Author: Kathleen Downie

“Excellencies, Dear friends,

I thank the Government and people of Ethiopia and the Italian Government for co-hosting this important gathering.

I regret that circumstances have kept me from joining you in person.

Four years ago, the world came together for the first UN Food Systems Summit – anchored in the understanding that food systems are about more than food.

They are about health, nutrition, climate, decent work, justice – and the right to a better future.

Since then, we have seen progress.

Two-thirds of countries have integrated food systems transformation into national development plans.

Over 100 have aligned food strategies with climate and biodiversity goals.

And 155 countries are advancing efforts with National Convenors and strong engagement from businesses, civil society, Indigenous Peoples, youth and farmers.

The UN System, including through the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub, is their partner every step of the way.

Last year’s Pact for the Future reaffirmed our shared commitment to food systems that are inclusive, sustainable, equitable, resilient – and rooted in human rights.

But progress is not fast or fair enough.

Global hunger is rising.

Trade shocks are pushing food prices out of reach.

One-third of the world’s people cannot afford a healthy diet – while one-third of the world’s food is lost or wasted.

The hidden costs of our food systems – on health, nature, and human suffering – exceed $10 trillion a year.

That’s more than three times the GDP of the African continent.

This is not just a crisis of scarcity.

It is a crisis of justice, equity, and climate.

Nearly 40 percent of the global workforce is linked to food systems – yet many remain trapped in poverty.

Climate change is disrupting harvests, supply chains and humanitarian response.

Conflict continues to drive hunger – from Gaza to Sudan and beyond.

Hunger feeds further instability – and undermines peace.

We must never accept hunger as a weapon of war.

Dear friends,

We know what works.

Every dollar invested in nutrition can return up to twenty-three.

Sustainable food systems can advance all 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

And transformation is underway.

Governments are leading the way – integrating food systems into climate strategies, biodiversity frameworks, and national budgets.

They are empowering women and youth, scaling up nutritious school meals, and investing in agroecology.

Look no further than Ethiopia – where investments in local wheat production and climate-aligned food policy are reducing import dependence and creating jobs.

But governments cannot do it alone.

The private sector must play a vital role – from innovation and logistics to finance and investment.

We need responsible business practices aligned with the public good.

We need bold leadership – and enforceable guidelines for corporate accountability.

We must build on new partnerships like the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty and scale up action across sectors.

Looking ahead, I see three urgent priorities:

First, break down silos.

Food systems are everyone’s business.

We need integrated policies and a global framework that connects agriculture to people – their health, climate, trade, and finance.

We must also harness new technologies – including Artificial Intelligence – to boost production, reduce waste, and create decent jobs across the value chain.

Second, address power imbalances.

We must govern food systems fairly, tackle inequality and deliver on the right to food for all.

That means elevating the voices of women, youth, farmers, Indigenous Peoples, and local actors.

Third, unlock and connect finance at scale.

Transformation requires investment.

We need debt relief, greater access to concessional finance, and reform of the global financial system to give developing countries representation that reflects the realities of today’s global economy.

We need climate action – including at COP30 – to close the adaptation gap, align climate funding with food systems, and accelerate a just transition.

And above all, we need peace – so that investments can take root and farmers can look to the future with confidence.

Excellencies, Dear friends,

The future of food is the future of humanity.

Let us work together to build food systems that nourish every person, restore our planet, and grow prosperity from the ground up.

This ministerial high-level session brings together the outcomes of the thematic roundtables and working groups convened under the auspices of the High-Level Conference on the Implementation of the Two-State Solution.

It provides a platform to consolidate key insights, highlight consensus across political, legal, economic, and humanitarian tracks, and articulate concrete next steps. The session is both a culmination of months of coordinated diplomatic work and a launchpad for action, and laying the groundwork for sustained international engagement, accountability, and implementation in support of a just and lasting peace.

Msuya said, “Cash assistance, mental health support, and services to respond to gender-based violence have been slashed due to funding shortfalls.” She added, “Without an immediate influx of resources, even prioritized programmes will be at risk – just as the people of Ukraine approach a fourth wartime winter.”

