Category: MIL-OSI

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Marking the International Day for Persons with Disabilities, UN Global Advocate Giles Duley said that persons with disabilities are assets for workforce, reiterating the need to look at the societal barriers that are holding them back from achieving what they can.

The Global Advocate spoke to reporters in New York.

He highlighted the importance of listening to what the reality is like for people with disabilities.

Duley said, “Too often people with disabilities are presented as inspiration, as resilient people. And of course, they are. But that means the stories of those left behind who are truly vulnerable are often ignored or forgotten. We can’t romanticize the idea of disability.”

Speaking about Gaza, the Global Advocate said, “People with disabilities whenever there is a crisis are the ones most vulnerable,” adding that “people living on top floors of apartment buildings, when the electricity is gone, cannot evacuate. When warnings are done by sound, people who are deaf do not get them. When people in wheelchairs and there’s rubble in the streets, they lose all accessibility.”

Duley also pointed out that the society “have to stop looking at people with disabilities as victims.”

He said, “We should look at them as assets, because some of the most resilient people you will meet in the workforce are people with disabilities, people who have struggled their whole lives, people who have met those challenges.”

“For me, resilience is life’s gift for your suffering and challenges,” the Global Advocate said, adding, “It gives you strength that enables you to be an amazing part of the workforce. There are barriers that stop those people and so rather look at them as the problem, we must always look at the societal barriers that are holding them back from achieving what they can.”

Duley also said, “Sixteen to 17 percent of the world’s population label themselves as having disability. The stories we hear are only about the ones that we feel comfortable listening to. Unfortunately, the stories that are uncomfortable are the ones we need to be telling.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4Mnu1hcxCM

Source: United Nations (video statements)

This video, presented by the United Nations Victims’ Rights Advocate, marks the first day of the 16 days of activism and the global campaign to end digital violence against women and girls. It highlights how abuse transcends physical spaces and follows victims of sexual exploitation and abuse by UN and related personnel into the digital world, emphasizing the urgent need for a victim-centered approach. The message calls for collective action to create safe, respectful digital environments and uphold the rights and dignity of all victims.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5qX4JjyDN0

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Press conference by Giles Duley, UN Global Advocate for Persons with Disabilities in Conflict and Peacebuilding Situations for the International Day for Persons with Disabilities

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/BOpbugjUNTw

Source: United Nations (video statements)

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Sy_CvZ8BK58

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Noon Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Highlights:

-Occupied palestinian territory
-Lebanon/israel
-Sudan
-Mozambique
-Myanmar
-Migrants and refugees/Latin America and the Caribbean
-International day of persons with disabilities
-Guest tomorrow

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) continues to receive reports that air strikes, shelling, gunfire and other Israeli military operations are causing more civilian casualties, displacement and destruction in Gaza. In recent days, hundreds of families were reportedly displaced in the At Tufah and Ash Shuja’iyyeh neighbourhoods in eastern Gaza city, following strikes and movement of military machinery.
The UN and its partners continue to provide assistance to people in need across the Strip wherever we can have access. The UN healthcare partners report that six additional healthcare service points have opened since Sunday.
Yesterday in Rafah, a team from the World Health Organization(WHO) also managed to reach the European Hospital, which remains non-operational, to move some vital equipment to functioning healthcare facilities.
However, attempts to gain access to Kamal Adwan Hospital in North Gaza continue to be denied by the Israelisecurity authorities.
WHO reported that the agency facilitated the referral and transfer of the first patient to the Emirati Field Hospital since before last year’s Rafah incursion, which had rendered the facility inaccessible. The hospital is the only functioning medical facility serving the Rafah area.
Preparations for winter are a key priority for the UN and our partners, and we continue to deliver shelter supplies and other critical items to the most vulnerable households. Since Sunday, some 4,400 families received tents, tarpaulins, blankets, winter clothing and kitchen sets across Gaza through UN-coordinated deliveries.
In addition, UN partners managing displacement sites report that work is ongoing to help prepare suitable locations for those seeking to leave high-risk areas, including shoreline communities.
In Khan Younis, an estimated 4,000 households live along the coast, with some 1,000 at especially high risk due to their proximity to the water line. Some of these families have reportedly started to relocate to the two sites identified as being safe by the localmunicipality.
In the ongoing effort to improve access to water and sanitation, our partners report that 42 truckloads of debris have been cleared over the past 48 hours to reach the Al Amal, Tel al Dhahab and Asian wells in Beit Lahiya, in North Gaza. Repairs are expected to begin soon.
In the meantime, UN partners working to reduce risks of explosive ordnance warn that unexploded remnants of war continue to pose a threat to civilians. Over the past week, they were able to carry out 50 assessments across Gaza to help lower the risks for aid workers. Just last week, six people were reportedly killed and 10 others injured in two incidents involving explosive ordnance in Gaza City and Deir al Balah.
OCHA continues to call for unimpeded, safe and sustained access for humanitarian workers and supplies to reach people in need. Impediments must be lifted to allow teams to scale up the delivery of humanitarian assistance faster and more efficiently. Civilians must always be protected, and safe passage must be ensured for those wishing to flee. They must also be allowed to return to areas should they wish to.

LEBANON/ISRAEL
Today, UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL) hosted the fourteenth meeting of the five parties cessation of hostilities mechanism at its headquarters in Naqoura.
Chaired by the United States with the support of France, the meeting saw for the first time the participation of delegations of Israel and Lebanon included civilian representatives which marks a significant step forward and we look forward to continued momentum in that front.
The Office of the Special Coordinator for Lebanon was also present in the meetings.

Full highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2025-12-03

Office of the Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General Website: https://www.un.org/sg/en/spokesperson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMT4Ip0djdo