HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANIE TREMBLAY,
ASSOCIATE SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
FRIDAY, 13 JUNE 2025
IRAN/ISRAEL
The Secretary-General condemns any military escalation in the Middle East.
He is particularly concerned by Israeli attacks on nuclear installations in Iran while talks between Iran and the United States on the status of Iran's nuclear programme are underway.
The Secretary-General recalls the obligation of UN Member States to act in accordance with the UN Charter and international law.
The Secretary-General asks both sides to show maximum restraint, avoiding at all costs a descent into deeper conflict, a situation that the region can hardly afford.
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
Turning to the Gaza Strip, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that the blockade on fuel, imposed by Israeli authorities for more than 100 days, continues. Sufficient fuel supplies are paramount for keeping essential life-saving services running in Gaza. These include intensive care units and critical health, water and sanitation services.
OCHA says that the Israeli authorities continue to deny many humanitarian movements aimed at providing support to the population within the Strip. Yesterday, the Israeli authorities rejected 8 out of 18 attempts made by the UN to coordinate such movements, including efforts to retrieve wheat flour and fuel supplies.
Out of the remaining 10 attempts, four missions were unable to be accomplished, either because of impediments or because organizers had to cancel them – which typically happen for security or logistical reasons. The remaining six missions – which included the movement of staff – were facilitated and accomplished. And you will have seen that the Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher issued a statement yesterday saying that attacks on civilians in Gaza – including the killing and injury of hungry people seeking food and those delivering aid – are unacceptable. Mr. Fletcher said UN convoys carrying humanitarian aid have been intercepted by armed Palestinian gangs, endangering our staff and drivers.
Meanwhile, civilians in desperate need of the limited food, we are able to bring in, have been shot by Israeli forces, crushed by trucks, or stabbed while trying to retrieve food. We underscore that life-saving aid must reach people in need in line with humanitarian principles.
Meanwhile, the telecommunications outage has massively disrupted humanitarian operations. As we mentioned here yesterday, Gaza remains without internet or data connectivity after the last fibre cable route serving central and southern Gaza was cut yesterday, following intense hostilities. To give you an example of how critical connectivity is, just a couple of hours ago, the Israeli military posted a warning on social media where areas marked in red on a map – apparently most of the Gaza Strip’s territory – are considered dangerous combat zones, calling people to stay away from them. But most people in Gaza have no way to access this announcement.
Humanitarian partners working on telecommunications continue their efforts to coordinate urgent repairs of the fibre cable routes in Gaza, including those that were previously damaged. However, they tell us that since April, the Israeli authorities have denied more than 20 of our partners’ requests to carry out that work.
As the outage continues, partners are unable to communicate or coordinate response activities, and people in need remain isolated and without the information they need to access life-saving support and emergency services. OCHA stresses that it is critical that that repair of the lines is enabled immediately.
CHAD
Turning to Chad, the Humanitarian Coordinator, François Batalingaya, said today that the country is in crisis with the east reaching a breaking point.
Climate shocks are intensifying. Last year’s floods affected nearly 2 million people and destroyed more than 400,000 acres of farmland.
Food insecurity continues to impact people in Chad. This year, more than 3 million people will struggle to feed themselves during the lean season which runs from June to August. This represents a staggering 400 percent increase compared to 660,000 people in 2015.
Since the outbreak of war in Sudan, over 850,000 Sudanese refugees have crossed into Chad, joining the 400,000 existing Sudanese refugees who arrived in waves over the last 15 years - tripling the number in just two years.
Today, around 300,000 people are stranded at the border, waiting to be relocated inland. Tens of thousands, mostly women and children, are sleeping in the open without shelter, clean water, or health care.
Chad’s long-standing hospitality is under severe strain. Clinics are overwhelmed. Malnutrition is rising. Basic services are stretched to the brink and cholera has now been detected in El Geneina, just 10 kilometers from Adré, the epicenter of the refugee crisis.
The UN and its humanitarian partners are mobilized and responding but we are limited by the low level of funding. The $1.4 billion Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan is only 9 per cent funded.
SENIOR PERSONNEL APPOINTMENT - UNSCO
The Secretary-General is appointing Ramiz Alakbarov of Azerbaijan as his new Deputy Special Coordinator and Resident Coordinator in the Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO). Dr. Alakbarov will also serve as Humanitarian Coordinator.
He succeeds Muhannad Hadi of Jordan, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his dedication and service. The Secretary-General also thanks Sarah Poole of the United States, who has been providing steadfast support in an ad interim capacity.
Dr. Alakbarov brings more than 30 years of extensive international experience in executive leadership, strategic planning and policy-making, development programming and management, and humanitarian response.
He has been serving as the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ethiopia since 2023.
Prior to this, he held the position of Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
UN OCEAN CONFERENCE
In Nice in France, the UN Ocean Conference, co-hosted by the Governments of France and Costa Rica, is just about to conclude. And a few minutes ago, the declaration committing to urgent action to conserve and sustainably use the ocean was adopted.
The political declaration calls for concrete steps to expand marine protected areas, decarbonize maritime transport, combat marine pollution, and mobilize “blue finance” for vulnerable coastal and island nations, among others.
INTERNATIONAL DAYS
Today is International Albinism Awareness Day.
This year’s theme “Demanding our rights: Protect our skin, Preserve our lives” highlights the urgent need to prevent skin cancer in persons with albinism through awareness, screenings, and sunscreen access.
Saturday is World Blood Day. This Day is a global tribute to the millions of voluntary, unpaid blood donors who give others a second chance at life.
And Sunday is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. It is a reminder that with a global ageing population and increasing reliance on institutional care, ensuring residents’ safety and dignity is now more urgent than ever.
