HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ,
DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
FRIDAY, 18 JULY 2025
NELSON MANDELA INTERNATIONAL DAY
Today is Nelson Mandela International Day. In his remarks to observe the Day at the General Assembly earlier today, Secretary-General, António Guterres, said that Madiba’s extraordinary life was a triumph of the human spirit. He endured the brutal weight of oppression, and emerged not with a vision of vengeance and division — but of reconciliation, peace and unity.
“Today, Madiba’s legacy is now our responsibility,” he added.
The Secretary-General congratulated the laureates of the 2025 Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela Prize, Brenda Reynolds and Kennedy Odede. Both prize winners, he said, embody Nelson Mandela’s words, which are engraved on their Prizes: “What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others.”
He added that as the UN celebrates its 80th anniversary, Nelson Mandela’s legacy of reconciliation and transformation continues to inspire and drive us.
CYPRUS
Yesterday afternoon, in a press encounter after the conclusion of the informal meeting on Cyprus, the Secretary-General said that the discussions were constructive, and both leaders reviewed the progress on the six initiatives they agreed in March to build trust.
Out of these six initiatives, four have been achieved: the creation of a technical committee on youth; initiatives on the environment and climate change, including the impact on mining areas; the restoration of cemeteries; and an agreement on demining that will be closed once the final technical details are established.
The Secretary-General noted that discussions will continue on the remaining two initiatives, which are the opening of four crossing points and solar energy in the buffer zone.
The Secretary-General said that there’s a long road ahead, and it is important to think about what the future can mean – for all Cypriots.
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warns that the continued onslaught and mass deprivation of people in the Strip is being normalized. Every day brings more preventable deaths, displacement and desperation.
Just today, the Israeli authorities issued yet another displacement order, this time for parts of North Gaza. The UN also continues to receive deeply troubling reports of malnourished children and adults being admitted to hospitals with little resources available to treat them properly.
OCHA warns that the energy crisis in Gaza continues to deepen, despite the resumption of limited fuel imports. That’s because the small quantities entering – while critical to continue – remain at lower levels than what we were previously able to extract from dwindling internal reserves, which have now been fully depleted.
The depletion of fuel has forced solid waste collection to pause over the past couple of days, and additional water wells have also had to shut down, particularly in Deir al Balah. While specific health services – including dialysis – have reduced or shut down, others could go on for a few more days before they too will have to go dark. With every day that passes, people have less clean water and healthcare and more sewage flooding ground floors.
To give you some numbers: Since the limited entry of fuel entry supplies resumed on 9 July, the UN has managed to send just over 600,000 litres of diesel to Kerem Shalom. And you’ll recall that yesterday, for the first time, we were also able to send 35,000 litres of much-needed benzene. These volumes are limited because Israeli authorities have allowed only 14 trucks over the past week.
This is – on average – 55,000 litres per day, including the weekends, when the crossing is closed. As we’ve said before, to sustain life-saving operations, we need hundreds of thousands of litres of fuel every single day. The limited fuel now coming in is being allocated primarily to health, water and telecommunication services, as well as to power vehicles.
To give you some additional background: Fuel is offloaded into an underground pipeline on the Israeli side of Kerem Shalom, then extracted on the Gaza side by separate Palestinian tankers. The compound there is fenced off and heavily militarized. For our drivers to access it, Israeli authorities must pause hostilities, give the green light, and allow enough time for extraction and safe return of our teams through highly dangerous terrain. This creates delays and further undermines the predictability of fuel flows.
Meanwhile, humanitarian movements inside Gaza continue to be restricted. Yesterday, seven out of our 13 attempts to coordinate the movement of aid workers and supplies with the Israeli authorities were facilitated, allowing our teams to retrieve some fuel, collect some water, relocate generators, provide supplies related to hygiene and sanitation, and transfer much-needed medical supplies. However, the six remaining attempts were either outright denied or approved initially but then faced impediments on the ground.
