HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
TUESDAY, 20 MAY 2025
SECURITY COUNCIL
This morning, the Security Council held a meeting on Maintenance of international peace and security: Strengthening maritime security through international cooperation for global stability. Briefing Council members, the Secretary-General noted that today’s debate shines a light on a fundamental fact: Without maritime security, there can be no global security. But maritime spaces are increasingly under strain, he said, from both traditional threats and emerging dangers, adding that no region is spared and that the problem is getting worse.
The Secretary-General said that looking ahead, action is needed in three key areas. First — respect for international law, second — we need to intensify efforts to address the root causes of maritime insecurity, and third — throughout, we need partnerships, involving everyone with a stake in maritime spaces.
He called on all to take action to support and secure maritime spaces, and the communities and people counting on them.
ECOSOC
The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Operational Activities for Development Segment opens today. The three-day meeting will focus on activities of the United Nations development system (UNDS) and will include a high-level dialogue with the Secretary-General at 3 pm today. We’ll share his remarks with you.
Tomorrow morning, the Deputy Secretary-General will present the annual report on the work of the Development Coordination Office and the Resident Coordinator system. The report highlights the critical role of the revitalized Resident Coordinator system in making the UN development system more effective, efficient and responsive, to accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. The full report and its interactive version are available on the UNSDG website (unsdg.un.org) and the meeting will be webcast on UN Web TV.
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION/PANDEMIC AGREEMENT
Today, Member States of the World Health Organization formally adopted by consensus the world's first Pandemic Agreement. The landmark decision by the 78th World Health Assembly culminates more than three years of intensive negotiations launched by governments in response to the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Secretary-General pointed out that COVID19 was a reminder that no one is safe until everyone is safe. He said that the historic WHO Pandemic Agreement strengthens global preparedness against pandemics, ensures equity and solidarity in response to health threats and upholds health as a fundamental human right.
CYPRUS
The Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General on Cyprus, Maria Angela Holguin, plans to travel to Cyprus from 24-31 May to meet with the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders, their representatives as well as other actors on the Cyprus issue. She plans to subsequently engage with the guarantor powers of Greece, Türkiye and the United Kingdom.
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
Turning to the situation in the Gaza Strip, the first trucks of vital baby food are now inside Gaza after 11 weeks of total blockade, and it is urgent that we get that assistance distributed. We need much, much more to cross.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that today, the UN is sending flour, medicines and nutrition supplies and other basics through the Israeli fence into the Palestinian side of Kerem Shalom. Yesterday, we managed to get in baby formula and other nutrition supplies.
OCHA reminds us that the Israeli authorities are requiring us to offload supplies on the Palestinian side of Kerem Shalom crossing and reload them separately once they secure our teams’ access from inside. Only then are we able to bring any supplies closer to where people in need are sheltering. Today, our team waited several hours for Israeli green light to access Kerem Shalom and collect the nutrition supplies. Just to make it clear, while more supplies have come into the Gaza Strip, we have not been able to secure the arrival of those supplies into our warehouses and delivery points.
OCHA reiterates that while this is a positive development on the ground, as Mr. Fletcher noted yesterday, this is a drop in the ocean of what’s required to address the massive scale of humanitarian needs. The deprivation we are seeing in Gaza is the result of ongoing bombardments and blockade, and recurrent displacement.
According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, the Indonesian Hospital was attacked yesterday, damaging electrical generators and forcing the facility to suspend services. As of yesterday, there were 55 people in the hospital, including patients and medical staff, with critical shortages of food and water.
Also yesterday, an Israeli airstrike reportedly hit a school in An Nuseirat, killing seven people and injuring others. According to the UN Relief and Works Agency, two of its staff who worked as teachers were killed in this attack. This comes after the death toll for UNRWA colleagues killed during the war now exceeds 300.
Today, the Israeli military issued another displacement order, affecting 26 neighbourhoods in northern Gaza, specifically in Beit Lahiya, Jabalya and its camp. The affected area spans about 35 square kilometres and represents 10 per cent of the Gaza Strip. Humanitarian partners estimate that as of midday today, more than 41,000 people were displaced, including due to hostilities targeting displacement sites and displacement orders.
The UN partners estimate that since 15 May, more than 57,000 people were displaced in southern Gaza and more than 81,000 people were displaced in northern Gaza due to intensified hostilities and recurrent displacement orders.
Furthermore, the partners report that the order affects 113 displacement sites, more than half of which were impacted by previous displacement orders. Among the facilities affected are three hospitals, three healthcare centres and four medical points, which are located within the displacement area.
Another two hospitals, four healthcare centres and six medical points are within 1,000 meters of the displacement area.
The humanitarian partners estimate that 80 per cent of the Gaza Strip is now either subject to displacement orders or located in Israeli-militarized zones.
The partners working in education also report that three temporary learning spaces, where about 500 children are supported with education and recreational activities by 12 teachers, have been affected by today’s displacement order.
Meanwhile, the partners providing water and sanitation services report that their operations continue to be severely disrupted across the Strip due to the ongoing fuel shortages. In the northern part of Gaza, no fuel is currently available, and only half of the required weekly supply was received last week.
As a result, fuel reserves are nearly depleted. Operating hours for water wells have been further reduced, and complete shutdowns are imminent.
In southern Gaza, water utilities have not received any fuel, although 140,000 litres per week are needed to maintain operations.
Food and security partners report that yesterday, at least nine kitchens in Khan Younis, Gaza city and North Gaza were temporarily closed or slated for relocation due to recent displacement orders and ongoing hostilities in these areas since 15 May.
Our food security partners say that as of yesterday, about 282,000 daily meals were prepared and delivered by 16 partners through about 70 kitchens.
LEBANON/ISRAEL
UNIFIL peacekeepers say that today they observed an Israeli drone strike in the town of Al Mansouri located in the area of UNIFIL’s operations. The mission is concerned about reports of civilian casualties from this strike, including injuries to two children.
Also, today the peacekeepers’ movement was obstructed by local individuals in two instances in the area of operations. Our colleagues tell us that yesterday, the Israel Defense Forces pointed lasers at the peacekeepers who were conducting an operational activity in Sector West.
The mission continues to protest all such behaviours and continues to remind all sides of their responsibility to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and property and to respect the inviolability of UN assets and premises at all times.
Meanwhile, UNIFIL continues its efforts to support the Lebanese Armed Forces in addressing unauthorized weapons. On Friday, 16 May, UNIFIL destroyed a weapons and ammunition cache in Sector West, as the cache’s location in an underground cavity did not allow for the safe removal of the explosives and weaponry. UNIFIL’s activity was approved by the Lebanese Armed Forces and deconflicted with the Israel Defense Forces.
YEMEN
Turning to Yemen, in a joint statement released today, 116 aid organizations – including UN agencies and Non-Governmental Organizations – called for urgent action to help the Yemenis who are living in what may be “their toughest year so far” after more than a decade of severe crisis and conflict.
The signatories – who include the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen, Julien Harneis – stressed that humanitarians are on the ground and delivering in Yemen, despite widespread challenges.
However, sharp funding cuts are disrupting life-saving assistance to millions of people across the country, risking a major surge in humanitarian needs.
Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that in recent months more than 2,200 therapeutic feeding programmes that are crucial for treating children suffering from severe acute malnutrition have stopped; 400 health facilities have either closed or could be forced to shut down or scaled back in the coming months; and almost 1 million women and girls have lost access to safe spaces. And these are just a few examples of the impact that the funding cuts and the prolonged conflict have on people in Yemen.
The humanitarian community is calling for scaled-up, flexible funding for the humanitarian appeal, which is just 9 per cent funded, as well as increased development assistance and strengthened action to ensure respect for international humanitarian law and humanitarian access to people in need.
And just to note that this statement is released ahead of the seventh Humanitarian Senior Officials Meeting that will take place in Brussels tomorrow. The signatories urge the international community to seize this opportunity to help Yemenis rebuild their lives in dignity.
LIBYA
The United Nations Support Mission in Libya released a report today outlining the options put forth by the Advisory Committee to resolve key contentious issues that are blocking progress toward elections.
Special Representative for Libya Hanna Tetteh called the report “a launching point for a country-wide conversation about how best to overcome the political gridlock that has prevented elections since 2021.”
The report puts forward four options that could serve as a roadmap towards conducting elections and ending the transitional phase: conducting presidential and legislative elections simultaneously; conducting parliamentary elections first, followed by the adoption of a permanent constitution; adopting a permanent constitution before elections; or establishing a political dialogue committee.
Ms. Tetteh has presented the summary to Libyan leaders in the east and west. Next, she will bring the options to the Libyan people for feedback, conducting polling and consulting the wider public, including political parties, youth, women, civil society organizations, security actors, notables and community leaders.
CHAD
Moving to Chad, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says it is concerned about the worsening humanitarian situation in the east of the country, amid the massive influx of refugees and returnees from neighboring Sudan.
Since violence escalated in North Darfur in the past month, more than 55,000 Sudanese refugees and 39,000 Chadian returnees have been registered in Chad’s Ennedi-Est and Wadi Fira provinces.
These latest arrivals come on top of the nearly one million people who have sought refuge in Chad’s eastern provinces – thanks to the Government’s generous open-door policy –since the Sudan crisis erupted in April 2023.
