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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC,

SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES

THURSDAY, 12 FEBRUARY 2026

SECRETARY-GENERAL/AFRICAN UNION SUMMIT

The Secretary-General is about to arrive in Addis Ababa. As we mentioned yesterday, he is travelling to Ethiopia to take part in the 39th Ordinary Session of the African Union Summit.   

While there, he is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Ethiopian authorities as well as heads of State and Government from the continent.  

Tomorrow, the Secretary-General has also been invited to take part in the Second Italy-Africa summit, organized on the sidelines of the African Union Summit. On Saturday Mr. Guterres will address the opening session of the African Union Summit. And he will hold a press conference, scheduled to take place at 3:00 p.m.   

YEMEN

This morning, the Security Council met to discuss the situation in Yemen. The Special Envoy, Hans Grundberg, addressed the Council remotely from Riyadh, where he recently met with Yemen’s newly appointed Prime Minister, Shaya al-Zindani, and members of the Presidential Leadership Council. 

Mr. Grundberg underscored the need for an inclusive political process under UN auspices to reach a negotiated settlement capable of sustainably ending the conflict in the country. In this context, he also raised serious concerns regarding the continued detention of UN staff and others. 

This week marks one year since the tragic death of a staff from the World Food Programme (WFP) while he was being held in arbitrary detention by the Houthis. Mr. Grundberg noted that no investigation has been conducted by the authorities. 

Today, 73 UN personnel, along with civil society members and individuals linked to diplomatic missions remain arbitrarily detained. The UN continues to pursue every avenue, at all levels, in order to resolve this issue.

Focusing on the humanitarian situation, Lisa Doughten, the Director of the Financing and Outreach Division at OCHA said that over 18 million people face acute food insecurity in Yemen. Despite severe challenges, we and our partners are continuing to provide aid wherever we can.

She noted that next week, in Amman, donors, UN agencies, and international and national non-governmental organizations will convene to refine aid delivery and ensure the most vulnerable continue receiving assistance amid growing operational constraints.

She added that our partners remain active in areas held by the de facto authorities in Yemen and will assume a greater share of frontline operational work. Ms. Doughten urged the Council to actively support these efforts.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

In a statement released today, the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) announced that Vivian van de Perre, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of Mission ad interim, has begun a visit to Goma as part of the Mission’s preparations to support ceasefire monitoring and verification, following consultations with Congolese national authorities.

The Department of ɫ��TV Operations confirmed that Ms. van de Perre arrived via Goma airport earlier this morning and is engaging with relevant counterparts to advance practical arrangements for the ceasefire monitoring and verification mechanism.

The Mission stated that the visit marks an important operational step after the prolonged disruption of airtraffic in and out of Goma since January of last year.

Under Security Council resolution 2808 (2025), the Mission is authorized to support the implementation of a permanent ceasefire, including through technical and logistical support to the International Conference on the Great Lakes via the Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism Plus. The peacekeeping mission reaffirmed that such support will be provided within its mandate and in full respect of the sovereignty of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that yesterday they coordinated 10 humanitarian missions with the Israeli authorities. The movements were to areas where Israeli forces remain deployed. 

These missions allowed UN teams to collect incoming relief items such as food, vaccines, fuel and health supplies from the Kerem Shalom/Kerem Abu Salem crossing, as well as the Zikim crossing. 

As the UN has been saying for months, UN teams stand ready to further scale up humanitarian operations across all sectors. However, this requires the lifting of restrictions on the UN work. All of UN humanitarian partners must be allowed to operate without obstruction and bring in critically needed supplies and equipment.    

Also yesterday, colleagues from the UN Development Programme (UNDP) began removing solid waste from a dumping site in Gaza City. UN partners managing water and sanitation report that the waste is being moved to a temporary site covering roughly 75,000 square metres, capable of receiving daily collections. These efforts aim to improve both environmental conditions and public health in Gaza.

