HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
TUESDAY, 22 JULY 2025
SECRETARY-GENERAL/CLIMATE
This morning, the Secretary-General delivered a special address on ‘A Moment of Opportunity: Supercharging the Clean Energy Age'. He underscored that already, the carbon emissions saved by solar and wind globally are almost equivalent to what the whole European Union produces in a year. But, he said, this transformation is fundamentally about energy security and people’s security and that it’s about smart economics.
The Secretary-General said that the energy transition is unstoppable but is not yet fast enough or fair enough.
SECURITY COUNCIL
The Secretary-General spoke at today’s Security Council meeting on multilateralism, and he warned that around the world, we see an utter disregard for international law, including international human rights law, international refugee law, international humanitarian law, and the UN Charter itself, without any accountability.
He drew attention to what he called the horror show in Gaza, where malnourishment is soaring, starvation is knocking on every door and now we are seeing the last gasp of a humanitarian system built on humanitarian principles.
Mr. Guterres said he is appalled that UN premises have been struck, among them facilities of the UN Office for Project Services and the World Health Organization, including WHO’s main warehouse. This is despite all parties having been informed of the locations of these UN facilities.
He reminded the Council that these premises, like all civilian sites, are inviolable and must be protected under international humanitarian law without exception.
He noted that today marks three years since the signing of the Black Sea Initiative and the Memorandum of Understanding with the Russian Federation, efforts that show what we can achieve through mediation and the good offices of the United Nations, even during the most challenging moments.
The Secretary-General said that we must work to ensure that the Security Council reflects the world of today, not the world of 80 years ago. The Council should be made more representative of today’s geopolitical realities. And we must continue improving the working methods of this Council to make it more inclusive, transparent, efficient and accountable, he added.
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
Turning to the Gaza Strip, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warns that intense hostilities continue with no let-up, as does the rapid collapse of the last lifelines keeping people alive.
Earlier today, local health authorities said that, in just the past 24 hours, more than a dozen children and adults had died from hunger. Hospitals have admitted people in a state of severe exhaustion caused by a lack of food, and others are said to be collapsing in the streets. This is on top of continued reports of people being shot, killed or injured while simply trying to find food, which is only being allowed into Gaza in far too small quantities.
OCHA warns that in many cases where UN teams are permitted by Israel to collect supplies from closed compounds near Gaza’s crossings, civilians approaching the trucks come under fire despite repeated assurances that troops would not be present or engage.
We can’t stress this enough: This unacceptable pattern is the opposite of what facilitating humanitarian operations should look like. Absolutely no one should have to risk their lives to get food.
Hospitals have been overwhelmed with over 2,000 trauma injuries over the past four days alone; that’s according to the local authorities. Some have reported not having enough intravenous fluids. And due to lack of fuel, the Nasser Medical Complex and the oxygen unit supplying hospitals in the south are at risk of shutting down.
Regarding UN facilities that were struck in recent days in Deir al Balah, the World Health Organization (WHO) tells us that, in addition to air strikes that caused fire and damage, Israeli troops entered the premises. Women and children were forced to evacuate on foot toward Al Mawasi amid active conflict. Male staff and family members were handcuffed, stripped, interrogated and screened at gunpoint. WHO said that one of their employees remained in detention as of earlier today; this is out of four people detained – two personnel and two family members.
WHO added that their main warehouse that is now destroyed and looted had been a key hub for medical supplies, most of which are now depleted. They said the attack fits a broader pattern of systematic destruction of health facilities.
Yesterday, you asked us how many people have fled the area under a displacement order in Deir al Balah. While about 1,000 families fled within the first hours, we don't have a reliable current estimate. That's because our teams who normally track population movement are themselves affected: Some have been newly displaced, others remain under heavy bombardment and face communication blackouts due to cable damage. Colleagues on the ground tell us that, like everyone else in Gaza, they are hungry and exhausted. They can only confirm that many people have fled under fire, and many others stayed, despite the massive risks, because there’s simply nowhere safe to go. About 88 per cent of Gaza is either subject to displacement orders or located within Israeli-militarized zones. The 12 per cent that remains is already overcrowded and underserved.
