Today’s youth generation is the largest the world has ever seen. Half of the world’s population is under 30 and this is expected to reach 57 per cent by the end of 2030. Nearly 90 per cent of the world’s youth live in developing countries. They are often the majority in conflict-affected areas.
In this Expert Take, one of Africa’s youngest-ever cabinet ministers at 26, Botswana’s Honourable Minister for Youth and Gender Affairs Lesego Chombo, talks about her journey that showcases the immense potential within younger generations and demonstrates how youth can drive significant political change.
Chombo isn’t just breaking barriers; she’s actively showing other young people that their voices matter and that they, too, can step up and shape the future.
The United Nations marked Nelson Mandela International Day with a call to carry forward the late South African leader’s commitment to justice, dignity, and peace. “Madiba’s extraordinary life was a triumph of the human spirit,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres. “He endured the brutal w Madiba’s extraordinary life was a triumph of the human spirit. He endured the brutal weight of oppression, and emerged not with a vision of vengeance and division — but of reconciliation, peace and unity.”
Speaking at the General Assembly today (Jul 18), Guterres underscored that Mandela’s “legacy is now our responsibility.” He added, “One of the central lessons of Mandela’s life was that power is not a personal possession, to be hoarded. Power is about lifting others up. It is about what we can achieve with one another, and for one another. Power is about people.”
The General Assembly President, Philemon Yang, opened the commemorative event by honoring Mandela’s courage and his “lifelong commitment to unity across Africa.” He said, “Madiba embodied the values of peace, equality, human rights, and service to others. He reminded us that freedom is meaningless without justice. That justice is the bedrock of peace.”
South Africa’s former Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Naledi Pandor, echoed that message, saying Mandela had “an enduring appreciation for the bold role the United Nations played in advancing South Africa’s liberation struggle.” She noted that the UN “stood against apartheid domination, not through arms, but through bringing its undeniable moral weight into combat against injustice. That boldness, that courage, is needed more and more today.”
This year’s event also celebrated the 2025 laureates of the UN Nelson Mandela Prize: Brenda Reynolds of Canada and Kennedy Odede of Kenya.
Reynolds, a Saulteaux member from Fishing Lake First Nation and a social worker, was recognized for transforming personal trauma into national advocacy. “She turned her struggle against the most hideous of crimes against children into a national force for change,” Guterres said, praising her work to support survivors of Canada’s residential school system.
Reynolds said, “When I first found out that I was one of the two laureates for this year’s Nelson Mandela awards, I was speechless and couldn’t believe that I was selected. And even though I speak two languages, I still cannot find the words to express the depth of my gratitude and the humility I have to accept the United Nations Nelson Mandela prize. And happy birthday to him in the heavens today, because now he is one of our ancestors.”
Odede, a longtime community activist raised in Nairobi’s Kibera slum, was honored for his work uniting grassroots groups to provide education, water, and essential services to more than 2.4 million people across Kenya.
He reflected on Mandela’s resilience, quoting the poem Invictus: “’I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul.’” Odede also said, “These words reminded him that even in captivity, his soul remained free. Mandela understood that poetry – and the act of turning within – possess great power. He observed that poetry bears witness to injustice, and in doing inner work, Mandela cultivated what he called “a flower in a graveyard.” For him, Invictus became that flower – an affirmation of unbreakable human dignity.”
Both laureates, Guterres noted, embody Mandela’s own words, which are engraved on the prize: “What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others.”
As the country enters an electoral period that could deepen political divisions, the UN Special Representative for Colombia called on all Colombians to continue working on the peace process in a spirit of cooperation.
Addressing the Security Council today (18 Jul) Carlos Ruiz Massieu said, “The more than 13,000 former combatants of the FARC-EP who laid down their arms in good faith began an arduous path of peaceful reintegration into society.”
He also said, “Necessary state investments and reforms under the Peace Agreement for uplifting and transforming rural Colombia have also been initiated, beginning with the establishment of the development programmes with a territorial focus (PDET), and continuing more recently with notable progress in expanding access to and resolving conflicts over land.”
He highlighted, “The Truth Commission rendered a historic report and recommendations; a long-term search for the disappeared has begun; and the SJP, a pioneering court for transitional justice was established, has issued historic indictments, and stands today on the verge of a crucial new phase of its work.”
