HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
WEDNESDAY, 28 MAY 2025
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF UN PEACEKEEPERS
Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, who be the guest on Thursday to brief reporters on the International Day of Peacekeepers.
As part of that at 2:45pm tomorrow, the Secretary-General will lay a wreath to honour the more than 4,400 United Nations peacekeepers who have given their lives in the line of duty since 1948. He will also preside over a ceremony in the Trusteeship Council, during which the Dag Hammarskjöld Medals will be awarded posthumously to 57 military, police, and civilian peacekeepers, who lost their lives serving under the flag of the United Nations last year.
At 3 p.m., the Secretary-General will present awards to the 2024 Military Gender Advocate of the Year. That is Squadron Leader Sharon Mwinsote Syme of Ghana and he will also present an award to the UN Woman Police Officer of the Year, and that is Superintendent Zainab Gbla of Sierra Leone.
Both serve with the peacekeeping mission in Abyei.
MIDDLE EAST
Sigrid Kaag, the acting UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, briefed the Security Council this morning, telling Council members that the two-State solution is on life support and reviving it requires decisive action.
She said the upcoming high-level international conference in June, co-chaired by France and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, must not be another rhetorical exercise and instead must launch a concrete path towards ending the occupation and realizing the two-State solution based on international law, UN resolutions and previous agreements.
Ms. Kaag warned that the entire population of Gaza is facing the risk of famine. As the Secretary-General has said, families are being starved and denied the very basics.
She added that while Gaza rightly captures the world’s attention, the West Bank is on a dangerous trajectory. Developments are best described as accelerating de facto annexation through settlement expansion, through land seizures, and through settler violence. If not reversed, Ms. Kaag said, these will make the two-State solution physically impossible.
Ms. Kaag will also be speaking to you after the Council session has ended. We are advised that there will likely not be closed consultations afterwards and we will let you know when she is there.
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that, 600 days since the escalation of hostilities in Gaza, ongoing air and ground operations are further dismantling the means of survival for 2.1 million Palestinians. Yesterday, dozens of people were reportedly shot and injured while trying to access supplies administered through a newly developed distribution scheme, run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
Speaking to the press in Jerusalem a bit earlier today, OCHA’s Head of Office for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Jonathan Whittall, said these events illustrate how the collective punishment of Palestinians continues and the assault on their human dignity is accelerating.
Mr. Whittall said the new distribution model is more than just the control of aid. It is engineered scarcity: four distribution hubs located in central and southern Gaza, secured by private US security contractors, where those Palestinians who can reach them will receive rations.
He warned that this distribution scheme cannot possibly meet Gaza’s needs, stressing that truly humanitarian action seeks to reach all civilians, wherever they are.
During the ceasefire, we and our partners demonstrated we could deliver aid effectively when restrictions on aid delivery were eased. The existing system needs to be enabled once more to deliver services and supplies to the entire population in the north and south of Gaza. As for the occupying power, Israel must agree to allow and facilitate the aid that is urgently needed.
Since last week, about 900 truckloads were submitted for Israeli approval, and 800 were approved. But just over 500 could be offloaded on the Israeli side of Kerem Shalom, and even fewer made it to the Palestinian side, where we and our partners could collect just over 200 of them – limited by insecurity and restricted access.
It is also important to note that fewer Palestinian trucks are needed to collect the cargo transferred through Kerem Shalom, so collection is not on a one-to-one ratio with trucks offloaded on the Israeli side.
OCHA reminds us that aid should flow at scale through multiple crossings into Gaza. We need unimpeded access to and from these crossings.
Israeli authorities also continue to deny our attempts to coordinate humanitarian movements inside Gaza, including one to retrieve fuel from Rafah today. Overall, all six coordinated movements were denied to the United Nations today.
Meanwhile, our partners tell us that people continue to be displaced amid ongoing hostilities and displacement orders issued by Israeli military authorities. Those on the move lack tents, they lack tarpaulins, they lack food, they lack water, and they lack many of the most basic supplies.
Our partners working on health report that, as of last week, only half of the hospitals in Gaza are functioning, albeit partially. Eight field hospitals – along with about 200 mobile clinics and health centres – have also suspended their services across Gaza due to hostilities, attacks and displacement orders.
Turning to the West Bank, today, our acting Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Sarah Poole, led a diplomatic field visit to the southern Hebron Hills with representatives of more than 10 Member States. The visit shed light on the current challenges faced by Palestinian communities in the wake of recurrent settler violence and attacks. OCHA tells us that settler violence is on the rise, leading to imminent forced displacement, casualties, demolitions and property damage – including to homes, schools and essential infrastructure.
UNRWA
Philippe Lazzarini, the Head of UNRWA, shared today the details of the death of one UNRWA staff member named Kamal who died on 23 March, as he was wearing his UN vest and driving a clearly marked United Nations vehicle. Within an hour, UNRWA had lost contact with him and his whereabouts were unknown for a week. On 30 March, Kamal’s body was discovered near a mass grave, alongside the remains of the Palestinian Red Crescent humanitarian workers killed by the Israeli Forces. Kamal was killed through multiple blows to the back of his skull.
Mr. Lazzarini said that UNRWA teams are not a target and that impunity opens the door to even more atrocities. He called for an independent investigation into Kamal’s killing and all other UNRWA staff members.
YEMEN
On the wave of escalation between the Houthis and Israel, the Spokesman said the ongoing military confrontation between the Houthis and Israel is exacerbating an already very fragile situation in Yemen and the broader region. Attacks on civilian infrastructure, including Sana’a airport in Yemen and Ben Gurion Airport in Israel, are unacceptable. Today’s strike on Sana’a airport and the destruction of a Yemenia airlines civilian aircraft deprives many Yemenis of a critical means to leave the country for medical, educational, family or religious regions, especially at a time when thousands of pilgrims are preparing for the Hajj.
