HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
TUESDAY, 29 APRIL 2025
INDIA/PAKISTAN
This morning, the Secretary-General spoke separately by telephone with Muhammad Shebaz Sharif, the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and he also spoke earlier in the day with Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, the Minister for External Affairs of the Republic of India. In his phone calls, the Secretary-General reiterated his strong condemnation of the 22 April terrorist attack that took place in Jammu and Kashmir. The Secretary-General noted the importance of pursuing justice and accountability for these attacks through lawful means.
The Secretary-General also expressed his deep concern at the rising tensions between India and Pakistan and he also underscored the need to avoid a confrontation that could result in tragic consequences.
The Secretary-General offered his Good Offices to support any de-escalation efforts.
SECURITY COUNCIL
The Secretary-General, in a briefing to the Security Council this morning on Israel and Palestine, said that the promise of a two-State solution is at risk of dwindling to the point of disappearance. The political commitment to this long-standing goal is farther than it has ever been, he said.
The world cannot afford to watch the two-State solution disappear, heasserted. Political leaders face clear choices -- the choice to be silent, the choice to acquiesce, or the choice is to act.
Regarding Gaza, Mr. Guterres said that the recent ceasefire had brought a glimmer of hope – the long-sought release of hostages and the delivery of lifesaving humanitarian relief. But those embers of opportunity were cruelly extinguished with the shattering of the ceasefire on 18 March.
The Secretary-General said that he was alarmed by statements by Israeli government officials about the use of humanitarian aid as a tool for military pressure. Aid is non-negotiable, he said. Israel must protect civilians and must agree to relief schemes and facilitate them, he said.
The Secretary-General told the Council that there must be no hindrance to humanitarian aid – including through the vital work of UNRWA. We need the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, and we need a permanent ceasefire.
Mr. Guterres added that it’s time to stop the repeated displacement of the Gaza population – along with any question of forced displacement outside of Gaza, and the trampling of international law must end.
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today said that repeated displacement orders by Israeli forces have forced many families to flee, disrupted access to essential services and hampered humanitarian operations. UN partners working in health report that immunization services at 13 delivery points were interrupted due to displacement orders.
The total Israeli blockages in Gaza, now nearing two months, continues to prevent the entry of humanitarian aid and commercial goods. Critical supplies – including food – are running out, and pushing more than two million people deeper into hunger.
The High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk today urged the world to act to prevent the collapse of critical life-saving support in Gaza, where Israeli strikes continue to kill civilians, including in shelters and health facilities. He said that as the complete blocking of assistance essential for survival enters its ninth week, there must be a concerted international effort to stop this humanitarian catastrophe from reaching a new unseen level.
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said that children in Gaza are being denied routine vaccinations due to relentless hostilities, due to forced displacement and due to the blocking of aid.
UN humanitarian partners report that access to essential healthcare remains extremely limited for people across the Gaza Strip, particularly the most vulnerable groups. For instance, more than 150,000 women are at risk or living with serious conditions, such as hypertension or cancer, without adequate medical support.
The fuel situation is rapidly deteriorating. With the accessible benzene nearly depleted and diesel reserves critically low, remaining fuel stocks are being prioritized for health purposes, water, sanitation and telecommunications systems to help support life-saving operations.
UN humanitarian partners have made repeated attempts to retrieve fuel from areas that are currently inaccessible – either because they are under active displacement orders or located in “no-go” zones that require humanitarian movements to be coordinate with Israeli authorities. However, our efforts to access these areas are routinely denied. Just today, the Israeli authorities denied an attempt by UN agencies to retrieve fuel from Rafah.
Overall, the UN and its partners attempted five coordinated movements today, but four of them were denied. The only exception was related to staff rotation, and not to deliveries.
Over the past week, in Gaza governorate, OCHA and UN humanitarian partners conducted assessments in four displacement sites that had been hit by air strikes. They provided cash assistance to at least 140 families living in these sites.
