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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC,

SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES

FRIDAY, 20 FEBRUARY 2026

SECRETARY-GENERAL TRAVEL 

Today, at the AI Impact Summit in India, the Secretary-General took part in a panel on the Role of Science in International AI Governance.  He told participants that AI innovation is moving at the speed of light, outpacing our collective ability to fully understand it, let alone govern it. 

If we want AI to serve humanity, he said, policy cannot be built on guesswork. We need facts we can trust and share across countries and across sectors. That is why the United Nations is building a practical architecture that puts science at the centre of international cooperation on AI, the Secretary-General added. 

In the afternoon, the Secretary-General had bilateral meetings with the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, as well as with the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. And you will have seen the readouts we issued for these meetings. 

Throughout the day, the Secretary-General also had exchanges with Government and tech leaders, including members of the newly created Independent International Scientific Panel on AI. 

The Secretary-General also took part in a roundtable organized by our UN colleagues to discuss renewable energy and energy transition. The discussion brought together senior figures from industry, finance, policy and civil society to identify concrete steps to further accelerate renewable energy deployment, strengthen grids and storage, and mobilize investment at scale. 

And, over the weekend, the Secretary-General will travel to Geneva, Switzerland, where on Monday, he will deliver remarks at the opening of the 61st session of the Human Rights Council. Later in the day, the Secretary-General will also address the High-Level Segment of the 2026 Session of the Conference on Disarmament. 

The Secretary-General will hold bilateral meetings with leaders and ministers attending the opening of the Human Rights Council, as well as a meeting with a group of human rights nongovernmental organizations. 

He is also scheduled to participate in an event hosted by the Vice President of the Swiss Federal Council, Ignazio Cassis, to mark the completion of the Portail des Nations building, the new visitor centre for the UN in Geneva. 

The Secretary-General will be back in New York on Monday evening. 

SOUTH SUDAN 

Tom Fletcher, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, arrived in South Sudan today. He will spend the next five days assessing the situation in the country firsthand and drawing international attention to the acute but largely forgotten humanitarian crisis there. 

Mr. Fletcher traveled directly to Malakal in Upper Nile State upon his arrival, meeting with local communities, their leaders, and South Sudanese returnees, hearing firsthand about their needs and the challenges they face amid the ongoing conflict in neighbouring Sudan. 

He is scheduled to visit Jonglei State, where a recent flare-up in conflict has further intensified humanitarian needs. 

Throughout the visit, the humanitarian chief will meet with local responders on the frontline.                    

He will advocate for the protection of civilians and humanitarian workers, reiterate our urgent calls for support to the humanitarian response and call for coordinated efforts to tackle the root causes of the crisis. 

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY 

Turning to Gaza, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tells us that families continue to live in overcrowded shelters, which pose severe fire and health risks. Families cook, sleep and store their belongings in small spaces and also uses open fire. Since November 2025, our partners have recorded at least 12 fires in these shelters.  &²Ô²ú²õ±è;

In ten days leading up to 17 February, humanitarians provided shelter assistance to 85 families in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis whose shelters were damaged by a fire in Gaza City.  Partners have been raising fire safety awareness among displaced families to reduce the risk.  &²Ô²ú²õ±è;

Displaced families need adequate shelter to protect them from the elements and provide more privacy. Our partners working in shelter reiterate the urgent need to move towards more sustainable solutions.                

In many areas within Gaza, humanitarian movements still require coordination with Israeli authorities. Of 67 movements coordinated between 12 and 19 February, 43 were approved and nine were denied outright. Eight missions were approved but faced impediments, of which six were fully accomplished. Organizers cancelled seven other missions for operational and security reasons.  &²Ô²ú²õ±è;

Humanitarian partners coordinated the entry of fuel, medical supplies, animal fodder and hygiene kits. Teams also facilitated the medical evacuation of patients through Rafah and Kerem Shalom/Karem Abu Salem crossings.  &²Ô²ú²õ±è;

Turning to the West Bank, OCHA warns of the continued violence and other coercive practices by Israeli forces and settler communities, resulting in casualties, destruction of property, and displacement.       

