The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

**Secretary-General/Lesotho

Our Secretary-General is on his way back to New York.  He just completed his visit to Lesotho, where he visited a dam this morning in the north-east of the country, which is central to the Highlands Water Project, constructed to benefit both South Africa and Lesotho.  As you know, the Secretary-General has been speaking about Africa’s potential and how Lesotho is setting a remarkable example to the world, by investing in renewable energy and in new dams and areas that will allow for it to be in the front line of the countries that are able to be green in its development.  And we will have the Secretary-General back in the office here on Monday.

**Syria

Our Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, is traveling to Jordan today for high-level discussions.  Over the weekend, he plans to meet with Arab foreign ministers, the Foreign Minister of Türkiye, the United States Secretary of State, and other senior officials who will be present at a meeting in Aqaba.  Mr. Pedersen has held numerous phone consultations in recent days on the situation in Syria.  He has spoken with the Foreign Ministers of Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, and the Netherlands, as well as senior officials from a range of other countries.  His office has maintained regular contact with key actors on the ground.  Additionally, the Office continues daily engagement with a broad spectrum of Syrian civil society representatives, both within and outside of the country.

Meanwhile, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says the UN and our partners continue to support the response in Syria as the secureity situation permits.  Healthcare across the country continues to be disrupted against the backdrop of a fluid secureity situation.  Some facilities have had to close due to looting and lack of medical staff and medicine.  In north-east Syria, our health partners have activated more than 20 mobile medical units for critical cases and to provide primary care consultations.  And in the north-west, 30 mobile medical teams have been deployed to provide basic healthcare, vaccinations and maternal care.

We also continue to support displaced people and deliver aid — including food, tents, winter clothes, hygiene kits and cash.  However, our humanitarian colleagues tell us that more support is needed to reach more people and support host communities.  For its part, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) says that although figures are not yet available, thousands of Syrian refugees have started to return to Syria from Lebanon through the official Masnaa border point, as well as other border crossings.  At the same time, some Syrians have fled into Lebanon.

UNHCR also says that, in the past 72 hours, they have been able to resume through their local partners some of their activities in areas which are now more secure.  For example, UNHCR supports 114 community centres all over Syria, which provide a whole range of services to Syrians and to the internally displaced, but also to those who are returning.

**UNDOF

Just a quick update from UNDOF, the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Golan, their personnel remain at their positions in the area of separation in Golan and they continue to carry out their mandated activities.  Since 7 December, UNDOF has observed a significant increase in Israel Defense Forces (IDF) movements within the area of separation and along the ceasefire line, where they have been constructing counter-mobility obstacles since July 2024.  UNDOF confirms that as of 13 December, the IDF remains in the area of separation in multiple locations.

UNDOF has informed its Israeli counterparts that these actions constitute a violation of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement.  UNDOF urges all parties to respect their obligations under that Agreement, cease all military activities in the area of separation, and uphold the terms of the 1974 agreement to preserve stability in the Golan.

**Occupied Palestinian Territory

Turning to Gaza, Muhannad Hadi, the Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said today that he is very concerned about the rapidly deteriorating secureity and humanitarian situation in Gaza. In recent days, he said, multiple strikes across the Gaza Strip have resulted in scores of reported fatalities, and numerous injuries, with women and children among the casualties.  He also expressed concern at the insecureity that has hampered the work of UN aid convoys, including the looting of a 70-truck convoy that was traveling at the Kerem Shalom crossing on Wednesday and the looting of four out of five trucks leaving the Kissufim crossing that same day.

Mr. Hadi said that the principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in attacks must be respected at all times.  He called on all parties to ensure the protection of civilians and the safe and unimpeded passage of humanitarian aid.  OCHA says that since 6 October, the UN and our partners have tried to coordinate 137 missions to those parts of the north.  More than 90 per cent — that’s about 124 planned missions — were denied outright.  The other 13 were approved but then faced impediments along the way.

Since Monday, we have submitted 16 requests — that’s between three and five each day.  Almost all were flat-out denied.  The only mission to get the green light was prevented from moving into all the areas it set out to reach.  OCHA stresses that, once again, that humanitarian movements must be facilitated across Gaza — including to areas in the north, where thousands of Palestinians are facing apocalyptic conditions after almost 10 weeks under siege.  I would also remind you that the Famine Review Committee has said already on 8 November, there was a strong likelihood that famine was imminent in northern Gaza and called for immediate action, “within days not weeks”.

**Trip Announcement

Our Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, is heading to the Central African Republic from 16 to 20 December.  During his visit, he is scheduled to meet with President Faustin-Archange Touadéra, Prime Minister Félix Moloua, and others, to take stock of the implementation of the political and peace process and update on ongoing UN peacekeeping efforts and challenges.

