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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC

SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES

TUESDAY, 24 MARCH 2026

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY 

At 3:00 p.m., the Security Council will hold an open briefing on “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question.” Our Deputy Special Coordinator and Resident Coordinator at the Office of the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Ramiz Alakbarov, is expected to brief on the implementation of resolution 2334, which is related to settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem.   

Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace High Representative to Gaza, is expected to brief on the implementation of resolution 2803 which endorsed the US “Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict” last November. 

Meanwhile on the ground, persistent challenges remain and are preventing the UN and our NGO partners from fully responding to people’s needs.              

Since the reopening of Rafah crossing last Thursday, the World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners have supported the medical evacuation of 16 patients who needed treatment unavailable in Gaza, along with 30 companions. UN teams have also offered services to 20 returnees. That support was provided on Thursday and Sunday, with a scheduled break for the weekend. 

Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov, is engaging with authorities to ensure that the voluntary movement of people in and out of Gaza can continue safely, with dignity, and in accordance with international humanitarian law. Our support to medical evacuation, and returnees, is scheduled to resume on Thursday.   

Kerem Shalom remains the only operational crossing for humanitarian and commercial cargo to enter the Strip.  

We again call for the opening of additional crossings and the lifting of restrictions on humanitarian operations. 

 In the West Bank, OCHA warns of the harsh humanitarian impact of settler attacks against Palestinians and of Israeli policies that leads to dispossession. 

Over the past few days, our field teams have recorded multiple attacks by settlers that resulted in casualties, property damage and displacement among Palestinians, including recently in Batn al Hawa in Silwan neighbourhood, in East Jerusalem. 

Evictions, demolitions and violence have grave physical, social, economic and emotional impacts and deepens reliance on humanitarian support. Palestinians must be protected and perpetrators be brought to justice. 

LEBANON 

Moving to Lebanon. We remain gravely concerned about the escalating rhetoric and ongoing hostilities between Hizbullah and Israel. 

More than one million people, including nearly 370,000 children, are now registered in the country as displaced.  

Our humanitarian colleagues on the ground tell us that strikes have been reported across Lebanon, with airstrikes overnight on Beirut’s southern suburbs, following further mass displacement orders across multiple neighborhoods. 

In southern Lebanon, at least seven key crossings over the Litani River were struck in the past week, restricting people’s movement and hindering humanitarian aid from reaching people fleeing the violence.        

We and our humanitarian partners continue to respond to growing needs, providing food, shelter, water, medical care and protection support to families forced to flee their homes. 

As of yesterday, the World Food Programme (WFP) and its partners have distributed 1.7 million hot meals and 50,000 ready-to-eat kits. 

Our partners working in education and protection are also helping displaced children by providing psychosocial support, recreational activities and alternative ways of learning. 

We reiterate that there is simply no military solution to the conflict. We continue to call for de-escalation and urge all sides to avail themselves of diplomatic channels available to them and to recommit to the full implementation of Security Council resolution 1701.  

Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plascheart, is pursuing all avenues of dialogue to this end. 

SUDAN

The Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy, Pekka Haavisto, is in Khartoum today. He has so far met with senior Sudanese officials including Foreign Minister Muhiedin Salem. He is also expected to meet with the Chairman of Sovereign Council and Commander of Sudanese Armed Forces General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan.

The Personal Envoy also aims to engage with a cross-section of Sudanese political and civil society stakeholders, as well as the diplomatic community.

The Personal Envoy will travel to several capitals in the region in the coming weeks to continue his initial consultations in support of peace efforts in Sudan.

The situation in Sudan remains deeply concerning. Yesterday, we spoke about the devastating drone strike on El-Daein Teaching Hospital in East Darfur on 20 March, and I can tell you that the Secretary-General strongly condemns this attack, which killed at least 60 people, including children and health workers. 

Since the current war in Sudan began, in April 2023, the World Health Organization has verified more than 200 attacks harming health facilities in Sudan, resulting in more than 2,000 deaths.  

The Secretary-General demands that all parties abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law, which specifically protects medical personnel and facilities and prohibits attacks directed against civilians and civilian objects.  

He calls on the parties to immediately de-escalate the fighting and agree on a cessation of hostilities. 

Mr. Guterres renews his appeal to the parties to work with mediators, including his Personal Envoy for Sudan, to return to the negotiating table to pursue a lasting ceasefire and a comprehensive, inclusive and Sudanese-owned political process. 

The UN stands ready to support genuine steps to end the fighting in Sudan. The full statement has been shared with you. 

SUDAN/HUMANITARIAN

Across Sudan, our humanitarian colleagues are alarmed by the impact of escalating drone attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure. The UN Human Rights Office reported today that between January and mid-March alone, more than 500 civilians were reportedly killed in drone strikes, underscoring the devastating impact of increasingly accessible high-tech weaponry in populated areas. 

In West Kordofan, local reports indicate that at least 17 people were killed and 25 others injured in drone strikes on residential neighbourhoods in the town of Lagawa yesterday. In Northern State, drone attacks in the town of Ad Dabbah on Friday reportedly killed a number of people and damaged an electricity substation, causing widespread power outages.  

And in Blue Nile State, local sources reported that more than 30 civilians were killed yesterday amid heavy fighting in Kurmuk town, which was surrounded and subjected to intense shelling and drone strikes. Some residents have reportedly fled across the border into Ethiopia. 

