HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
FRIDAY, 7 MARCH 2025
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY
Today is International Women’s Day. In an event to mark the Day held this morning at the General Assembly Hall, the Secretary-General said that in every corner of the world we are seeing from pushback to rollback - that women’s rights are under attack. Centuries of discrimination, he said, are being worsened by new threats. Instead of mainstreaming equal rights, we are witnessing the mainstreaming of chauvinism and misogyny, adding that we cannot stand by as progress is reversed. We must fight back, and we must never accept a world where women and girls live in fear, where their safety is a privilege rather than a non-negotiable right.
SYRIA
The Secretary-General is concerned about the recent clashes in the coastal areas of Syria, including reports of extrajudicial killings and civilian casualties. He strongly condemns all violence in Syria and calls on the parties to protect civilians and cease hostilities.
The Secretary-General is alarmed by the risk of escalating tensions among communities in Syria at a time when reconciliation and peaceful political transition should be the priority. After fourteen years of conflict, Syrians deserve sustainable peace, prosperity and justice.
The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen, also issued a statement, also issued a statement saying that he is deeply alarmed by reports of intense clashes and killings in Syria, and this morning, Izumi Nakamitsu, the High Representative for Disarmament, briefed the Security Council on the chemical weapons file and Syria.
SYRIA/DISPLACEMENT
A new report issued by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) highlights a notable decline in displacement since mid-December of last year. IOM, however, reveals that one in five of those who remain displaced - primarily in Idlib, Aleppo and Hama - are residing in tents or makeshift shelters under as you can imagine, are very harsh living conditions.
As of January, more than 3.4 million Internally Displaced People were in north-west Syria, including almost 2 million in Idleb and Aleppo.
IOM is looking to help more than 1.1 million people in Syria in the first half of 2025. In January, IOM also issued an appeal for $73.2 million to meet these needs. We hope that the appeal will be heeded, and cash will be coming in.
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warns that the operation by Israeli forces in the West Bank continues to have dire humanitarian consequences. In Tulkarm, the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said that the Israeli authorities have started demolishing more than 16 buildings in Nur Shams refugee camp, after destroying more than two dozen homes in the area over the past week.
Demolitions in the Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams camps are taking place while most of the camps’ residents – tens of thousands of people – are displaced and unable to return to their homes.
Those displaced are staying at public shelters in Jenin and Tulkarm. They lack water, they lack medicine, they lack bedding and sanitation facilities, as well as hygiene and cleaning materials. This is according to a new assessment by OCHA, UNRWA and our partners last week of nearly a dozen public shelters. Less than half of the people our teams interviewed said they could afford food, with many reducing or skipping meals. Children are also unable to attend school.
Since the start of the operation by Israeli forces in January, the UN and its partners have been providing life-saving assistance to affected people. Food parcels and meals are being distributed to families every day. More than 5,000 families have received cash assistance to help meet their basic needs.
Bedding and dignity kits have also been provided. Water storage tanks and mobile latrines have also been delivered to Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas.
Meanwhile, access restrictions continue to hinder the movement of people across the West Bank. OCHA reports that the closure of the Tayaseer checkpoint since February has restricted the movement of more than 60,000 Palestinians between the northern Jordan Valley and the rest of Tubas governorate. Access to markets, workplaces and services has been severely constrained.
Today is the first Friday of Ramadan, as you know, – and access restrictions imposed by Israeli authorities have prevented thousands of Palestinian worshipers from reaching holy sites.
While the Israeli authorities have allowed Palestinians access to East Jerusalem and the H2 area of Hebron, they have imposed restrictions based on age and gender, with the condition that people entering East Jerusalem possess Israeli-issued permits. The authorities have also set up hundreds of metal barriers to tightly control people’s movements.
OCHA has deployed teams to monitor people's movements through the checkpoints to identify potential protection risks and possible measures for Palestinians to cross, with particular attention to the most vulnerable - such as children, pregnant women and older people. Initial information indicates that fewer people crossed and fewer checkpoints opened this year, compared with Fridays last year.
And in Gaza, OCHA notes that it has been almost one week since the crossings were closed, preventing aid from entering with dire consequences for civilians who have endured months of immense suffering. It is critical that humanitarian assistance is allowed to enter Gaza without delay. Under international humanitarian law, Israel, as the occupying power, is required to ensure that people’s essential needs are met, including by facilitating aid into and across all areas of Gaza.