U.S. Acting Representative Dorothy Shea called on countries, including China, to halt exports of dual-use goods to Russia. “Beijing’s claim to have implemented strong export controls on dual use goods falls apart in the face of daily recovery of Chinese produced components in the drones, weapons and vehicles that Russia uses against Ukraine.” Shea said.

China’s envoy, Geng Shuang, said, “China has never provided lethal weapons to any party to the conflict, and has always strictly controlled dual use materials, including the export of drones.” He also said, “We urge the US to stop shifting blames on the Ukraine issue all creating confrontation, and instead, playing a more constructive role in promoting ceasefire and peace talks.”

Russia’s ambassador, Dmitry Polyanskiy, said, Ukraine’s leadership moved to dismantle independent anti-corruption bodies after they had prepared compromising materials and criminal cases against the president and his inner circle. He said a law was pushed through “his puppet parliament” to place those bodies under the control of the Prosecutor General’s Office. Polyanskiy said, “Right now, at this very moment, his [Zelensky] loyalists are busy destroying documents exposing corruption at the highest levels of power documents implicating the Kyiv usurper and his allies in the embezzlement of billions of dollars in budget funds and Western aid.” Polyanskiy added that after obtaining the incriminating materials, authorities appeared to backtrack in response to public backlash. He said the targeted institutions were created under Western pressure and were once seen as a “cure for corruption,” yet, he said, “today, we didn’t hear any of it here.”

Ukraine’s delegate Khrystyna Hayovyshyn touched upon some claims made by Russia at a recent Security Council meeting regarding the issue of abducted children. She said the list of 339 names of children to be returned from Russia, submitted by Ukraine, was not a complete count, as Moscow previously claimed, but a preliminary confidence-building measure. While Ukraine maintains that thousands of children have been unlawfully taken, the limited list was shared to encourage cooperation.

The moderator will be Franz Zubieta (Minister Counsellor of the Permanent Mission of the Plurinational State of Bolivia to the United Nations).

Briefing the Security Council today (Jul 25) he cited intensifying violence across the country, including attacks near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

“On 11 July, a drone attack reportedly hit the city hall in Enerhodar, where most of the staff of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) live, located only about five kilometres from the Plant,” Jenča said.

The conflict’s reach has extended beyond Ukraine. “Moscow and St. Petersburg have also been targeted with dozens of drones, reportedly causing severe disruptions to air traffic,” Jenča noted, adding that over 2,000 flights were disrupted between 5 and 7 July. However, he stressed that the UN could not independently verify those incidents or any related civilian casualties in Russia.

Despite these escalations, Jenča welcomed diplomatic efforts, “On Wednesday, Ukrainian and Russian delegations met in Istanbul for the third time this year. We welcome the continuation of these direct contacts between the sides and urge Ukraine and the Russian Federation to make further progress towards a ceasefire and a lasting settlement.”

The humanitarian situation in Ukraine continues to deteriorate amid severe funding shortages. Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Joyce Msuya warned that only 34 percent of the $2.6 billion required for the 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan has been received.

Msuya said, “Cash assistance, mental health support, and services to respond to gender-based violence have been slashed due to funding shortfalls.” She added, “Without an immediate influx of resources, even prioritized programmes will be at risk – just as the people of Ukraine approach a fourth wartime winter.”

U.S. Acting Representative Dorothy Shea called on countries, including China, to halt exports of dual-use goods to Russia. “Beijing’s claim to have implemented strong export controls on dual use goods falls apart in the face of daily recovery of Chinese produced components in the drones, weapons and vehicles that Russia uses against Ukraine.” Shea said.

China’s envoy, Geng Shuang, said, “China has never provided lethal weapons to any party to the conflict, and has always strictly controlled dual use materials, including the export of drones.” He also said, “We urge the US to stop shifting blames on the Ukraine issue all creating confrontation, and instead, playing a more constructive role in promoting ceasefire and peace talks.”