SYRIA
The Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, expressed his grave concerns over the continued violence in Sweida, and the targeting of civilians. He spoke last night with the Interim Foreign Minister of Syria, Asaad Shibani and urged restraint, protection of all communities, and called for accountability.
Mr. Pedersen stressed that stability and civil peace must prevail and reprisals must be avoided. He added that Israel’s provocative violations must stop now and credible, orderly and inclusive political transition in Syria must be the priority.
Also on Syria, you will have seen that yesterday afternoon, Khaled Khiari, the Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, briefed the Security Council on the situation in Syria.
He reiterated the Secretary-General’s condemnation of all violence against civilians. He also echoed the Secretary-General's condemnation of Israel’s escalatory airstrikes, including on Suweida, Daraa, and in the center of the capital, Damascus.
SECURITY COUNCIL/COLOMBIA
This morning, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Colombia, Carlos Ruiz Massieu, briefed Security Council members. He said that despite progress, the Peace Agreement's implementation continues to face serious challenges, mainly the limited presence of State institutions in some regions, where peace dividends are limited, armed groups proliferate, illicit economies thrive and violence persists. He underscored the vital role of the international community in supporting Colombians as they strive to achieve a better future, stressing that this support remains as important as ever in helping maintain momentum towards peace.
This was Mr. Massieu’s last briefing to the Security Council before he takes up his appointment as the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Haiti and Head of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti. His remarks were shared with you.
HAITI
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stresses the need to scale up support for displaced families in the country, amid widespread insecurity that continues to drive people from their homes. As of last month, there were nearly 250 active displacement sites across Haiti. However, the vast majority are informal sites – with just over a fifth managed by humanitarian organizations, in collaboration with local authorities. This means that many families are living in precarious conditions.
Since the beginning of the year, the UN and its partners have provided support to more than 113,000 displaced people, including essential services such as water, shelter, sanitation and healthcare.
Nearly 1.3 million people are now internally displaced in Haiti – the highest number ever recorded in the country due to violence.
In June alone, more than 200 alerts were reported across displacement sites. These alerts are reports of urgent problems, such as lack of water, food, shelter or healthcare. Over 80 per cent were related to essential needs. This underscores the need to step up humanitarian assistance to help ensure the safety and dignity of displaced people living in extremely difficult conditions.
However, the overall response remains severely constrained by limited funding and persistent insecurity. This is hampering humanitarian access to the most affected areas and delaying the delivery of aid.
OCHA continues to work closely with Haitian authorities and humanitarian partners to coordinate relief efforts, strengthen on-the-ground presence, and mobilize additional resources to support displaced communities.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that ongoing violence in South Kivu and North Kivu provinces – in the east of the the Democratic Republic of Congo = – continues to claim the lives of civilians and trigger new displacement.
In North Kivu, our partners on the ground in the territories of Rutshuru and Lubero reported that fighting between M23 and other armed groups continued until this past Tuesday. As of earlier this week, eight civilians had reportedly been killed, with more than 42,500 fleeing the fighting.
In South Kivu, heavy clashes between M23 and other armed groups have persisted since early July in several territories – including Walungu, Kabare, Fizi, Mwenga and Kalehe. Local partners say the fighting has displaced at least 37,000 people from their homes.
A humanitarian convoy coordinated by OCHA – which was primarily planned for today along the road between the provincial capital, Bukavu, and the city of Uvira – has been postponed due to a lack of necessary security guarantees for that route.
Meanwhile, in villages along the border between North Kivu and Ituri provinces, attacks by ADF armed groups have reportedly killed at least 65 civilians, with dozens more injured. Many others remain missing. Significant displacement has been reported toward Beni and Mambasa territories. While precise figures are still being verified, our humanitarian partners stress that civilians urgently need humanitarian assistance – especially food, shelter, education and basic services.
UN partners and teams on the ground are doing their best to maintain services for those affected, but access restrictions and severe funding shortages pose significant obstacles. Halfway through the year, our $2.54 billion response plan for the DRC is less than 13 per cent funded, with about $321 million received to date.
