Author: Kathleen Downie

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Amid the precarious military and political situation, 16 million Syrians across the country need humanitarian aid, according to Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher.

Additionally, over 185,000 people have been displaced across Sweida, Dar’a, Rural Damascus and beyond.

“The overall situation is dire. We need to sustain urgent delivery of food, health, shelter, clean water, fuel, restoration of water and electricity infrastructure, education. In some areas, those arriving now outnumber the existing population. Services are overwhelmed,” said Mr. Fletcher.

Teams from the UN humanitarian aid coordination office (OCHA) have visited Sweida and other towns, delivering aid and assessing needs.

OCHA has also provided emergency food packages, flour and essential household items to tens of thousands of people.

However, insecurity and road closures have disrupted the supply of aid from the UN, NGO partners and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent.

“We need better humanitarian and commercial access. And most of all, we need safety,” Mr. Fletcher stressed, particularly referring to attacks on aid convoys, health facilities, medics and ambulances.

Nevertheless, “despite funding and security challenges, the UN and partners are delivering as much lifesaving support as we can with the resources we have,” reaching 3.5 million people on average each month, a noticeable increase from last year.

But with the 2025 humanitarian appeal in the country only 14 per cent funded, ongoing aid cuts in many Western capitals are projected to lead to reduced staffing of at least 40 per cent across the humanitarian community inside Syria.

The UN relief chief emphasised that without more funding, “we won’t be able to sustain these vital efforts, let alone expand them to more people who need them.”

Highlights:
Secretary-General/Gaza
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Secretary-General/Travels
Security Council
Security Council/Libya
Global Health Challenges/Extreme Heat
Senior Personnel Appointment
International Days

SECRETARY-GENERAL/GAZA
In a statement issued early this morning, the Secretary-General said that just when it seems there are no words left to describe the living hell in Gaza, a new one has been added: “famine”. This is not a mystery, he said; it is a man-made disaster, a moral indictment and a failure of humanity itself.
The Secretary-General noted that famine is not only about food; it is the deliberate collapse of the systems needed for human survival. He pointed out that people are starving, children are dying and those with the duty to act are failing.
The Secretary-General said that as the occupying power, Israel has unequivocal obligations under international law, including the duty of ensuring food and medical supplies of the population. He stressed that we cannot allow this situation to continue with impunity.
No more excuses, the Secretary-General said, adding that the time for action is not tomorrow, it is now. He emphasized that we need an immediate ceasefire, the immediate release of all hostages and full, unfettered humanitarian access.
There have been also several other statements on this, including from our Emergency Relief Coordinator, UN Agencies and our UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. All of those statements are available online.

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
Now on the humanitarian side, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs remind us, again today, that civilians are bearing the brunt of this war. As strikes continue to intensify across the Strip, casualties are flooding hospitals’ emergency departments.
We and our partners continue to warn of the catastrophic consequences that the intensification of the ongoing offensive in Gaza city would have for civilians. Overnight and into today, multiple strikes were reported in the Jabalya Al Balad and An Nazla neighbourhoods. Our partners monitoring population movements in the Strip say that as a result, about 900 people reportedly left, heading towards the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood and western Gaza city.
Once again, we remind parties to the conflict of their obligations under international law to protect civilians, including humanitarian workers and those who cannot or choose not to move. As we have said before, those fleeing must be allowed to do so safely. They must also be allowed to return if they wish to do so, as the situation allows. OCHA reiterates the urgency of ensuring people have access to aid and basic services, whether they leave or stay. Supplies must be allowed to enter Gaza through all available crossings and corridors. We and our humanitarian partners must have safe, predictable and sustained access to deliver aid at scale to people in immense need of assistance.
Our colleagues working on health remind us that nearly half of all hospitals and field hospitals are located in Gaza city and account for 40 per cent of the total inpatient bed capacity in all of the Gaza Strip. Expansion of military operations would further cripple the collapsing healthcare system.
Many medical facilities in the south are operating several times over their bedspace capacity. Partners stress that access to healthcare must be immediately restored to avert more preventable deaths.

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Yacoub El Hillo spent more than thirty years serving refugees and displaced people in some of the world’s worst conflict zones. But when cataclysmic war erupted in his hometown of Khartoum, Sudan, the Regional Director for Africa at the United Nations Development Coordination Office (DCO) had to help his own family flee the violence.

“I don’t think there’s any home in Khartoum that was spared … the assumption is that everything is gone.”

Having served in more than 16 duty stations, from Liberia to Syria, Somalia and Afghanistan, Yacoub El Hillo has rarely seen any conflict as devastating as the one currently decimating Sudan.

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The UN Special Envoy for Syria briefed the Security Council on Thursday, saying that amid a strained ceasefire and military skirmishes in Syria, the political transition “remains on a knife’s edge”.

Geir Pedersen told ambassadors that in Sweida governate, where sectarian violence in July also spurred conflict in the capital Damascus, the 19 July ceasefire has come under strain, but the conflict has not resumed so far.

However, “we are still seeing dangerous hostilities and skirmishes on the margins of Sweida, and violence could resume at any moment,” he said.

In northeast Syria, efforts to implement the 10 March agreement between the interim security forces and the mostly-Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) continue. Just this month, there have been spikes in violence between the two militaries in the Aleppo governorate.

While attempts to convene the two sides outside of the country have been unsuccessful, Mr. Pedersen welcomed reports of contacts between officials.

Despite these security incidents, Mr. Pedersen stressed that the situation has been relatively calm this month, applauding the efforts of those who have worked to tamp down hostilities.

However, in terms of the political situation, “the country remains deeply fragile and the transition remains on a knife-edge.”

After 13 years of civil war, Mr. Pedersen underscored the need for an inclusive, Syrian-led political transition that enables the Syrian people determine their own future peacefully, independently and democratically.

“Syrians need to feel that this transition is not a series of ad hoc arrangements and isolated institutions, but a clear and comprehensive path, based on inclusion and transparency, to implement the principles of resolution 2254,” he said.

To encourage the voluntary, safe return of refugees and internally displaced persons, Mr. Pedersen stressed the need for coordinated support to repair Syria’s depleted infrastructure.

Highlights:
Secretary-General/Japan
Secretary-General/Israeli Settlements
Deputy Secretary-General
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Ukraine
Security Council
Libya
Lebanon
Sudan
Democratic Republic of the Congo
International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism

SECRETARY-GENERAL/JAPAN
The Secretary-General continues his visit to Japan. Today, he held a press conference in Yokohama on the sidelines of the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development. He reiterated the importance of reaching immediately a ceasefire in Gaza, and the unconditional release of all hostages held in the Strip, and to avoid the massive death and destruction that a military operation against Gaza City would inevitably cause.
On the TICAD Summit, Mr. Guterres said that discussions at the conference focused on how partnership with Africa can strengthen solutions the whole world needs – in peace, in global governance, finance, climate action, and digital transformation.
Today, the Secretary-General also held meetings with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Iwaya Takesh, and separately with the Mayor of Yokohama.
While in Yokohama, Mr. Guterres met with the President of the Republic of Ghana, John Dramani. They discussed cooperation between Ghana and the UN, as well as the situation in the region.
The Secretary-General also met with the Head of State and Head of Government of the Republic of Kenya, William Ruto. They discussed the Haiti Mission, and exchanged views on the regional situation in the Great Lakes, East Africa and the Horn of Africa.
The Secretary-General is currently on his way to Osaka where the EXPO is being held.

SECRETARY-GENERAL/ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS
In a statement issued yesterday evening, the Secretary-General condemned the decision of the Higher Planning Committee to grant approval for more than 3,400 housing units in the E1 area of the occupied West Bank. He notes that Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, are a violation of international law and run directly counter to UN resolutions.
The Secretary-General said that the advancement of this project is an existential threat to the two-State solution. It would sever the northern and southern West Bank and have severe consequences for the territorial contiguity of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
He reiterated his call on the Government of Israel to immediately halt all settlement activity and to comply fully with its obligations under international law and to act in accordance with relevant United Nations resolutions and in line with the International Court of Justice in its Advisory Opinion of 19 July 2024.

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL
The Deputy Secretary-General will depart later today for Abuja, Nigeria, to attend the inaugural Regional Security Conference of African Defence Chiefs entitled the “African Defence Chiefs Summit”. The Summit will bring together defence leaders from across the continent to discuss collective approaches to peace and security and stability in Africa. At the Summit, she will highlight that sustainable development and peace and security are mutually reinforcing and must be advanced together to tackle today’s complex security challenges. While in Abuja, the Deputy Secretary-General will also meet with senior government officials of ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States), and other key stakeholders to advance cooperation on sustainable development, peace and security, and humanitarian priorities.
Following her visit to Nigeria, the Deputy Secretary-General will travel to Santiago, in Chile, to participate in the World Summit on Teachers where she will underscore the central role of teachers in advancing the SDG4 and the global education agenda. The Summit builds on the outcomes of the 2022 Transforming Education Summit and advances the recommendations of the Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on the Teaching Profession, reinforcing the urgent need to invest in, and support, teachers worldwide. While in Chile, she will also meet with senior government officials, the UN Country Team, and other stakeholders to discuss national progress on the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Deputy Secretary-General will return to New York on Friday, 29 August.

Speaking today (21 Aug) at a press conference on the sidelines of the International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in Yokohama, Japan, the UN Chief said, “I must reiterate that it is vital to reach immediately a ceasefire in Gaza, and the unconditional release of all hostages and to avoid the massive death and destruction that a military operation against Gaza City would inevitably cause.”

Guterres also condemned the Israeli Government’s decision to approve a long-shelved settlement expansion project in the occupied West Bank. He said, “the decision by the Israeli authorities to expand illegal settlement construction, which would divide the West Bank, must be reversed.” He added that all settlement construction “is a violation of international law.”

The UN chief also noted that around the world, “war rages – from Gaza to Sudan to Ukraine and beyond,” adding that “climate chaos is destroying lives and livelihoods.”

He also said that economies are straining under debt, uncertainty, and inequality. Guterres added, “in this time of fracture and fragility, we need collective action to restore trust and deliver global progress.”

The Council met today (Aug 20) for a briefing on António Guterres’ 21st biannual strategic-level report on Da’esh (S/2025/496), which concludes that the group remains resilient despite sustained counter-terrorism pressure. The report highlights Africa as the epicentre of Da’esh activity, with Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) estimated to have 8,000 to 12,000 fighters and Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) consolidating itself in the Niger-Nigeria border area.

Voronkov said affiliates are demonstrating “resilience despite sustained counter-terrorism efforts,” noting a resurgence in ISGS activity and ISWAP’s growing propaganda output, which has drawn in foreign fighters. He added that reports suggesting Da’esh is seeking to recruit cyber security experts are “gravely concerning.”

The Secretary-General’s report also warns that Da’esh-Khorasan, with some 2,000 fighters, remains one of the most serious threats in Afghanistan and Central Asia, while in Iraq and Syria the group maintains up to 3,000 fighters and has staged major attacks, including a June assault on a church in Damascus that killed more than 80 people. Camps in northeastern Syria continue to house nearly 35,000 people, mostly women and children, under dire conditions that the UN says risk becoming incubators of radicalization.

“Focusing solely on the leadership of groups such as Da’esh is not sufficient,” Voronkov told the Council. “Prioritizing long-term, principled responses that tackle the drivers of terrorism and the conditions conducive to its spread remain the most effective response.”

Natalia Gherman, head of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate, warned of Da’esh’s exploitation of artificial intelligence. “Da’esh’s use of artificial intelligence and social media for recruitment, fundraising and propaganda demands innovative responses,” she said, while stressing the same tools could help states disrupt terrorist activities.