Russia’s ambassador, Dmitry Polyanskiy, said, Ukraine’s leadership moved to dismantle independent anti-corruption bodies after they had prepared compromising materials and criminal cases against the president and his inner circle. He said a law was pushed through “his puppet parliament” to place those bodies under the control of the Prosecutor General’s Office. Polyanskiy said, “Right now, at this very moment, his [Zelensky] loyalists are busy destroying documents exposing corruption at the highest levels of power documents implicating the Kyiv usurper and his allies in the embezzlement of billions of dollars in budget funds and Western aid.” Polyanskiy added that after obtaining the incriminating materials, authorities appeared to backtrack in response to public backlash. He said the targeted institutions were created under Western pressure and were once seen as a “cure for corruption,” yet, he said, “today, we didn’t hear any of it here.”

Ukraine’s delegate Khrystyna Hayovyshyn touched upon some claims made by Russia at a recent Security Council meeting regarding the issue of abducted children. She said the list of 339 names of children to be returned from Russia, submitted by Ukraine, was not a complete count, as Moscow previously claimed, but a preliminary confidence-building measure. While Ukraine maintains that thousands of children have been unlawfully taken, the limited list was shared to encourage cooperation.

Speaking at a Security Council briefing today (Jul 24), Khiari said such cooperation is a priority for the Secretary-General and central to implementing the Pact for the Future, in line with Chapter VIII of the UN Charter.

The session, chaired by Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, is one of the key events of Pakistan’s July presidency of the Council.

Khiari outlined areas of close collaboration between the two organizations, noting shared goals in conflict resolution and humanitarian support across the Middle East and beyond. “In the Middle East, the United Nations and the OIC have long shared common objectives in seeking a lasting and comprehensive resolution to the question of Palestine,” he said.

He highlighted the recent joint Conference on Jerusalem, held in Dakar on 9 July, and welcomed the endorsement of Gaza’s Recovery and Reconstruction Plan by both the OIC and the League of Arab States through their Joint Ministerial Committee.

Turning to Lebanon, Khiari said the OIC’s “consistent political backing” amid regional tensions has proven particularly valuable. He also underscored the OIC’s central role in Afghanistan through its engagement with the de facto authorities and efforts to protect the rights of Afghan women and girls, “drawing on its unique position as the collective and credible voice of the Muslim world.”

In Sudan, where more than two years of conflict have devastated the country, Khiari said, “The OIC’s support to international mediation efforts, including those of Personal Envoy Lamamra, remains highly valuable as efforts continue to find a resolution that will prevent further disaster and return Sudan to a path of peace.”

He also noted recent progress in counter-terrorism cooperation following the 2024 signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism and the OIC. The two sides have worked together on “rights-based approaches through technical assistance, parliamentary engagement, and strategic dialogue.”

Yousef M. Al-Dobeay, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs of the OIC said, “We need to bolster our cooperation to promote tolerance and human understanding. It is incumbent upon us to fight together to counter hate speech and to strengthen a culture of coexistence. Mr. President, we need to work together to protect international peace and security in line with the UN Charter.”

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar warned of “wars waged with impunity, occupations sustained without accountability, humanitarian crises multiplying, and ideologies of hatred fast becoming normalized.”

“Amidst prevailing flux and deepening uncertainty, the urgency for coordinated and principled action has never been greater,” Dar said.

A presidential statement on UN-OIC cooperation, initiated by Pakistan, was adopted at the meeting.

Guterres today (25 Jul) addressed the Global Assembly via a video link to the event in Prague. He is the first United Nations Secretary-General to address the Assembly – the charity’s highest decision-making body.

He commended the Amnesty International for being at the forefront of the global struggle for human rights – “fearless, principled and relentless.”

Guterres described a worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, citing starving aid workers and traumatized children. He said, “Our own heroic staff continue to serve in unimaginable conditions. Many are so numb and depleted that they say they feel neither dead nor alive. Children speak of wanting to go to heaven, because at least, they say, there is food there. We hold video calls with our own humanitarians who are starving before our eyes.”

“This is not just a humanitarian crisis. It is a moral crisis that challenges the global conscience,” the UN chief stressed.

