Noon briefing of 4 December 2025

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC​,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
THURSDAY, 04 DECEMBER 2025

SUDAN 

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warns that civilians across the Kordofan region face growing dangers as violence intensifies. Earlier today, the Operational Humanitarian Country Team in Sudan issued a statement condemning in the strongest terms the escalating violence across Kordofan and the ongoing sieges that have cut off multiple cities. OCHA notes that the people in Dilling and Kadugli in South Kordofan State remain trapped, facing extreme hardship, severe restrictions on movement, and limited access to essential services and protection. Famine conditions have been identified in Kadugli, while sustained attacks have been reported in Babanusa, in West Kordofan, State in recent days.  

The humanitarian community in Sudan also expressed deep concern over continued attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in the region, noting that the violence is restricting access to food, medicine and essential supplies and limiting farmers’ access to their fields and to markets for their products. This is increasing the risk of famine spreading across the Kordofan states. 

The statement urged that all those involved in the fighting to protect civilians, including medical and humanitarian workers, particularly those fleeing besieged areas and local front-line responders delivering life-saving aid wherever they can. 

Aid workers in Sudan face extraordinary risks as they work to deliver basic assistance to 1.1 million human beings across the Kordofan region. They require safe, and they requite unimpeded access to reach all those in need.

The humanitarian community in Sudan also stressed that sexual violence, abductions and the recruitment of children must end, and that all civilian sites, including hospitals, shelters, markets must be respected and protected in line with international humanitarian law. 

Meanwhile, in North Darfur State, our partners at Save the Children tell us that more than 43,000 people displaced from El Fasher following the escalation of conflict in late October have now arrived in Korma town and Silk camp, placing immense strain on an already a fragile community. An assessment last week in Korma, which is located about 70 kilometres north-west of El Fasher, found critical shortages of food, healthcare, nutrition, water and sanitation services, as well as education and protection. 

An OCHA team also visited Korma yesterday, noting that people fleeing violence continue to arrive in the area. 

And you will recall, last month, Tom Fletcher, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, also visited Korma, where he heard from survivors who escaped the violence in El Fasher.  

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today said that the humanitarian scale-up is well underway, even as insecurity persists, with frequent reports of attacks across the Gaza Strip causing casualties, including among civilians, and of course, causing further destruction.  

On Monday, UN partners leading on shelter and protection support distributed critical items to thousands of households, including thousands of winter clothing items, hundreds of bedding kits, tents, tarpaulins and kitchen sets. About 1,100 people were provided with services ranging from psychological support to legal consultations. Also on Monday, UN partners set up 30 activity tents in different locations across Gaza to provide safe spaces where children can access psychosocial support and structured activities.  

During November, the UN and its partners distributed monthly food parcels to more than 60 per cent of Gaza’s population. That’s about 1.3 million people out of 2.1 million. The UN is also supporting community kitchens, bread production, and other activities critical to addressing food insecurity.  

Throughout last month, UN mine action partners conducted over 130 assessments of explosive hazards across priority humanitarian locations, including warehouses, distribution points, major transport corridors and key infrastructure. This mapping exercise has been essential to enable we and our partners across all sectors to scale up operations based on our plan for the initial period of the ceasefire.  

UN mine action partners also continue to educate people, especially children, on how to stay safe around explosive hazards, and they are reaching a lot of people every week doing that.

At the same time, the UN warns yet again that the UN humanitarian team continues to face impediments in its efforts to fully implement the scale-up the UN is trying to do in Gaza. There needs to be full respect for the ceasefire to ensure the safety of all civilians, including aid workers, and that needs to be fully guaranteed. In addition, more crossings must open, more volume of and aid needs to go in and more diverse supplies need to enter Gaza through multiple routes, and without delays or other impediments. The work of all our humanitarian partners, including the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO) and NGOs, must be facilitated. To that end, customs currently imposed on humanitarian supplies should be waived, and restrictive registration requirements must be lifted. 

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC 

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said it is alarmed over the impact that armed violence is having on civilians in the south-east of the Central African Republic,

On Sunday and Monday, an ambush in the Mboki region killed several civilians and heightened intercommunal tensions – that’s what local sources are telling us. Several homes were burned, and the violence displaced about 1,000 people, who reportedly sought safety at a Catholic church in the region. 

Mboki has seen repeated clashes, with humanitarian access made extremely difficult due to insecurity and poor telecommunications. 

Last week, two staff at a local NGO working in the area were injured by stray bullets.  

They had been partnering with the UN Population Fund to provide food, protection, and water, sanitation and hygiene support – as part of a project backed by the Central Emergency Response Fund. 

Although the situation has improved in parts of the Central African Republic, violence continues to deepen needs in other regions – including the south-east, where some 50,000 people require humanitarian assistance. 