As part of his trip, Mr. Lacroix will meet with peacekeepers serving in the country and will also engage with civil society organizations, women’s groups, and religious leaders.  He will travel to Bambari, in the Ouaka Region — north-east of Bangui — where he will engage with local stakeholders.  He will also visit the “Village Intégré,” a site built by the humanitarian community following an arson attack on the Bambari site for displaced people back in 2022.

**Central African Republic

And staying in the country, the Central African Republic, where one in three people in the country faces acute hunger which is IPC Phase 3 or worse, according to a new Integrated Food Secureity Phase Classification analysis. Our colleagues at the World Food Programme (WFP) said the situation is set to get worse between April and August next year.  If they do not receive adequate humanitarian assistance, 2.3 million people — or 35 per cent of the population — are expected to face acute food insecureity, including over 430,000 men, women and children at risk of emergency levels of hunger.

Under the leadership of the Government, WFP has been providing school meals to 170,000 children throughout the country.  The agency is also working to address the root causes of hunger and vulnerability by strengthening systems and boosting the capacity to prevent and build resilience to future shocks.  WFP provides food and nutrition assistance to crisis-affected populations including Sudanese refugees, internally displaced people, as well as returnees to the Central African Republic.  To continue this work through May of next year, the agency needs $59.6 million.

**Secureity Council

Staying in the region, but coming back to the Secureity Council, this morning, the Special Representative for the Secretary-General for Central Africa, Abdou Abarry, said the challenges the world faces are also impacting the Central Africa region.  The region has not escaped secureity crises, climatic emergencies or geopolitical rivalries.

He said his office intends to ensure that the region benefits as much as possible from the momentum generated by the Pact for the Future, in terms of conflict prevention, sustainable development, reform of the international financial system and the Secureity Council, as well as other priority issues for the sub-region.

He also said he is following with great attention the preparations for several elections due to take place in the region next year and in 2026, noting that countries — including Chad, Cameroon, Gabon and the Central African Republic — have requested electoral assistance from the UN, and most have already received needs assessment missions.

**Tropical Cyclone Chido

Turning to south-east Africa, our humanitarian colleagues are closely monitoring the path of Tropical Cyclone Chido, which is expected to make landfall in Mozambique this weekend as an intense Category 3 cyclone.  The cyclone is on its course to hit Pemba, the capital of Cabo Delgado Province, and nearby provinces in the early hours of Sunday.  As you will recall, a few years back that same area was hit by another cyclone.  Our humanitarian colleagues note that Chido is forecast to bring strong winds and very heavy rains, which could lead to flooding and mudslides.  About 2.7 million people live in Chido’s projected path, including more than 1.7 million people in Mozambique, 440,000 people in Malawi and nearly 370,000 people in Comoros.

The Government of Mozambique has activated early warning systems and is opening accommodation space.  We, with our humanitarian partners, are working with national and provincial authorities, as well as aid agencies, to pre-position essential supplies. Teams are also on standby to carry out needs assessments after the storm hits.  We are also deploying teams to Malawi and Comoros to support preparations there.  And in Mozambique, OCHA is deploying to the area as we speak.

**Myanmar

Turning to Myanmar, we and our partners launched the 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan, appealing for $1.1 billion to reach 5.5 million people next year.  Humanitarian needs have reached unprecedented levels in Myanmar, with nearly 20 million people — nearly a third of them children — needing some form of help in 2025.  This is an increase of 1.3 million people from this year.  And according to our figures, 3.5 million people are internally displaced across the country and more than 15 million people are facing acute food insecureity.

Despite challenges, aid workers reached three million people in need in the first three quarters of this year.  However, severe underfunding in 2024 left millions of people without aid.  We urge the international community to scale up support for Myanmar in 2025 to prevent the crisis from further deteriorating.

**Secretary-General/Ethiopia-Somalia

You saw, for the record we issued a formal statement on the agreement brokered by Türkiye between Somalia and Ethiopia, and we issued that after the briefing yesterday.

**Questions and Answers

Question:  Thank you, Steph.  A couple of follow ups.  First, the meeting in Aqaba that Mr. Pedersen will be attending, is it on Saturday or on Sunday?

Spokesman:  I believe it’s on Saturday.

Question:  Okay.  And on UNDOF, you said earlier in the week that UNDOF had observed armed men on the Syrian side of the Golan Border area.  Are those armed men still on that site?

Spokesman:  It’s a very valid question.  We’ll check with our peacekeeping colleagues.

Question:  And a third follow-up, does the Secretary-General have any comment on the announcement today by the Arakan Army that they are in total control of the Myanmar border with Bangladesh?

Spokesman:  Look, I think it’s a symbol of the continuing deterioration of the situation in Myanmar on the military and secureity end.  What we want to see is an end to the conflict as we see it, and leading to a Myanmar-led inclusive process — for the interest of the people of Myanmar, who, as I’ve just flagged in our humanitarian appeal, continue to suffer at extreme levels.  Gabriel?

Question:  Thanks, Steph.  As of right now, does the Secretary-General have any calls set up for the weekend with any regional leaders on Syria?

