HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
TUESDAY, 3 JUNE 2025
SUDAN
You will have seen the horrific developments in Sudan in which five members of a UN humanitarian convoy were killed last night and several more were injured during an attack near Al Koma in North Darfur.
I can tell you that we condemn in the strongest terms this horrendous act of violence against humanitarian personnel who literally put their lives at risk attempting to reach vulnerable children and families in the famine-impacted areas.
This joint WFP-UNICEF 15-truck convoy had travelled over 1,800 km (just about 1,118 miles) from Port Sudan, and they were carrying food and nutrition supplies. The Agencies were negotiating access to complete the journey to El Fasher when it was attacked. The route was shared in advance, and parties on the ground were notified and aware of the location of the trucks.
Multiple trucks were burned in the attack, and critical humanitarian supplies were damaged. It is devastating the supplies have not reached the civilians in need. This is the first UN humanitarian convoy that was going to make it to El Fasher in over a year.
All attacks on humanitarian personnel, their facilities and vehicles must stop. They are a violation under international humanitarian law. And we call for an urgent investigation and for the perpetrators to be held to account.
We call for safe, secure operating conditions and for international humanitarian law to be respected by all parties, not just in Sudan, but in all conflict-impacted countries. Under international humanitarian law, aid convoys must be protected, and parties have the obligation to allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need.
And for those who were killed in line of duty in Sudan, we extend our condolences to their families and loved ones, and we wish a speedy recovery for the wounded. Shirin
COMMISSIONER OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION AGAINST IMPUNITY/GUATEMALA
The Secretary-General is concerned about the announcement by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Guatemala regarding the issuance of arrest warrants against former Commissioner of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), Iván Velásquez, former CICIG Head of Investigations Luz Adriana Camargo -- now Colombia’s Attorney General -- along with 24 other former CICIG national staff and independent justice officials who collaborated with CICIG.
The Secretary-General reiterates that the Commission’s international personnel, under the terms of the agreement between the UN and the Government of Guatemala regarding the establishment of the Commission, enjoys immunity from legal process with respect to acts done in the performance of their mission which continues even after the completion of their employment with CICIG. He recalls that under this agreement, the Government of Guatemala agreed to protect the personnel of CICIG - whether international or national - from abuse, threats, reprisals or acts of intimidation in virtue of their work for CICIG.
The Secretary-General reiterates his concern at the numerous reports that criminal prosecution is being carried out against those who sought to shed light on cases of corruption and worked to strengthen rule of law and the justice system in Guatemala.
NINTH AUSTRIAN WORLD SUMMIT
Today, the Secretary-General addressed the Ninth Austrian World Summit via a video message. He pointed out that we face a triple-whammy of woe, with pollution clogging rivers, contaminating land, and poisoning our ocean, the biodiversity being destroyed at record pace and record levels of greenhouse gases catastrophically disrupting our climate.
The Secretary-General warned that no country, whether rich or poor, can escape these crises, and no country can solve them alone. But together, he said, we can reap the rewards of action, from cheap, secure power, to better health.
HUMAN RIGHTS/CLIMATE EMERGENCY
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, will deliver a lecture at Oxford University calling for a new approach to politics, in response to the climate emergency. Mr. Türk is expected to say that humanity is in denial about the fundamental fact that our wellbeing and survival are inseparable from the health of our planet and our environment.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights will call for a global movement for change, guided by human rights and the rights of nature, with bold action to deliver climate justice and transform governance for the common good. His remarks will be online on the website of the UN Human Rights Office as soon as they are delivered.
DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL/TRAVELS
The Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, is in Geneva, Switzerland, for the 8th Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GP2025). At the opening of the Platform, she stressed that disaster risk reduction is essential to protect lives and advance the Sustainable Development Goals, and must go hand in hand with climate action. The Deputy Secretary-General highlighted the recent glacier collapse in Blatten, Switzerland, as a stark reminder of the growing climate-related risks we face, and the power of early warning in sparing lives. She called for bold investment to make these life-saving systems accessible to all, especially the most vulnerable.
While in Geneva, Ms. Mohammed held meetings with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, Kamal Kishore, as well as other senior UN officials, representatives of the Swiss Government, and heads of delegation attending the Global Platform. She is expected back in New York tomorrow, 4 June.
GAZA
Once again, we are witnessing unthinkable loss of life in Gaza.