He stressed, “While Colombia’s complex geography presents obstacles, an expanded and sustained presence of the State remains essential and can be realized through clear, coordinated, and robust strategies. It is in this vacuum of State presence that we see armed groups proliferate and illicit economies thrive, fueling violence and hampering development in conflict-affected areas.”
He said, “Since 2016, 472 signatories of the Peace Agreement have been killed. Sadly, two more have been added since the publication of the report. It is essential to step up their protection and ensure that these crimes do not go unpunished.”
Massieu also said that the attempt on the life of Miguel Uribe Turbay, the Colombian presidential precandidate, in Bogotá on 7 June, besides being a serious incident, had a strong impact on Colombian society.
He said, “The attack evoked episodes of political violence from the past. It underscored, more urgently than ever, the imperative of removing violence from the practice of politics — a core objective of the Peace Agreement.”
“As the country enters an electoral period that could deepen political divisions, I reiterate the Secretary-General’s call for all Colombians to continue working on the peace process in a spirit of cooperation.”
Mauricio Jaramillo, Colombia’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs said, “In this ninth year of implementation of the Agreement, it is more necessary than ever to reaffirm Colombian society’s firm support for the process, as reflected in the unwavering commitment of all State institutions to carrying out what was agreed.”
He concluded, “Total Peace knows no borders. Colombia, with the support of the United Nations and the international community, is taking firm steps toward a future where violence has no place and peace is the rule, not the exception.”
Mauricio Jaramillo Jassir addressed the press after the Council.
Answering a question, he said, “We believe that the best way forward is to move from a security that was for a long time anchored in the logic of the internal enemy to a security that is much more civilian and much more humane. The President spoke directly about comprehensive and humane security, and I believe that in this transition, a key issue will be precisely that of mercenarism, which, I insist, obviously concerns us as a government.”
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell for her part told the Council that “over the past 21 months of war, more than 17,000 children have reportedly been killed and 33,000 injured in Gaza. An average of 28 children have been killed each day – the equivalent of an entire classroom.”
Russell said, “these children are not combatants. They are being killed and maimed as they line up for lifesaving food and medicine.”
The Executive Director said, “children who survive the war in Gaza will be forever affected by the deprivation and exposure to traumatic events they have experienced. Even before the war began, half of Gaza’s child population needed mental health and psychological support. Today, all of Gaza’s children need these services.”
United States Ambassador Dorothy Shea urged Member States and the United Nations to support the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) “and stop echoing incorrect information that benefits Hamas and undermines the secure delivery of aid to civilians in Gaza.”
Shea said it was “unconscionable that Members of this Council have focused on criticizing the GHF rather than condemning Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad for their continued abuse of the Palestinian civilians in Gaza. The result is an ever-growing credibility gap for the United Nations.”
Palestinian Ambassador Majed Bamya said, “they want to say, we chose to leave. We chose to be occupied. We chose to be oppressed. It is our fault. It’s always our fault. That has been the narrative since the beginning. Didn’t they say we were responsible for our own Nakba? That we left on our own? Forgetting the massacres and the towns and villages destroyed. Let them leave, they say. This is Israel’s solution for the Palestine question; a right to further and definitive exile rather than a right of return or the right to life and liberty in our ancestral homeland.”
Bamya said, “it is a genocide. Many observers say it. Many independent organizations say it. Many scholars say it from Israel and the rest of the world. And we blame Israel for these actions, not Israeli civilians, not Jews around the world. They’re not responsible for what Israel is doing. And many Jews around the world stand for justice, in Palestine and elsewhere. They call it a genocide, and they fight to stop this genocide, and they fight for a future of peace.”
Israeli representative Reut Shapir Ben Naftaly said, “the glaring silence of this Council about Israeli children, about hostages, murdered toddlers like the Bibas boys, on traumatized survivors who will never see their parents again, on children running for shelter as Iranian missiles rained down on civilian population centres, is more than a technical mission. It is a moral failure.”
Naftaly said, “we are presented with a narrative that forces Israel into a defendant’s chair, while Hamas, the very cause of this conflict and the very instigator of suffering of Israelis but also of Palestinians, goes unmentioned, unchallenged and immune to condemnation.”
Türkiye’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan told the Council that “Israel is trying to implement its strategy of aggression not only in Palestine, but also in Lebanon, Syria, and Iran. There is a clear pattern here. If left unchecked, this pattern risks wider destabilization. This is exactly what’s going on in Syria. Israeli aggression is threatening the fragile peace that Syrian people pay the high price to reach. These attacks are deepening the fault lines across the region. It should be clear to all of us by now, Israel doesn’t want peace, Israel doesn’t want stability.”