SOUTH SUDAN
Today a UN helicopter came under fire as it was attempting to evacuate South Sudanese military personnel in Nasir, in Upper Nile State. A crew member from the UN helicopter was killed and two others sustained serious injuries.
Several members of the South Sudanese military force, including an injured General, were also killed during the attack. The mission was being carried out upon the request of the signatory parties of the Revitalized Peace Agreement, to evacuate members of the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces, following renewed clashes between the People’s Defence Forces and armed youth in Nasir area.
The UN deeply regrets the tragic loss of lives of our colleagues and wish a speedy recovery for the wounded. The UN also regrets the killing of those that we were attempting to evacuate.
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) urged an investigation to determine those responsible and hold them accountable and calls on all parties to avoid further violence.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today warned that conditions in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo are worsening as the fighting continues.
In South Kivu Province, there has been a sharp increase in cholera cases. Authorities in Uvira, the province’s second-largest city, have recorded more than 200 new cases and two deaths over a two-day period only. Health facilities there urgently need more medical supplies to contain the spread.
OCHA said that it is carrying out assessments to determine the needs of displaced communities as the security situation permits. Between 1 and 3 March, more than 11,000 people were reportedly displaced by fighting in Kabare, some 25 kilometres north of Bukavu.
Meanwhile, in North Kivu, our partners warn that nearly 18,000 children are suffering from acute malnutrition, particularly in areas where returnees are arriving. The UN and its partners are doing all they can to provide critical support as the response in the province is picking up and we are able to reach more areas.
ROHINGYA REFUGEES
The World Food Programme (WFP) today appealed for urgent funding to prevent the rations’ cuts to over one million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. Without this new funding, WFP said monthly rations must be halved to about $6 per person, down from $12.50 a person – just as people are preparing to observe Eid, marking the end of Ramadan.
To sustain full rations, WFP requires urgently $15 million for April, and $81 million until the end of the year.
WFP underscored that for a population with no legal status, no freedom of movement outside the camps and no sustainable livelihood opportunities, further cuts will worsen protection and security needs. Women and girls, in particular, may face heightened risks of exploitation, trafficking, prostitution and domestic violence. Children may be pulled out of school and forced into child labour, while girls may be married off at a young age as families resort to desperate measures to survive.
CENTRAL SAHEL, NIGERIA
The World Food Programme (WFP) today today that they may have to halt life-saving food and nutrition assistance for 2 million people across the Central Sahel and Nigeria in April if they do not receive urgent funding. This comes as the lean season - the period between harvests when hunger peaks - is anticipated to arrive earlier than usual this year across the Sahel. Millions, including refugees and internally displaced people, rely on the World Food Programme’s assistance for survival.
Some of the most vulnerable populations will be impacted including Sudanese refugees in Chad, Malian refugees in Mauritania, internally displaced people, and vulnerable food-insecure families in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Nigeria.
WFP urgently requires $620 million to ensure continued support over the next six months.
YEMEN
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) today said that two boats carrying more than 180 migrants capsized off the coast of Yemen’s Dhubab district in Ta’iz Governorate. The incident, which took place yesterday, occurred amid some of the worst weather in years, as local reports tell us. The vessels, which were attempting the dangerous journey from the Horn of Africa, sank in rough seas, a known risk during this season. IOM said that among those on board were at least 124 men and 57 women. While two Yemeni crew members were rescued, all passengers and the remaining crew are feared dead, with no bodies recovered so far.
The IOM said that these latest shipwrecks are a sobering reminder of the grave dangers migrants endure in search of a better future, adding that smugglers continue to gamble with human lives, pushing people onto dangerous journeys despite weather warnings. IOM stressed that there is a critical need for adequate protection and alternatives for migrants, as we have been saying for a long time.
FOOD PRICE INDEX
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) released its monthly Food Price Index. The benchmark for global food commodity prices rose in February, propelled by increases in sugar, dairy and vegetable oil prices. The FAO Food Price Index averaged 127.1 points in February, an increase by 1.6 percent from the previous month. FAO has also released another report that provides analysis of the food situation by geographic region. Looking ahead at 2025, the report highlights that 45 countries, including 33 in Africa, nine in Asia, two in Latin America and the Caribbean and one in Europe, are currently in need of external assistance for food.
