HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
TUESDAY, 09 SEPTEMBER 2025
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
This morning, the Secretary-General delivered remarks at the closing of the 79th session of the General Assembly.
He said that this session took place during numerous challenges ranging between conflicts, divisions, inequalities, poverty, injustices, displacement, hunger and another year of record-breaking heat. Yet, this Assembly, he said, worked to discuss, debate and develop common solutions to address all of that.
The Secretary-General thanked the outgoing President of the General Assembly, Philemon Yang, as he presided over the 79th session with wisdom, skill and vision.
But, as we close the GA, another one opens.
The Secretary-General is expected later this afternoon again in the GA Hall to deliver remarks at the opening of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly. Mr. Guterres said he looks forward to collaborating with President-elect Annalena Baerbock.
This is an important year for all of us. It is the 80th anniversary of the UN and the visionary Charter which brought this Organization to life.
MILITARY SPENDING
Earlier this morning, the Secretary-General presented his report, “The Security We Need: Rebalancing Military Spending for a Sustainable and Peaceful Future”, along with High Representative for Disarmament Izumi Nakamitsu and the Acting Administrator of the UN Development Programme, Haoliang Xu.
The Secretary-General said that the report lays bare a stark reality: the world is spending far more on waging war than in building peace. In 2024, global military spending surged to a record $2.7 trillion – the equivalent of $334 for every person on Earth, he said.
Mr. Guterres said that the current trajectory is unsustainable, and a better path is within reach, but we need practical steps to rebalance. He warned that excessive military spending does not guarantee peace.
The report proposes a shift to an approach that prioritizes diplomacy, cooperation, sustainable development and disarmament over military build ups.
QATAR/ISRAEL
In remarks to the press this morning, the Secretary-General said he had just learned about the Israeli attacks in Qatar, a country that has been playing a very positive role to achieve a ceasefire and the release of all hostages.
He condemned this flagrant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar. All parties must work towards achieving a permanent ceasefire, not destroying it, the Secretary-General said.
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that our warnings that the Gaza Strip could be sliding into an even deeper catastrophe are now materializing. OCHA stresses that as military operations in Gaza city escalate further, world leaders still can, and must, act decisively to prevent further suffering.
Over the past 48 hours, the Israeli military has struck high-rise buildings, with more families losing their homes or tents. And the Israeli authorities today ordered everyone in Gaza City to move south. All of this is happening just over two weeks since famine was confirmed in the Gaza governorate.
OCHA reminds us that leaving the north is simply impossible for many people. As we have told you, transportation can cost over $1,000, the coastal road that people would take is barely passable, and displacement sites in the south are beyond overcrowded, as we have been describing.
Most people have already been displaced countless times. They are exhausted, they are out of money, and they are hungry.
Today and yesterday, our colleagues tracking displacement trends recorded 9,400 movements from northern to southern Gaza, bringing the number recorded movements since mid-August to nearly 62,000 as of 2:00 p.m. local time. Overall, displacements across the Gaza Strip have now reached 110,000 since mid-August, including many within the north.
Throughout Gaza, people are living out in the open, in makeshift shelters patched together from worn tarpaulins. A fresh supply of tents has only just begun to trickle into Gaza, after months of being blocked by the Israeli authorities.
With ongoing impediments – including Israeli requirements related to NGO registration and custom clearances, as well as delays in securing collection from the Kerem Shalom/ Karem Abu Salem crossing – quantities remain nowhere near sufficient to meet people’s growing needs.
Today, the UN Satellite Centre published a preliminary analysis that identified 1,500 displaced people who live in tents along the shore as being at high risk in the event of high tides or just storm surges. The analysis focused on a small area west of Al Rashid Road; that's the coastal road where a very high density of tents has been observed in an area known to be flood-prone.
OCHA says that the coastline is already crammed with makeshift shelters, forcing newly displaced families to sleep dangerously close to the water’s edge.
OCHA estimates that many people will remain in Gaza City even after today’s order and amid further escalation in hostilities. For this reason, humanitarian organizations will need sustained safe access to all parts of Gaza, including the north, regardless of displacement orders or the labelling of some areas by the Israeli authorities as either “humanitarian” or “dangerous.” Safety is not guaranteed anywhere across the Gaza Strip. OCHA reminds us that civilians must be protected, wherever they are.
Humanitarian operations continue to be hindered by the intensified Israeli offensive. Over the past two days, colleagues providing protection services in Gaza City, including to children, have had to suspend operations because premises they were using were in close proximity to buildings that came under attack.
Meanwhile, our partners are present along the main north-south displacement route, where they have been supporting separated families and unaccompanied minors, offering psychosocial support, distributing high-energy biscuits and raising awareness of the risks that people could face in the south.
Turning to the West Bank, OCHA says that the situation there remains tense. Following yesterday’s terror attack in Jerusalem that killed six Israelis, Israeli forces imposed extensive movement restrictions across Jerusalem, Ramallah, and other parts of the West Bank. New checkpoints were installed, and existing ones had stepped up checks, leaving hundreds of thousands of Palestinians trapped for hours and further isolating entire communities. Specifically, the Biddu enclave, which is home to some 40,000 Palestinians, was completely sealed off.
UKRAINE
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today said that between yesterday and today, several civilians were killed and injured in attacks across the country, which also caused widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure. This is what local authorities are telling us.
