HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
FRIDAY, 26 SEPTEMBER 2025
UNGA WEEK STATISTICS
We have already heard from 112 speakers in the General Assembly.
And in terms of the Secretary-General’s bilateral meetings, so far, he has completed 89 and he has a further 58 to go.
INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE TOTAL ELIMINATION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS
This morning, Courtenay Rattray, the Chef de Cabinet, delivered remarks on behalf of the Secretary-General at the event to mark the International Day for the total elimination of nuclear weapons.
He said that nuclear weapons continue to menace our world, and despite decades of promises, we see this threat accelerating and evolving.
This is not just a crisis of weapons, he said, it is a crisis of memory, responsibility, and courage.
He called on states that have nuclear weapons to return to dialogue, to adopt and implement transparency and confidence-building measures to prevent catastrophic miscalculation.
Also, on this International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, he renewed his call for long-needed progress to forge a world free of these weapons of mass extinction.
INTERNATIONAL DAYS
Two other international days to flag for you for the weekend.
Tomorrow is World Tourism Day and you will all be here. This year’s theme is "Tourism and Sustainable Transformation."
In his message for the Day, the Secretary-General says that amid climate crisis and inequalities, we must all harness the power of tourism as a force for transformation, resilience, sustainability and progress for all.
And Sunday is the International Day for Universal Access to Information. Universal access to information means that everyone has the right to seek, receive and impart information.
GLOBAL DIALOGUE ON AI GOVERNANCE
I also wanted to flag that yesterday at an event yesterday afternoon, the Secretary-General launched the Global Dialogue on AI Governance.
He told participants that in just twelve months, we have moved from principles to practice.
The goals of the Global Dialogue are clear, the Secretary-General said: To help build safe, secure and trustworthy AI systems – grounded in international law, human rights and effective oversight and also to promote interoperability between governance regimes – aligning rules, reducing barriers and boosting economic cooperation; and to encourage open innovation – including open-source tools and shared resources – accessible to all.
The UN, he said, offers a uniquely universal platform for such global cooperation and for the first time, every country will have a seat at the table of AI.
He also launched an open call for candidates for the International Independent Scientific Panel on AI, which will be made of 40 experts to provide independent insights into the opportunities, risks and impacts of AI.
And he will soon begin consultations with Member States, potential funders and partners on the establishment of a Global Fund for AI Capacity Development.
HIGH-LEVEL CONFERENCE ON THE REPATRIATION OF PERSONS FROM AL-HOL, SURROUNDING CAMPS AND PLACES OF DETENTIONS
Also flagging that the High-Level International Conference on the Repatriation of Persons from Al-Hol, Surrounding Camps and Places of Detentions is taking place today. This event is organized by the government of Iraq, with technical support from our office of Counter-Terrorism.
As you know, there are thousands of individuals with perceived or actual ties to Da’esh, including suspected foreign terrorist fighters and accompanying family members, who have been detained in camps and other facilities in the northeast of Syria.
Today’s event focuses on efforts to repatriate individuals from these facilities to areas of return, as well as related issues.
At 12:30 p.m., very shortly, the Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Fuad Mohammad Hussein will brief you at the Security Council Stakeout.
After that, the National Security Adviser of Iraq, Qasim Al-Araji, will also speak at the Security Council Stakeout.
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that Israeli forces have stepped up their operations over the past 24 hours, with devastating consequences for civilians. On average, this meant an air strike every eight or nine minutes. Colleagues on the ground also report shelling, helicopter and quadcopter fire, as well as gunfire towards people waiting for aid. Dozens of people have reportedly been killed and over 200 others injured. That is what the Ministry of Health in Gaza is telling us.
People continue to flee, mainly from Gaza City to the southern part of Gaza, where conditions are dire. Yesterday, our teams monitoring the movement of people inside the Strip counted about 16,500 displacements from northern Gaza to the South.
