ÉñÂíÎçÒ¹¸£ÀûÍø

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC

SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES

TUESDAY, 2 DECEMBER 2025

FLOODS IN ASIA 

The Secretary-General is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life caused by severe flooding and landslides across Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. More than 1,000 people have reportedly been killed, with many missing and millions affected as heavy rains continue to inundate large areas. 

The Secretary-General conveys his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and expresses his solidarity with all those affected by these devastating floods. 

The United Nations is in close contact with authorities in all four countries and stands ready to support relief and response efforts. UN Country Teams remain at the disposal of Governments to provide necessary assistance. 

IRAQ 

This morning, the Security Council heard, for the last time, from the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) in a briefing on the situation in Iraq. The mission will conclude its mandate on 31 December this year. 

Mohamed Al Hassan, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq and Head of UNAMI, opened by expressing profound appreciation to the Government and people of Iraq who have stood as partners to the UN through some of the nation’s most challenging chapters. 

He recalled that when the Council established UNAMI 22 years ago, Iraq was confronting the legacy of dictatorship, regional wars, internal conflict, foreign occupation and the terror of Da’esh. But with the support of the international community, Iraq emerged stronger. 

The UN underscores that UNAMI’s departure does not mark an end to the Iraq-UN partnership.   

The UN will continue to stand by Iraq to build on its hard-won gains, and we hope that a new Government will be formed without delay. 

Finally, the UN look forward to transferring the mandate on missing Kuwaiti and third-country nationals and missing property, including the national archives, from UNAMI to a Senior Representative, as decided by the Security Council.  

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY 

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that as winter approaches in Gaza, the humanitarian community continues working to scale up the delivery of assistance to people in need, including children, who have suffered immensely over the past two years.  

In the past two months, our partners have provided tens of thousands of critical items to help prepare for colder weather – including shoes, clothes, blankets and towels – to children across the Strip. That’s alongside the distribution of other essential supplies. 

And during the last 10 days of November, 160 activity tents were distributed, enabling thousands of children to access mental health and psychosocial support activities and case management services. 

Last week, our partners in Gaza City, Deir al Balah and Khan Younis continued to reach thousands of people with psychosocial support, legal counselling, and education on the risks posed by explosive ordnance.   

On the health front, yesterday, the World Health Organization said that its team led the medical evacuation of 18 patients and 54 companions from Gaza for treatment abroad. WHO said that more than 16,500 patients still need life-saving care that is not available in Gaza.  

The UN continues to call for the opening of all available border crossings and corridors – including so that patients can seek treatment in the West Bank – and stresses the need for unimpeded access for international emergency medical teams to enter Gaza.    

Over the past 24 hours, the UN has continued to receive reports of air strikes, shelling and gunfire in all five governorates of the Gaza Strip.                      

Yesterday, OCHA helped coordinate the rescue of injured people in the At Tufah neighbourhood of Gaza City, following a distress call received from the area by Civil Defense teams.   

Turning to the West Bank, OCHA remains concerned about the impact of operations by Israeli forces in the northern governorates of Tubas and Jenin in recent days, amid reports of displacement, insecurity, destruction of water networks and the closure of several commercial structures.   

In the past two days alone, nearly two dozen Palestinian families have been displaced from their homes, which were turned into military observation posts.   

SYRIA/ISRAEL 

The United Nations remains deeply concerned about the continued violations of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement, including breaches of the ceasefire, as well as the continued presence and activities of the Israel Defense Forces in the area of separation, in violation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic. 

Members of the communities on the Bravo side, which is the eastern side of the Golan Heights, continue to protest before UNDOF regarding the presence and actions of the IDF. UNDOF, for its part, tell us that it continues to engage with the IDF to address these concerns. UNDOF also regularly engages with local leaders in the area.    

The UN calls upon the parties to fulfil their obligations under the Agreement, including by ending all unauthorized presence in the areas of separation and limitation. There should be no military forces and activities in the area of separation other than those of UNDOF. And the UN reaffirms the commitment to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic.  

UKRAINE 

Turning to Ukraine, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that attacks and hostilities continue unabated across the country, resulting in increasing civilian deaths and injuries. In the region of Kherson, drone attacks, air strikes and shelling damaged critical infrastructure and homes. Dozens of civilians were also injured, including a humanitarian worker from an international NGO supporting bread distribution, whose vehicle was destroyed in a drone strike. This latest incident underscores growing humanitarian access constraints in the Kherson and Mykolaiv regions, where increased drone activity continues to endanger aid workers and restrict movement. Our humanitarian colleagues note that as colder weather sets in, rolling power outages continue across the country, including in the capital Kyiv.  

Humanitarian organizations have provided rapid assistance in the Kyiv and Dnipro regions, including emergency shelter kits, hot meals and psychosocial support.  