SOUTH ASIA FLOODS 

In an update from South and South-east Asia, on the catastrophic flooding and landslides that have reportedly killed over 1,500 people and impacted nearly 11 million people across the region, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) noted that as previously mentioned, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, Viet Nam and Malaysia have been among the hardest hit, facing record-breaking rainfall, storm surges and widespread inundation. 

In Sri Lanka, the UN and its partners continue to support the Government-led response and assessments. In close coordination with the authorities, we and our humanitarian partners have delivered emergency aid – including food, hygiene supplies, kitchen sets and water tanks. The UN has also distributed maternity and dignity kits and deployed medical teams. Early recovery efforts are underway, including deeper damage assessments.  

For Viet Nam, the Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher allocated $2.6 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund yesterday to bolster assistance in the most affected provinces. The new monney will support shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene, as well as food security interventions – including cash assistance – to complement the Government-led efforts. 

In Indonesia, the Government-led response to the devastating floods in Aceh continues despite major logistical and access challenges. The UN is working closely with the Government there on logistics, health, water and sanitation, and facilitating coordination with local partners. 

The UN will continue to closely monitor the situation in the region and remain in close contact with national authorities. The UN stands ready to support any ongoing efforts by the Government.                   

HURRICANE MELISSA 

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that more than one month after Hurricane Melissa made landfall, communities in Cuba and Jamaica continue to face significant needs. In Jamaica, some 280,000 people remain displaced, with very few returns recorded.  UN humanitarian partners have reached an estimated 280,000 people with assistance, including food distributions and hot meals. 

OCHA notes that the most critical services are gradually being restored, but access remains uneven, with tens of thousands of households still without electricity or reliable piped water. Daily water trucking continues in the hardest-hit areas.  

The UN, along with its humanitarian partners, continue to support the Government-led efforts, including the deployment of 5.5 metric tons of health supplies, psychological first aid, and ongoing assessments to guide recovery planning.  

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is supporting school recovery through sanitation, cleaning and efforts to maintain access to learning, while the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), is helping repair health facilities and procure medical supplies and equipment.  

In Cuba, the UN system continues to support the Government-led recovery efforts. Over the past month, and with support for anticipatory action from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, PAHO reached nearly 1 million people with health assistance, ensuring essential services across hospitals. The World Food Programme (WFP) for its part provided food assistance to some 340,000 people, and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has distributed materials to help 120,000 people do repairs.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) also distributed half a million vegetable seeds to support the recovery of household agriculture.  

Despite these efforts, the needs are significant. The UN Plan of Action to support the response to Melissa in Cuba, which seeks $74 million to help 1 million people, is just 20 per cent funded. 

INTERNATIONAL DAYS  

Today is the International Day of Banks. This year, the Day highlights the essential role of multilateral development banks, international development banks and domestic banking systems in advancing sustainable development, supporting climate action and improving standards of living.  

Today is also the International Day against Unilateral Coercive Measures. The Day aims to raise awareness about the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures not in accordance with international law and the Charter of the UN. It emphasizes the need to promote dialogue, mutual respect, understanding, tolerance and multilateralism as the cornerstone of international relations and diplomacy. 

SENIOR APPOINTMENT

Today, Secretary-General António Guterres, Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) Director General Qu Dongyu and World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director Cindy McCain announce the appointment of Matthew Hollingworth of the United Kingdom as World Food Programme Assistant Executive Director for Programme Operations.  

Mr. Hollingworth succeeds Valerie Guarnieri of the United States, to whom the Secretary-General, Director General and Executive Director are grateful for serving in this role and for her dedication to WFP. 

Mr. Hollingworth is an experienced humanitarian leader with over 25 years in emergency response, supply chain management and country leadership roles.   

He currently serves as WFP Representative and Country Director in Lebanon, overseeing large-scale food and cash assistance programs for displaced populations and refugees.  He previously directed WFP operations in Palestine, Ukraine, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan and Rome, managing budgets up to $700 million and teams of over 1,200 staff.  He has extensive expertise in crisis coordination, social protection systems and resilience programming. 

MIC BROWNE              

We want to note that a good friend of ours is retiring today. Ireland’s own Mic Browne, the long-time chief of security at headquarters, is leaving us.

Chief Browne’s career has taken him from the parade grounds of the Irish Defence Forces to the corridors of the United Nations, with stops in Lebanon, Iraq and many other placesalong the way. His time at UN headquarters has been focused on keeping all of the people who are in this building safe, and that includes yourselves, journalists, diplomats, staff, NGOs and visitors.   

Providing stellar leadership, he has navigated countless high-stakes events and coordinated operations for some of the most complex gatherings on Earth.

And of course, he had to deal with crises that pop up now and then - from dealing with a Colonel Saunders lookalike who made his way into the building to meet the PGA back in 2009, to allegedly malfunctioning escalators – Mic has always risen to the challenge with good humor and professionalism. 

He has been a good friend to this office, and we wish the young menfrom Limerick the best. 

***The guest at the Noon Briefing was Matthias Schmale, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine. He briefed journalists on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine.