HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
FRIDAY, 20 JUNE 2025
IRAN/ISRAEL
Speaking to the Security Council this morning, the Secretary-General urged Israel and Iran to give peace a chance and warned Council members that we are not drifting toward crisis – we are racing toward it.
He said that the Non-Proliferation Treaty is a cornerstone of international security and Iran must respect it. The only way to bridge the trust gap with Iran, he added, is through diplomacy to establish a credible, comprehensive and verifiable solution – including full access to inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Mr. Guterres warned that the only thing that is predictable is that the consequences of continuing this conflict are unpredictable.
Rosemary DiCarlo, the Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, told the Council that the scope and scale of attacks in Iran and Israel continue to widen, with grave consequences for civilians in both countries. The intensifying cycle of attacks and counterattacks has resulted in hundreds of civilian casualties, including fatalities, in both Iran and Israel.
She added that we are teetering on the edge of a full-blown conflict and a humanitarian crisis. International humanitarian law must be respected, including the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution in attack.
Ms. DiCarlo said that we welcome the talks between the Foreign Ministers of France, Germany, the UK, and Iran in Geneva today. We strongly encourage such efforts. We must pursue every possible opportunity to de-escalate, to cease the hostilities, to settle disputes by peaceful means, she said.
Rafael Grossi, the Director General of the IAEA, told the Council that attacks on nuclear sites in Iran have caused a sharp degradation in nuclear safety and security there. Though they have not so far led to a radiological release affecting the public, there is a danger this could occur, he said.
Mr. Grossi said that he is ready to travel immediately and to engage with all relevant parties to help ensure the protection of nuclear facilities and the continued peaceful use of nuclear technology in accordance with the Agency mandate, including by deploying Agency nuclear safety and security experts wherever necessary.
SECURITY COUNCIL/AFTERNOON
At 3:00 p.m., the Security Council will reconvene for a briefing on Maintenance of Peace and Security of Ukraine. Miroslav Jenča, the Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia, and the Americas, and Edem Wosornu, the Director of Operations and Advocacy at OCHA, are expected to brief Council members.
UKRAINE
On Ukraine, our colleagues at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tell us that today, attacks in the cities of Kharkiv and Odesa killed and injured civilians, including children and first responders. This is according to local authorities. Homes, education facilities and utility pipelines were also damaged. Additional casualties were reported in the regions of Donetsk, Kherson, and Dnipro. In Odesa and Kharkiv, humanitarian organizations, supporting local responders, provided hot meals, emergency shelter and psychosocial support.
Meanwhile, an inter-agency humanitarian convoy today delivered vital aid to the community of Bilozerka in the region of Kherson, in the south of the country. The supplies included hygiene items, bed linen, kitchen sets, first aid kits and a charging station. The area remains under constant shelling, and thousands of residents need humanitarian aid. This was the second humanitarian convoy to reach front-line areas of the Kherson region this week. Our humanitarian colleagues note that some 9.4 million Ukrainians are still displaced inside the country or abroad—more than four years since the full-scale invasion and over a decade into the war that began in 2014. This includes 5.6 million refugees globally, according to the UN Refugee Agency. The International Organization for Migration says that another 3.8 million people remain internally displaced.
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
Turning to the situation in Gaza, colleagues in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tell us that Israeli authorities issued another displacement order today in Gaza governorate, citing Palestinian rocket fire from that area. This has affected two neighbourhoods where hundreds of families are living.
Yesterday, out of 21 attempts by the UN and our humanitarian partners to coordinate humanitarian movements inside Gaza, 12 were facilitated by the Israeli authorities, including the despatch of fuel to the north, the retrieval of solid waste, and the distribution of medical supplies. Five other attempts, including water trucking and road repair, were denied, while the remaining four had to be cancelled by the organizers.
OCHA reminds us that no fuel has entered the Strip for 16 weeks. The UN had managed to retrieve fuel from the At Tahreer station in Rafah on Wednesday, and a limited amount of that fuel was delivered yesterday to public utilities in southern Gaza. That allowed the continued operation of desalination plants, water trucking services and sewage pumping stations. However, fuel instability and shortages continue to limit operations, resulting in reduced operating hours and capacity.
Regarding telecommunications, you’ll recall that central and southern Gaza have been experiencing a major telecommunications outage this week, due to the damage of a fibre-optic cable serving those areas. Today, one of the Palestinian service providers reported that they have started to restore fixed internet and landline services in some parts of southern Gaza.
Despite major security risks and the difficult conditions on the ground, the team continues to work to get services back up and running in central and southern areas of the Strip.
Meanwhile, UNICEF warns that the number of malnourished children in Gaza is rising at an alarming rate, with more than 5,100 children between six months and five years of age admitted for treatment for acute malnutrition in May alone. The agency says this represents a nearly 50 per cent increase compared to April and a 150 per cent increase compared to February, when a ceasefire was in effect and aid was entering the Strip in significant quantities.
UNICEF says that in just 150 days, from the start of the year until the end of May, more than 16,700 children, which is an average of 112 each day, have been admitted for malnutrition treatment in Gaza.