In the past week, severe injuries continued to be reported among people seeking aid. The World Health Organization reported one instance where a 21-year-old man was paralyzed for life after being shot while trying to collect a bag of flour from one of these militarized food distribution hubs.
Meanwhile, months of escalating hostilities have increased risks for the most vulnerable, including people with disabilities and older people, who struggle to access what they need to survive and become even more isolated.
Expo 2025 is taking place in Osaka, Kansai, Japan, under the theme “Designing a Future Society for Our Lives.” The UN Pavilion at the Expo unites 35 United Nations entities and 15 offices under the theme “United for a Better Future.” Meet Maher Nasser, Assistant Secretary-General and Commissioner-General of the UN at Expo 2025.
A group of Indigenous youth from the United States visit the United Nations Headquarters in New York, wearing handmade ribbon skirts and vests featuring seven coloured bands, each symbolizing a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of personal significance, such as good health and gender equality. The youth meet 2025 Mandela Prize awardee Brenda Reynolds, who is being honored for her work advancing Indigenous rights, mental health and trauma-informed care. The group join celebrate Ms. Reynolds as she accepts her award on 18 July, Nelson Mandela International Day, in the UN General Assembly.
Noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Highlights:
Nelson Mandela International Day
Cyprus
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Syria
Security Council/Colombia
Haiti
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo/Peacekeeping
Afghanistan
Ukraine/UN Office on Drugs And Crime
Nuclear War
Refugees
International Days
NELSON MANDELA INTERNATIONAL DAY
Today is Nelson Mandela International Day. In his remarks to observe the Day at the General Assembly earlier today, Secretary-General, António Guterres, said that Madiba’s extraordinary life was a triumph of the human spirit. He endured the brutal weight of oppression, and emerged not with a vision of vengeance and division — but of reconciliation, peace and unity.
“Today, Madiba’s legacy is now our responsibility,” he added.
The Secretary-General congratulated the laureates of the 2025 Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela Prize, Brenda Reynolds and Kennedy Odede. Both prize winners, he said, embody Nelson Mandela’s words, which are engraved on their Prizes: “What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others.”
He added that as the UN celebrates its 80th anniversary, Nelson Mandela’s legacy of reconciliation and transformation continues to inspire and drive us.
CYPRUS
Yesterday afternoon, in a press encounter after the conclusion of the informal meeting on Cyprus, the Secretary-General said that the discussions were constructive, and both leaders reviewed the progress on the six initiatives they agreed in March to build trust.
Out of these six initiatives, four have been achieved: the creation of a technical committee on youth; initiatives on the environment and climate change, including the impact on mining areas; the restoration of cemeteries; and an agreement on demining that will be closed once the final technical details are established.
The Secretary-General noted that discussions will continue on the remaining two initiatives, which are the opening of four crossing points and solar energy in the buffer zone.
The Secretary-General said that there’s a long road ahead, and it is important to think about what the future can mean – for all Cypriots.
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warns that the continued onslaught and mass deprivation of people in the Strip is being normalized. Every day brings more preventable deaths, displacement and desperation.
Just today, the Israeli authorities issued yet another displacement order, this time for parts of North Gaza. The UN also continues to receive deeply troubling reports of malnourished children and adults being admitted to hospitals with little resources available to treat them properly.
OCHA warns that the energy crisis in Gaza continues to deepen, despite the resumption of limited fuel imports. That’s because the small quantities entering – while critical to continue – remain at lower levels than what we were previously able to extract from dwindling internal reserves, which have now been fully depleted.
The depletion of fuel has forced solid waste collection to pause over the past couple of days, and additional water wells have also had to shut down, particularly in Deir al Balah. While specific health services – including dialysis – have reduced or shut down, others could go on for a few more days before they too will have to go dark. With every day that passes, people have less clean water and healthcare and more sewage flooding ground floors.
Full highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=18%20July%202025
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have improved millions of lives over the past decade, but progress remains insufficient, UN report finds.
A decade after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the UN released today (14 Jul) the 10th edition of its annual progress report, The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2025.
The report provides a stark assessment and a strong call for action.
While millions of lives have improved, through gains in health, education, energy, and digital connectivity, the pace of change remains insufficient to meet the Goals by 2030.
