In August 2025, the United Nations established two pathbreaking mechanisms for global cooperation on AI: the Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence and the Global Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence Governance. Together, they translate shared principles into practice by bridging scientific evidence, policy dialogue, and international cooperation. The first session of the AI Dialogue takes place in Geneva, Switzerland on 6 and 7 July 2026.
Noon Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Highlights:
– UN Peacekeepers Day
– UNIFIL
– Lebanon
-Occupied Palestinian Territory
– Middle East
– Cyprus
– Libya
– Democratic Republic Of The Congo
– UNOPS
– Food Price Index
– World Environment Day
– The Fight Against Illegal, Unreported And Unregulated Fishing
– International Days/Weekend
– Programming Note/Monday
UN PEACEKEEPERS DAY
To mark UN Peacekeepers Day, the Secretary-General laid a wreath to commemorate the nearly 4,500 people who have lost their lives since we began our peacekeeping work almost 80 years ago.
Speaking at the ceremony, he said that as events of this very week remind us, peacekeepers continue to face peril in the cause of peace – and we pay the highest tribute to their service and sacrifice.
UN Peacekeeping has proven to be one of the international community’s most effective responses to conflict. Across the globe, Mr. Guterres said, the UN Blue Helmet is a symbol of hope for communities in their darkest hour.
He said he is inspired by the women and men who wear the Blue Helmet, as they are protectors of the vulnerable, and guardians of hope in places where hope is often in short supply.
UNIFIL
Just to give you a quick update on the status of the two peacekeepers who were injured on Wednesday, I can tell you that they continue to receive treatment at a UNIFIL medical facility in south Lebanon. We wish them a swift and full recovery.
UNIFIL continues to observe intensive Israel Defense Forces (IDF) activity across UNIFIL’s area of operations, including sustained airstrikes and helicopter fire in both sectors, East and West. Yesterday, UNIFIL peacekeepers reported a total of 773 firing incidents originating from IDF positions south of the Blue Line within the area of operations. In addition, 15 trajectories of projectiles were detected from north to south, including one crossing the Blue Line, while ground forces observed 29 projectile interceptions by Israel over the area.
Peacekeepers also observed IDF personnel and vehicles establishing two roadblocks near a UNIFIL position in Sector West. UNIFIL’s freedom of movement is essential for the implementation of its mandate and must be fully respected.
Also yesterday, UNIFIL observed two armed drones flying over or near a UNIFIL position north of Bayyadah. One of the drones dropped a grenade in the vicinity before turning back. Incidents of this nature are of concern, and we reiterate that all parties must avoid actions that could endanger UN personnel and assets.
In coordination with OCHA, the mission facilitated three humanitarian missions to Tyre in Sector West yesterday.
LEBANON
Earlier today, our Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon, Mr. Imran Riza, launched with the Lebanese government the revised Flash Appeal calling for an additional $331.5 million to cover the period from June to August. This brings the overall ask for the Flash Appeal, running from March through August, to nearly $640 million, and this is to sustain life-saving efforts for 1.4 million people.
You will recall that the Secretary-General announced the initial appeal three months ago in the immediate aftermath of the escalation. Donors have up till now provided $186 million to bolster the humanitarian response, and we and our partners have reached some 680,000 people. However, humanitarian needs are rising, and essential services, including health care and water systems, continue to be severely impacted.
Reminding that some 1 million people remain displaced because of the conflict, Mr. Riza called for sustained international support to enable the delivery of a broad range of life‑saving assistance, protect civilians, and help restore critical services in affected areas.
Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-06-05
World Environment Day 2026 was celebrated in Baku, Azerbaijan, bringing together government leaders, climate advocates, artists and citizens to highlight the urgent need for climate action.
Speaking at the event, UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen warned that rising temperatures and intensifying climate impacts are affecting communities worldwide, while emphasizing that solutions already exist and must be deployed urgently and at scale.
What happens when anyone with a 3D printer can potentially manufacture a firearm? Ahead of the 2026 Meeting to Combat Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons, Izumi Nakamitsu and Rachel Bolton-King explore the growing threat of illicit firearms and the technological changes reshaping the global security landscape.
Read more from UN News:
https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/06/1167616
For more information:
https://meetings.unoda.org/poa-salw/bms9-2026
Press Conference by Carl Skau, Acting Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP).
Skau warned that the Middle East crisis could push some 45 million people into hunger. The escalation of geopolitical tension in the Middle East since February 28, 2026 has profound implications for global food security.
In an early projection released in March, WFP estimated that 45 million people would fall into acute food insecurity should oil prices remain around USD 100 per barrel through the end of June.
