HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC
SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
MONDAY, 17 FEBRUARY 2025
NOON BRIEFING GUEST/TOMORROW
Tomorrow, noon briefing guest will be Muhannad Hadi, the UN Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator. He will join virtually from Jerusalem and will brief reporters on the situation in Gaza.
SECRETARY-GENERAL/AFRICAN UNION
The Secretary-General is back in New York after attending the African Union summit in Addis Ababa.
In a press conference as he departed on Saturday, the Secretary-General said that over three days in Addis Ababa, he had met many leaders from across the continent to discuss challenges across the spectrum. And he emphasizes that despite the many tests facing Africa, we start from a position of strength.
At the same time, the Secretary-General drew attention to a United Nations Security Council where Africa still inexplicably lacks permanent representation and an international financial architecture where the power and place of Africa is not fairly at the table.
SECURITY COUNCIL
This morning, the Security Council held a briefing on threats to international peace and security. Briefing Council members, Miroslav Jenča, the Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia, and the Americas, noted that in one week, we will mark three tragic years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launched in violation of the UN Charter and international law. In this context, Mr. Jenča said, today’s ten-year anniversary of Security Council resolution 2202 - that called for the full implementation of the now defunct Minsk agreements - is an opportunity to recall past diplomatic efforts towards de-escalation and a peaceful settlement of the conflict.
He noted that the Secretary-General has underlined, time and again, that any peaceful settlement must respect the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine, in line with the UN Charter, international law and resolutions of the General Assembly. Mr. Jenča said that the UN encourages dialogue among all stakeholders and welcomes all genuine efforts and initiatives, with the full participation of Ukraine and the Russian Federation, that would alleviate the impact of the war on civilians and de-escalate the conflict.
UKRAINE
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that attacks today and over the weekend killed and injured civilians across the country. According to local authorities, front-line communities in Dnipro, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions were the most affected. Authorities and partners on the ground also say that yesterday, a thermal power plant in Mykolaiv, in the south of the country, was damaged. An estimated 100,000 people were left without heating as temperatures dropped below zero. About 760 residential buildings, nearly 70 schools and kindergartens, and 20 health facilities lost access to heating. Municipal services are working to restore services.
Humanitarians responded swiftly in Zaporizhzhia and Mykolaiv, providing aid including mental health and psychosocial support, emergency shelter kits, food, warm drinks, and blankets. As of this morning, the Ukrainian grid operator, Ukrenergo, imposed emergency power cuts in various regions due to the latest attacks. As hostilities continue to damage homes and infrastructure in front-line regions, aid organizations remain committed to providing winter assistance to vulnerable people. Under the 2024–2025 Winter Response Plan [October 2024–March 2025], humanitarian efforts have supported more than 900,000 people.
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
Turning to Gaza, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that as the UN and the humanitarian partners continue to deliver life-saving assistance across the Gaza Strip, the scale of needs remains overwhelming – requiring urgent and sustained support.
Today, the Palestinian Ministry of Health stressed that oxygen supplies are critically needed to keep emergency, surgical and intensive care services running at hospitals throughout Gaza, including Al Shifa and Al Rantisi in Gaza City. Health partners are engaging with the authorities to bring in generators, spare parts and equipment required to produce oxygen locally in Gaza.
In northern Gaza over the weekend, shelter partners distributed tarpaulins to more than 11,000 families.
Meanwhile in Khan Younis, some 450 families are receiving sealing-off kits, kitchen sets and hygiene kits at a displacement site in Al Mawasi.
Educational activities also continue to expand. As of yesterday, partners report that more than 250,000 learners have enrolled in UNRWA’s distance learning programmes.
Across Gaza, 95 per cent of school buildings were damaged over the past 15 months of hostilities, according to partners working on education. Students are currently learning in makeshift tents and open spaces amid cold winter temperatures.
Meanwhile in the West Bank, OCHA says casualties continue to be reported due to the ongoing operations by Israeli forces in Tulkarm and Jenin.
As of yesterday, 36 Palestinians have reportedly been killed – 25 in Jenin and nearly a dozen in Tulkarm – since those operations began.
