Spain, Yemen, Palestine & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (4 November 2026) | United Nations

Noon Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General. Highlights: Briefings Secretary-General/Spain Dag Hammarskjöld Yemen Occupied Palestinian Territory Sudan South Sudan Democratic Republic of the Congo Somalia Mozambique Adaptation Gap Report 2026 Afghanistan Financial Contribution --------------------------------------- SECRETARY-GENERAL/SPAIN This morning, the Secretary-General arrived in Madrid, Spain, to attend the 30th Ibero-American Summit. Earlier today, he met with António Costa, the President of the European Council. They discussed the cooperation between the United Nations and the European Union, as well as the situations in the Middle East and Ukraine. While in Madrid, the Secretary-General also visited the new headquarters of UN Tourism, where he was welcomed by its Secretary-General, Shaikha Al Nuwais. Following their meeting, the Secretary-General met with the staff from UN Tourism, as well as colleagues from other UN agencies based in Spain. In his address to the staff, the Secretary-General highlighted the essential role of tourism as an instrument for peace and the implementation of the values of the UN Charter around the world. Tourism is not only an industry, he said, but a powerful way to connect people. This afternoon, he will attend the official opening of the Ibero-American Summit and tomorrow morning, he will deliver remarks at the plenary session of the Summit. DAG HAMMARSKJÖLD The Secretary-General has transmitted to the President of the General Assembly the latest report by the former Chief Justice of Tanzania, Mohamed Chande Othman, who as you know, is the Eminent Person. The letter concerns the investigation into the conditions and circumstances resulting in the tragic death of the former Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld, as well as the members of the party accompanying him on that flight. The Secretary-General’s letter to the President of the General Assembly is accompanied by the Eminent Person’s report and is publicly available as General Assembly document (A/80/ 815). The Secretary-General expresses his renewed gratitude to Mohamed Chande Othman for his excellent work as the Eminent Person, as well as for his perseverance in the pursuit of the full truth in the wake of the tragic event.   The Secretary-General is encouraged that, in the years following the reopening of the investigation by the General Assembly back in 2014, significant advancements in the body of knowledge have been made. The Secretary-General is also encouraged by the assessment of the Eminent Person that significant advancements continue to have been made under his recent mandate, including in relation to the possible involvement of mercenary pilots or other agents in a deliberate act against the flight carrying Dag Hammarskjöld, and also the possible type of aircraft used in any such act, the presence and role of foreign actors, information relating to search and rescue and expert aviation analysis.  The Secretary-General notes that the Eminent Person's assessment remains plausible that an external attack or threat was a cause of the crash. The alternative feasible hypotheses are sabotage or unintentional human error. The Secretary-General notes the Eminent Person’s assessment that it is almost certain that material information exists that has not been disclosed by Member States, and the Secretary-General calls on Member States to provide relevant information and to ensure comprehensive access to their archives, 65 years after the crash that killed our Secretary-General and the members of his party accompanying him. The Secretary-General supports the Eminent Person’s recommendation that the United Nations appoint an independent person to continue the work undertaken pursuant to the most recent mandate of the Eminent Person, which concluded at the end of the eightieth session of the General Assembly back in September. YEMEN The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today said that almost 310,000 people have been forced to leave their homes since the beginning of August in Yemen. Ta’iz city is running out of basic goods. Cargo transporters carrying flour and other staple foods on which Ta’iz markets depend have pulled their trucks back to the Al-Farsha area, where the trucks sit stranded. Prices of essential items in Ta’iz city, we were told, have risen by as much as fivefold. The collection of waste has also ground to a halt, with trucks prevented from reaching dumping sites. With piles of rubbish piling up across the city, it dramatically increases the potential of diseases. Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon...