Noon briefing of 17 December 2025

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ,

DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES

WEDNESDAY, 17 DECEMBER 2025

YEMEN 

The Secretary-General this morning briefed the Security Council on the situation in Yemen in closed consultations, following his recent visit to the region, including Saudi Arabia and Oman.  

Mr. Guterres spoke to the press afterward, and said, following the recent offensive by the Southern Transitional Council, that unilateral actions will not clear a path to peace. A full resumption of hostilities could have serious ramifications on regional peace and security, he said, including on the Red Sea, in the Gulf of Aden, and in the Horn of Africa. 

The Secretary-General urged all parties to exercise maximum restraint, de-escalate tensions, and resolve differences through dialogue. Yemen needs a sustainable, negotiated political settlement and its sovereignty and territorial integrity must be preserved, he said. 

The Secretary-General once more strongly condemned the continued arbitrary detention of 59 UN colleagues and partner personnel – as well as staff from NGOs, civil society organizations, and diplomatic missions. 

He added that in recent days, Houthi de facto authorities referred three of our colleagues to a special criminal court. This referral must be rescinded and these charges must be dropped, he said. 

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY  

Turning to the situation in Gaza, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that we and our humanitarian partners continue to focus our efforts on providing assistance to prepare for the winter to the most vulnerable families across the Strip. 

OCHA estimates that nearly 55,000 families have been affected so far by the most recent rains across Gaza, with their belongings and shelters damaged or destroyed in the storm. 

The rainstorm has also damaged dozens of child-friendly spaces, disrupting or suspending activities related to child protection. The disruption has affected approximately 30,000 children across Gaza. Urgent repairs are needed to ensure that these activities can resume without delay. 

Over the past three days, our partners working to address gender-based violence report that they delivered 3,000 dignity kits to vulnerable women and girls across the Strip. 

Our partners dealing with water, sanitation and hygiene report that repairs are ongoing in multiple locations to reduce the overflow of sewage in the streets and improve public health. Teams are working to fix a sewage pipeline in Saeed Al Aas Street and the Nafaq area in Gaza City, as well as the Wafia and Hamad sewage pump stations in Khan Younis.    

In terms of water supply, 38,000 people sheltering at displacement sites in Al Mawasi are now able to collect water from community water tanks that have been directly connected to these sites, thanks to efforts by the UN and our partners. The second phase of this project, which will reach another 40,000 people, is now underway. This initiative makes water collection easier and safer and reduces the burden of using water trucks.   

However, OCHA warns that ongoing impediments continue to hamper humanitarians’ efforts to more quickly scale up the response.  

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL 

The Deputy Secretary-General is in Brasília, Brazil, where she is attending the 57th session of the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board. 

In her remarks there, she acknowledged the vital role UNAIDS has played in the global response to HIV and AIDS for more than four decades. She stressed that, with a decision on UNAIDS sunset expected in 2026, its capacity and expertise need to be well integrated across the UN system — ensuring the uninterrupted delivery of HIV and AIDS services, with governments and civil society at the center of the response to support the key populations most in need. She emphasized that UNAIDS would eventually sunset, but not its mission, which will remain essential for years to come. 

Throughout the day, the Deputy Secretary-General is holding meetings with heads of delegation, government representatives, representatives from civil society organizations, as well as senior UN officials, to discuss how to sustain and strengthen the global AIDS response in today’s global context.  

She will also hold bilateral meetings with senior officials of the Brazilian Government on the UN’s partnership with Brazil. 

She is expected to return to New York tomorrow, 18 December. 

SUDAN 

Turning to Sudan, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warns that as families continue to flee intense hostilities across the Kordofan region, humanitarian needs are surging. 

In South Kordofan State, more than 1,000 people were newly displaced between Sunday and yesterday from the state capital Kadugli – as well as the towns of Dilling and El Koaik – according to the International Organization for Migration. They’re reportedly seeking shelter in the states of North and West Kordofan, as well as Khartoum and White Nile. 