Between February 3rd and 16th, Israeli forces killed three Palestinians, bringing the total number this year to nine, including two children. Palestinian forces killed one Palestinian child in Tammoun, while attempting to arrest his father. &²Ô²ú²õ±è;

During the same period, at least 86 Israeli settler attacks were recorded, during which over 60 Palestinians were injured, and some 146 people were displaced. People in 60 communities were affected by the attacks.  &²Ô²ú²õ±è;

Overall, since January 2023, and as of 16 February, some 880 Palestinian families - over 4,700 people - have been displaced across the West Bank due to settler attacks and access restrictions.  &²Ô²ú²õ±è;

WEST BANK 

The Secretary-General condemns the killing of Nasrallah Abu Siam, a 19-year-old dual Palestinian-American citizen who was shot and beaten in an attack by Israeli settlers on the village of Mukhmas in the Occupied West Bank on Wednesday. He subsequently died from his wounds later in the day. Settlers shot and injured three other Palestinians in the same attack. The Secretary-General extends his heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of the victim. That family, sadly, includes your colleague Abdelhamid Siam. On behalf of my office, we extend our condolences to you.  

The Secretary-General calls for a prompt, thorough, and transparent investigation into the circumstances of the incident and for those responsible to be held accountable. The Secretary-General urges the Government of Israel to take concrete steps to halt and prevent all acts of violence by Israeli settlers against the Palestinian population pursuant to the obligations of Israel as the occupying power.  

LEBANON 

This week UNIFIL peacekeepers have found several unexploded ordnances, including rockets, bombs, and rocket launchers, at multiple locations within the area of operations. Yesterday, peacekeepers discovered anti-tank mines in the ruins of a house in Sector East. As per usual practice, they were all referred to the Lebanese Armed Forces for safe disposal.  

The peacekeeping mission also continues to report daily Israel Defense Forces activities on land and air inside Lebanese territory and continues to observe firing across the Blue Line. Yesterday, they witnessed several projectiles fired from south of the Blue Line impacting near Kafar Kila in Sector East and Yaroun in Sector West. 

Incidents of obstruction and aggressive behaviour directed at peacekeepers continue.        

In a serious incident of intimidation, the mission reported that on Tuesday a peacekeeper performing his duty inside a UN position near Naqoura, about 10 metres from the IDF perimeter fence, was approached by IDF personnel who aimed their weapons at him and ordered him to move. We reiterate that any intimidation and interference with UNIFIL’s work must stop.  

We again call on the parties to fulfill their obligations under Security Council resolution 1701.   

 SOMALIA  

The World Food Programme is sounding the alarm that its life‑saving emergency food and nutrition assistance in Somalia is at imminent risk. WFP said that urgently requires $95 million to continue supporting the most food insecure people in Somalia between March and August 2026. Without immediate funding, the World Food Programme said that it will be forced to halt humanitarian assistance by April. 

This warning follows the declaration of a national drought emergency, triggered by severe water shortages, crop and livestock losses, and large‑scale displacement.  In 2022, the longest drought in recorded history brought Somalia to the brink of famine. In response, with critical support from donors, partners and the government, WFP launched a robust scale up of life-saving assistance, reaching record numbers of the most vulnerable, helping keep famine at bay.                       

But today, WFP said that it is facing a severe funding shortfall that has forced it to reduce the number of people receiving emergency food assistance in Somalia from 2.2 million in early 2025 to just over 600,000. 

WFP noted that a quarter of the population in Somalia, the equivalent of 4.4 million people, face crisis-levels of food insecurity or worse, including nearly one million women, men, and children experiencing severe hunger.     

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO 

Turning to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, our colleagues at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tell us that they remain deeply concerned by continued clashes in several villages across the Fizi and Uvira territories in South Kivu province in the east of the country.  

Since Monday, violence has displaced at least 15,000 people from Lemera and surrounding villages, according to humanitarian partners. Residents, mostly women and children, are fleeing into the bush for safety, while others remain confined to their homes. 

OCHA and partners continue to engage with all parties to facilitate the safe movement of civilians and humanitarian teams. Our humanitarian colleagues also stress that we need safe movement of supplies to be able to scale up aid operations.                  

