HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
WEDNESDAY, 25 JUNE 2025
SECRETARY-GENERAL/RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT
This morning, the Secretary-General was at the General Assembly, where he delivered remarks on the Responsibility to Protect.
Mr. Guterres warned that we are witnessing the highest number of armed conflicts since the end of the Second World War. These are marked by rising identity-based violence, widespread violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law, as well as deepening impunity.
Mr. Guterres said that we must recognize that the Responsibility to Protect is more than just a principle. It is a moral imperative, rooted in our shared humanity and the UN Charter.
He added that credibility as the guardian of peace and security, development, and human rights requires consistency with the [UN] Charter.
And tomorrow, at 10 a.m., in the General Assembly, the Secretary-General will deliver remarks to commemorate the Eightieth Anniversary of the Signing of the Charter of the United Nations.
SECURITY COUNCIL
This morning, the Security Council heard a briefing from Virginia Gamba, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for children and armed conflict, who was presenting the Secretary-General’s report. She said, and as you have seen in the report, that 2024 marked a devastating new record: the United Nations verified 41,370 grave violations against children—a staggering 25 per cent increase compared to 2023. She added that the report she is presenting also includes the highest number of children killed or maimed since the mandate was established by the Security Council. Cases of sexual violence, she added, also rose by 35 per cent with 1,982 verified cases.
The way forward is clear, she said, we must call on all parties to conflict, particularly the armed forces and groups listed in the annexes to the report, to engage with the United Nations to develop, to sign, and to fully implement action plans that end and prevent grave violations against children.
Also briefing from the UN side was Sheema Sen Gupta, UNICEF’s Director of Child Protection. She said that we cannot allow these grave violations against children to continue unchecked, and she called on council members to act with urgency, with courage and with the conviction that every child, no matter where they are, deserves to live in peace.
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
Turning to the continuing bleak situation in the Gaza Strip, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warns that Israeli operations – including shelling and bombing across the Strip – continue to have a devastating impact on civilians, reportedly killing and injuring scores of people, many of whom were just seeking aid.
Meanwhile, the rapid depletion of remaining fuel stocks is jeopardizing efforts to keep Gaza’s lifelines up and running. The UN Population Fund said that 80 per cent of critical care units, including those used for childbirth, risk shutting down – at a time when 130 women are giving birth every day in Gaza. As UNFPA stressed, fuel for Gaza is a matter of life and death.
Israeli authorities continue to restrict the delivery of fuel into and throughout the Gaza Strip, effectively choking off life-saving services for deprived and starving people.
This week, community kitchens were able to prepare more than 200,000 meals every day; however, this represents an 80 percent reduction compared with the more than one million meals distributed daily at the end of April, so it’s basically a trickle offered to people on the brink of famine.
Meanwhile, our partners tell us that in the absence of fuel, cooking gas and electricity, people are burning plastic waste. When they do so in makeshift tents, you can imagine what happens with the poor ventilation and the tremendous risks that that poses.
OCHA also reminds us that to meaningfully address the massive deprivation in Gaza, the Israeli authorities must allow higher volumes of supplies and more varied types of food, as well as cooking gas, fuel and shelter items to come into Gaza.
To facilitate the orderly distribution of aid, supplies must be channelled daily through multiple crossings and land routes simultaneously, ensuring people that the flow of essential support is steady, it is sufficient and it is reliable.
Yesterday, we and our partners attempted to coordinate 15 humanitarian movements inside Gaza. Only four were fully facilitated by the Israeli authorities. Seven other attempts were denied outright, preventing our teams from trucking water, retrieving broken trucks or repairing roads. Another [three] missions were initially approved but then impeded on the ground – although one was ultimately accomplished today. Another mission had to be cancelled by the organizers.
OCHA also tells us that this week that tens of thousands of students were unable to sit for this year’s general secondary examination due to insecurity, displacement orders and Internet connectivity challenges that exist in Gaza. Last year, about 39,000 high-school students in Gaza were reportedly unable to sit for these exams.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
Tom Fletcher, the Emergency Relief Coordinator and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, is continuing his visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. After meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, and officials in Kinshasa, on Monday, Mr. Fletcher is now in the country’s east, where more than 20 million people need humanitarian assistance and we have been telling you about that situation almost on a daily basis.
Mr. Fletcher today was in Minova, in South Kivu province, where he visited a water supply and waste management project helping displaced and local residents. He also visited a mobile clinic providing healthcare to people impacted by conflict. Health remains a critical concern in that part of the DRC, but it has been impacted not only by the fighting, but also by funding shortages.
Years of violence, displacement and lack of access to clean water or sanitation have created conditions for outbreaks of diseases, like cholera, which are preventable and treatable so long as they are sufficiently funded.
Mr. Fletcher also today visited the city of Sasha, where he spoke with women in a center for returnees who shared stories about the violence they faced, including sexual violence.
He then traveled on to Goma, where he met with communities and humanitarian partners on the latest needs facing the country.
Mr. Fletcher will continue his visit to Goma tomorrow.
SALIENT 2.0
The Office for Disarmament Affairs and the UN Development Programme today launched SALIENT 2.0, which is the second phase of the Saving-Lives Entity trust fund – known by its acronym SALIENT.
Established in 2020, the trust fund integrates small arms control and armed violence reduction into national development strategies as part of wider efforts for conflict prevention.
Building on the success of its pilot and the first phases in countries such as Cameroon, Ghana, Honduras, Jamaica, the Kyrgyz Republic, Panama, Papua New Guinea, and South Sudan, SALIENT 2.0 aims to deepen and broaden its impact.
Activities under the project are fully aligned with the Pact for the Future and the New Agenda for Peace. We call on Member States to invest in SALIENT to save lives and achieve development.
DAY OF THE SEAFARER
Today is the international Day of the Seafarer.
In his message, the Secretary-General says that seafarers keep global trade flowing, delivering vital goods around the world. Their work is essential to our lives and to our economies.
**Guests
The Deputy Secretary-General, Amina J. Mohammed, accompanied by Ambassador Héctor Gómez Hernández, the Permanent Representative of Spain to the United Nations, and Ambassador Chola Milambo, the Permanent Representative of Zambia to the United Nations, briefed reporters today to preview the upcoming Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, which will be taking place in Sevilla, Spain.