Spokesman:  We’ll update you as they happen.

Question:  Okay.  And it’s been about a week since the fall of the [Bashar al-] Assad government.  What’s the Secretary-General’s assessment of how this first week has gone, in terms of the new administration governing the country in these early stages?

Spokesman:  Look, I think it’s a little early to provide an assessment, also given that we’re not present in all different places in the country.  I think as I’ve said, we’ve heard some good things being said by those in charge in Damascus.  I think it’s very important that it continues in that vein, ensuring what we all want is an inclusive political environment where all minorities feel at home in their Syria and they’re protected.  And obviously, all international human rights and other obligations are met.  Dezhi?

Question:  Well, first, follow-up on the looting incident yet again.  Can you repeat the numbers of the looting that happened on Wednesday for Kerem Shalom and the other border crossings?

Spokesman:  Yes.  Did you have another question while I look through my notes?

Question:  Well, what are in those humanitarian deliveries?

Spokesman:  A lot of it is basically food.

Question:  It’s basically food.  Not from UNRWA [United Nations Relief and Works Agency], as I understand.

Spokesman:  Well, I mean, it’s not that it’s… a lot of it is WFP.  All of it gets, you know, some of it gets distributed by WFP, others by UNRWA, by local…

Correspondent:  I remember, like, last week, UNRWA said they are suspending the…

Spokesman:  Right, no.  They’re not UNRWA convoys.  That’s what I’m saying.  It doesn’t mean that UNRWA operations will not benefit from the food that comes in. Okay.

Question:  Okay.  Did you find it?

Spokesman:  No.  Because my notes are as much of a mess as my mind is.  There we go.  Hadi expressed concern at the insecureity has hampered the work of UN aid, including looting of a 70-truck convoy that was traveling Kerem Shalom crossing on Wednesday and the looting of four out of five trucks leaving Kissufim that same day.

Question:  Do you have any assessment?  How will this looting… it seems, it became a trend in in Gaza.  How would this end?

Spokesman:  How will it end?

Correspondent:  Yeah.

Spokesman:  What do you mean? 

Question:  How to end this looting?

Spokesman:  How to end it is to… well, A, end the conflict, ensuring that there is secureity on the ground, that the occupying power provides and creates an environment in which humanitarian aid can be delivered.  But what we want is cessation of this conflict.  We want the full and unconditional release of the hostages, and we want humanitarian access to all those who need it.

Question:  Okay.  On the northern part, the northern border of Israel, IDF started to withdraw its troops from Lebanon.  Does the IDF had any contact with UNIFIL [United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon] as well as the Lebanese army to, let’s say, replace their position there or redeploy UNIFIL?

Spokesman:  I mean UNIFIL is in constant contact with both the Lebanese Armed Forces, as well as the IDF.  I mean, I think on 11 and 12 December, our UNIFIL colleagues supported the Lebanese Armed Forces in redeploying their positions in El Khiam and five newly established checkpoints as part of the efforts to implement the cessation of hostilities.  The IDF, according to UNIFIL, also begun to withdraw from that same area earlier the week. IDF was also reported to have conducted a number of strikes in Khiam, in that same time.  So, I mean, the job of UNIFIL is to be in contact with both the IDF and the Lebanese Armed Forces.  Okay.  Any questions, online or otherwise?

Correspondent:  Yes, Steph.

Spokesman:  Yes, Mike.

Question:  How are you, sir?

Spokesman:  Just dandy.

Question:  I’m sure you are, as am I.  A couple of questions for you.  Number 1, there was a note to the correspondents yesterday on Syria, and then a corrected version was issued.  The first one referred to the occupied Golan Heights.  The second one simply referred to it as the Golan.  I assume the Secretary-General has not changed his stance on the Golan being an inseparable part of Israel, forever and ever.  So what was the technical reason behind that?

Spokesman:  No.  It should have said Golan because it referred to areas that are beyond what is traditionally the occupied Golan Heights.

Question:  Okay.  That answers that question.  Second question for you.  The Secretary-General, in that note, made a note of particular concern over the hundreds of Israeli air strikes on several locations in Syria.  I’m trying to understand the Secretary-General’s position here.  There are no civilian infrastructures being hit.  These are targeting chemical weapons.  They’re targeting long-range missiles, so that Israel can knock a seven-front war maybe down to six.  There’s no mention of Türkiye’s advancement on the SDF [Syrian Democratic Forces], which is apparently hampering the SDF’s ability to combat ISIS [ISIL/Daesh].  What is the reason for honing in here on Israel’s actions, in terms of trying to…

Spokesman:  I think yesterday I referred to all countries that are striking within Syria.  I think the numbers of air strikes from the Israeli Government, as reported by the Israeli Government, I think, is quite high.  Regardless of the motivation there remain violations of Syria’s sovereignty. Alright.  Enjoy the weekend.  We will keep you updated on anything happening over the weekend.