The Secretary-General condemns the loss of lives and injuries of Palestinians seeking aid in Gaza. It is unacceptable. Civilians are risking – and in several instances losing – their lives just trying to get food.
Palestinian have the fundamental right to adequate food and to be free from hunger.
The Secretary-General continues to call for an immediate and independent investigation into these events and for perpetrators to be held to account.
The basic needs of the population in Gaza are enormous and are not being met. Israel has clear obligations under international humanitarian law to agree to and facilitate humanitarian relief for all civilians who need it.
The unimpeded entry of humanitarian assistance at scale must be restored immediately. The UN must be allowed to work in safety and in security under conditions of full respect for humanitarian principles.
All hostages must be released immediately and unconditionally.
The Secretary-General continues to call for an immediate permanent, sustainable ceasefire.
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
Meanwhile, OCHA says that there is a sharp rise in child labour, early marriage and family separation. This is all driven by hunger, displacement and economic turmoil.
Children are increasingly exposed to violence and exploitation during chaotic distributions of basic supplies – including in crowds, when people take flour directly from trucks. And children with disabilities are often the worst affected.
In Khan Younis, a safe space for women and girls had to suspend its services in recent days after the area was placed under a displacement order. Our partners tell us that as a result, about 1,000 women and girls have lost access to essential support – including services for survivors of gender-based violence, psychosocial care and help with referrals.
OCHA says that, just yesterday, Israeli authorities issued another displacement order, this time covering four neighbourhoods in Khan Younis, where about 45,000 people were thought to be staying.
Meanwhile, the UN and our humanitarian partners are making the most of the limited opening that began last month, after nearly 80 days of complete blockade. But as we’ve said before, what’s coming in is still just a trickle and does not meet the immense needs on the ground. We have enough supplies lined up and ready, close to Gaza. But only limited amounts are actually reaching the people who need them, and that’s because of conditions on the ground.
Specifically, OCHA warns of bottlenecks in Kerem Shalom – the only crossing point Israeli authorities are allowing for aid into Gaza. Since 17 May, only half of the pre-cleared supplies submitted for a second and final Israeli clearance has made it through to the Palestinian side.
In total, the UN and our partners submitted over 1,200 pre-cleared truckloads for final Israeli clearance – a process often referred to as manifesting.
Fewer than 80 per cent of those were approved and sent from warehouses in Israel – that’s just over 940 truckloads. After undergoing scanning, offloading, reloading and being shuttled forward, just over 620 truckloads have made it to the Palestinian side.
You will recall that we don’t have visibility over that part of the pipeline. This is because Israeli authorities have not allowed us to deploy monitors at the crossing.
Of the supplies scanned in Kerem Shalom, our teams have managed to collect about 370 truckloads and bring them closer to where people need them – inside Gaza. That includes food – mainly flour – as well as medical and nutrition items.
OCHA reminds us that the access to both sides of Kerem Shalom is tightly controlled by the Israeli authorities. Inside Gaza, any movement to or from the crossing requires driving through militarized zones where bombing continues.
Teams must remain flexible to avoid areas where looting is likely – but they have so far been expected to only follow routes that are approved by the Israeli authorities.
And humanitarian movements that require coordination with Israeli authorities continue to be denied across the Gaza Strip. Yesterday, 10 of 13 attempts to coordinate such movements were rejected. And those included the collection of supplies from Kerem Shalom, but also other life-saving operations such as trucking water to North Gaza or relocating fuel stocks to where they are needed.
SYRIA
The UN and its partners continue to deliver aid across the country despite a severe funding environment, reaching some 2.5 million people per month.
Since the beginning of the year, 1,185 trucks carrying humanitarian supplies have crossed from Türkiye to Syria – this is six times higher than the number during the same period last year.
In May, this assistance benefitted more than 1 million people.
Meanwhile, our humanitarian colleagues tell us that nearly 16 million people need urgent humanitarian health support, Syria’s health system remains under severe strain.
Essential medicines are limited, treatment costs are out of reach for many families and overcrowded shelters increase the risk of disease outbreaks. Furthermore, our colleagues at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs report that explosive remnants of war and unexploded ordnance continues to threaten the safety of civilians across the country. Since December 8th of last year, over 1,000 casualties have been reported – this includes more than 400 deaths and nearly 600 injuries. Children represent over one third of these casualties. The humanitarian community is calling for urgent support to expand risk education, professional clearance operations and assistance for survivors.