OCHA warns once again that the use of lethal, war-like tactics during these operations raises concerns over the use of force that exceeds law enforcement standards.
Meanwhile, settler attacks against Palestinians and their properties continue to be reported across the West Bank. Over the weekend, Israeli settlers attacked residents in several villages in Nablus governorates – in one instance, setting a house on fire. Humanitarian partners are mobilizing resources to support affected communities.
SECRETARY-GENERAL/GAZA
In a note yesterday, the Secretary-General welcomed the continued implementation of the ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza and urged all parties to abide by their commitments. The UN remains fully engaged in supporting the implementation of the deal, including through the delivery of critical humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza.
The Secretary-General reiterates his call for all parties to uphold international humanitarian law and international human rights law.
LEBANON
On Friday, the Secretary-General strongly condemned the attack on a UNIFIL convoy near the Beirut airport, in which two peacekeepers from the UN Interim Force in Lebanon were injured and one vehicle was set ablaze.
The Deputy Force Commander, Major General Chok Dhakal, who was ending his tour of duty, and one of his staff were injured in the attack and taken to the hospital for treatment. They were released from the hospital the following day. And yesterday Deputy Force Commander Dhakal departed Beirut and returned to his home country. The other peacekeepers involved in the attack returned to Naqoura.
The Government of Lebanon has opened an investigation into the attack to bring the perpetrators to justice. UNIFIL has also launched an investigation.
The safety and security of UN personnel and property must be respected at all times by everyone. Such attacks are in violation of international law and absolutely unacceptable.
SYRIA
The UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, will return to Damascus this week to continue his engagements with the Syrian caretaker authorities and others, including Syrians representing various factions of society.
This visit follows Mr. Pedersen’s participation in the Munich Security Conference over the weekend, where he held discussions with high-level representatives from Syria, France, Germany, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and other key interlocutors. He reiterated the importance of an inclusive, Syrian-led political process, supported by the international community.
Mr. Pedersen also took part in a side event on Women, Peace, and Security.
He emphasized thecalls to all parties in Syria to uphold their international commitments, respect the rights and dignity of women, and ensure their full participation in shaping the country’s future. This includes guaranteeing access to education, freedom of movement, political representation, and protection from violence and exploitation.
SYRIA/HUMANITARIAN
On the humanitarian front, today OCHA completed a mission to Darayya, in Rural Damascus, to visit a farm that had been cleared of explosive ordnance with support from the Syria Humanitarian Fund.
With hostilities subsiding in parts of the country, the UN’s humanitarian partners are scaling up mine action work in newly accessible areas, including former front lines where contamination is high. Since December, a total of 138 minefields and other areas contaminated with explosive ordnance have been identified in Idleb, Aleppo, Hama, Deir-ez-Zor and Lattakia.
During the same period, partners have disposed of more than 1,400 unexploded ordnance items across the country. Mine action partners continue to report casualties due to explosive ordnance on an almost daily basis.
Since December, over 430 deaths and injuries have been recorded – nearly a third of them children. Farmers and shepherds account for a significant proportion of these casualties. Since January, more than 60 have been killed and over 90 others injured, many while tending to their land or grazing animals.
Meanwhile, the flow of aid continues through the border crossings. Over the weekend, 40 trucks carrying nearly 1,000 metric tons of WFP food aid – enough for over 270,000 people – crossed from Türkiye to Idleb, in north-west Syria, through the Bab Al-Hawa border crossing. Partners have also expanded the import of food and other assistance from Jordan to Syria since the start of the year.
PEACEKEEPING
The Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, will begin a visit to Sudan, South Sudan and Abyei, starting from tomorrow, the 18th until the 24th of the month. In Port Sudan, discussions with high-level officials of the Government will focus on strengthening cooperation and coordination to support peacekeeping efforts in the Abyei region.
He will then head to South Sudan where he will meet in Juba with Government officials and other key partners to discuss ongoing peace operations in South Sudan and Abyei.
Discussions will include the UN’s support to the peace process, as well as assessing the region’s evolving security dynamics.