Each one of these cases is preventable. The food, water and nutrition treatments these children desperately need are being blocked from reaching them.
UNICEF called for Israel to urgently allow the large-scale delivery of life-saving aid through all border crossings. The agency says it is currently distributing what little nutrition supplies it is able to bring into Gaza. Meanwhile, the equivalent of 1,000 truckloads of health, nutrition and other supplies are outside the borders, ready to be delivered.
Over the last two days, more than 1,400 children and caregivers received critical services, including structured psychosocial support, case management and individual consultations, across 10 locations in Gaza City, Deir al Balah and Khan Younis.
Turning to the West Bank, OCHA is warning that more than 1,200 Palestinians in 13 communities in the Masafer Yatta area of southern Hebron are now at greater risk of forced displacement. This follows a new Israeli move to reject any pending and new planning-and-zoning requests in that area outright, including applications for building permits.
OCHA warns that this latest development could speed up the demolition of all structures in those communities. OCHA is calling for stepped-up protection for the herding communities who have remained in the area for decades, as they come under mounting pressure to leave.
PEACEKEEPING
Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, arrived today in Damascus where he is scheduled to meet officials.
Earlier today, he visited Camp Faouar where he met with the UN Disengagement Observer Force peacekeepers (UNDOF) and was briefed on the latest developments in the mission area.
Prior to that, Mr. Lacroix as you know was in Lebanon. Throughout his engagements with the officials there, Mr. Lacroix reaffirmed the crucial role of the peacekeeping mission and the importance of the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701.
Mr. Lacroix also visited areas along the Blue Line, and expressed his appreciation for the work of our Blue Helmets, operating under increasingly complex and challenging conditions.
While there, he also held a last official meeting with outgoing Head of Mission and Force Commander Lt. Gen. Aroldo Lázaro.
SWITZERLAND
Earlier this morning, the Swiss Government announced a generous financial package of support to the United Nations presence in Geneva.
The Secretary-General is very much appreciative of the Swiss Federal Council for this decision. We are determined to continue working in partnership with Switzerland to advance the cause of multilateralism. Our presence in Geneva remains an integral part of the UN system. The Swiss support is crucial for that endeavor.
CHILDREN AND ARMED CONFLICT
The Secretary-General, in his annual report on Children and Armed Conflict, which is now out, says that last year saw the highest number of grave violations against children in armed conflict since the United Nations started monitoring them 30 years ago. In 2024, the office on Children and Armed Conflict recorded 41,370 incidents of such violations – a 25% increase compared to 2023. Nearly 12,000 children were verified to have been killed or maimed, with the likely toll far higher.
The places with the highest levels of violations in 2024 were Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, notably the Gaza Strip, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Nigeria and Haiti.
The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba, said that these findings should serve as a wake-up call, showing that we are at the point of no return.
WORLD REFUGEE DAY
In his message for the World Refugee Day, the Secretary-General said that today, we recognize the millions of refugees forced to flee war, persecution, and disaster. He noted that from Sudan to Ukraine, from Haiti to Myanmar, a record number of people are on the run for their lives, while support is dwindling. And host communities, the Secretary-General added, often in developing countries, are shouldering the greatest burden. This is unfair and unsustainable, he said, stressing that solidarity must go beyond words.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, who is spending the World Refugee Day in Syria with some of the 600,000 people who have returned from neighbouring countries, underscored that the day is also a moment to sound an alarm on the refugees’ behalf. Now more than ever, he stressed, we must stand with refugees to keep alive their hopes of a better future.
And on a related note, in Botswana, our UN team welcomes the complete relocation this week of more than 460 asylum seekers, nearly half of them children, from the Francistown Centre for Illegal Immigrants to the Dukwi Refugee Settlement. Our UN colleagues said that this long-awaited move brings long-overdue relief to people held in detention since 2021 and marks an important step toward upholding the rights and dignity of refugees and asylum seekers.
SUDAN
Turning to the dreadful humanitarian situation in Sudan, we echo the calls made today by Volker Türk, the Human Rights Chief.
Mr. Türk urged the parties to ensure civilians can safely leave the cities of El Fasher, Al Debibat, and El Obeid, as well as other places where civilians may be trapped because of the escalation in hostilities.
He also called for thorough investigations into the violations and crimes committed, and that those responsible be held to account.
SRI LANKA
The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk will visit Sri Lanka on 23 June. He will discuss with the officials there a wide range of issues related to human rights.
He will hold a news conference in Colombo at the end of his mission on Thursday, 26 June.
INTERNATIONAL DAYS
Tomorrow is International Day of Yoga.
And tomorrow is the International Day of the Celebration of Solstice.
GUESTS ON MONDAY
On Monday, Deputy Secretary-General, Amina J. Mohammed, along with Ambassador Héctor Gómez Hernández, the Permanent Representative of Spain to the United Nations and Ambassador Chola Milambo, the Permanent Representative of Zambia to the United Nations will brief reporters on expectations for the upcoming Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development.
There will be Spanish/English interpretation.