Other partners have warned of broad implications for the global food system in the short and medium term, due to the crisis’ impact on supply chains and energy and fertilizer markets.
To better ascertain country level food security dynamics, WFP worked with local partners to conduct three case studies in May in Afghanistan, Somalia, and Sri Lanka.
Addressing the press today (4 Jun) Skau said, “in Somalia, we’re seeing 2.5 million people additional now being acutely food insecure. In Afghanistan the number is 2.3 million and in Sri Lanka1.3. In all three countries there is a different mix of issues that is driving this. Increased prices is one, but there is also the element of one underfunded humanitarian responses and development responses, but also that the cost of doing business, if you will, the cost of running humanitarian operations has gone up dramatically.”
On Ebola and the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Skau said, “This is really a crisis in a crisis already. In Ituri province, where the outbreak reportedly started, hundreds of 1000s of people are already displaced, and only in the past couple of months we saw additional tens of thousands of people displaced. And it’s a place where a million people are also acutely food insecure, and we are just barely meeting the minimum requirements in terms of response that has been underfunded now for many years, but even more severely so over the past few months, but we are stepping up.”
On the humanitarian financing, he said “We are facing a perfect storm, with, you know, record high levels of hunger, is now, you know, risking to get even higher, and at the same time, we have seen historic drops in our funding, with a 40 percent drop year to year last year.”
He stressed, “We’re not seeing the same kind of response when we also have sudden onset crisis that we used to. One example of that is Lebanon, where you basically have a greater crisis now than you did two years ago, and now we’re only seeing about half of the money coming forward that we saw last time. Frankly, the government is doing all it can. It’s doing all the right things. I think, as a humanitarian and UN system, we also, you know, we were well prepared and were geared up, working closely with those government and local authority efforts, and so everything is in place in a way. What is lacking is of course a ceasefire, so that we can access all the people and that people can return, but secondly it is the funding.”
Answering a question, he said, “We have been able to respond at scale in Gaza since the start of the ceasefire, but under increasing pressure over the past few weeks, I should say, or since the war in the Gulf escalated, and so you know we have been able to somewhat stabilize the food security situation.”
Major Abhilasha Barak of India has been named the 2025 Military Gender Advocate of the Year. Serving with UNIFIL in Lebanon, she led the mission’s highest number of gender-focused field activities, supporting more than 5,000 women and girls through education, health, and vocational programs.
Major Barak also launched an AI-powered initiative to enable confidential reporting of gender-based violence and access to support services. As the first woman combat helicopter pilot of the Indian Army, she continues to break barriers while advancing the Women, Peace and Security agenda.
Informal comments to the media by Vasily Nebenzya, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations, on the situation in Ukraine.
Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told journalists in New York that the Russian Federation was “extremely disappointed” by the “clearly biased and politicised decision” by Secretary-General António Guterres to include the Russian Armed and Security forces in the list of parties responsible for acts of sexual violence in the UN’s annual report on sexual violence in conflict zones.
Nebenzia said, “the draft in the report contains information on crimes that not only cannot be verified due to the absence of data but also do not demonstrate the systemic nature of the alleged violations, which is a key criterion for listing.”
He said, “it gives the impression that the document was prepared perfunctorily and intended to reach a predetermined outcome to discredit Russia and conceal the unlawful actions of the Kyiv regime.
The Russian Ambassador said, “the UN human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine also routinely demonstrates anti-Russian bias. Its mandate is based on an agreement between Ukraine and the office of the UN High Commission of Human Rights, which raises questions about its authority to conduct investigative activities. Moreover, it is well known that this mission works as a laundering machine for Ukrainian narratives.”
Hr said, “the open bias is also confirmed by the absence of information on hundreds of civilians who have been subjected to torture, beatings, abuse, killing, sexual violence and ill treatment by Ukrainian armed formations.”
Nebenzia said, “we consider the UN’s omission of these cases unacceptable and added that the Russian Federation has “repeatedly requested additional information regarding the allegations against our armed forces. Yet, we have never seen a response.”
Responding to a reporter’s question, the Ambassador said, “when there is another prisoners of war exchange, Ukrainian soldiers arrive to their homeland, and they are immediately made to write confessions that they were sexually abused or tortured. And then these documents come to these independent commissions which form the basis of the accusations. That’s as simple as that.”
Joint comments to the media by Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations, Abdulaziz M. Alwasil, Permanent Representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations, and others on the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
As the Ebola outbreak continues in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a WHO team joined other partners to visit Mongbwalu, a town in Ituri province, which is the province most affected in this outbreak. As of 2 June, there have been 363 confirmed cases in the DRC, including 62 deaths. Six people have recovered from the disease so far and more recoveries are expected as the outbreak response intensifies.