In both countries, Sudan and South Sudan, he will meet with representatives of the UN Country Teams.
Mr. Lacroix is scheduled to be in Abyei where he will engage with the leadership of the peacekeeping mission there, the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), and meet with representatives of the Abyei administrations and with traditional leaders.
He will also engage with civil society organizations and local communities, including women’s and youth groups.
SUDAN
The dire situation in Sudan continues to be extremely worrying, especially the impact of violence on civilians in and around the Zamzam displacement camp in Al Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state.
Following the escalation of hostilities in Zamzam over the past week, about 5,500 people were displaced and sought safety and shelter in Shamal Jabal Marrah locality in Central Darfur State.
There were also reports of others seeking to leave the area being prevented from doing so, due to the intensity of the fighting and key exit routes being blocked.
This brings the total number of newly displaced people in Shamal Jabal Marrah to more than 120,000, as reported by the International Organization for Migration. Aid agencies have provided food assistance to about 93,000 of them, and some 53,000 people have received emergency shelter and other supplies.
SUDAN/HUMANITARIAN
On Sudan, the UN and its partners today launched the 2025 humanitarian and refugee response plans for Sudan, appealing for a combined $6 billion to assist nearly 26 million people inside the country and in the region.
The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, warned that almost two years of war have generated a humanitarian emergency of shocking proportions, with famine taking hold and an epidemic of sexual violence raging.
This year’s Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for Sudan aims to reach nearly 21 million men, women and children in the country with life-saving aid and protection – the highest number of people in any UN-coordinated plan this year.
Meanwhile, the Regional Refugee Response Plan aims to support 4.8 million people in the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, South Sudan and Uganda. Since the hostilities in Sudan erupted in April 2023, more than 12 million people have been displaced by the fighting – including nearly 3.5 million who have fled to neighbouring countries.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, stressed that neighbouring countries have shown great solidarity by welcoming refugees but said their resources are stretched – and urged the international community to step up and help.
SOUTH SUDAN
The peacekeeping mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) reported that one of its Blue Helmet colleagues was injured by shrapnel in Nassir County in Upper Nile State over the weekend.
This comes as a UN peacekeeping patrol was on a pre-planned visit to the County when violent clashes erupted between the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) and armed youth. The fighting reportedly led to civilian casualties, as well as large-scale civilian displacement.
The UN Mission strongly condemns the incident and is engaging with authorities and communities to restore calm.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, our peacekeeping colleagues report that the security situation in North Kivu and South Kivu remains highly volatile. The escalating crisis in eastern DRC has significantly impacted the Mission’s capacity to implement its mandate, particularly in North Kivu, where M23 now controls four out of the six territories.
Earlier today in North Kivu, a large crowd gathered outside the Mission’s Lava Site base, demanding the “withdrawal of international forces from the DRC” and the release of individuals under the Mission’s protection.
And over the weekend in South Kivu, the Mission received reports that the M23 armed group, backed by the Rwandan Defense Forces, took control of Bukavu, the provincial capital. While sporadic gunfire has been reported, there have been no direct clashes between FARDC and M23. As a reminder, the Mission withdrew from South Kivu in June last year, in accordance with a disengagement plan agreed with Congolese authorities.
SENIOR PERSONNEL APPOINTMENT
Today, the Secretary-General is appointing Jens Wandel of Denmark as Special Adviser on Reforms. He was previously appointed to this function from 2018 to 2020 during the implementation phase of the reforms.
Mr. Wandel has had a distinguished service within the United Nations. He served as the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) Executive Director (ad interim), the Secretary-General’s Designate for the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Assistant Administrator, Director of the Bureau of Management.
TOURISM RESILIENCE DAY
Today is Global Tourism Resilience Day.
This Day spotlights the importance of tourism in supporting our communities and its role in sustainable development as it creates millions of jobs, in particular for women and young people.
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION
Cyprus, Greece, Namibia and the Marshall Islands paid their full dues to the Regular Budget. This brings the total number of Member States who have paid their assessments in full to 61.