UN teams also continue to support movements of people through the RafahCrossing. Since the re-opening of this crossing in early February, we have facilitated movements of over 500 people: 273 patients and their companions and 269 Gazans who were trying to return home.

Just to clarify, these are the numbers of people that the UN has been able to monitor or assist, but there have been other movements that the UN is not able to count.

KOSOVO  

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Kosovo and Head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo, Peter Due, today welcomed the establishment of the new Assembly of Kosovo and the formation of the new government. Mr. Due commended Kosovo’s people and institutions on the peaceful and inclusive process. 

Mr. Due said that he looks forward to working closely with all stakeholders to advance peace, security and prosperity. He encourages sustained dialogue and engagement. 

UKRAINE

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that overnight, another large-scale attack across Ukraine damaged energy infrastructure. In Kyiv and the cities of Kharkiv and Odesa, nearly 5,000 multi-story residential buildings have been left again without heating. In Odesa, the attacks disrupted the water supply for nearly 300,000 residents. That is according to local authorities.

The Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, has condemned the continued attacks on energy infrastructure saying this is a clear attack on the civilian population and must stop immediately.

In the past day, these attacks and hostilities have resulted in more than 50 civilian casualties, that includes children. Kharkiv Region was the hardest hit. In Odesa City, the office of a national humanitarian NGO was damaged. 

UN partners on the ground are responding immediately to support impacted families. In Odesa City, for example, they have distributed construction materials to help people cover damaged homes, they provided hot meals, and registered residents for humanitarian cash assistance. And they have done that directly at the sites where the strikes took place.

BANGLADESH

In a statement released yesterday, the UN country team in Bangladeshcalled for safe, inclusive, and meaningful participation in the electoral process, stressing that participation in public life is a fundamental right. The statement raised concerns about reported intimidation, harassment and violence affecting women candidates and women voters, including in digital spaces, such as cyberbullying.

The UN team in Bangladesh has supported the country’s Election Commission to strengthen women’s electoral participation and representation. The UN reiterates that ensuring women’s safety and full participation as voters and candidates is essential to inclusive and credible elections.      

MADAGASCAR

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today said that Tropical Cyclone Gezani, which made landfall on Tuesday, has had devastating consequences across eastern and central Madagascar. 31 people have died, 4 remain missing and 35 injured, according to the authorities. 

OCHA notes that preliminary reports indicate that more than 250,000 people have been impacted, with nearly 7,000 people displaced. Over 65,000 homes have been flooded, damaged or destroyed, and around 600 classrooms have been rendered partially or completely unusable by students.

The Government is calling for international solidarity and is leading search-and-rescue, evacuation, shelter and food assistance efforts, including the distribution of some 800 metric tonnes of rice, with support of ourselves and our partners.  

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is conducting rapid needs assessments to identify priority vulnerabilities and guide targeted assistance, including cash-for-shelter support to help impacted people secure temporary accommodation or begin recovery. 

$3 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund will help over 90,000 people and more funds from other donors are helping to kick-start the efforts.  

OCHA notes that the cyclone could affect central and southern Mozambique in the coming days.

INTERNATIONAL DAYS

Today is the International Day for the Prevention of Violent Extremism as and when Conducive to Terrorism, under the theme, “Preventing Violent Extremism in the Age of New and Emerging Technologies”.

In a message for the Day, the Secretary General says that stronger security measures mean that we must get at the source of the problem, through renewed efforts to address grievances and the conditions conducive to terrorism by strengthening education systems, expanding civic space, and fostering dialogue and trust among and within communities.

FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION 

Turkmenistan has paid its dues in full to the Regular Budget. This brings the number of fully paid-up Member States to 65.

***The guests at the Noon Briefing was Alexandre Zouev, the Acting Under-Secretary-General for the Office of Counter-Terrorism.  He spoke to journalists about the International Day for the Prevention of Violent Extremism as and when Conducive to Terrorism.