However, as we said yesterday, the UN remains in Deir al Balah, which is our hub for humanitarian operations, with staff spread across dozens of premises – all of them with coordinates shared with the parties.
U.N.E.S.C.O.
The Director General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Audrey Azoulay, said she deeply regrets the decision of the United States to withdraw once again from the organization she leads.
The Secretary-General also deeply regrets this withdrawal, in light of the major role the US has played in UNESCO since its founding.
SUDAN
Turning to Sudan, the UN and its partners have revised and scaled up plans to respond to the overwhelming needs of more than 380,000 displaced people in the locality of Tawila in North Darfur State. This includes 327,000 people, mostly women and children, who fled the famine-stricken Zamzam camp and surrounding areas following the outbreak of hostilities in mid-April.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that this updated plan aims to increase assistance over the next three months, with a focus on food, healthcare, water, sanitation, shelter and protection. An estimated $120 million is urgently needed to implement the plan and scale up the response.
The health situation in North Darfur is also deteriorating rapidly.
Cholera, measles, malaria and trauma cases are surging in Tawila, as well as in El Fasher and Kebkabiya all are located in North Darfur state. Widespread Internet disruptions and a lack of rapid diagnostic tests are severely hindering disease surveillance, while insecurity has forced the closure of more than 32 health facilities. Critical shortages of vaccines, essential medicines and surgical supplies are pushing the health system to the brink, leaving thousands without access to the care that is needed to save lives.
Meanwhile, displacement continues to take a deadly toll on civilians trying to flee.
In South Darfur, markets are reeling from sharp price increases, driven by flooding and seasonal rivers that have cut off supply routes from Chad and Northern State.
Just to bring you closer look, in Nyala, the state capital, the price of a 50-kilogram sack of sugar has reportedly risen by 21 per cent in just one month, while wheat flour prices have jumped by 31 per cent, deepening food insecurity for already vulnerable families, according to assessments by the UN and our partners.
Meanwhile, the UN remains deeply concerned over escalating violence in the Kordofan region. In West Kordofan State, at least five civilians were killed and several others injured in drone strikes on fuel markets in Al Fula and Abu Zabad towns yesterday, according to local reports. Massive fires destroyed both markets, sparking panic among the population.
OCHA urgently calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities, the protection of civilians and humanitarian personnel, unimpeded access across conflict lines and borders, and increased international support to address the spiraling humanitarian needs across Sudan.
SOUTH SUDAN
Moving to South Sudan, another dire humanitarian situation that does not usually make the headlines. The World Food Programme says that so far this year, over two million of the most vulnerable people were reached with the much-needed food assistance in South Sudan.
WFP estimates that half the population of South Sudan, that is half of the 7.7 million people, are facing severe hunger. Of these, 83,000 people are facing catastrophic levels of hunger.
WFP Deputy Executive Director, Carl Skau, concluded a visit to South Sudan a few days ago. He stressed that WFP has the capacity to deliver, even in the most remote and challenging environments, but without sufficient funding and a period of peace, their hands are tied.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
UN peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo -MONUSCO- say that yesterday they intervened in Lopa, in the Ituri province, to protect civilians after heavily armed members of the CODECO militia entered the area.
Gunfire broke out near the peacekeepers’ mobile base in the area, as CODECO fighters arrived, seeking confrontation.
The violence quickly escalated, resulting in looting and destruction. Despite the violence, six civilians, including a priest, were safely evacuated.
The UN peacekeeping mission continues to coordinate with Congolese national forces and local leaders to address the ongoing violence and to ensure the protection of civilians.
AFGHANISTAN
Turning to Afghanistan, the Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher has allocated $10 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to scale up life-saving assistance at the country’s border, amid an alarming surge in returns from Iran in recent weeks. The new funding will help expand support for the most vulnerable, including women and children, as they arrive and in their areas of return.
