Secretary-General's Press Conference at the United Nations Office in Nairobi

Ladies and gentlemen of the media,

It is a great pleasure to be back in Nairobi.

I thank President Ruto and the people of Kenya for their warm hospitality.

Earlier today, we marked two milestones on this campus: the inauguration of the new office blocks and the groundbreaking of a new conference facility.

These projects affirm Africa’s place at the heart of the UN and at the heart of international cooperation.

Nairobi is one of the United Nations’ green centres of gravity – the only UN headquarters in Africa.

Kenya is a generous host and a strategic partner – in diplomacy, development, humanitarian action, environmental leadership, and peace.

The United Nations must be closer to the people it serves – connected to their realities, equipped to support the solutions that they are building.

That is also why I am here.

To reaffirm a simple truth: Africa must have the voice, representation and resources its people deserve.

The continent has enormous potential – but that potential is being constrained by an unfair international system.

Too many African countries face egregious borrowing costs.

Too many climate-vulnerable countries are still waiting for the support they were promised.

And too often, African countries are expected to live with decisions made in institutions in which they have no equal voice.

That must change.

We need deeper reforms of the international financial architecture.

Greater investment on terms that allow countries to build, grow and transform.

And global institutions that reflect the world as it is today – not as it was eighty years ago.

This includes the Security Council – where an historic injustice persists in denying Africa permanent seats.

We must correct this injustice.

And it includes the international financial institutions – where Africa is clearly under-represented.

Let’s tell it like it is: reform cannot wait.

This will be my message tomorrow for the Africa Forward Summit.

And it is the message I will carry to Addis Ababa, at the annual conference between the African Union and the United Nations.

The partnership between our two organizations is central to the future of multilateralism.

Nowhere is that partnership more urgent than in the pursuit of peace.

No discussion of Africa’s future can ignore the conflicts causing so much suffering across the continent.

In Sudan, the war is tearing apart one of Africa’s largest countries, especially now that drones have been introduced by both sides and attacking civilian targets.

Civilians are paying an unconscionable price, as they continue to be targeted, intentionally starved, and forcibly displaced.  

It is high time for an immediate cessation of hostilities, a sustainable ceasefire, and a Sudanese-led, civilian, democratic transition.

In South Sudan, the priority must be to restore trust, resume dialogue, and implement the Revitalized Peace Agreement in full.

In the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, agreements reached at the negotiating table must become facts on the ground:

An immediate and permanent ceasefire, respect for territorial integrity of the DRC, and real progress through inclusive dialogue.

And in the Sahel, terrorism, insecurity, climate pressures and poverty are feeding a grave downward spiral.
Communities are being squeezed from every side – by violence, hunger, displacement and weakening public authority.

There are no military solutions to these conflicts.

Lasting peace requires courage.

It requires dialogue, institutions people can trust, and regional and international cooperation with African leadership and UN support.

It requires that those many times from the outside of Africa stop being the spoilers of these conflicts, providing weapons to the parties to the conflict and making it more difficult to find peaceful solution.

At the same time, Africa is being hit by shocks that began far beyond this continent.

The war involving Iran is not a distant crisis.

Its impacts are being felt across the global economy.

Roughly 13 per cent of Africa’s imports – largely oil and fertilizers – move through the Strait of Hormuz.

And with four in five African countries net oil importers, every disruption hits hard.

Countries already paying too much to borrow are forced to pay even more to import energy or fertilizers, move goods, feed people, and protect the most vulnerable.

Prices for urea, one of the most widely used fertilizers, have risen by more than 35 per cent in a month – at the height of the planting season.

That is why de-escalation is urgent.

Navigational rights and freedoms must be restored.

The Strait of Hormuz must reopen – fully and safely.

All parties must refrain from any action that could widen the conflict.

Diplomacy must be given every chance.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Kenya knows the value of peace, cooperation and international engagement.

Africa knows the cost of injustice – and the power of solidarity.
That is why the United Nations is deepening its roots in Africa.

To stand with the Africans.

To support African leadership.

To help advance peace, development and climate justice.

And to keep pressing for a fairer international system – one that gives Africa the voice, resources and representation it has long been denied.

Thank you.

*************

Question: Eric Randolph from AFP. You spoke often about the need for Security Council reform, again today, particularly African representation. more than anyone knows the difficulty of really putting that into practice. No permanent Security Council member will vote to dilute their own power, let alone all five. Is there a risk you're even complicit in prolonging the problem by giving the impression that change is coming when it's not? Do you see a real path? What does that look like to reform and in what timeframe?

Secretary-General:  I see a number of important initiatives that must be recognized. Until now, no permanent member of the Security Council has denied the need to have an African representation with two permanent members of the Security Council. Until now, all have pronounced themselves favourably. On the other hand, I know that the U.K. and France are preparing legislation, I mean for the Security Council, limiting the right of veto in case of genocide or very horrible equivalent situations. So these questions are on the table or will be soon on the table. So we need to have all countries recognizing that the Security Council in which there are three European members, one Asian member, and one North American member, and no Latin America or African members, and just one Asian doesn't correspond at all to the world of today. And this creates a problem of legitimacy. And with legitimacy comes its effectiveness in guaranteeing peace and security in the world. So the reform will be difficult, but there are some steps already in the right direction And I think it's important to say that reform is absolutely necessary, because with the geopolitical divides we are witnessing, to secure peace and security in the present world is becoming extremely, extremely difficult, and we need an effective Security Council.

