opening ceremony of the Leaders' Segment on Wednesday next week.
In his remarks, the Secretary-General is expected to warn that the climate crisis is accelerating, while emissions and temperatures remain at record highs. He is also expected to highlight lessons from the past decade that can help guide action in the decade ahead.
Among those lessons are that exponential change is possible and that the case for fossil fuels is weakening, a point the Secretary-General has repeatedly emphasized.
Further details on the Secretary-General's programme at the thirty-first session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change will be announced at a later date. A background briefing on his remarks is expected to take place on 9 November.
UKRAINE/RUSSIAN FEDERATION
The Secretary-General condemns the continuing attacks by the Russian Armed Forces on Ukrainian population centres. These attacks have resulted in a record number of civilian casualties, including children.
The latest attacks include today's strikes on a medical facility and a hospice in Kharkiv and Dnipro, as well as yesterday's deadly strike on a school being used as a shelter and a humanitarian aid distribution centre in the Zaporizhzhia region. Dozens of people were killed and dozens more injured, while many remain missing beneath the rubble.
Attacks by the Russian Armed Forces also continue to target Ukraine's energy and heating infrastructure, resulting in prolonged interruptions to essential services, including electricity and water.
The Secretary-General is also concerned by continuing reports of attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on energy facilities in the Russian Federation, including in the Moscow region.
The Secretary-General underlines that attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, wherever they occur, constitute violations of international humanitarian law and must cease immediately. The escalating violence underscores the urgent need to intensify diplomatic efforts.
He reiterates his call for an urgent de-escalation and an immediate, full and unconditional ceasefire as an important step towards a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in Ukraine, in line with international law, including the Charter of the United Nations and relevant United Nations resolutions.
In Ukraine, the Humanitarian Coordinator, Matthias Schmale, also condemned yesterday's deadly strikes and stressed that civilians seeking assistance and first responders must never be targeted.
Humanitarian partners report that attacks on two medical facilities in Kharkiv early this morning injured several people and damaged energy infrastructure across 10 regions.
Emergency outages continue, while damage to infrastructure has indefinitely delayed the restoration of central heating in the city of Kramatorsk, in the Donetsk region, according to local authorities.
Humanitarian organizations, including with the support of United Nations agencies in Ukraine, are providing emergency repair materials, essential supplies and psychosocial assistance.
Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-11-03