And just a reminder that the Syria humanitarian response plan requires $2 billion until the end of June to support 8 million people in need but to date, it has received less than 12 per cent of that, with $236 million received.
UKRAINE
Turning to Ukraine, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that airstrikes and hostilities over the past 24 hours caused several civilian casualties across the country, including children, as well as extensive damage to homes and civilian infrastructure. This is according to local authorities.
The regions of Sumy, Chernihiv, Odesa, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Kherson were impacted by the attacks. Humanitarian organizations are mobilized and providing support including hot meals, construction materials for quick repairs and psychological support.
In the town of Izium in the Kharkiv region, a strike damaged an international NGO warehouse storing food kits from the World Food Programme. No aid workers were injured, but the strike destroyed humanitarian supplies and damaged vehicles.
SOUTH SUDAN
The UN Mission in South Sudan is deeply concerned about escalating intercommunal violence in Tonj East, in Warrap State, and urged the government to intervene and deploy security services to address the situation.
The violence over the past few days, driven by attempts to recover stolen cattle and revenge for the previous loss of lives, resulted in more than 80 casualties, although the numbers are yet to be verified. The Mission is intensively engaging with state and local leaders to calm the situation and has increased its peacekeeping patrols. However, peacekeepers are experiencing significant challenges reaching some of the impacted areas, due to a proliferation of checkpoints manned by armed youth. South Sudan cannot afford yet another crisis. The country remains one of the largest displacement crises in the region.
Today, the UN Refugee Agency warned that over 165,000 people have fled increasing tensions and conflict in South Sudan in the past three months, seeking safety both within the country and across borders. More than 2.3 million South Sudanese living as refugees in the DRC, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Sudan. And as you well know, some of these countries are already dealing with challenges of their own.
Across countries of asylum, UNHCR and its partners are delivering critical relief items to new arrivals, such as sleeping material and hygiene kits. The Agency requires $36 million to support up to 343,000 internally displaced people in South Sudan and refugees arriving in neighbouring countries over the next six months.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
Turning to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tells us that violence in Ituri province continues to displace and endanger civilians.
Since the beginning of May, fighting in the province has displaced more than 12,000 people, who fled to the Rhoe displacement site, 70 kilometers north of the provincial capital, Bunia.
Before their arrival, the site was already operating beyond capacity, hosting nearly 45,000 displaced people. (The site’s capacity is 40,000 people)
Humanitarians are warning of the heightened risk of waterborne disease in the camp, as more than 80 per cent of the organizations working on water, sanitation, and hygiene there had to suspend their operations due to funding shortages.
The $2.5 billion Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for the DRC is only 11 per cent funded at $282 million. This is drastically limiting the ability of aid organizations to deliver critical assistance.
PHOTO EXHIBITION
A new photo exhibit entitled “Through Her Lens, Women Rising for Peace” opens Saturday, at the Photoville Festival, in Brooklyn Bridge Park, and features artworks by local women photographers in places like Abyei, the Central African Republic, Haiti, Lebanon, Mozambique, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, South Sudan or Sudan.
The exhibition spotlights women peacebuilders, human rights defenders, UN peacekeepers and grassroots activists in portraits and environments that reflect the challenges of conflict and the possibilities that emerge when women lead.
The exhibit also commemorates the 25th anniversary of Security Council resolution 1325, the Women, Peace and Security agenda, and it is organized by our colleagues at the Departments of Peace Operations, Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, UN Women, and the Elsie Initiative Fund, with support from Member States.
WORLD BICYCLE DAY
Today is World Bicycle Day. This Day recognizes the uniqueness of the bicycle. It is a simple, affordable, reliable, clean and environmentally fit sustainable means of transport. Just don’t forget to wear your helmet.
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION
Gambia paid up its full payment to the Regular Budget. This brings the number of fully paid-up Member States to 111.
** BRIEFINGS - TODAY
Noon briefing guest is Lola Castro, the Regional Director for the World Food Programme (WFP) in Latin America and the Caribbean, who will brief on Haiti.
Following that, there will be a hybrid briefing by Mr. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the former Foreign Minister of Pakistan, accompanied by a high-level parliamentary delegation. They will brief on the recent developments in South Asia.