Question: If you could -- Mr. Secretary-General, my name is . My question is in regard to the infrastructure expansion How are the Kenyans going to tap into the opportunities that will come with the construction of the facilities? And my second question is, this sets the stage of the cohesion of the departments to Nairobi. Perhaps, are you in talks with the Kenyan Government to ensure that there is curving of runaway, for instance, rental prices, things like that, and how this will be benefiting the entire economy?

Secretary-General:  We are in very close contact with the Kenyan Government, and I'm very grateful for the fact that the Kenyan Government is taking very seriously to transform Nairobi into a true international center, to the benefit of the Kenyan people. And indeed, what we are doing here is creating, first of all, we have the groundbreaking ceremony today, a center of conferences, which will be the third UN location where the General Assembly and the Security Council can meet. And it will create numerous opportunities for other kinds of conferences to take place in Nairobi. And today we know how international conferences are an important factor to stimulate tourism and the development of the country. Secondly, we are moving staff into Nairobi and creating in Nairobi conditions to have here a true global center. And this is done in very close cooperation with the Kenyan government. And the truth is that those national Kenyans and internationals that are now coming to work in the UN in Kenya, they will, I'm sure, contribute in a positive way to the Kenyan economy. So I am convinced that to expand this headquarters of the UN is a matter of justice. This is only headquarters in the South. And again, the reason is the same. All this was devised in 1945, and in 1945, Africa was not yet represented, and many other countries of the developing world would not yet exist. And so the centers of the UN were created in the Global North. And now we are correcting this situation. We have less staff in New York, we will have a bit of less staff in Geneva, and we have more staff in Nairobi. And I think this is the right thing to do.

Question: We've already spoken about the big picture, about fuel prices going up, fertilizer prices going up. I just wanted to know from you, from a very small person, how should a tuk-tuk rider? A tuk-tuk rider? A bodaboda rider?  Well, so how should that small person-should that small person be concerned about the increase in fill price? Should a small farmer in the village, with a small garden, be concerned about increasing fertilizer prices?

Secretary-General:  No, we are witnessing high increases in prices because of the Strait of Hormuz being blocked. And that is the reason why we consider that it is absolutely essential, and we have appealed to the two parties to open the Strait of Hormuz completely without restrictions. That is the only way to bring energy prices and fertilizer prices back to the levels that we had before the war, and this is vital for countries like Kenya. Kenya, from the point of view of fertilizers, is better equipped than other countries because most of the planting season had already taken place, but others are now facing the planting season. And without fertilizers, you can imagine that we risk to have a serious food security problem next year. So this is the moment in which the opening of the Strait of Hormuz without restrictions is a must from the point of view of the interests of the international community as a whole. It doesn't make sense. that a conflict between a few countries has an impact that undermines the global economy everywhere in the world.

Question: I wanted to ask you about the recent sanctions against Cuba. Do you think this is the right way to go in the current context? And are you also worried about a similar attack to the one that was saw in Venezuela. Thank you so much.

Secretary-General: Well, in relation to the situation in the Gulf, I think it is absolutely essential to find a diplomatic solution. And my strong appeal is for the negotiations to go on until that diplomatic solution is found, the ceasefire to be maintained, and in between, the Strait of Hormuz to be completely open. I think that is the only way to address the problem. Any restart of the fighting would have terrible consequences.

Secretary-General: Our position in relation to the sanctions in Cuba is very clear. There is a resolution every year of the General Assembly that considered those sanctions to be in violation of international law. And obviously, as we are very worried about the humanitarian situation in Cuba, and we believe that there is no military solution that can be sought for Cuba, that we need to have a meaningful dialogue in order to make sure that the Cuban people do not continue suffering as dramatically as they are.

Question: Are you worried that we might see a similar situation like the one in Venezuela?

Secretary-General: I think it's not possible to have a similar situation, because Venezuela was completely different. In Venezuela, to be honest, we saw a military operation against [Nicolás] Maduro, but I have the idea that there were very large complicities within the Venezuelan political system. So, to compare Venezuela to Cuba, I think, is an unfair comparison.

Question: Thank you so very much, Mr. Secretary General. My name is Rafael, I comment on global trends and global affairs, especially on. And my question is, of course, the expansion of UN offices in Nairobi signals a global shift, and which is really great for Kenya and for Africa. But it comes at a time where there's also financial support to international organizations like the UN is shrinking. How do you ensure that movement of offices here and expansion of Nairobi office remain strong, especially when it comes to resources.

Secretary-General: Well, the biggest advantage of Nairobi is that it is a cheaper location than other UN locations. So, it's one of the ways in which we can reduce our costs is exemplary moving several of our areas from other places to Nairobi. And that is the best guarantee that Nairobi will go on growing, because from the strictly financial point of view, to invest in Nairobi is good business for the UN.

Question: Question on What is the United Nations doing regarding the killing of journalists and secondly has the United Nations acknowledged or recognised the journalists who have died around the world?

Secretary-General: Well, this is a major concern for us. We have been extremely active, namely in relation to advocacy for accountability. I recently made an intervention exactly on this situation, and the question is that not only we have more and more journalists being killed and, of course, others suffering all kinds of harassment, But there is no accountability in relation to perpetrators of these crimes. And so I've been mobilizing the Human Rights High Commissioner in order to take all possible initiatives in order for effective accountability to be established in relation to the crimes committed against journalists.