Aid workers remain stationed along displacement routes, offering psychosocial first aid, referring people to specialized services when needed, and educating new arrivals on the dangers of explosive ordnance.
Still, hundreds of thousands of people remain in Gaza City amid extreme insecurity. They are heavily reliant on humanitarian assistance as more critical services there have been forced to close or move.
Meanwhile, our teams across the Gaza Strip continue to face access denials and heavy impediments – preventing them from providing support at the scale needed.
Yesterday, out of 15 movements that we tried to coordinate with Israeli authorities to support people in different parts of Gaza, only seven were fully facilitated.
Teams were able to collect fuel, medical items, and other supplies from Kerem Shalom, among other missions, but were prevented from trucking water in the north and were not allowed to access other crossings, including to collect food.
OCHA stresses the need for Israeli authorities to fully facilitate humanitarian operations, including unimpeded movement of aid into and across the Gaza Strip. Also, we remind Israel, Hamas and any other armed group that aid workers and their vehicles must not be attacked or denied critical access on the ground.
In the West Bank, the Allenby Bridge reopened today for passengers, but not for cargo. You’ll recall that this is the only direct crossing between Jordan and the Occupied Palestinian Territory. It is also good news for patients in Gaza set to be medically evacuated and for our international aid workers on rotation, as both of those groups depend on that route.
At the same time, the continued closure of Allenby for imports and exports, including humanitarian cargo, is a significant concern. About 35 per cent of the aid monitored by the mechanism established by Security Council resolution 2720 that have been cleared and are ready to ship to Gaza are in Jordan. They include food, tents and other commodities essential to people’s survival.
As we said before, we are engaging with relevant stakeholders to urgently address these concerns, warning that the continued closure of this border [crossing] without viable alternatives would further undermine the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Also in the West Bank, our OCHA colleagues tell us that the number of Palestinians who have been displaced since 7 October 2023 due to attacks by Israeli settlers and access restrictions has now surpassed 3,000. Half of them are children, mostly from Bedouin and herding communities.
UNIFIL
A quick update from southern Lebanon, where UNIFIL colleagues tell us that this week they found several unauthorized weapons and ammunition caches in their area of operations, including mortar shells, ammunition rounds, rockets, fuses and military gear. In the 10 months since the cessation of hostilities that was established last November, peacekeepers have discovered over 330 caches.
Meanwhile, peacekeepers continue to report daily Israel Defense Forces military activities in the mission’s area of operations. Yesterday UNIFIL observed air violations and mortar fire from south of the Blue Line in their Sector West area of operations.
Also this week, UNIFIL’s Maritime Task Force organized two training exercises, on 24 and 25 September, with the Lebanese Air Force, off the coast of Beirut.
Also, UN peacekeepers organized a training for Lebanese Army personnel in maintaining military vehicles, to enhance operational activities.
As you will recall, last week the peacekeeping mission donated more than 100 vehicles to the Lebanese Armed Forces, yesterday the mission donated an extra 15 vehicles to the General Security, which is the Government service responsible for addressing national security threats and securing the country’s borders.
SUDAN
Turning to Sudan and the horrific situation there. Our humanitarian colleagues on the ground tell us that civilians in El Fasher, the besieged state capital of North Darfur, continue to endure relentless attacks, acute hunger and cholera. They face daily threats from shelling, from air strikes and from drone attacks, with fierce clashes reported in north-eastern districts of the state capital in recent weeks.
And this week on the sidelines of the General Assembly, our Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, had the opportunity to talk to both parties and address the dire needs discuss the worsening situation in Sudan in general, but particularly, around El Fasher.
On Wednesday, Mr. Fletcher met here with the Transitional Prime Minister of Sudan, Kamil Idris. The Humanitarian chief noted our ongoing efforts to move pre-positioned aid supplies into the area, but the meeting also focused on expanding humanitarian access, as well as ensuring that more essential aid gets everywhere it is needed.
