HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ,
DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
WEDNESDAY, 11 JUNE 2025
SECRETARY-GENERAL / VATICAN
The Secretary-General met with His Holiness Pope Leo XIV in Vatican City today. They discussed ongoing and future areas of collaboration between the Holy See and the United Nations in their joint efforts to build a peaceful, just and sustainable world.
His Holiness and the Secretary-General exchanged views on peace and security issues as well as other global priorities, including sustainable development, climate action and artificial intelligence and ways to build on the long legacy of cooperation between the United Nations and the Holy See.
The Secretary-General is on his way back to New York now.
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
Turning to the situation in the Gaza Strip, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs continues to receive reports of people being killed and injured while trying to access food. We reiterate in the strongest terms possible that no one should be forced to risk their lives to receive aid – as people across Gaza are at risk of famine.
Meanwhile, OCHA warns that the shortage of accessible fuel could force more health, water and sanitation facilities to shut down. This could affect the most basic of programmes. Vaccines, for one, require fuel for cold chain systems.
The collapse of telecommunications systems, internet connectivity and emergency communication systems is a real threat. This would cripple life-saving coordination and prevent affected communities from receiving critical information. Yet our attempts to access available stocks of fuel in Rafah continue to be rejected. Between 13 April and this past Monday, 29 out of 35 attempts were denied by the Israeli authorities. This morning’s mission was also denied.
Yesterday, at least 12 out of 24 attempts to coordinate humanitarian movements inside Gaza were denied by the Israeli authorities, including new attempts to truck potable water to vulnerable people who remain in northern Gaza, retrieve critical fuel and nutrition supplies from Rafah, and repair vital roads in the south.
International humanitarian law is crystal clear: If the population is inadequately supplied with the essentials for their survival, Israel must agree to humanitarian relief and facilitate it by all the means at its disposal.
Since the limited resumption of humanitarian assistance into Gaza on 19 May, the World Food Programme says that it has only been able to bring in small amounts of life-saving food and aid. This is largely due to delays or denials of permission for humanitarian movements due to expanded military operations.
As of 10 June, WFP has transported over 700 trucks of aid to the Kerem Shalom border crossing point. This compares to 600-700 trucks of aid transported per day during the ceasefire earlier this year. The trucks carried over 11,000 metric tonnes of food but only 6,000 metric tonnes have entered Gaza – enough to support fewer than 300,000 people for a month with minimal daily food requirements. This is a small fraction of what is needed for a population of 2.1 million people and far too slow to meet the overwhelming needs.
The World Health Organization and other partners working on health continue to sound the alarm over shrinking access to the remaining healthcare facilities in Gaza, particularly Al Amal and Al Nasser hospitals in Khan Younis. Al Amal Hospital, while still partially functioning, is unable to accept new patients due to hostilities nearby and because of its location inside an area under displacement orders. WHO reiterates that healthcare facilities must never be militarized and must always be protected.
Yesterday, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process ad interim, Sigrid Kaag, together with the Deputy Special Coordinator and UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Sarah Poole, visited Gaza City, where they met with partners to discuss the challenges they’re facing, as well as the UN's ongoing engagement at all levels to advocate for a meaningful scale-up of humanitarian support and access in Gaza.
UNIFIL
Our peacekeepers in southern Lebanon report that they were confronted by a group of individuals yesterday in civilian clothing in the vicinity of Hallusiyat al Tahta, while conducting a planned patrol coordinated with the Lebanese Armed Forces. The group attempted to obstruct the patrol using aggressive means, including throwing stones at the peacekeepers. Fortunately, no injuries were reported.
In response, UNIFIL personnel employed non-lethal measures to ensure the safety of both the patrol members and those present. The Lebanese Armed Forces was promptly informed and arrived on the scene shortly thereafter. The situation was quickly brought under control, and the patrol was able to proceed. Freedom of movement is a core requirement for the implementation of UNIFIL’s mandate. This includes the ability to operate independently and impartially, as outlined in Security Council resolution 1701.
Any restriction on this freedom, while conducting operational activities, with or without the Lebanese Armed Forces, constitutes a violation of that resolution. UNIFIL calls on the Lebanese authorities to ensure that its peacekeepers can carry out their mandated duties without obstruction or threat.
UKRAINE
Turning to Ukraine, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tells us that the city of Kharkiv came under attack overnight. This was the third time that Ukraine’s second-largest city was attacked in just five days. According to the local authorities, the attack killed and injured civilians, including children. Our humanitarian partners on the ground report extensive damage. Dozens of residential buildings, a school, playgrounds and public and private transport have been damaged.
The Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Mattias Schmale, condemned the attack. He said that it was part of an alarming rise in the frequency of attacks impacting civilians and civilian infrastructure across the country. We, along with our partners, provided first aid, shelter materials and other essentials, as well as psychosocial support.
Amid intensifying hostilities, authorities have announced the mandatory evacuations of civilians, particularly families with children, from seven more villages in the Kharkiv region.
Humanitarians continue to support people fleeing the hostilities and other people in need in the region. Between January and April of this year, nearly 200 humanitarian organizations reached more than 530,000 people in the Kharkiv region with at least one type of humanitarian assistance. This includes aid for some 94,000 internally displaced people. Aid efforts have focused on restoring water and sanitation systems, distributing food and agricultural inputs, delivering essential medicines and health care, and providing psychological support, multipurpose cash assistance and other critical humanitarian aid.
HAITI
Turning to Haiti, our colleagues at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs are concerned by the alarming rise in internal displacement in the country. The latest data from the International Organization for Migration shows that nearly 1.3 million people are now displaced across the country. This represents a 24 per cent increase since December 2024. It also marks the highest figure ever recorded due to violence in Haiti.
While Port-au-Prince remains the epicentre of violence among armed groups, the expansion of this into other regions—particularly in the Centre and Artibonite departments—has triggered large-scale displacement.
In the Centre department, the number of displaced people has more than doubled in a few months, more than doubling from 68,000 in December 2024 to over 145,000 in June this year. In Artibonite, more than 90,000 people have fled their homes since December, and the department of the North has seen an increase of nearly 80 per cent of people displaced. Displaced families are often forced to settle in informal sites or overcrowded host households with limited access to basic services.
Since December, the number of spontaneous displacement sites has risen sharply—from 142 to 246—with the most significant increase observed in the Centre department, which previously had none. Today, it hosts 85 active sites. Meanwhile, 83 per cent of displaced persons are hosted by families, creating additional pressure on already fragile rural communities.
IOM has scaled up its operations in the metropolitan zone of Port-au-Prince, reaching over 20,000 people with essential household items, delivering 3 million litres of clean water and providing basic healthcare to 6,000 people.
Mental health and psychosocial support have also been extended to more than 8,500 people.
OCHA says that this sharp deterioration in the displacement situation comes at a time when humanitarian access is increasingly restricted, and funding remains critically low. Without urgent support to meet growing needs and address the structural drivers of displacement, the crisis will deepen further, placing even more pressure on already overstretched systems and communities.
AUSTRIA
We had been asked about the shooting in Austria, and I can tell you that the Secretary-General is deeply shocked and saddened by the school shooting that took place yesterday in Graz.
He strongly condemns this senseless act of violence and extends his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims, the people of Graz, and the Government of Austria. He wishes a swift and full recovery to all those who were injured.
4th INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON FINANCING FOR DEVELOPMENT
We just want to flag that tomorrow, 12 June, is the deadline to apply for media accreditation to cover the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development that will take place in Sevilla, Spain, from 30 June to 3 July.
Check the MALU web site for details and how to apply.
CHILD LABOUR
A new report released today by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the UN Children’s Fund shows that nearly 138 million children were engaged in child labour in 2024. This includes around 54 million in hazardous work likely to jeopardize their health, safety, or development.
The latest data shows a total reduction of over 20 million children since 2020, reversing an alarming spike between 2016 and 2020. Despite this positive trend, UNICEF and ILO note that the world has missed its target of eliminating child labour by 2025.
The report underscores a stark reality that while gains have been made, millions of children are still being denied their right to learn, play, and simply be children. According to the data, agriculture remains the largest sector for child labour, accounting for 61 per cent of all cases, followed by services like domestic work and selling goods in markets, and industry, including mining and manufacturing.
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PLAY
Today is the International Day of Play.
The theme for this year is “Choose Play – Every Day”. It’s a reminder for governments, businesses, schools and families to take decisions that embrace and prioritize play for children.
**Briefing today
Bob Rae, the President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) briefed reporters on the situation in Haiti and on the Joint Meeting of ECOSOC and the Peacebuilding Commission.
María Isabel Salvador, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Haiti and Head of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti, and Thomas Peter Zahneisen, the Deputy Permanent Representative of Germany to the United Nations, also participated in the press briefing.
