Sexual Violence Report, Ukraine & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (14 August 2025) | UN

Noon Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General. Highlights: Conflict-Related Sexual Violence Report Ukraine Occupied Palestinian Territory Syria Lebanon Sudan Myanmar Shipwreck/Lampedusa Guest CONFLICT-RELATED SEXUAL VIOLENCE REPORT The Secretary-General’s 16th annual Report on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence has been published today. The Report marks a staggering 25% increase from the previous year, with the highest number of cases recorded in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Somalia and South Sudan. 63 State and non-State parties are listed in the annex of the report, credibly suspected of committing or being responsible for patterns of rape or other forms of sexual violence in situations of armed conflict on the agenda of the Security Council. The report also introduces, for the first time, an appendix whereby parties are put on notice for potential listing in the next report of the Secretary-General. The consistent denial of access to United Nations monitors in the context of Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory and in temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, has made it challenging to verify and definitively determine the patterns, trends and systematicity of sexual violence in these contexts. The report also includes recommendations to the Security Council to address conflict-related sexual violence. UKRAINE Turning to Ukraine, the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that as front lines shift, intense hostilities continue to inflict a heavy toll on civilians on a daily basis, causing widespread destruction and forcing thousands of people to flee their homes. In the Donetsk Region, where fighting has escalated, Ukrainian authorities ordered the mandatory evacuation of families with children from over a dozen towns and villages. Between Monday and Wednesday this week, authorities report that more than 6,000 people fled high-risk communities along the front lines, either through organized evacuations or on their own. Relentless attacks are also impeding both the evacuation of civilians and the delivery of aid to Pokrovsk Town, located just a kilometre from the front line. Local authorities estimate that more than 1,000 people are still living there. Humanitarian access is also worsening in Kostiantynivka Town, where approximately 7,000 residents need urgent support. Aid organizations are working around the clock to assist those fleeing the violence, providing transportation and other assistance at transit sites for newly displaced people. The Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, is visiting the south of Ukraine today. He met with displaced people in a community centre in Mykolaiv and discussed urgent needs with our partners and the local authorities. On its latest update, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said that the number of civilian casualties in Ukraine reached another three-year high in July. With 286 civilians killed and 1,388 injured, the July casualty number was the highest since May 2022. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission said that the high July casualty numbers continued a pattern of steadily increasing civilian casualties in 2025. Casualty numbers for the first seven months of 2025 were 48 per cent higher than in the same period in 2024. Full Highlihts: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=14%20August%202025


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