In the Donetsk region, a bombardment this morning in the village of Yarovakilled at least 21 civilians and injured 20 more. Local police says that many of the victims are older people who were collecting their pensions. Police also reported damage to some 50 residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure.
In a statement, the Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, condemned the attack, stressing that attacks impacting civilians as they go about their daily lives are unconscionable.
Additional casualties were reported in Dnipro, Kharkiv, Kherson, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia and Chernihiv. Several locations remain without electricity following recent drone attacks on energy infrastructure.
SECURITY COUNCIL
This morning, the head of the Peace Operations Department, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, spoke to a Security Council open debate on the future of Peace Operations.
He told council members that peacekeeping is not a luxury; it is a lifeline for millions who count on it for a future without fear. Over 60,000 peacekeepers, representing 115 Member States, carry out this vital work in 11 missions, making peacekeeping the UN’s largest and most visible activity in the field.
As the review progresses, Mr. Lacroix said that what is required is a UN that is capable and ready to respond through missions that are adaptable and tailored to the needs on the ground, guided by strong political strategies and leveraging the tools, capacities and expertise of the Organization and its partners.
Also speaking this morning was Rosemary DiCarlo, the Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs. She highlighted the need to improve coordination between peace operations and UN country teams, also adding that it is essential for mandates to avoid one-size-fits-all approaches.
But, Ms. DiCarlo concluded, the failure or weak implementation of mandates is often related to the lack of political support for such operations. We therefore need to bring the emphasis back to the political questions at the heart of each conflict and find multilateral responses to them.
HAITI
The Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher, who is currently in Port-au-Prince, has allocated $9 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund amid worsening violence and displacement in the country.
This new funding will help the UN and its partners step up life-saving support to the most vulnerable, including those who have fled their homes and host communities in the Centre and Artibonite departments. They are facing acute shortages of food, water, shelter, healthcare, sanitation and protection.
Since March, armed attacks have escalated in these areas, triggering mass displacement and the collapse of essential services. Across Haiti, as we mentioned yesterday, more than 1.3 million people are internally displaced – the highest number ever recorded in Haiti due to violence and insecurity.
Given the vast needs, the new funding from CERF is being complemented by a $4 million allocation from the Regional Humanitarian Pooled Fund for Latin America and the Caribbean, with those resources also meant to support displaced people and host communities in the Centre and Artibonite departments. The regional pooled fund has also allocated $500,000 for hurricane preparedness efforts
This additional funding comes at a critical time, with the humanitarian response continuing to face drastic shortfalls. Only $105 million of the $908 million required for the Haiti humanitarian appeal have been received.
And a quick update on Mr. Fletcher's activities in Haiti. Today, he is visiting a displacement site, a hospital and a youth centre in Port-au-Prince.
REPUBLIC OF CONGO
In the Republic of Congo, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, has allocated $1 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund for an urgent response to the cholera outbreak in the country.
The funds will help UN agencies and our partners support Government-led efforts to curb the spread of the disease, which has reportedly led to more than 60 deaths and nearly 700 cases since the outbreak began in early July.
The response will prioritize health and water, sanitation and hygiene assistance to prevent further transmission, which is occurring in remote areas with limited health infrastructure along the Congo River. As the rainy season and school year begins, the risk of cholera spreading further is expected to increase.
AFGHANISTAN
On Afghanistan, the UN has launched today a nearly $140 million emergency response plan to assist 457,000 people through the end of the year following the recent earthquakes. The plan focuses on providing life-saving assistance, including healthcare and emergency shelter, ahead of the winter season.
Indrika Ratwatte, our Humanitarian Coordinator in Afghanistan, presented the appeal in a video briefing to Member States in Geneva, stressing that we, along with our humanitarian partners, are in a race against time to support impacted people with the bare minimum. He called for solidarity and support for a population that has already endured so much suffering.
EDUCATION
Today is the International Day to Protect Education from Attack. The past 12 months saw a staggering 44 per cent surge in attacks on schools, resulting in the death, abduction and trauma of thousands and thousands of teachers and students. In his message, the Secretary-General calls on all parties to conflict to meet their obligations under international law, respect schools as places of safety, and hold accountable those responsible for attacks.
And just as an example on one country, and that is Ukraine, and the impact there. In Ukraine, between January and July of this year, our humanitarian partners have supported 370,000 children and teachers, mainly in front-line and host communities. They have provided psychosocial support, educational kits and repairs to 57,000 school facilities that there were damaged or destroyed.
There are many other examples around the world, and the help we can provide if we have the ability and the resources to reach those in need.
Related to that, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) published its Refugee Education Report today. The report highlights some progress in the number of children getting some form of education, but the continuing rise in the global refugee population is outstripping our capacity to educate them and means that nearly half remain out of school. That is about 5.7 million refugee children who do not have access to education.
BRIEFING/TOMORROW
Tomorrow, the noon briefing guests will brief journalists on the launch of WFP’s fourth edition of its flagship biennial report - The State of School Feeding Worldwide. Carmen Burbano, WFP’s Director of School Meals and Social Protection and Professor Donald Bundy, Co-editorial lead for the report will brief journalists.
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION
Côte d'Ivoire and Tuvalu made their full payment to the Regular Budget, bringing the number of fully paid-up Member States to 126.