Guterres once again called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostage, and urgent steps toward a two-State solution.

He said, “The United Nations stands ready to make the most of a possible ceasefire to dramatically scale up humanitarian operations across the Gaza Strip, as we successfully did during the previous pause in fighting. Our plans are ready, and they are finalized. We know what works – and we know what does not.”

The Secretary-General also commended Amnesty International’s “indispensable” role in a global battle for human dignity. For human rights. For justice. For the multilateral system itself.

He said, “We need your movements – rooted in communities and rising from the ground up – making it clear that leaders cannot turn a blind eye to their obligations. And, yes, we need what you’ve called ‘troublemaking’. The kind that challenges complacency and inaction. That exposes injustice. That drives lasting change.”

The UN chief spoke about this year’s focus of the Global Assembly: confronting the rise of authoritarian practices – and advancing climate justice.

Guterres noted that the world is witnessing a surge in repressive tactics aiming at corroding respect for human rights. And these are contaminating some democracies.

“We must right these wrongs,” the UN chief stressed.

He said, “Many countries we must recognize stand firm with human rights. And we must push all countries to defend them – consistently, and universally, even – or especially – when inconvenient.”

He continued, “We must urge them to protect and strengthen the international human rights system. We must demand accountability for human rights violations – without fear or favour. And insist that countries honour commitments in the Pact of the Future – to protect civic space, and uphold human rights and gender equality. We must also demand action to confront the flood of lies and hate polluting our digital spaces.”

On climate justice, the UN chief called for “real finance” to support developing nations grappling with climate disasters. He urged nations to fulfill pledges and explore new sources of finance – “including putting an effective price on carbon, and establishing solidarity levies on polluting sectors and industries.”

Highlights:
Amnesty International
Deputy Secretary-General
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Syria
U.N.I.F.I.L.
Climate/China–EU Summit
Security Council/Ukraine
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Financial Contribution 
Briefing Today
Briefing on Monday

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
This morning, António Guterres became the first United Nations Secretary-General to address Amnesty International’s Global Assembly. He told the Assembly that powerful forces are ranged against human rights – and against the international system built to protect and uphold them.
The Secretary-General said that the scale and scope of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is beyond anything we have seen in recent times. And he spoke about the level of indifference and inaction we see by too many in the international community.
The Secretary-General said that the UN’s heroic staff continue to serve in unimaginable conditions, while many are so numb and depleted that they say they feel neither dead nor alive.
He said that the United Nations stands ready to make the most of a ceasefire to dramatically scale-up humanitarian operations across the Gaza Strip, as we successfully did during the previous pause in fighting. Our plans are ready, and they are finalized, he said. He once more called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, immediate and unimpeded humanitarian access and urgent, concrete and irreversible steps towards a two-State solution.

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL
UN Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, will travel later today, on behalf of the Secretary-General, to attend the 2nd UN Food Systems Summit Stocktaking Moment (UNFSS+4), taking place from 27 -29 July, in Addis Ababa, co-hosted by Ethiopia and Italy. Four years since the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit, UNFSS+4 will serve as a platform to reflect on progress, strengthen collaboration, and unlock finance and investments to accelerate the transformation of food systems.
While at the Summit, Ms. Mohammed will meet with senior government officials, the private sector, civil society, youth and other stakeholders, to discuss priority actions to support food systems transformation and accelerate progress on the SDGs.
The Deputy Secretary-General will then go on to Amman, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, to chair the annual regional retreat with UN Resident Coordinators from across the Arab region, with a focus on advancing sustainable development in these countries.
Ms. Mohammed will also meet with senior government officials to strengthen the UN-Jordan partnership and discuss priority actions to support the SDGs.
The Deputy Secretary-General will return to New York on 2 August.

Yuriko was diagnosed with Distal Myopathy in 2002 and became a wheelchair user in 2006 after giving birth to her son. A wish to take her son to the beach led to her realizing how better information on accessibility could change the lives of wheelchair users. By 2017, she had launched an accessibility map app that now has more than 100,000 users globally.

—–
About Awake at Night