To the south, in Khan Younis, our humanitarian partners mobilized assistance for another displacement site in the Mawasi area, distributing tarpaulins and shelter kits to affected families.
Families at this site have been referred to partners to provide them with urgent cash assistance. Partners working on health carried out an assessment and are now mobilizing psychosocial support, particularly for children.
SECRETARY-GENERAL/SYRIA
Yesterday, the Secretary-General met with Asaad Al-Shaibani, the interim Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of Syria. They discussed the UN support for an inclusive political transition in Syria, efforts to increase humanitarian support for civilians across the country, and work towards economic recovery and the progressive removal of sanctions.
The Secretary-General reiterated the importance of inclusivity in the political process to meet the legitimate aspirations of all Syrians, and also for enabling them to peacefully, independently and democratically determine the future of their country, in line with Security Council resolution 2254. The Secretary-General also expressed concern about violations of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement.
LEBANON
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) today received a visit of ambassadors and representatives of 38 countries, including all five permanent members of the Security Council, to its headquarters. These were representatives of their respective countries to Lebanon. They also visited two peacekeeping positions along the Blue Line.
The Ambassadors and representatives of the countries expressed their appreciation for peacekeepers’ important work under difficult circumstances to support the implementation of the cessation of hostilities and the implementation of resolution 1701.
Meanwhile, our peacekeepers continue to patrol across their area of operations, discovering in the past few days a bunker and suspected tunnel entrances, weapons caches. All of this was reported to the Lebanese Armed Forces.
And just to note that since the cessation of hostilities understanding of 27 November last year, peacekeepers have discovered and reported over 225 weapons caches to the Lebanese Armed Forces.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY/POPE
At 3:00 p.m., the Secretary-General will deliver remarks to the plenary meeting of the General Assembly to pay tribute of the late Pope Francis. He is expected to note that the Pope always saw challenges through the eyes of those on the peripheries of life and said that we can never look away from injustice and inequality — or close our eyes to those suffering from conflict or acts of violence.
Also today, the UN flag is flying at half-staff in honour of the late Pontiff.
SECURITY COUNCIL/UKRAINE
At 4:00 pm, the Security Council will hold a briefing on the maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine. Rosemary DiCarlo, the Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs will brief, as well as Joyce Msuya, the Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs.
AFGHANISTAN
The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, was in Kandahar today – in the south of Afghanistan. He met the de facto provincial governor, Mullah Shirin Akhund, to discuss the urgency of addressing the ongoing humanitarian crisis, and the arrival of a growing number of Afghan returnees from Pakistan driving needs even higher.
Mr. Fletcher visited a reception centre, where we and our humanitarian partners are providing support, including health checks and cash. Mr. Fletcher also visited the Mirwais Regional Hospital, where medical teams are doing everything they can to sustain critical care, including for mothers and newborns, despite the brutal funding cuts. Mr. Fletcher warned that in the face of dwindling resources, facilities are overcrowded, and doctors are having to make impossible choices about which patients to prioritize.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) also says that across Afghanistan, more than 400 health facilities have been forced to close so far – denying over 3 million people access to primary healthcare.
And on a note on the returnees to Afghanistan, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) today warned that an even deeper humanitarian crisis is looming in the country as tens of thousands of Afghans are being forced to return from neighbouring countries. UNHCR said that in April alone, more than 251,000 Afghans have returned in adverse circumstances from both Iran and Pakistan, and that includes over 96,000 who were deported. The UN Refugee Agency said that it continues to advocate with both Governments of Iran and Pakistan that returns to Afghanistan must be voluntary, they must be safe and they must be dignified. The UN agency warns that forcing or putting pressure on Afghans to return is unsustainable and could destabilize the region.
Amid the current funding uncertainties, the UNHCR today called for $71 million to respond to this crisis across the region for a nine-month period.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) tells us that continued clashes in parts of South Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are impacting civilians and humanitarian operations.
In Walungu territory, according to local authorities, new fighting yesterday resulted in at least ten civilian casualties and forced people to flee. The violence has disrupted both economic activities and humanitarian operations in the area.