The latest available data show that only 35 per cent of targets are on track or making moderate progress, while nearly half are moving too slowly and 18 per cent have regressed.
“We are in a global development emergency,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres said today to the press.
He also said, “Today’s report shows that the Sustainable Development Goals are still within reach. But only if we act — with urgency, unity, and unwavering resolve.”
Despite cascading global challenges, the report documents notable global achievements.
At the same time, the report calls attention to challenges that continue to hold back sustainable development progress.
The report calls for action across six priority areas where intensified effort can generate transformative impact: food systems, energy access, digital transformation, education, jobs and social protection, and climate and biodiversity action.
It also urges governments and partners to implement the Medellín Framework for Action, a roadmap adopted at the 2024 UN World Data Forum, to strengthen data systems essential for responsive policymaking.
Guterres said, “35 percent of the goals are on target, and some are extremely important: Extreme Poverty has reduced; child mortality and women’s mortality have dramatically reduced; and the access of girls to education and in general, access to education has substantially increased. So, if there were no Sustainable Development Goals, many of these achievements would never have been reached.”
He also said, “I think that the discussion is not whether or not we have reached enough. The discussion is what are the roots in the injustices and inequalities of our global economic and financial system that make it so difficult to implement things that everybody recognized are the things that are needed for us to live with dignity”
Answering a question about Gaza, Guterres said, “We all condemned the horrible, terrible attacks of Hamas. But what we are witnessing Gaza is a level of death and destruction that has no parallel in recent times, and it is something that undermines the, I would say, undermines the most basic conditions of human dignity for the population of Gaza.”
The HLPF will be held from Monday, 14 July, to Wednesday, 23 July 2025, under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council.
Opening Unlocking means of implementation: Mobilizing financing and STI for the SDGs (Townhall meeting)
-How can countries and stakeholders advance a coherent framework for financing the SDGs? -What are the key outcomes from the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) which can be addressed in the short-term? -How can promising science and technology solutions for the SDGs be scaled up? -What innovative examples were highlighted at the 10th Multi-Stakeholder Forum on STI for the SDGs?
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The High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) will be held from Monday, 14 July, to Wednesday, 23 July 2025, under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council. This includes the three-day ministerial segment of the forum from Monday, 21 July, to Wednesday, 23 July 2025, as part of the High-level Segment of ECOSOC.
The theme of the HLPF will be “Advancing sustainable, inclusive, science- and evidence-based solutions for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals for leaving no one behind”
Five Sustainable Development Goals would be the focus of HLPF 2025
SDG 3 – Good Health and Well-Being SDG 5 – Gender Equality SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth SDG 14 – Life Below Water SDG 17 – Partnerships for the Goals
The 2025 HLPF is expected to bring together ministerial and high-level representatives of governments, as well as a wide range of expertise and stakeholders, including heads of UN entities, academics and other experts, and representatives of major groups and other stakeholders.
37 countries will present a Voluntary National Reviews (VNR) at the 2025 HLPF: Angola, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bhutan, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Finland, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lesotho, Malaysia, Malta, Micronesia, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Qatar, Saint Lucia, Seychelles, South Africa, Sudan, Suriname, Thailand.
Watch in 6 UN official languages: https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1f/k1fv876o81
Noon Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Highlights:
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Lebanon/Israel
Syria/Suweida
Syria/Humanitarian
Sudan
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Afghanistan
Nigeria
Youth Skills Day
Financial Contribution
Briefing
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that the Israeli military continues to issue displacement orders, telling Palestinians to relocate to Al Mawasi, an already overcrowded area lacking the basics for survival. This is happening obviously amid ongoing hostilities.
Today’s displacement order covers approximately 9 square kilometres, encompassing 11 neighbourhoods across Gaza and North Gaza governorates, where at least 120,000 people are estimated to be residing.
Civilians must be protected, including those fleeing and forced to leave through displacement orders, as well as those who remain despite those orders.
Food insecurity is, as you can imagine, also worsening.
On the fuel crisis, OCHA reports that Israeli authorities continue to allow the entry of limited supplies of fuel. So far, it’s been a rate of about 75,000 litres per working day, with nothing allowed on Friday and Saturday and a lag of a day or two before fuel can be collected from the Palestinian side of Kerem Shalom crossing. We and our partners reiterate that hundreds of thousands of litres of fuel are critically needed every day to keep life-saving services going.
Inside Gaza, planned missions by UN partners to deliver aid and services continue to face significant access challenges. Many are either denied outright or obstructed due to unpredictable and lengthy coordination procedures.
The restrictive operational environment is making it increasingly difficult to deliver core humanitarian services, including food, healthcare, shelter, water, sanitation, protection and education, which is further worsening an already catastrophic situation.
We reiterate our call on the Israeli authorities to allow and facilitate unimpeded and safe flow of humanitarian and commercial supplies into Gaza – swiftly and at the scale necessary to save survivors.
The picture in the West Bank is also bleak.
A lot had been mentioned by our colleagues in Geneva this morning, but I can tell you that in the past weeks Israeli settlers and Israeli security forces have intensified their killings, attacks and harassment of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
We call on Israel to immediately stop these killings, harassment and home demolitions across the occupied Palestinian territory. As the occupying power, Israel must take all feasible measures to ensure public order and safety in the West Bank. There must be thorough, independent and transparent investigations into all killings and all other alleged violations of international law.
LEBANON/ISRAEL
Moving north, UNIFIL peacekeepers stationed in southern Lebanon continue to observe a military presence and activities by Israel Defense Forces, including air violations by drones.
In the past days about the Israeli airstrikes on targets in Lebanon, we are aware of reports of Israeli airstrikes reportedly targeting Hizbullah positions in the Bekaa to the east of Beirut, resulting in several casualties. We, once again, urge the parties to uphold the cessation of hostilities and refrain from any activities that may endanger civilians.
And yesterday, UNIFIL peacekeepers found two unauthorized weapons caches in their area of operations, including one containing detonation wire coils and another containing mortars and anti-personnel mines. As per usual practice, these were referred to the Lebanese Armed Forces for disposal.
UNIFIL emphasizes that it is committed to impartially monitor and report on violations of resolution 1701 and support the parties in fulfilling their responsibilities under Security Council resolution 1701.
The UN remains committed to supporting the parties to uphold the cessation of hostilities and implement resolution 1701.
Full Highlights:
https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=15%20July%202025
Amid escalating intercommunal violence in Syria’s Sweida governorate, and Israel’s resumed and intensified airstrikes on Syrian territory, Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari today (17 Jul) called on Israel and Syria to “refrain from any action that would further undermine” the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement “and the stability on the Golan.”
Khiari reiterated the Secretary-General’s “unequivocal condemnation of all violence against civilians, including all acts that fan the flames of sectarian tensions and rob the people of Syria of their opportunity for peace and reconciliation after fourteen years of brutal conflict.”
The Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations also expressed condemnation at the Israeli airstrikes noting that they had “targeted the Damascus authorities’ forces and official buildings including the Ministry of Defence and the vicinity of the Presidential Palace, as well as the Mazzeh military airport.”
He said, “in addition to violating Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, Israel’s actions undermine efforts to build a new Syria at peace with itself and the region and further destabilize Syria at a sensitive time,” adding that it was “ essential that both Israel and Syria uphold the terms of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement to preserve the ceasefire between both parties, and refrain from any action that would further undermine it and the stability on the Golan.”
Syrian Ambassador Qusay al-Dahhak told the Council that “Syria categorically rejects the pretexts used by the Israeli authorities to justify these acts of aggression,” adding that “such practices are merely an extension of the occupation’s systematic policies aimed at undermining Syria’s stability and dragging it into conflict.”
Al-Dahhak said, “despite the gravity of the Israeli attacks, the Syrian leadership acted with utmost wisdom and responded to American, Arab, and Turkish mediation efforts, whom we thank. These efforts helped prevent the region from sliding into an open confrontation.”
For his part, Israeli Ambassador Brett Jonathan Miller quoted the book of Leviticus, and said “we will not stand idly by as our close brothers and sisters are being slaughtered” as this was a “moral obligation” enshrined as Israeli law.
He said, “for this very reason, Israel carried out these precise strikes against jihadist militants in southern Syria.”
“Israel’s position is clear” Miller continued, “we have a commitment to preserve the southwestern region of Syria as a demilitarized area and to prevent the rise of terrorist threats along our border.”
Nearly 2,000 families have been displaced from areas impacted by violence in Sweida governorate and are currently sheltering in a dozen collective sites. Many are unable to return home due to damage, looting or destruction of their residences.