We call on all stakeholders, including the Houthis, to de-escalate and exercise restraint, and uphold their obligations under international law and protect civilian infrastructure.
We also urge the parties to return to the intra-Yemeni dialogue, with the support of the region, as the only viable path toward lasting peace and security for Yemen, its people and the region.
And just to note that our Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, concluded a visit to Muscat where he met with senior Omani officials, members of Ansar Allah leadership and representatives of the diplomatic community there, including senior Iranian officials, and he addressed regional dynamics with them.
In all his engagements, Mr. Grundberg called for the immediate and unconditional release of all UN, and other NGO personnel currently arbitrarily being detained by Ansar Allah authorities.
SUDAN
UNICEF says that each day, more children in Sudan are exposed to the double threat of cholera and malnutrition.
According to health authorities, in Khartoum State alone, more than 7,700 cholera cases, including 1,000 cases in children under the age of five have been reported since January of this year. Additionally, two out of the seven localities in the State, which are Jebel Aulia and Khartoum, are at risk of famine and account for 33 per cent of the 300,000 acutely malnourished children in the State.
UNICEF warns that more than one million children are estimated to live in the affected localities across Khartoum State. And for children already weakened by a lack of nutritious food, cholera or any other causes of severe diarrhea can be fatal if not treated properly.
UNICEF stresses that cholera and malnutrition are preventable and they are treatable, if we can reach children in time. We call again on the warring parties to put their guns aside and instead, put the interest of the people first and foremost, and especially the children.
HAITI
From Haiti, humanitarians say that cholera remains a major public health emergency, particularly in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince, as well as in the city of Cap-Haïtien.
According to the World Health Organization, since the end of December 2024 and as of May 17th, more than 2,100 suspected cases of cholera have been reported in the departments of Ouest, Centre and Artibonite. This includes 55 lab-confirmed cases and 28 associated deaths. The disease continues to spread in densely populated urban areas, including in displacement sites, where access to safe water, sanitation and healthcare remains limited.
The response, led by WHO and the Pan American Health Organization, focuses on surveillance, clinical care, disinfection of high-risk areas, water treatment and community awareness.
Between 10 and 17 May, we and our partners have reached over 7,000 displaced people with briefings on cholera prevention and water treatment in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area. We’ve also helped to disinfect hundreds of homes and facilities and distributed some 2,000 water purification tablets. More than 30 handwashing stations were also installed across 12 displacement sites.
Despite these efforts, security constraints continue to severely hinder humanitarian access and delay emergency interventions.
OCHA warns that low levels of funding are jeopardizing critical cholera response activities, including prevention, case management, lab testing and access to safe water.
And I also wanted to flag that at 3:00 pm this afternoon there will be Security Council closed consultations on Haiti.
The head of our mission there – BINUH - Maria Isabel Salvador as well as Atul Khare, the head of the Department of Operational Support, are expected to brief the council.
UKRAINE
From Ukraine, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs there says that yesterday, we, along with our humanitarian partners, sent a humanitarian convoy to Pokrovsk, one of the towns most impacted by the fighting in the Donetsk Region. The supplies included hygiene and medical kits, dignity kits for older people, and food parcels. The town, located just 2 km from the front line, has been at the epicentre of hostilities on the eastern front over the past year. Before the war, the city had a population of more than 60,000. The town's current population is around 1,850 – mostly older people and people with disabilities who are unable to leave this hard-to-reach area. With the convoy, aid will reach more than 1,000 people – more than half of those currently remaining in the town.
So far this year, we, along with our humanitarian partners, have delivered critical supplies for nearly 11,000 people in front-line areas of the Donetsk region. Across the country, our partners have delivered 22 convoys this year, reaching more than 30,000 residents in front-line areas.
Meanwhile, authorities reported that today and yesterday, airstrikes and hostilities resulted in civilian casualties – including children – and damaged homes, railway infrastructure and other civilian infrastructure. The regions of Kherson, Mykolaiv, Donetsk, Sumy and Chernihiv were among the hardest hit. In response to recent air strikes, particularly in the regions of Odesa and Mykolaiv, aid workers have provided immediate assistance, including psychological support and construction materials to help families cover damaged homes.
GLOBAL CLIMATE PREDICTIONS
The World Meteorological Organization warns that global climate predictions show temperatures are expected to continue at or near record levels in the next five years, increasing climate risks and impacts on societies, economies and sustainable development. The WMO report forecasts that the annually averaged global mean near-surface temperature for each year between 2025 and 2029 is predicted to be between 1.2°C and 1.9°C higher than the average over the years 1850-1900.
According to the report, there is an 80 per cent chance that at least one year between now and 2029 will be warmer than the warmest year on record, which is currently last year, 2024. There is also an 86 per cent chance that at least one year will be more than 1.5°C above the pre-industrial level.
WMO points out that every additional fraction of a degree of warming drives more harmful heatwaves, extreme rainfall events, intense droughts, melting of ice sheets, sea ice, and glaciers, heating of the ocean, and rising sea levels.
GLOBAL EMBLOYMENT GROWTH
The International Labour Organization has revised its global employment forecast for 2025, projecting the creation of 53 million jobs instead of the previously estimated 60 million jobs. ILO notes that the drop – which is the equivalent of around seven million fewer additional jobs – reflects a downgraded global economic outlook, as GDP growth is expected at 2.8 per cent, down from a previous projection of 3.2 per cent.
ILO also estimates that close to 84 million jobs across 71 countries are directly or indirectly tied to consumer demand in the United States. ILO warns that these jobs – and the incomes they support – are now increasingly at risk of disruption due to elevated trade tensions.
