Dear members of the media,

It is a pleasure to be back in Nairobi.

Kenya is a critical partner of the United Nations, a powerful force on the global stage, and a pioneer of peace regionally and internationally.

I am particularly grateful to Kenya for agreeing to lead international efforts to quell the violence in Haiti.

But this visit comes at a very difficult time for the country.

I extend my deepest condolences to all those affected by the devastating floods that have swept through Kenya and neighbouring countries.  

The United Nations stands in solidarity with the Kenyan people. 

And we will continue working hand-in-hand to support government relief efforts in any way that we can. 

Dear members of the media,

I am here for the United Nations’ Civil Society Conference, focussed on September’s Summit of the Future in New York. 

Civil society is central to the Summit’s aims: advancing sustainable development; unlocking finance; and reshaping multilateralism for the 21st century.

I am delighted by the diverse participation at this conference, including many young people and representatives from African countries.   

Their contribution is vital.

Because our world is facing multiple crises.

And Africa is suffering – disproportionately. 

This continent is being blasted by extreme weather, turbocharged by a climate crisis it has done next to nothing to create: From lethal floods in the East, to deadly droughts in the South.

Africa could be a renewables giant.  

It is home to thirty percent of the minerals critical to renewables, and sixty percent of the world’s best solar resources.   

Yet, in this unfair world, in recent decades, it received just two percent of the investments in  renewables. 

And too often, countries and communities with critical energy transition minerals are exploited, and relegated to the bottom of the value chain. Others take the profits somewhere else. 

The United Nations is fighting for climate justice:

Our new Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals – co-chaired by Ambassador Nozipho Joyce Mxakato-Diseko of South Africa – will develop voluntary principles to ensure developing countries receive maximum benefit.

We are calling for developed countries to honour their promises on climate finance – including funding to help countries prepare for the worst of climate chaos;

For significant contributions to the new Loss and Damage Fund;

For action to reform the multilateral development banks so that finance flows to climate action;

And for the G20 to lead efforts to slash emissions and accelerate a just global phase-out of fossil fuels.

I ask African leaders to support these efforts.

And I urge all governments to create ambitious new national climate plans by next year.

Plans that drive sustainable development, attract investment, and align with limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius to avoid the worst of climate chaos.  

Africa’s fate rests on meeting that limit.

Dear members of the media,

Conflicts are raging around the world, causing enormous pain and suffering.

The fate of Palestinians, Israelis and the entire region hangs in the balance. 

I reiterate my appeal for the Government of Israel and the leadership of Hamas to demonstrate political courage and spare no effort to reach agreement to stop the bloodshed – and to free the hostages.

The situation in Rafah is on a knife’s edge, as airstrikes continue throughout southern Gaza. Over one million Palestinians, half of whom are children, have crowded in the Rafah Governate for shelter. 

We are actively engaging with all involved for the resumption of the entry of life-saving supplies – including desperately needed fuel – through the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings.

Meanwhile, our health partners tell us that all the key medical facilities in Rafah could soon become inaccessible or inoperable – including the only dialysis department still operating in Gaza.

Around 100,000 Palestinians are moving north from Rafah, yet humanitarian partners have no tents or food stores left in south Gaza.

A massive ground attack in Rafah would lead to an epic humanitarian disaster and pull the plug on our efforts to support people as famine looms.

International humanitarian law is unequivocal:  civilians must be protected.

In particular, vulnerable people unable to relocate from active fighting must be protected wherever they seek shelter – pregnant women, children, the injured, the sick, and older people, and people with disabilities.

International humanitarian law is a must. It must be respected by all parties. 

And, of course, what happens in Gaza has profound repercussions in the occupied West Bank, where we see a deeply disturbing spike in settler violence, excessive use of force by the Israeli Defense Force, demolitions and evictions. 

All of this speaks to the need for the international community to speak with one voice for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, and a massive surge in life-saving aid.

Dear members of the media,

The conflicts raging on African continent are tearing lives and communities apart.

The United Nations fully supports the African Union’s work to silence the guns.

We are ready to cooperate and mobilise the international community to support peace from the Sahel, to the Horn of Africa, the Great Lakes and beyond.

I am particularly concerned about the ongoing war in Sudan where we are witnessing indiscriminate attacks against civilians, grotesque sexual violence against women and girls, and humanitarians blocked, attacked, and killed.

Close to nine million people have fled their homes.

And the World Food Programme warns that the window of time to prevent starvation in Darfur is closing rapidly.

Violent clashes in El Fasher are preventing aid getting through.
 
An attack on the city would have devastating consequences for civilians. And would likely see the conflict tear across Darfur.   
 
I am also very concerned by reports of escalating violence in North and South Kordofan and Al Jazirah States.
 
I call on all parties to abide by international humanitarian law, protect civilians, and facilitate full and unrestricted humanitarian access.

Ultimately, we know that there is no military solution to this conflict.

We need an urgent, coordinated international effort to deliver a political process that can get Sudan back on track. 

I welcome the steps taken to end the conflict in including efforts by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development -IGAD-, the African Union, the League of Arab States, and through the Jeddah process.  

The United Nations – particularly my Personal Envoy, Ramtane Lamamra – will continue working closely with all parties to advance coordinated efforts towards an inclusive and lasting peace:

A peace spearheaded by the region, and owned by the Sudanese people.

And I call on all countries to use their influence to get the warring parties to the negotiating table.

Members of the media,

The crises we face demand international solutions.

The United Nations will never stop fighting to deliver – for Africa and for all humanity.

And I thank you.