HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANIE TREMBLAY,
ASSOCIATE SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
FRIDAY, 25 JULY 2025
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
This morning, António Guterres became the first United Nations Secretary-General to address Amnesty International’s Global Assembly. He told the Assembly that powerful forces are ranged against human rights – and against the international system built to protect and uphold them.
The Secretary-General said that the scale and scope of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is beyond anything we have seen in recent times. And he spoke about the level of indifference and inaction we see by too many in the international community.
The Secretary-General said that the UN’s heroic staff continue to serve in unimaginable conditions, while many are so numb and depleted that they say they feel neither dead nor alive.
He said that the United Nations stands ready to make the most of a ceasefire to dramatically scale-up humanitarian operations across the Gaza Strip, as we successfully did during the previous pause in fighting. Our plans are ready, and they are finalized, he said. He once more called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, immediate and unimpeded humanitarian access and urgent, concrete and irreversible steps towards a two-State solution.
DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, will travel later today, on behalf of the Secretary-General, to attend the 2nd UN Food Systems Summit Stocktaking Moment (UNFSS+4), taking place from 27 -29 July, in Addis Ababa, co-hosted by Ethiopia and Italy. Four years since the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit, UNFSS+4 will serve as a platform to reflect on progress, strengthen collaboration, and unlock finance and investments to accelerate the transformation of food systems.
While at the Summit, Ms. Mohammed will meet with senior government officials, the private sector, civil society, youth and other stakeholders, to discuss priority actions to support food systems transformation and accelerate progress on the SDGs.
The Deputy Secretary-General will then go on to Amman, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, to chair the annual regional retreat with UN Resident Coordinators from across the Arab region, with a focus on advancing sustainable development in these countries.
Ms. Mohammed will also meet with senior government officials to strengthen the UN-Jordan partnership and discuss priority actions to support the SDGs.
The Deputy Secretary-General will return to New York on 2 August.
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
Turning to the situation in Gaza, the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warns that conditions on the ground are already catastrophic and worsening fast. Colleagues remind us that hunger and malnutrition increase the risk of illnesses that weaken the immune system, especially among women, children, older people, and those with disabilities or chronic diseases. The consequences can turn deadly fast. Food scarcity is also having a severe impact on pregnant and breastfeeding women, as their babies are more likely to be born with health complications. It affects mothers’ ability to breastfeed, putting children at increased risk of infectious diseases.
In Gaza, systems and services are on the verge of collapse.
Just yesterday, the local health authorities announced that two more people died from starvation. In the meantime, the trickle of supplies that are making it into Gaza are nowhere near adequate to address the immense needs.
The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, said yesterday that we must save as many lives as we can and stressed that the UN has a plan to do so. Mr. Fletcher shared that plan with Member States and we’ve shared it with you, as well. It outlines the steps necessary to stop the horror, the constraints placed on humanitarian operations in Gaza and our proposed solutions to resolve them.
Our teams are in place to ramp up delivery as soon as we are allowed to do so. Our supplies – which have been paid for by the world – are ready to move.
As you’ll recall, during the last ceasefire, tens of thousands of truckloads entered Gaza, with food aid reaching nearly every single person in the Strip.
What’s missing right now is safe, sustained access. Aid workers face constant danger, crossings are unreliable, and critical items are routinely blocked. If Israel opens the crossings, lets fuel and equipment in, and allows humanitarian staff to operate safely, we will accelerate the delivery of food aid, health services, clean water and waste management, nutrition supplies, and shelter materials. Ensuring that these elements are in place will be critical to scaling-up assistance in the event of a ceasefire.
However, right now, various constraints imposed by the Israeli authorities on aid delivery continue to hamper our ability to respond. OCHA reiterates that humanitarian workers must be enabled to deliver aid safely and efficiently.