In Kalehe territory, Minova hospital has reported multiple cases of rape and physical assault in recent days amid the deteriorating situation in the area. Meanwhile, in Fizi territory, intense fighting last week led to the looting of health centres and the burning of several school facilities, critically undermining access to essential services. That is what local authorities are telling us.
The UN reiterates its call on all parties in the South Kivu province to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, and to ensure safe, unimpeded humanitarian access for humanitarian aid for those who need desperately.
In the North Kivu province, our humanitarian colleagues say that more than 20,000 human beings have reportedly returned to villages in Masisi territory between February and March. Again, that is what local authorities are telling us. While exact numbers require verification, our partners on the ground say there is an urgent need to provide shelter, education, food and basic services. These families have previously been registered in several displacement sites in the towns of Goma and Nyiragongo.
In Walikale territory, local humanitarian partners report cycles of displacement and precarious returns.
For example, following clashes in the town of Kibati on April 13th, approximately half of the displaced people there returned home, only to be forced to flee again during renewed violence that took place last week. The repeated displacements highlight the extreme vulnerability of these people in conflict-affected areas and underscores the urgent need for enhanced protection measures.
HAITI
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today said that gang activities continue to fuel violence, they continue to displace families and they continue to disrupt much needed humanitarian operations across multiple parts of the country.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), as of 4 days ago, on 25 April, more than 200,000 men, women and children were living in spontaneous displacement sites across the country. These sites have nearly doubled between March and April — from 119 to 228. IOM says this is largely due to the fact that more people have been forced to flee following attacks in the Centre Department.
Also important to note that more than 90 per cent of the people who have sought refuge at spontaneous sites are concentrated in the capital, Port-au-Prince.
In the commune of Kenscoff in the Ouest Department, armed attacks last week displaced nearly 1,000 people, with half of them finding shelter with families, while others moved to three newly established sites. Police vehicles were set on fire and multiple security incidents resulting in casualties were reported. That is what local partners are telling us.
The ongoing insecurity continues to impact humanitarian operations. Between March 21st and April 25th, a humanitarian partner has recorded 15 incidents affecting NGOs, including trucks being blocked, supplies burned, crossfire incidents, and attacks against NGO vehicles that were clearly labelled us such.
Access to critical roads remains extremely limited, forcing the reliance on costly air transport. OCHA is working with all parties to sustain access for relief supplies and personnel movements into the affected areas.
They are also coordinating with its partners to strengthen efforts for an effective, targeted humanitarian response, as security conditions allow, and, of course, as money allows it.
LOCUSTS
In North Africa, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is urging countries to enhance monitoring and initiate control measures as desert locust groups and small swarms - originating in the Sahel – are moving into the southern Sahara. FAO also said locust activity intensified from late February through March, with swarms arriving in central Algeria, western Libya, and southern Tunisia. Due to favorable ecological conditions, the current breeding season has witnessed significantly larger infestations than usual.
FAO urged countries to conduct intensive ground surveys across key areas where locust breeding is likely to occur – spanning from the south of the Atlas Mountains in Morocco to the Sahara in Algeria and extending to southern Tunisia and western Libya. The desert locust remains one of the world’s most destructive migratory pests.
A single swarm can cover one to several hundreds of square kilometers, but a single square kilometer of swarm can contain up to 80 million adults locust, with the capacity to consume the same amount of food in one day as 35,000 people. That is a lot.
NOON BRIEFING GUEST
Tomorrow, the noon briefing guests will be Kanni Wignaraja, UNDP’s Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, and Stephen Rodriques, UNDP’s Resident Representative in Afghanistan, who will be briefing virtually from Kabul.
They will brief on the release of UNDP’s Afghanistan Socio-Economic Review entitled “Fragile Gains, Deepening Subsistence Insecurity.”
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION
Jamaica has made a full payment to the Regular Budget. Jamaica’s payment brings the number of fully paid-up Member States to 98.
