ɫ��TV

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC

SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES

FRIDAY, 31 OCTOBER 2025

TRIP ANNOUNCEMENT/QATAR 

The Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, will arrive in Doha, Qatar, on Monday morning, to attend the Second World Summit for Social Development.  

In his address to the Summit’s opening session, the Secretary-General is expected to highlight the progress made since the first Social Summit that took place in Copenhagen in 1995, when governments pledged to make poverty eradication, full employment and social integration central to development. He will also underscore today’s major global challenges, including deepening inequalities, unemployment, poverty, conflicts and widespread human suffering. 

While at the Summit, the Secretary-General is expected to participate in a side event on education.   

He is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with the Amir of Qatar, His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Qatar, His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani. The Secretary-General is also expected to meet Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser Al-Missned. 

We also expect the Secretary-General to hold a number of other bilaterals,  with heads of delegations. We will keep you posted on those as they come.

SUDAN 

Turning to the situation in Sudan, which continues to be horrific to say the least.  The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tells us that North Darfur State remains catastrophic, with ongoing attacks against civilians, humanitarian access to El Fasher cut off, and desperate people continuing to flee towards Tawila and other towns, seeking safety.  

The International Organization for Migration now estimate that at least 62,000 people have been displaced from El Fasher and surrounding areas, that is just between 26 and 29 of this month, with insecurity along routes continuing to restrict movements. These people leave their homes, their livelihoods, carrying very little of their belongings, as you can only imagine. 

Telecommunications need to be restored to the area. They are cut and the situation is chaotic on the ground, making it difficult to obtain direct information from inside the city.  

On the ground, in the locality of Tawila, we are working with local partners to register new arrivals as they come in, and to provide emergency support for them. Huge gaps persist, as you can imagine, including shelter materials, medicines and trauma care supplies, food assistance as well as psychosocial support.  

Local sources continue to share extremely worrying reports of displaced civilians on the move as they are being abducted and facing extortion. We call again for securing a safe passage for people trying to flee, protecting those who remain in El Fasher, and for full and unimpeded humanitarian access across Darfur and in all other areas in need in Sudan.                                                                      

The humanitarian situation in North Kordofan State also remains alarming, with IOM estimating that close to 36,000 human beings have been displaced from Bara town, north of the state capital El Obeid, and that was just this week.             

Reports are also emerging of serious violations in the context of the RSF capture of Bara town in North Kordofan, including the alleged summary execution of five Red Crescent volunteers. Our human rights colleagues have also received alarming reports of sexual violence. Humanitarian partners tell us that at least 25 women were gang-raped when RSF forces entered a shelter for displaced people near El Fasher University.  

These latest reports of serious violations potentially amount to numerous crimes under international law, in and around El Fasher, and in Bara. We echo the calls of the Human Rights Office: there must be independent, prompt, transparent and thorough investigations into all such potential breaches of international law, and for those responsible to be held to account. The rights of victims and their families to truth, justice and reparations must be ensured.          

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY 

Turning to the situation in Gaza. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs colleagues tell us that their partners continue their scale-up efforts, despite reported Israeli airstrikes across the Strip. Some strikes reportedly occurred on Thursday (30 October) in the area close to the so-called “Yellow Line” which as you know is the area that refers to the line that the Israel Defense Forces has begun to mark inside Gaza, as part of the cease‑fire agreement. According to local sources, these strikes resulted in casualties.  

We stress again that all parties must refrain from any activities that put civilians, including aid workers, at risk, and remind the Israeli military of its obligation to take constant care to spare them throughout all its military operations.   

On aid collection efforts, the UN 2720 Mechanism tells us that we and our partners have collected over 24,000 metric tonnes of aid from the crossings since the ceasefire came into effect a few weeks ago.  

More people in need have also been able to access this aid, which includes food, medicine and medical supplies, nutritional supplements and shelter materials, through the resumption of community- and household-based distributions and services. 

Additionally, according to the UN 2720 Mechanism, there has been a significant reduction in the interception, or looting, or taking, of supplies collected by ourselves and our partners from crossings in Gaza as we are trying to make our way to our warehouses. 

Just to give you an example. Between 10 and 28 October, five per cent of collected supplies were reportedly intercepted, compared with about 80 per cent between 19 May and 9 October. 

Since the start of the ceasefire, our colleagues at the World Health Organization tell us they delivered over 840 pallets of life-saving medical supplies into Gaza including insulin, assistive devices, essential medicines, cholera and surgical kits.  

WHO also reported this week that its teams are working with partners providing nutrition services aiming to treat 2,500 children. 

Despite these positive developments, Gaza’s health system continues to face significant challenges in addressing the immense needs faced by people in Gaza. According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza (MoH), as of 7 October of this year, more than 1,700 health workers have been killed since the start of the war.  