MOZAMBIQUE 

Turning to Mozambique. The UN Refugee Agency is gravely concerned as intensifying attacks on villages and the rapid spillover of the conflict into previously safe districts have forced tens of thousands of people to flee across northern Mozambique, with close to 100,000 displaced in the past fortnight alone. UNHCR noted that people reaching safety say they escaped in fear as armed groups stormed their villages, often at night burning homes, attacking civilians, and forcing families to flee with nothing.  

The violence, which began in Cabo Delgado in 2017, has already displaced over 1.3 million people. UNHCR pointed out that 2025 has seen a dangerous shift, with attacks now happening simultaneously and spreading beyond Cabo Delgado into Nampula Province, threatening communities that had previously hosted displaced families.                                  

UNHCR warned that as needs rise at unprecedented speed, the capacity of humanitarian and government actors is not keeping pace, and collective efforts remain insufficient to meet the scale of protection and assistance required on the ground. 

UNDP 

Today is Alexander De Croo’s first day as Administrator of the UN Development Programme.   

As you know, Mr. De Croo is the former Prime Minister of Belgium. He will spend his first days in New York meeting with Member States and partners before heading out to Doha and Kenya for his first field visits.  

In a statement issued this morning, he said that a key focus of his mandate will be to broaden and diversify UNDP’s funding base, including tapping into new sources of financing.  

The challenging moment we face, he added, also gives us the chance to renew our work, and to focus on innovation, on delivery, and on real impact for the people we serve. 

Mr. De Croo succeeds Achim Steiner of Germany to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his leadership and commitment to the Organization.            The Secretary-General also wishes to extend his appreciation to Haoliang Xu, Associate Administrator of UNDP, who served as Acting Administrator until Mr. De Croo assumed his position. 

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE 

The UN Development Programme issued a new report on Artificial intelligence today, with a focus on Asia and the Pacific.  

The report is called The Next Great Divergence: Why AI May Widen Inequality Between Countries, and highlights that while AI opens important new avenues for development, countries begin this transition from highly uneven positions to capture benefits and manage risks.  

Without strong policy action, these gaps can grow, reversing the long trend of narrowing development inequalities. 

The Asia and Pacific region, which is home to over 55% of the world’s population, is at the center of the AI transition. The region now hosts more than half of global AI users and is rapidly expanding its innovation footprint. 

The report presents ideas on how to turn that risk into a path for shared progress, and you can read it online.  

HAITI 

I was asked about Haiti and the announcement earlier today that Jack Christofides has been selected as the Special Representative for the Gang Suppression Force in Haiti. I can tell you that we have seen the official announcement regarding the appointment and we warmly congratulate Mr. Christofides who is currently a UN staff member and holds a senior post in the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Department of Peace Operations.  

This new post as Special Representative for the Gang Suppression Force in Haiti is not a UN post, so we are sorry to see Jack go but we are very delighted for this new opportunity he will have.

We will of course continue to work with the Special Representative to ensure the implementation of the mandate detailed in Security Council resolution 2793. This will include collaboration through the new UN Support Office for Haiti (UNSOH), established by the same resolution that created the Gang Suppression Force and that office will provide logistic support to the Gang Suppression Force and the Haitian National Police.   

As you know, the Secretary-General welcomed the Security Council’s decision.

In addition, the UN political office BINUH, which is a special political mission in Haiti headed by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Carlos Ruiz Massieu, will continue to support Haitian stakeholders’ efforts to advance the political transition.  

ABOLITION OF SLAVERY 

Today is the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, a moment to remember the past victims, including the more than 15 million men, women and children taken from Africa who were enslaved or died in the transatlantic slave trade.  

In his message, the Secretary-General warns that slavery is not only a historic horror but a present-day crisis. An estimated 50 million people, many of them women and children, are trapped in modern forms of slavery, driven by poverty, discrimination, environmental degradation, conflict and exploitation by criminal networks.  

He urges governments, businesses, civil society and trade unions to unite to end these abuses and ensure justice, compensation, rehabilitation and protection for all victims.    

FORCE COMMANDER / UNISFA 

Today, the Secretary-General is appointing Lieutenant General Ganesh Kumar Shrestha of Nepal as his new Force Commander in the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA). 

Lieutenant General Shrestha succeeds Major General Robert Yaw Affram of Ghana, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his dedication and leadership of UNISFA during the interim period.  

Lieutenant General Shrestha brings 36 years of military service encompassing leadership positions in the Nepalese Army such as Division Commander of the Far Western Division, as well as United Nations peacekeeping experience including Sector Commander for Sector East in the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).   

GUEST TOMORROW 

Tomorrow, noon briefing guest is Giles Duley, the United Nations Global Advocate for Persons with Disabilities in Conflict and Peacebuilding Situations.  

He will brief on the International Day for Persons with Disabilities.