HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
MONDAY, 6 OCTOBER 2025

SECURITY COUNCIL 
The annual Open Debate in the Security Council on Women, Peace and Security, is being held today and is taking place on the eve of the twenty-fifth anniversary of UN Security Council resolution 1325. The Secretary-General delivered remarks at and said that a quarter of a century ago, this resolution gave voice to a simple truth, which is that women’s leadership is central to lasting peace.  
He added that more than 100 countries have adopted national action plans on women, peace and security. However, too frequently women remain absent from negotiating tables, sexual violence persists with impunity and women peacebuilders are underfunded, under threat, and under-recognized.  
For her part, Sima Bahous, the Executive Director of UN Women, said that today, 676 million women and girls live within reach of deadly conflict, the highest since the 1990s.  
The trends documented in the Secretary-General’s report should alarm us, she stated, and the coming few years, should see Security Council resolution 1325 implemented fully, across all contexts.    
 
WOMEN RISING FOR PEACE EXHIBIT 
Related to the topic of Women, Peace and Security, and just before delivering their remarks at the Security Council, the Secretary-General, together with the Executive Director of UN Women Sima Bahous, visited the exhibit entitled “Through Her Lens: Women Rising for Peace”, located outside the General Assembly Hall.  
The exhibit features striking images by local women photographers, capturing women peacebuilders, human rights defenders, UN peacekeepers, and community leaders driving peace in some of the world’s most fragile contexts. 
The display will remain open to visitors throughout October.  
 
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY 
The Emergency Relief Chief, Tom Fletcher, has allocated $9 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to ensure adequate fuel supplies to keep life-saving services running in the Gaza Strip.  
Meanwhile, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports a reduction in air strikes in recent days but says that shelling and gunfire continued over the weekend, with 21 people reportedly killed and 96 injured yesterday, according to the Ministry of Health.   
Humanitarian access and movement across the Strip remain challenging. Yesterday, eight missions that required coordination with the Israeli authorities were facilitated, but six other missions were denied, and five had to be cancelled by the organizers.  
In Deir al Balah and Khan Younis, the World Food Programme was able to deliver wheat flour to bakeries this month, making it easier for families to put bread on their tables. Bakeries are currently working up to 22 hours a day and producing some 100,000 bundles daily.  
On Saturday, our humanitarian partners prepared and distributed a total of 885,000 meals through 167 kitchens across Gaza. However, only 12 kitchens are operating in the north. The UN and our partners stress the need for unimpeded and sustained access to all parts of Gaza so that aid can reach people, wherever they are.   
In Al Nasser Medical complex, in Khan Younis, the Ministry of Health reported that three babies are sharing one incubator, raising the risks of contracting infections and diseases.    
Meanwhile, aid workers on the ground are doing everything possible to serve large numbers of people coming from the north to the south. Our partners providing nutrition support have increased the number of service points that they’re operating in the south from 96 to 118, as of last week.   
However, displacement sites and shelters in the south are overcrowded, driving some families to stay at garbage dumping sites such as Al Amal, where some 70 tents have been set up over the past few days. Others are attempting to return to the north, despite Gaza City being declared a “dangerous combat zone,” with no movement towards the north allowed.  
 OCHA stresses that despite immense challenges, the UN and our humanitarian partners continue to do whatever we can to meet people’s urgent needs across the Strip, despite ongoing violence limited supplies and restricted access.  We stand ready to deliver at scale as soon as conditions allow.    
 
SUDAN 
Turning to Sudan. We remain gravely concerned about the worsening conditions in and around the besieged capital of North Darfur State, El Fasher. Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that the fighting there continues to force more people to leave their homes.  
The International Organization for Migration estimates that between the 2nd and the 4th of October alone, some 770 people were displaced from the city due to heightened insecurity. They reportedly sought shelter in gathering sites in Tawila, also in North Darfur. As you may recall, the Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Denise Brown, briefed you from Tawila just last week. 
We and our partners stand ready to deliver assistance once access to El-Fasher is granted. At the same time, we continue to press for increased UN presence on the ground in North Darfur and other areas of need.     
In response to the deepening crisis, the World Food Programme says it has reached some 250,000 people in El Fasher with monthly cash transfers since the start of the year. And in other parts of Darfur, WFP has scaled up its emergency food and nutrition assistance. 
The agency reports that nearly two million people across Darfur received food and nutrition assistance in August, including in areas where famine has been confirmed or where the risk of famine is high. This number accounts for roughly half of the 4.2 million people receiving WFP support across Sudan, as the agency prioritizes areas facing the most extreme levels of hunger.  
We call once again on lifting the siege of El Fasher, civilians must be protected, and those fleeing must be afforded safe passage.  
Unimpeded humanitarian access must be facilitated to reach hundreds of thousands of civilians who have been trapped in the city for over 500 days. 
 
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC 
We have an update from our peacekeeping colleagues in the Central African Republic. Following recent clashes in Am-Dafock, a border town in the country’s northeast, near Sudan, the Head of the Mission, Valentine Rugwabiza, conducted a field visit to assess the deteriorating security situation there. 
During her visit, Ms. Rugwabiza met with local authorities and community leaders, including at a site hosting around 11,000 displaced people, to reiterate the UN’s commitment to supporting durable solutions to their challenges.  
She commended the community’s resilience and reaffirmed the mission’s continued efforts to strengthen security, protect civilians, support local peace initiatives, and facilitate humanitarian assistance, while fostering cross-border dialogue to prevent further escalation. 

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO 
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the peacekeeping mission has condemned the resurgence of violence last week in Djugu territory, in Ituri Province.  
UN peacekeepers have reinforced their presence there by intensifying patrols and coordinating closely with the Congolese armed forces to protect civilians and secure impacted areas.  
As we mentioned last week – there were clashes between members of the CODECO and Zaire armed groups about 15 kilometers southeast of Djugu. Gunfire attributed to unidentified armed men was also reported in Gina. This led to the displacement of approximately 2,500 civilians who sought refuge at the peacekeeping base in the area.  
Our colleagues at the mission say they are deeply concerned by these acts of violence.  
They also condemn the militarization of sites for displaced people and reiterate their determination to work alongside Congolese authorities and local communities to prevent further attacks, protect the most vulnerable, reduce tensions, and support the stabilization of areas affected by armed violence. 

UKRAINE 
From Ukraine, our colleagues from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs report that attacks across the country over the weekend struck large urban centres and damaged critical civilian infrastructure, disrupting power supplies as the cold season begins. 
According to authorities, between 4 and 6 October, more than a dozen civilians were killed and over 100 were injured. Zaporizhzhia City and the Lviv region were particularly impacted.  
The Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, condemned this recent wave of attacks by the armed forces of the Russian Federation, which continue to impact critical civilian services.   
Aid organizations provided emergency assistance after the attacks, including first aid and psychological support, emergency shelter and repair materials.                        
And finally, OCHA tells us that last Friday, we and our humanitarian partners delivered the first humanitarian convoy to the Dnipropetrovsk region this year, providing medical and hygiene supplies. 
 
WORLD HABITAT DAY 
Today is World Habitat Day.  
On this Day, the Secretary-General says that we shine a light on solutions, from better housing to land rights, to water and sanitation. We also recognise the vital leadership of mayors and local governments, and the resilience of urban communities, especially women and youth.  
 
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION 
Guinea paid its full payment to the Regular Budget. This payment brings the number of fully paid-up Member States to 139.