During the first 12 days of July alone, some 339,000 people returned from Iran to Afghanistan, bringing the total number to 1.1 million so far this year. That's according to UN agencies.
Families account for more than 60 per cent of the total returns from Iran, and 43 per cent of those returning are children under the age of 18. This includes a growing number of unaccompanied and separated children, raising serious protection concerns.
The majority of the recent returnees are traveling onward to the urban centers of Herat and the capital Kabul, and many need urgent support. The new arrivals are also putting further pressure on already vulnerable host communities, as services are already limited and resources scarce in many areas where people are returning.
The UN and its partners, are responding to the escalating needs wherever and whenever possible. So far this year, nearly 600,000 people have received food assistance at the border upon their return, with more than 500,000 receiving health support.
However, additional funding is sorely needed. Halfway through the year, the Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for Afghanistan is less than a quarter per cent funded, with a funding gap of over $1.8 billion.
UKRAINE
In Ukraine, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that hostilities yesterday and into the early hours of today killed at least five civilians, including a child, and injured 76 others, including four children. That’s according to authorities.
Widespread damage was reported across the country, with several residential buildings, and civilian infrastructure destroyed or damaged. Essential services were also disrupted.
Meanwhile, strikes in the Sumy and Donetsk regions, in the east of the country, continue to drive displacement.
OCHA warns that the humanitarian situation in the town of Pokrovsk and nearby villages in the Donetsk region continues to worsen as fighting nears.
Authorities say all critical infrastructure there has been destroyed, and about 1,400 people remain, with most of them taking shelter in basements. Local authorities are maintaining a few water points and distributing food and medicine, but fuel delivery is impossible, and the last shops are expected to close. Authorities are urging civilians to evacuate, although these efforts are highly constrained and carried out by specialized police in armoured vehicles.
Our humanitarian partners are supporting evacuees in transit centres with cash and other assistance. In the Dnipro region, support from the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund is helping aid organizations assist newly displaced people at a transit centre in Pavlohrad City. This includes providing psychosocial support, legal aid, and help with recovering lost documents.
HAITI
Turning to Haiti, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs remains deeply concerned over escalating violence in the Artibonite department, which has triggered a new wave of displacement.
The International Organization for Migration reports that nearly 15,000 people fled after armed attacks last week [16 July] in the communes of Dessalines and Verrettes. Most of them sought safety in Poste Pierrot, a remote part of Dessalines, where they are being hosted by local families. This, as you can imagine, is putting additional pressure on already vulnerable communities.
Elsewhere in the Artibonite department, the security situation in the commune of L’Estère is worsening. Clashes erupted there between gangs and local self-defense groups on Saturday [19 July], leading to additional displacement and damage to civilian property.
This followed a series of coordinated offensives by gangs between 14 and 17 July across several parts of the Artibonite department, including Liancourt, Jean Denis, Désarmes, Montrouis and Grande-Saline. In addition to casualties, preliminary reports indicate that homes and vehicles were destroyed.
Displaced families are in urgent need of hygiene supplies, food, emergency shelter, medical assistance, and other essential items. However, OCHA warns that ongoing insecurity continues to severely restrict humanitarian access, making it difficult to reach the most affected communities.
This latest displacement adds to an already dire situation nationwide. As we told you last week, nearly 1.3 million people are displaced – the highest number ever recorded in Haiti due to violence and insecurity.
OCHA reiterates the urgency of scaling up humanitarian support and protection for displaced families in Artibonite and across the country. We continue to work with partners and authorities to improve access, mobilize additional funding – which is critically needed-, and ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches those most in need – despite the increasingly constrained operating environment.
GUESTS
Noon briefing guests today: Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, World Health Organization representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territory. He briefed on the situation in Gaza.
Second noon briefing guest was Chief Economist Máximo Torero of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). He briefed reporters on food price inflation and what to expect from the upcoming State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) 2025 report.
Tomorrow, noon briefing guest is Ms. Margot van der Velden, the World Food Programme’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa. She will brief reporters on the humanitarian situation in Nigeria.