As access constraints continue, yesterday, out of 15 attempts to coordinate humanitarian movements inside Gaza, four were outright denied, with another three impeded. One was postponed, and two others had to be canceled by the organizers. Only five missions were facilitated, including the pickup of cargo from the crossings and the transfer of fuel.
Further on fuel, the quantities entering Gaza remain insufficient to maintain critical facilities. The limited amount of fuel received yesterday has been fully allocated to support community kitchens, healthcare, and water and sanitation facilities.
Tom Fletcher has written a letter to the head of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. In it, Mr. Fletcher reiterated that the UN stands ready to engage with any partner to ensure desperately needed humanitarian aid reaches people in Gaza.
But, he stressed, any such partnership must adhere to the globally-accepted principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, and independence. This means that aid must go where needs are greatest and without discrimination, and that we answer to civilians in need, not the warring parties. These principles are vital to fostering the community acceptance and trust that underpin effective humanitarian action.
Mr. Fletcher said he welcomes dialogue on how to reach as many people as possible and alleviate widespread suffering, without causing harm.
SYRIA
Turning to Syria, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that as of yesterday, an estimated 176,000 people have been displaced due to the recent hostilities in Sweida Governorate. This includes an increase in displaced people arriving in Damascus Governorate, in addition to those in Sweida, Dar’a and Rural Damascus.
We continue to work with our partners, including the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, to deliver assistance to those affected by the violence, but access, particularly to Sweida, remains highly constrained.
Meanwhile in northern Syria, local authorities reported a large explosion yesterday at an ammunition depot in Ma’aarat Misrin town, in Idleb Governorate.
Six people were killed and at least 140 others injured, that's also according to the local authorities. Syrian Civil Defence teams responded to evacuate people and transfer the injured for medical care, though secondary explosions in the vicinity have significantly hindered emergency response efforts.
These latest developments underscore the urgent need to sustain large-scale humanitarian assistance in Syria. However, severe underfunding of the response is challenging those efforts.
The Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria, Adam Abdelmoula, yesterday launched an extension of our 2025 humanitarian appeal for Syria. The plan requires $3.2 billion to support 10.3 million people in need through the end of this year.
But to date, only $367 million has been received, representing less than 12 per cent of the funding needed. Last year’s response plan was only 37 per cent funded, a steep decline compared to previous years.
OCHA and our partners call on the international community to step up with timely, flexible and predictable funding to help millions of Syrians rebuild their lives and futures.
U.N.I.F.I.L.
In southern Lebanon, UNIFIL peacekeepers continue to observe ground and air military activities by the Israel Defense Forces, including yesterday two Israeli battle tanks crossing north of the Blue Line in Sector East. UNIFIL also observed an air attack with nine explosions conducted by at least two fighter jets in Sector East.
Yesterday, a UNIFIL patrol found unauthorized mortar shells and detonators in Sector East. As per usual practice, the cache was referred to the Lebanese Armed Forces. Peacekeepers also supported the Lebanese Armed Forces in collecting weapons and ammunition that had been discovered recently at locations in Sector West.
On 23 July, UNIFIL peacekeepers assisted the Lebanese Armed Forces in clearing two roadblocks in Sector West, enabling their deployment in that area.
Peacekeepers also conducted five trainings for Lebanese Army personnel earlier this month focusing on unexploded ordnance identification and handling.
Last week, the peacekeepers, working in collaboration with an NGO, provided an unexploded ordnance awareness session for school children. This activity is crucial as several southern Lebanese areas are littered with unexploded ordnance and improvised explosive devices following the recent hostilities.
CLIMATE/CHINA–EU SUMMIT
The Secretary-General welcomed the commitment of China and the European Union to strengthen cooperation on climate change and drive the global just transition.
As two of the world’s largest economies, the Secretary-General said that he believes it is critical that China and the European Union continue to work together to ensure that COP30 in Brazil represents a major turning point in the global effort to address the climate crisis.