The UN reiterates that international humanitarian law prohibits attacks directed against civilians and civilian objects, as well as indiscriminate attacks. We also renew our call for all parties to facilitate rapid, safe, unimpeded and sustained humanitarian access to all areas of need across Sudan.  

HAITI 

Turning to Haiti. A new report by our human rights colleagues details the human rights impact of violence perpetrated in the country by gangs, security forces, private security contractors and self-defence groups.  

According to data verified by the Human Rights office, at least 5,519 people were killed in Haiti and 2,608 injured between 1 March 2025 and 15 January this year.  

Gangs have terrorized the population by killing and kidnapping people, trafficking children, stealing at illegal checkpoints, extorting money from businesses, and destroying and ransacking public and private properties. They also targeted individuals perceived as cooperating with police or defying their authority.  

The report also finds that between March and December last year, at least 1,571 women and girls were victims of sexual violence, mostly gang rape.  

Others, including children, were coerced into so-called “sentimental relationships” with gang members and subjected to prolonged sexual exploitation and abuse. 

Our human rights colleagues documented instances of unnecessary or disproportionate use of force by police, as well as violence perpetrated by self-defence groups and mobs engaging in so-called "popular justice". 

They also report that since March 2025, a private military company, reportedly hired by the Haitian Government, has taken part in security operations, including using drone strikes and helicopter gunfire. Our colleagues say no investigation appears to have been opened by the judicial authorities to establish the legality of these operations and the circumstances in which killings and injuries occurred.   

The report acknowledges some progress in the functioning of the justice system , but our colleagues also called for further efforts to bolster the rule of law in the country.  

COLOMBIA 

Turning to Colombia. The UN Mission and country team express sadness over the tragic crash of a military transport plane in southern Colombia yesterday. They extend their solidarity and condolences to the families of the victims, and to the Government and people of Colombia. They also wish all those injured a speedy recovery. 

And of course, we join the UN Mission and our team in Colombia in extending our heartfelt condolences.  

CENTRAL AMERICA 

Turning to Central America, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, has allocated $10.5 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund to help people ahead of a severe drought across the so-called “Dry Corridor” along the coast of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.  

Our humanitarian colleagues note that communities, many of them subsistence farmers, face failing crops, rising food insecurity and growing pressure on their livelihoods.  

This new funding will allow OCHA and our partners to take anticipatory action and act early to reduce humanitarian needs, protect jobs and help families stay ahead of any shock. Some 150,000 people across the three countries will receive cash to purchase food, seeds resistant to drought and livestock feed, as well as health support and water and sanitation services.  

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO 

Turning to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the UN Refugee Agency is telling us that, following the reopening of the Burundi–DRC border at the end of February, more than 33,000 Congolese refugees have spontaneously returned from Burundi to eastern DRC. Conditions in many areas of return in the DRC remain fragile. Initial UNHCR assessments in Uvira and Fizi show families arriving with few belongings. Many returned to find their homes destroyed and belongings looted, leaving them unable to resume normal life without substantial support.   
You will recall that thousands of Congolese people had fled to Burundi in December last year because of fighting between Congolese armed forces and the M23 armed group. Our UNHCR colleagues are calling for urgent support. Funding for assistance in the DRC is currently 34 per cent funded.   

UNHCR's support for the remaining 109,000 Congolese refugees in Burundi is only 20 per cent funded.                    

SECURITY COUNCIL/UKRAINE  

Yesterday afternoon, briefing Security Council members on Ukraine, Rosemary DiCarlo, our Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, noted that the suffering and destruction caused by the war in Ukraine can never be justified. She stressed that a full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire is imperative.  

Also briefing Council members, Tom Fletcher, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, said that over a cruel, cold winter, around 100 humanitarian organizations supported more than 1.6 million people. He noted that the 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan requires $2 billion to reach 3.6 million of the most vulnerable people, but nearly three-quarters of that plan is still unfunded.                        

EXHIBITION 

I want to flag an exhibit that is opening today, in the Visitors’ lobby.  

Entitled: “A History Exposed: The Enslavement of Black People in Canada”, this exhibit was done through a collaboration between our Outreach Programme on the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Slavery, the Government of Canada and the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 (in Halifax, Nova Scotia). 

You are invited to the opening, tonight at 6:15 p.m.  

The exhibition is timed with the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, which is tomorrow.  

The Secretary-General will take part in the General Assembly commemoration of the day, tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. 

The keynote speaker will be the Barbadian poet Ms. Esther Phillips, the first Poet Laureate of Barbados. The youth speaker will be Shahaddah Jack, the first Youth Poet Laureate of Toronto, Canada.

INTERNATIONAL DAYS 

Today marks the International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims. The right to the truth applies to serious human rights violations and grave breaches of humanitarian law, affirming families’ right to know what happened, including the circumstances, reasons and those responsible. 

Today is also World Tuberculosis Day. Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases, with more than 29,000 new cases each day. The World Health Organization (WHO) urges countries to accelerate action to end TB and expand access to lifesaving services.  

GUEST 

Tomorrow, noon briefing guest will be Máximo Torero, the Chief Economist at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). He will brief on the conflict in the Middle East and the implications for food security.