Remarks by Mr. António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General, on the Women and peace and security.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said, “Women are leaders of peace for all. The world does not need more reminders of that truth – it needs more results that reflect it.”
Addressing the Security Council on Women, Peace and Security, Guterres said, “Too often, we gather in rooms like this one – full of conviction and commitment – only to fall short when it comes to real change in the lives of women and girls caught in conflict. We speak of inclusion, yet far too frequently women remain absent from negotiating tables. We speak of protection, yet sexual violence persists with impunity. We speak of leadership, yet women peacebuilders are underfunded, under threat, and under-recognized. And we all lose.”
He reported, “Last year, 676 million women lived within 50 kilometers of deadly conflict events – the highest number in decades. Sexual violence surged, with documented incidents against girls rising by 35 percent. In some places – alarmingly – girls accounted for nearly half of all victims.”
He also said, “In Afghanistan, the systematic erasure of women and girls from public life is in overdrive – with appalling restrictions in accessing education, employment, healthcare and justice – and surges in sexual violence and maternal mortality. In the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Sudan, Haiti, Myanmar and beyond, women and girls face grave risks and horrific levels of violence. And while women’s organizations remain lifelines for millions in crisis, they are being starved of resources.”
Bintou Keita, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the Democratic Republic of the Congo said that UN bases in DRC ‘are places of refuge for those who feel in danger,’ representing ‘a form of direct protection’ as the government, the United Nations and the international community work to bring peace to the region.
Bintou Keita, la Représentante spéciale du Secrétaire général en République démocratique du Congo dit que les bases de l’ONU en RDC « sont des lieux de refuge pour ceux qui se sentent en danger », représentant « une forme de protection directe » alors que le gouvernement, les Nations Unies et la communauté internationale s’efforcent d’apporter la paix dans la région.
Noon Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Highlights:
– Security Council
– Women Rising for Peace Exhibit
– Occupied Palestinian Territory
– Sudan
– Central African Republic
– Democratic Republic of the Congo
– Ukraine
– World Habitat Day
– Financial Contribution
WOMEN RISING FOR PEACE EXHIBIT
Related to the topic of Women, Peace and Security, and just before delivering their remarks at the Security Council, the Secretary-General, together with the Executive Director of UN Women Sima Bahous, visited the exhibit entitled “Through Her Lens: Women Rising for Peace”, located outside the General Assembly Hall.
The exhibit features striking images by local women photographers, capturing women peacebuilders, human rights defenders, UN peacekeepers, and community leaders driving peace in some of the world’s most fragile contexts.
The display will remain open to visitors throughout October.
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
The Emergency Relief Chief, Tom Fletcher, has allocated $9 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to ensure adequate fuel supplies to keep life-saving services running in the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports a reduction in air strikes in recent days but says that shelling and gunfire continued over the weekend, with 21 people reportedly killed and 96 injured yesterday, according to the Ministry of Health.
Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=06%20October%202025
Statement of Denmark, France, Greece, Guyana, Panama, the Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, and the United Kingdom, signatories of the Shared Commitments, ahead of the open debate on Women, Peace and Security.
Close to 100 countries — including nearly 40 Heads of State and Government — today announced, committed to finalizing, or set out their commitment to implementing their new climate targets ahead of COP30 in Belém, Brazil this November. The announcements came at a Climate Summit convened by UN Secretary-General António Guterres and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil on the margins of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly.
Do people still need Expos? We can travel freely throughout the world. With new technology, you can see things as if you were there. What is the point of Expos? The Secretary General of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), Dimitri Kerkentzes and Maher Nasser, Commissioner-General for the United Nations participation in Expo 2025 in Osaka, Kansai, Japan, answer to these questions.
Briefing by Miroslav Jenča, Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and Americas, Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations, on Colombia.
Noon Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Highlights:
Lampedusa
Senior Personnel Appointment – Children and Armed Conflict
Senior Personnel Appointment – BINUH
Gaza
Occupied Palestinian Territory
UNIFIL
Colombia
Somalia
Food Price Index
International Day and Week
Financial Contribution
LAMPEDUSA
Twelve years ago today off the coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa, 368 human beings lost their lives at sea while searching for of a better life.
At the time, UN Agencies said that there was a widespread call for change and a commitment to ensure that such a tragedy would never happen again. Yet today we continue to mourn lives lost at sea. Since that day, our colleagues at the UN Refugee Agency, the International Organization for Migration, and UNICEF tell us that an average of 42 people have lost their lives every week along the central Mediterranean route, and we estimated that one in five of them are children.
With over 32,700 deaths since 2014, the Mediterranean has become a death trap for those seeking safety, a dramatic reminder of the risks faced by migrants and refugees.
The UN Agencies stressed that it is important that international cooperation remains strong, that conflicts are addressed, and that safe and regular migration channels are strengthened to reduce dependence on dangerous sea journeys organised by traffickers.
SENIOR PERSONNEL APPOINTMENT – CHILDREN AND ARMED CONFLICT
Today, the Secretary-General is appointing Vanessa Frazier of Malta as his Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict. She succeeds Virginia Gamba of Argentina, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for her dedicated service and commitment to the United Nations.
The Secretary-General also wishes to extend his appreciation to Najat Maalla M’jid, his Special Representative on Violence against Children, who is serving as his Acting Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict until Ms. Frazier assumes her post.
You, of course, all know Ms. Frazier, who recently served as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Malta to the UN from 2020 to 2025. She brings multilateral diplomatic expertise, crisis management skills, consensus building and dedication to child protection, with the ability to navigate complex global negotiations and broker agreements among diverse stakeholders, having played a pivotal role as Chair of the UN Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict.
And I believe she is the first UN senior official ever to have been on an Olympic team.
SENIOR PERSONNEL APPOINTMENT – BINUH
Also today, the Secretary-General is appointing Nicole Flora Boni Kouassi of Côte d’Ivoire as his new Deputy Special Representative for the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti, which you all know as BINUH. She will also be the Resident Coordinator in Haiti. Ms. Boni Kouassi will also serve as the Humanitarian Coordinator.
She succeeds Ulrika Richardson of Sweden, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for her dedicated service and steadfast commitment to the UN.
Ms. Boni Kouassi brings over 22 years of UN experience to this position, with extensive experience in development, peace and security, and humanitarian work.
She has been most recently the UNDP Resident Representative in Niger since 2022. We welcome her and congratulate her on this appointment.
GAZA
Turning to Gaza, you will have seen that Tom Fletcher, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, said today that we are ready and eager to act on the window of opportunity provided by the US initiative on Gaza.
He said that we have some 170,000 metric tonnes of food, medicine, shelter and other desperately needed supplies poised to enter Gaza from across the region.
For the humanitarian plan to succeed, Mr. Fletcher said that we need open crossings; we need safe movement for civilians and aid workers; unrestricted entry of goods; visas for staff; the space for humanitarians to operate; and the private sector to be revived. He called on the parties to agree to a ceasefire, to give us access, and just let us work.
Full Highlights
https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=03%20October%202025