Also this week, Mr. Fletcher spoke [by phone] to General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo of the Rapid Support Forces to discuss our grave concerns over the humanitarian crisis in El Fasher. He stressed the urgent need to protect civilians, halt the fighting and ensure safe humanitarian access. We reiterate once again our calls for the need to step up access across Sudan, including in the Darfur and Kordofan regions.
Elsewhere in the country, aid organizations are doing everything possible to support people in need. This week, our Humanitarian Coordinator, Denise Brown, concluded a two-day visit to Khartoum alongside our agencies and partners.
There, she met Government officials, communities and front-line workers to discuss urgent humanitarian priorities. Our humanitarian colleagues say joint efforts are underway to assist people’s recovery and help communities rebuild their capital, Khartoum. UNICEF said that Thursday, two generators are on their way to Khartoum to restore safe water in cholera hotspots.
Meanwhile, UNICEF said that that the main building within the agency’s compound in El Fasher came under repeated attack, with shelling killing at least seven people who had been sheltering in the compound and injuring others. While UNICEF has not been able to access the compound since March 2024, the compound remains protected under UN privileges and immunities. Just days earlier, armed individuals entered the compound and took control of communications equipment and several UNICEF vehicles.
Our humanitarian colleagues say that people continue to flee the heightened insecurity in El Fasher. On Tuesday and Wednesday alone, more than 1,600 people were displaced from the city. That is what IOM is telling us.
OCHA says that hundreds of thousands of people who fled El Fasher are now living in dire conditions in Tawila, also in North Darfur. We and our partners are on the ground providing support, but $120 million is urgently required to meet people’s immediate needs in that area. The World Food Programme has been scaling up assistance in Tawila, reaching some 450,000 people there last month with vital food and nutrition aid.
UKRAINE
From Ukraine, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says the UN and its partners continue to deliver aid across the country amid the multiple attacks in different parts of Ukraine.
Authorities and our partners on the ground have reported that these attacks are impacting the energy infrastructure in Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Sumy and Vinnytsa.
In Chernihiv, for instance, an attack last night left parts of the city and the surrounding areas without electricity, at a time when temperatures at night are already dropping to around five degrees Celsius.
In the first half of 2025, we and our partners provided at least one form of humanitarian assistance to 2.4 million people across Ukraine.
This is about 40 per cent of the people we’ve aimed to reach with the Humanitarian Response.
While we are grateful for generous donor support, the sharp increase in attacks in recent months has triggered additional needs and new displacement, putting further pressure on an already stretched response - particularly ahead of winter.
We and our partners continue to scale up assistance ahead of the winter under the 2025-2026 Winter Response Plan. Launched in July, this plan seeks $280 million and is currently 40 percent funded.
PEACEBUILDING
Yesterday on the 25th of September 2025, the UN Peacebuilding Commission held its annual Ministerial-level meeting, on the theme of “Promoting Social Cohesion and Inclusive Governance to Foster Community Resilience and Sustainable Peace.” It was chaired by the Foreign Minister of Germany and Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission, Mr. Johann Wadephul. Member States expressed support and appreciation for the UN Peacebuilding Architecture – created twenty years ago to help countries with longer-term stabilization – but they expressed deep concern at the level of conflict around the world and called for tackling the root causes of violence, including inequality and exclusion, with a view to building resilient societies based on strong bonds of social trust.
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS
Sierra Leone, Zambia, Uruguay and the Seychelles made full payments to the Regular Budget. Bringing us up to 133 fully paid up Member States.
BRIEFINGS TODAY AND TOMORROW
This evening, at 7:35 p.m., the Leader of the Turkish Cypriot Community, Ersin Tatar, will speak to reporters following his meeting with the Secretary-General. This will take place at the Secretariat lobby area, near the satellite dish.
Tomorrow, at around 1 p.m., there will be a press briefing here by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Sergey Lavrov.
