Syria

The Secretary-General arrived in Damascus, Syria, on the morning of Saturday, 25 July.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where as of 25 July, confirmed Ebola cases reportedly reached 3,200, the UN and partners continue to assist authorities on surveillance, contact tracing, laboratory testing and patient care. The World Food Programme has provided over 140,000 meals and food to vulnerable people.

The World Food Programme (WFP) warns that food assistance for more than 130,000 refugees in Burundi risks drawing down unless funding is received. WFP urgently needs $35 million to sustain food and nutrition support for refugees through August 2027. Without new resources, life-saving food distributions will end in October.

The Secretary-General's Peacebuilding Fund approved $2.4 million for a new programme to reduce insecurity across four regions of Mali, where communities and local institutions have come under sustained pressure and insecurity and violence. It aims to strengthen collaboration among local authorities, security forces and traditional leaders

In Rwanda, the UN and aid partners are supporting a $40 million Government-led preparedness plan against Ebola, through surveillance, laboratory capacity, case management, infection prevention and control, water and sanitation, and risk communication. The UN Central Emergency Response Fund has allocated $2 million.

Syria’s political transition has reached an important institutional milestone with the establishment of a People’s Assembly and Constitutional Supreme Court, senior UN officials told the Security Council today, warning that continued insecurity, Israeli military activity and a severely underfunded humanitarian response threaten the country’s delicate progress.

In Uganda, the Secretary-General notes with concern the reported detention of political and civic actors, including cases in which the whereabouts of some individuals have not been established. Freedom of expression, including independence of the media and the rights to liberty and security of person, are enshrined in Uganda’s Constitution, he stated.

The Security Council today renewed the mandate of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) for six months, until 31 December 2026, and requested the Secretary-General to ensure the Force has the required capacity and resources to fulfil its mandate in a safe and secure manner.