We urge all parties to comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, and to facilitate safe, sustained, and unhindered humanitarian access.  

The 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for the DRC requires $1.4 billion to assist 7.3 million of the country’s most vulnerable people. To date, the plan is only 10 per cent funded. More support is urgently required to maintain humanitarian operations and prevent further deterioration of the crisis.  

UKRAINE  

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Barham Salih, today urged sustained international solidarity and stronger support for Ukrainians awaiting much-needed peace. Mr. Salih travelled to Ukraine as the full-scale invasion enters its fifth year with intensified attacks during the harshest winter of war so far. 

Over several days in Kyiv and front-line cities – Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv – UNHCR's chief met families whose homes had been damaged by glide bombs and missiles and people recently evacuated from front-line communities. He observed UNHCR’s emergency assistance after strikes and in transit centres for displaced people; legal aid for those who lost documents to ensure their access to rights and services; and work to repair war-damaged houses to allow people to remain in their homes or return.

Since the first days of the war, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) scaled up its presence and response inside Ukraine and in countries generously hosting close to 5.9 million refugees. Over the past four years, complementing the efforts of the authorities, UNHCR and its partners have reached close to 10 million people in Ukraine with assistance. 

Also today, UN Women noted that four years into Russia’s full-scale invasion, millions in Ukraine struggle to keep the lights on and heat their homes, with the crisis taking a particular toll on women.  UN Women pointed out that many Ukrainian women work in sectors that are the hardest hit by extended power cuts, such as education, health, social services and retail, and are now losing their jobs.  

According to UN Women, 2025 was the deadliest year of the conflict for women so far and that since 24 February 2022, more than 5,000 women and girls have been confirmed killed and 14,000 injured, with the real toll likely far higher.  

For its part, the World Health Organization today said that the conflict’s devastating toll on health is further deepened by attacks on healthcare, which are severe and widespread in Ukraine.                                             

HAITI  

A joint report today issued by the UN Integrated Office in Haiti and the UN Human Rights Office details the brutal and widespread trafficking of children by Haitian gangs. According to the report, most of the 26 gangs currently operating in Haiti are involved in child trafficking.  

The report describes the different forms of exploitation to which children are subjected. They range from running errands, monitoring security forces, or collecting extortion payments, to more violent acts like destruction of property, kidnappings, targeted killings and sexual violence.  

There is no comprehensive data on the number of children trafficked by gangs. However, in 2024, the UN estimated that more than 500,000 children were living in areas under gang control.                 

As per the latest estimates, gang violence has forced more than 1.4 million people to flee their homes. More than half of them are children. 

HUMAN TRAFFICKING / SCAM CENTRES  

A report published today by the UN Human Rights Office graphically details the lived experiences of some of the hundreds of thousands of people trafficked from dozens of countries around the world into working in entrenched scam operations mostly in Southeast Asia, as well as far beyond.  

The report documents instances of torture and other ill-treatment, sexual abuse and exploitation, forced abortions, food deprivation, solitary confinement, among other grave human rights abuses. Victims described being lured into scamming jobs under false pretenses and then being coerced into perpetrating online fraud ranging from impersonation scams, online extortion, financial fraud as well as romantic scams.  

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk noted that rather than receiving protection, care and rehabilitation as well as the pathways to justice and redress to which they are entitled, victims too often face disbelief, stigmatization and even further punishment. He stressed that effective responses need to be centred on human rights law and standards. Crucially, he said, that means explicitly recognizing forced criminality within anti-trafficking laws and regulations and guaranteeing the non-punishment principle for victims of trafficking.  

INTERNATIONAL DAYS 

Today is the World Day of Social Justice. As the name suggests, this Day promotes fairness, equity and inclusion for everyone, everywhere.

Tomorrow is the International Day of Mother Language. This year’s theme, Youth voices on multilingual education, highlights young people as champions of linguistic diversity and inclusive education that fosters cultural understanding. 

FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION 

Malta and Mauritius paid their full contributions to the Regular Budget. This brings the total number of paid-up Member States to 71.