The Secretary-General reiterated his call to all G20 countries to present 2035 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) that are economy-wide, cover all emissions, align with the 1.5-degree goal and define a credible pathway to transition away from fossil fuels as agreed at the First Global Stock take.
SECURITY COUNCIL/UKRAINE
This morning, the Security Council held a briefing on Ukraine. Briefing Council members, Miroslav Jenča, the Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas, warned the daily barrage of Russian missiles and drones against Ukrainian cities and towns has continued to intensify with devastating consequences for the civilian population. He added that we are also concerned about the increasing number of reported civilian casualties, reportedly resulting from Ukrainian drone attacks inside the Russian Federation.
Mr. Jenča noted that on Wednesday, Ukrainian and Russian delegations met in Istanbul for the third time this year. He said that we welcome the continuation of these direct contacts between the sides and urge Ukraine and the Russian Federation to make further progress towards a ceasefire and a lasting settlement.
Also briefing Council members was Joyce Msuya, our Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, who warned that the humanitarian situation in Ukraine has continued to deteriorate sharply. She said that civilians in Ukraine continue to bear the heaviest burden – struggling to access food, water, power and healthcare.
Ms. Msuya noted that nearly 13 million people need assistance, but limited funding means we can reach only a fraction of them. Both remarks were shared with you.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
Turning to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warns that the country’s worsening cholera outbreak demands an urgent scale-up of the response.
As of today, health authorities have reported over 38,000 suspected cases and nearly 950 deaths since January, surpassing the total number of cases and deaths for last year. The outbreak has now spread to 17 of the DRC's 26 provinces, including Kinshasa, Maï-Ndombe and Équateur, which are non-endemic for cholera.
While the Government, the UN and humanitarian organizations are scaling up health interventions, significant challenges remain. Water, sanitation and hygiene services remain critically underfunded.
To curb the spread of cholera, a vaccination campaign is now underway since early July, aiming to reach 3 million people across 11 health zones in four provinces through the end this month.
And yesterday, an additional $750,000 was allocated from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund to support anticipatory action against cholera in the capital Kinshasa, where a significant increase has been reported. Kinshasa has recorded more than 1,500 suspected cases and 120 deaths since mid-April.
The new CERF allocation for the cholera response is the third of its kind in the Democratic Republic of the Congo this year, following earlier CERF allocations for the cholera response in North Kivu in March and Maniema and Tshopo in May.
OCHA warns that the risk of the outbreak spreading further will increase as the rainy season approaches between September and December. Our humanitarian colleagues emphasize the urgent need for immediate funding to strengthen health responses and address critical gaps in water, sanitation, and hygiene services.
INTERNATIONAL DAYS
Today is the first International Day for Women and Girls of African Descent.
Today is also International Day on Judicial Well-being.
And finally, today is World Drowning Prevention Day.
GLOBAL ADVOCATE FOR PEACE
Ms. Maryam Bukar of Nigeria was officially designated as a UN Global Advocate for Peace. Ms. Bukar uses the power of poetry and performance to champion gender equality, youth empowerment and inclusive peacebuilding.
On Sunday at 6 p.m. you can go see Maryam performing in Central Park, at the Summer Stage festival. She will be introduced by Assistant-Secretary-General for Africa, Ms. Martha A. Pobee, and followed by other performances celebrating African Diaspora voices and music for peace.
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION
Lebanon paid its dues to the Regular Budget in full. This brings the total number of paid-up Member States to 117.
**Briefing today
At 12:45 p.m., there will be a briefing here by Diego Pacheco, the Chair of the Landlocked Developing Countries and Chargé d´Affaires of the Bolivian Mission to the United Nations along with others. They will brief on the adoption of the General Assembly resolution "International Day of Awareness of the Special Development Needs and Challenges of Landlocked Developing Countries".
Briefing on Monday
On Monday, at 1 p.m., Máximo Torero, Chief Economist of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), will join us once again.
He will brief on the newly-released State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) 2025 report.