The health system in Sweida remains critically strained. Hospitals in neighbouring Dar’a governorate are also overwhelmed. These facilities are operating without power and facing severe supply shortages, with some patients transferred to Damascus. Reports indicate that at least two doctors in Sweida were killed during the recent clashes, and some health facilities have been used by armed groups, endangering patients, and staff.
The World Health Organization has dispatched 35 trauma and emergency surgery kits, enough for 1,750 interventions, but many remain undelivered due to access constraints. The interim health ministry has also mobilized medical supplies to be sent to the area.
Designed to foster exchange across disciplines and sectors, Science Day has become a recognized platform for identifying where science is contributing to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Designed to foster exchange across disciplines and sectors, Science Day has become a recognized platform for identifying where science is contributing to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – and where more integration, support, and innovation are needed.
This edition will thus serve both as a strategic stocktaking moment and a platform for ‘horizon scanning’ – grounded in practice, yet ambitious in scope. It will explore how science is supporting SDG implementation today, where systemic gaps remain, and what kinds of science-policy collaboration will be needed to advance sustainable development in the years to come. It will also consider the complex global context in which this future must be navigated – marked by political fragmentation, financial uncertainty, and strain across multilateral institutions – and how science can remain a credible, trusted, and adaptive partner amid these dynamics.
Organized by International Science Council (ISC), Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), and UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA).
In recognition of the former South African President’s contribution to the culture of peace and freedom, UN General Assembly declares 18 July “Nelson Mandela International Day”.
Resolution A/RES/64/13 recognizes Mandela’s values and his dedication to the service of humanity in: conflict resolution; race relations; promotion and protection of human rights; reconciliation; gender equality and the rights of children and other vulnerable groups; the fight against poverty; the promotion of social justice.
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Programme:
Opening remarks by H.E. Mr. Philemon Yang, President of the General Assembly
Statement by H.E. Mr. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations
Keynote by H.E. Ms. Naledi Pandor, former Minister of International Relations and Cooperation in South Africa
Awarding of the 2025 UN Mandela Prize to Ms. Brenda Reynolds and her remarks
Awarding of the 2025 UN Mandela Prize to Mr. Kennedy Odede and his remarks
Remarks from Member States
Media stakeout by António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, following the informal meeting on Cyprus held at the UN Headquarters in New York.
INFORMAL MEETING ON CYPRUS
As you know, the Secretary-General is convening here at the UN Headquarters the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders as well as representatives of the guarantor powers of Greece, Türkiye and the United Kingdom for an informal meeting on Cyprus.
This morning, the Secretary-General held bilateral meetings with the heads of delegations. There is a plenary meeting taking place now, and this will be followed by a working lunch. The concluding session will take place this afternoon.
SYRIA
I have an update for you on Syria, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that as of today, nearly 2,000 families have been displaced from areas impacted by violence in Sweida governorate, that’s according to one of our local partners. These families are currently sheltering in a dozen collective sites. Many are unable to return home due to damage, looting or destruction of their residences.
The health system in Sweida remains critically strained. Hospitals in neighbouring Dar’a governorate are also overwhelmed. These facilities are operating without power and facing severe supply shortages, with some patients transferred to Damascus. Reports indicate that at least two doctors in Sweida were killed during the recent clashes, and some health facilities have been used by armed groups, endangering patients and staff.
We and our partners are mobilizing to deliver humanitarian assistance and assess needs as security allows, and engaging with interim authorities to facilitate access.
The World Health Organization has dispatched 35 trauma and emergency surgery kits – enough for 1,750 interventions – but many remain undelivered due to access constraints. The interim health ministry has also mobilized medical supplies to be sent to the area.
We urge all parties to protect people caught up in the violence, including by allowing them to move freely to seek safety and medical assistance. Security forces must respect applicable international law, norms and standards throughout their operations.
SECURITY COUNCIL/SYRIA
And this afternoon, the Security Council will meet on Syria. Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, will brief the Council members.
GAZA
The Secretary-General strongly condemns today’s reports of an Israeli strike on the Holy Family Church in Gaza, a place of worship and a sanctuary for civilians. Attacks on places of worship are unacceptable. People seeking shelter must be respected and protected, not hit by strikes.
Too many lives have already been lost. There is an urgent need for an immediate ceasefire and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.
The Secretary-General calls on all parties to ensure that civilians are respected and protected at all times and allow humanitarian aid to flow into the Strip at scale.
Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=17%20July%202025
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