Noon briefing of 16 October 2025

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC

SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES

THURSDAY, 16 OCTOBER 2025

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL 

The Deputy Secretary-General is in Washington DC today where she is attending the Fall Meetings of the World Bank/IMF. She is doing that on behalf of the Secretary-General. While there, she will engage in discussions with Finance Ministers, leaders of International Financial Institutions and Multilateral Development Banks to advance the commitments from the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development. 

Earlier this morning, she spoke at the Fourth G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting where she welcomed the G20 Africa Engagement Framework proposed by South Africa’s Presidency. She also spoke alongside Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados at an event on international cooperation to deliver on reform of the international financial architecture. 

This afternoon, we expect Ms. Mohammed to speak at the 112th meeting of the World Bank/IMF Development Committee Ministerial Meeting where she will highlight the United Nations’ strong partnership with the Bank and the International Monetary Fund. She will also reiterate our call on accelerating the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals over the remaining five years.  

She will be back in New York tomorrow morning. 

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY 

Turning to the situation in Gaza, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, while traveling from Cairo to Rafah, spoke of how vital that route is as a lifeline for life-saving aid going into Gaza. 

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs notes that supplies from Egypt still need to take a long detour and be inspected on the Israeli side of the Kerem Shalom crossing, pending the opening of the Rafah crossing for more direct access. Mr. Fletcher stressed the need for all the crossings to open to allow for a massive scale-up and start turning the situation on the ground around. 

Speaking from Cairo yesterday, he underscored that humanitarian teams have been preparing for this moment and now need sufficient access to deliver the large amounts of assistance that are needed. 

The humanitarian community cannot deliver at the scale necessary without international NGO presence and engagement. Currently, the Israeli authorities do not issue visas for a number of international NGOs and do not authorize many of them to send supplies into Gaza. 

That being said, humanitarian teams inside Gaza continue to make the most out of the opportunities afforded to them by the ceasefire.  

To give you some examples, on Tuesday alone, 21 of our partners distributed nearly 960,000 meals through 175 kitchens. Bakeries that we support produced over 100,000 two-kilogram bread bundles. UNICEF distributed more than one million baby diapers. And the World Health Organization delivered three truckloads of surgical and other essential medical supplies from their warehouse in Deir al Balah to the central pharmacy in Gaza City.  

The WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros said those medical supplies will be transferred to Al-Shifa Hospital and will meet the needs of about 10,000 people. WHO also deployed an international emergency medical team to boost orthopedic surgery and trauma care in Gaza. And their teams set up two new operating theaters, and they are planning to add 120 more inpatient beds to Al-Shifa to expand the hospital’s capacity. 

OCHA tells us that teams from across the UN system have now finished clearing the main roads leading to the Erez and Zikim crossings in the north in anticipation of their potential re-opening, which would allow, of course, aid to be brought in directly into northern Gaza where it is desperately needed. Today, we have teams checking the Salah Ad Din road, which has not been used for months. 

Also on Tuesday, we had colleagues from multiple UN agencies visit the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood of Gaza city – which was severely impacted by the recent military operation.  

Our teams also met there with returnees and with those who have remained all along and heard from them how determined they are to rebuild their lives. Their main humanitarian priority was access to water, alongside food, shelter and the removal of debris. Those who have lost their homes were staying in tents, while those who returned to homes that were still inhabitable have begun clearing rubble and cleaning up. 

Meanwhile, over the past week, our colleagues from the UN 2720 Mechanism have secured Israeli clearance for additional supplies, raising our cleared pipeline to nearly 200,000 metric tonnes. The items are currently in Jordan, Cyprus, Israel, and the West Bank – or on their way to Gaza. 

We also will keep sending even more supplies to the Kissufim and Kerem Shalom crossings, offloading them there, and collecting them from inside Gaza. Yesterday, through the UN 2720 mechanism, our teams and partners sent wheat flour, food parcels, nutrition supplements, date bars, food supplies for kitchens, hygiene kits, sanitary pads, diapers, various medical equipment, tents and animal fodder. 

Between Friday and Tuesday, our teams have been able to collect nearly 3,500 metric tonnes of essential supplies from those crossings. This is based on the UN 2720 mechanism’s tracking, and those efforts continue as we speak. 

AFGHANISTAN/PAKISTAN 

The Secretary-General has been following with concern the reports of armed clashes between Afghanistan and Pakistan, which have killed or injured many civilians, and he of course welcomes the announcement of a temporary ceasefire.  

The Secretary-General calls on the parties to agree to a durable end to the fighting and to engage in dialogue so that civilians can be protected and to prevent further loss of life.  

Our colleagues at the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan continue to monitor the situation. 

The UN Mission is still assessing the exact number of killed and injured. Current information, however, indicates that at least 17 civilians were killed and 346 injured in Spin Boldak on the Afghanistan side of the border. 

The UN Mission also documented at least 16 civilian casualties as a result of earlier cross-border clashes in Paktika, Patkya, Kunar and Helmand provinces. 

The UN Mission reminds all parties of their obligations under international law to comply with the key principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution to prevent harm to civilians. 

CAMEROON 

The Spokesman said the Secretary-General has been following the 12 October presidential election and subsequent developments in Cameroon. He calls on all stakeholders to help maintain a peaceful environment and encourages all actors to address any electoral disputes through the established legal mechanisms. 

MADAGASCAR 

The Secretary-General condemns the unconstitutional change of government in Madagascar and calls for the return to constitutional order and the rule of law. He takes note of the decision taken by the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU) to immediately suspend the country from participation in all activities of the African Union, its Organs and Institutions, until constitutional order is restored in the country.  

The Secretary-General encourages all the Malagasy stakeholders, including the youth, to work together to address the underlying causes of instability in Madagascar. He reiterates the availability of the United Nations to support national efforts towards the attainment of that goal, in collaboration with the African Union, the Southern African Development Community and other international partners. 

MADAGASCAR/HUMANITARIAN 

On the humanitarian front, in recent years, Madagascar has faced an El Niño-induced drought, multiple cyclones, and locust infestations that have devastated crops. A malaria outbreak earlier this year has further strained an already fragile health system. 

According to our colleagues and partners on the ground, nearly 29,000 people are experiencing emergency levels of hunger – that is IPC Phase 4 and those people are in the Grand Sud region of Madaagscar. This figure is projected to soar to 110,000 by early 2026, with malnutrition and disease outbreaks continuing to escalate. Funding cuts have further constrained the UN’s ability to respond. 

WORLD FOOD DAY 

Today is World Food Day. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today marked the occasion, at its 80th anniversary, with a landmark event in Rome, hosted by FAO Director-General QU Dongyu, and attended by global figures, including His Holiness Pope Leo XIV and the President of the Italian Republic.  

This year’s theme “Hand-in-hand for Better Food and a Better Future” calls for global solidarity. 

In a video message to the event, the Secretary-General warned that 80 years after nations united to defeat hunger, progress is stalling. Today, 673 million people still go to bed hungry, and hunger is even being weaponized in conflicts. He called for unity and solidarity to build food systems that nourish all people and protect the planet. 

FOLLOW-UP TO QUESTION 

In response to a question asked at the briefing, the Spokesman said that the two Moroccan citizens who had been on board the flotilla to Gaza, according to the information that we have, they were returned back to Casablanca on Sunday. 

FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION 

Oman has paid its dues to the regular budget in full, bringing us up to 141 fully paid-up Member States.