The lack of funding is putting the lives of millions of people in the DRC at risk. Many partners are forced to scale back their operations, disrupting essential services for those in need. OCHA calls on the international community to take urgent action to address these severe funding gaps and stave off a humanitarian tragedy.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO/PEACEKEEPING
The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) reports that in response to attacks against civilians on 15 July near Iga-Barrière and Lopa, north of Bunia town in Ituri province, UN peacekeepers deployed joint patrols with the Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC) and established a Mobile Operating Base to protect civilians and mitigate the threat posed by armed groups. The attacks were carried out by elements of the Zaïre armed group affiliated with the Convention for the Revolution Populaire (CRP) led by ICC-sanctioned individual Thomas Lubanga.
Meanwhile, MONUSCO police are supporting national security forces, including the FARDC and the Congolese National Police, to intensify security measures in and around the city of Bunia. This coordinated effort aims to strengthen the protection of civilians and prevent the infiltration of armed groups operating on the outskirts of the provincial capital.
AFGHANISTAN
The UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) today warned that the surge in the number of Afghans forced or compelled to return to Afghanistan this year is creating a multi-layered human rights crisis requiring the urgent attention of the international community. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called for an immediate halt to the forcible return of all Afghan refugees and asylum-seekers, particularly those at risk of persecution, arbitrary detention, or torture upon their return.
The UN Human Rights Office stressed that countries in the region must ensure that returns to Afghanistan are voluntary, safe, dignified, and consistent with international law. OHCHR also noted that women and girls, who are systematically deprived of their rights in Afghanistan, are particularly at risk upon their return.
UKRAINE/UN OFFICE ON DRUGS AND CRIME
A report released today by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) shows that criminal groups in Ukraine are shifting business models as the war, now in its fourth year, has driven up displacement, trafficking risks and demand for synthetic drugs such as methadone. UNODC warns that the war has not only inflicted untold suffering on the Ukrainian people but has also triggered a marked evolution in organized crime – which can have profound implications on the country’s journey towards recovery and reconstruction.
The report includes several recommendations to help counteract and mitigate these crimes.
NUCLEAR WAR
Yesterday, the Secretary-General announced the appointment of an independent scientific panel of experts tasked with examining the physical effects and societal consequences of a nuclear war on a local, regional and planetary scale in the days, weeks and decades following a nuclear war.
The establishment of this 21-member Panel is a response to a global environment in which the risk of nuclear war is higher than at any point since the depths of the Cold War.
The panelists are leaders in their fields, across a range of scientific disciplines, and come from all regions of the world. The Panel will hold its first meeting in September and will submit a final report to the General Assembly in 2027.
REFUGEES
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) today released a report warning that following major cuts to humanitarian budgets, up to 11.6 million refugees and others forced to flee risk losing access this year to direct humanitarian assistance from UNHCR. The figure represents about one-third of those reached by the organization last year. The report highlights a deadly confluence of factors pummeling millions of refugees and displaced people: rising displacement, shrinking funding and political apathy. And women and children are, as ever, the hardest hit.
Altogether, $1.4 billion of essential programmes are being cut or put on hold, according to the analysis of UNHCR programmes and funds received this year. Cuts have forced UNHCR to pause the movement of new arrivals from border areas to safer locations in places like Chad and South Sudan, leaving thousands stranded in remote locations. In Uganda, malnutrition rates are soaring in some reception centres, with limited access to clean water and food.
INTERNATIONAL DAYS
Sunday is the World Chess Day. Chess is one of the most ancient, intellectual and cultural games. As an affordable and inclusive activity, it can be exercised anywhere and played by all, across the barriers of language, age, gender, physical ability or social status.
Also, Sunday is International Moon Day. This Day marks the anniversary of the first landing by humans on the Moon as part of the Apollo 11 lunar mission in 1969.