On the education front, partners are expanding their interventions, where possible, to restore minimum teaching and learning conditions for over 630,000 school-aged children who have lost over two years of schooling. They have been supporting the rehabilitation of more than 90 classrooms in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis, out of over 2,000 classrooms that require rehabilitation across the Gaza Strip. However, restrictions imposed by Israeli authorities on the entry of educational and learning supplies continue to hinder the response. 

We continue to call for all crossing points to be open and more UN agencies and organizations authorized to bring in aid supplies into Gaza.   

HURRICANE MELISSA 

Turning to hurricane Melissa in the Caribbean, where we, along with our partners across the region, are assisting communities impacted by the storm. Our colleagues at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs say that supplies are moving, coordination hubs are active, and emergency teams are supporting Government responses in Jamaica, Cuba and Haiti. 

In Cuba, our humanitarian colleagues say that, following the hurricane going through the country over the eastern provinces of Cuba, preliminary assessments indicate severe damage across Santiago, Holguín, Granma, and Guantánamo, including to homes, roads, and health facilities. Hundreds of communities remain isolated, and access continues to be hampered by damaged road, rail, and air transport infrastructure.  

We, along with our partners are supporting national authorities with assessments and early recovery plans.  

We are also helping to develop a UN Action Plan to guide the response, with a two-person team deployed in-country and additional support from the Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean. 

As for Jamaica, the Government is leading a robust national response, our own colleagues are supporting coordination efforts and the Rapid Needs Assessment Teams led by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency. These teams are scheduled to arrive today.  

The Food and Agriculture Organization, UNICEF, the UN Population Fund, and the International Organization for Migration will all take part in the assessments. OCHA also deployed a team from Panama yesterday to reinforce coordination and information management, working closely with our team already there and national authorities.                                   

And in Haiti, which as you know, is a country already impacted by a massive humanitarian crisis and deadly armed violence, humanitarian teams are working alongside national authorities to respond to the urgent needs. Our UN agencies and our partners are now supporting temporary shelters and providing food, shelter, non-food items and cash assistance. 

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC 

A quick update from the Central African Republic, where our peacekeeping colleagues report progress in the disarmament and demobilization of combatants from the armed group called 3R (Return, Reclamation and Rehabilitation), which rejoined the peace process. The overall number of combatants from the UPC, the 3R, and anti-balaka groups disarmed and demobilized across the country since July is now around 800. 

Yesterday, 53 former combatants were disarmed and demobilized in Noufou. This was the highest number of combatants to receive their demobilization certificates in a single day since the resumption of these large-scale DDR operations last July.  A total of 97 combatants have been disarmed and demobilized in Noufou since operations began last Wednesday.  

These operations are being carried out with the technical, logistical, security, and financial support of our colleagues from the peacekeeping mission, who are also providing medical assistance and school kits to communities. 

LIBYA 

The political mission in Libya has begun soliciting nominations for the Structured Dialogue, which is a key pillar of the political roadmap. The Dialogue will propose policy recommendations to enable credible elections, unify institutions, and address long-term drivers of conflict.  

Approximately 120 Libyans representing municipalities, political parties, academia, national institutions, and civil society will participate. The Mission confirms that, while not a decision-making body, the Dialogue will serve as a platform for inclusive engagement, with recommendations shared with relevant state institutions to support sustainable peace and democratic governance in Libya.  

And just to note that this afternoon, the Security Council is expected to vote on a number of draft resolutions to renew the mandates of the political mission, as well as MINURSO in Western Sahara and a third draft resolution on the UN Verification Mechanism in Colombia. 

I’m sure you will be watching those. 

INTERNATIONAL DAYS 

Today is World Cities Day.  In his message, the Secretary-General says that cities are engines of opportunity, and when people are at the centre, digital innovation can advance fairness and sustainability for all.  As cities become increasingly digital spaces, he stresses, they must be inclusive, green and just.  

Sunday is an important day for all of you. It is the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against journalists. Worldwide, nearly nine out of ten journalist killings remain unresolved. Gaza has been the deadliest place for journalists in any conflict.  

The Secretary-General calls for independent and impartial investigations into the killings of journalists, warning that impunity is an assault on press freedom and a threat to democracy itself. When journalists are silenced, we all lose our voice.                                    

**Guest and Briefings – today and on Monday  

Nicholas Koumjian, the Head of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, briefed reporters on the situation in Myanmar. 

At 1 p.m., Ambassador Jürg Lauber, the President of the Human Rights Council, briefed reporters. 

On Monday, at 1:00 p.m., there will be a briefing by Ambassador Michael Imran Kanu, the Permanent Representative of Sierra Leone, who will be here as the President of the Security Council for the month of November and he will brief reporters on the Programme of Work for November.