People have also been arriving in White Nile from parts of West Kordofan, including the towns of Babanusa and Heglig, which have seen intense fighting this month. Yesterday, local authorities in White Nile reported that some 1,600 people – the vast majority of them women and children – arrived in the city of Kosti. Many endured journeys lasting over a week – often through South Sudan – and showed clear signs of trauma. While our humanitarian partners are providing them with basic shelter, health, water, sanitation, food and protection assistance, needs are outstripping available resources. 

At the same time, our partners report that more than 3,000 people have crossed from the Kordofan region into Yida in South Sudan in recent days, with further displacement expected. 

People from the Kordofan and Darfur regions are also seeking shelter farther east in Gedaref State, where local authorities reported on Monday that about 2,500 people had recently arrived in the locality of Al Fao, with more expected in the coming days.   

And in Northern State, displacement continues to rise in the town of Ad Dabbah, where more than 15,000 people from the Kordofan and Darfur regions are sheltering in Al Afad camp. Assistance is being scaled up, but efforts to support food security and livelihoods and provide cash assistance remain critically underfunded. 

Nationwide, IOM estimates that more than 9.3 million people remain internally displaced across Sudan’s 18 states, alongside over 3 million returnees in nine states. More than half of them are children. 

Nearly one third of displaced families and one fifth of returnee households have reported going a full day and night without food in the past month, while access to healthcare and sanitation remains severely limited. 

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization is sounding the alarm over reports from South Darfur State that more than 70 health workers and some 5,000 civilians have been forcibly detained in the state capital Nyala. They are reportedly being held in overcrowded conditions and exposed to disease outbreaks. 

We, once again, call for the protection of civilians and respect for international humanitarian law. It is also urgent that rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access is facilitated, and that international support is scaled up to ensure the provision of life-saving assistance across Sudan. 

SOUTH SUDAN

In South Sudan, a mobile court conducted in Greater Yei, Central Equatoria State, has successfully concluded its hearings, after addressing a backlog of serious criminal cases and improving access to justice for victims and survivors.

The deployment of a mobile court to the area followed an investigation mission, supported by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), which verified a total of 24 sexual and gender-based violence cases and 22 other criminal cases.

Court proceedings began on 5 December 2025, during which 23 cases were heard, from Yei, Lainya, and Morobo, including serious criminal matters. Judgements were delivered in 10 of these cases, while others are pending further action.

The Yei mobile court initiative was led by the Judiciary of South Sudan (JOSS) and the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs (MoJCA), with support from UNMISS. It was deployed to address delays in justice delivery caused by the limited judicial presence in the region.

HAITI 

From Haiti, our colleagues at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs are warning that the humanitarian situation in the department of Artibonite is deteriorating quickly as armed groups expand their control in several communes, further restricting our access. 

On December 15th, local sources reported that 6 people were killed and others wounded following an armed attack in the commune of Verette.  Houses and agricultural storage facilities were reportedly set on fire.  People were forced to flee, though figures are not yet available. 

The assailants also attempted to set fire to the Albert Schweitzer Haiti Hospital – a major medical institution in Verette – but were repelled by security forces in the area. 

Two weeks earlier, more than 11,000 people were displaced in the same department following attacks in the communes of L’Estère, Pont-Sondé, Descordes and Liancourt. 

OCHA continues to closely monitor the situation, and the UN and our partners are mobilized to deliver aid as soon as security conditions permit. 

FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION 

Argentina paid its full dues to the Regular Budget. This payment brings the number of fully paid-up Member States to 148. 

**GUEST TODAY AND TOMORROW 

Noon briefing guest today is Dennis Zulu, UN Resident Coordinator in Jamaica, the Bahamas, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands. 

He will join us virtually to brief on the impact of Hurricane Melissa. 

Then, tomorrow, the guest will be the World Food Programme’s (WFP) Palestine Representative, Antoine Renard. He will join us virtually to brief on the situation in Gaza following his most recent visit to the Strip.