OCHA says that the current capacity of reception sites is vastly insufficient to meet the scale of the needs. Most of the new arrivals are traumatized women and children.
The Tiné transit site, which can accommodate 500 people, is now hosting nearly 20,000 people - scattered around the site, sleeping in the open while awaiting relocation away from the border area.
Since mid-April, our partners have provided emergency assistance. This includes the construction of hundreds of family shelters, the distribution of food to more than 6,000 people, and providing medicine to cover the needs of 20,000 people.
People urgently need food, shelter, access to water, sanitation and hygiene services, healthcare, and protection services for survivors of violence. Malnourished children also need adequate treatment.
As of today, the $1.4 billion Humanitarian Response Plan for Chad is only 7 percent funded, with $99 million received.
With just 2,000 shelters available out of the 13,500 needed and only one doctor for 44,000 people in some areas, this sizeable funding gap highlights the urgent need for increased international support ahead of the rainy season.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
The peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have set up a defensive position in Pangapanga, which is about 27 km outside Bunia in the Ituri province. This position will help support the Congolese Armed Forces, following an attack on their bases yesterday by members of the Zaire armed group.
Peacekeepers provided first aid, including the evacuation of a wounded Congolese soldier.
And in North Kivu, the mission completed yesterday a 15-Day training for 42 members of the Congolese armed forces, to strengthen the army’s operational capacity in that province. This training offered instruction in land navigation, small-unit tactics, combat shooting, and jungle survival, enhancing preparedness for operations in complex environments.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that violence continues to displace civilians across multiple provinces. In Ituri, since May 14th, renewed fighting between armed groups in Djugu Territory has killed four civilians and injured five in the villages of Jiba and Lenge, according to local authorities and civil society.
Dozens of houses were burned, prompting more than 6,400 people to flee. They urgently need shelter, food and access to education and nutrition services.
In South Kivu, more than 8,400 people fled their homes in Kalehe territory last week to seek refuge in nearby safer locations following fighting between armed groups, according to local sources.
And in Kwango, a province in the country’s West, inter-communal violence last week between armed groups in the Kenge territory left four civilians dead. Several others fled to safer locations, according to local sources.
HAITI
Turning to Haiti, our humanitarian colleagues in the country are deeply concerned about the growing number of pregnant and breastfeeding women being deported from the Dominican Republic to Haiti, in violation of international standards.
Our partners at border crossings say they have assisted approximately 30 pregnant or breastfeeding women each day over the past month.
In total, nearly 20,000 people were deported by land from the Dominican Republic to Haiti last month – a record high. That’s according to figures from the International Organization for Migration.
The Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti, Ulrika Richardson, warns that the deportations raise serious humanitarian and human rights concerns, particularly when they affect pregnant women or mothers with very young children.
She stressed that it is imperative that commitments made to protect vulnerable people are respected.
Haiti continues to face a complex humanitarian crisis, amid armed violence that continues to drive both displacement and hunger, with half the population – more than 5.7 million people – facing acute food insecurity.
Despite ongoing insecurity and severe funding shortfalls, we and our partners continue to do all we can – complementing the efforts of national authorities – to mobilize life-saving assistance for those in need, including food, drinking water, healthcare, hygiene kits, temporary shelter and psychosocial support.
AFGHANISTAN
The UN Refugee Agency today noted that more than 3 million Afghans have returned from neighbouring countries since September 2023. This year alone, 780,000 are estimated to have returned, including 351,600 who were deported. UNHCR, other UN agencies, and the international community have played a key role as shock absorbers and stabilization partners. Providing returning refugees with cash grants has helped people to invest in their new lives and once back in their home district, the UN Refugee Agency has been able to support communities through interventions in clinics, schools, housing, job creation and more. However, in light of the deeply troubling financial situation, the UN Refugee Agency said that the support for Afghans is diminishing. The cash being provided to returnees at the border has been cut by a factor of seven.
With the funding reductions, UNHCR current assistance packages can offer only the most basic humanitarian assistance – vital, but short term and far from transformational. It can help someone survive, but not effectively rebuild.
UNHCR requires $216 million to fund its response in Afghanistan this year but has so far received just 25 per cent of that amount.
International Liberation Organization
A joint study published today by the International Labour Organization and Poland’s National Research Institute titled Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure, says that 1 in 4 jobs worldwide is potentially exposed to generative artificial intelligence.
And to answer the question on everybody’s minds: Job transformation, not replacement, is the most likely outcome, the study says.
Our colleagues say this report is the most detailed global assessment to date of how Generative AI may reshape the world of work.
WORLD BEE DAY
Today is World Bee Day. This year's theme is "Bee inspired by nature to nourish us all.” It highlights the critical roles bees and other pollinators play in agrifood systems.
