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HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC​,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
WEDNESDAY, 14 JANUARY 2026

SECRETARY-GENERAL/GROUP OF 77 

This afternoon, the Secretary-General is scheduled to deliver remarks at the ceremony marking the handover of the Group of 77 and China chairmanship from Iraq to Uruguay. 

Mr. Guterres will stress that, more than six decades on, the Group of 77 and China remains a strong pillar of multilateralism and an indispensable force for global cooperation. 

He is also expected to highlight the urgent challenges facing the world, including conflicts, widening inequalities, climate impacts, debt distress and rapid technological change.  

The handover will take place in the ECOSOC Chamber and will be live on UN Web TV. 

HAITI

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today said that clashes continue to drive people from their homes in the capital, Port-au-Prince.

According to the International Organization for Migration, some 6,000 people have been displaced since 6 January.  Most of them sought refuge with host families, while others have settled in two displacement sites.

The escalating violence has significantly impacted humanitarian programmes in the area. Our friends at Doctors Without Borders announced on 8 January that they were suspending all its medical activities in the Bel Air neighborhood of Port‑au‑Prince. That was until further notice. This comes at a time when only 10 per cent of health facilities with inpatient capacity in Haiti are fully operational, while approximately 4.9 million people in Haiti need emergency health assistance.

Internal displacement linked to violence has doubled in the past year and has now reached 1.4 million people – or 12 per cent of the population of Haiti.

This year, 6.4 million people in Haiti – or more than half of the population – need humanitarian aid. We and our partners are appealing for $880 million to help the 4.2 million of the most vulnerable Haitians.

SUDAN 

Today, in Cairo, the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, is attending the Sudan Consultative Group meeting,which is been hosted by the Republic of Egypt. This is the fifth meeting of this group since 2024. It brings together key international stakeholders working to advance peace in Sudan. 

Yesterday, Mr. Lamamra discussed with Egyptian Foreign Minister, Badr Abdelatty the ongoing efforts to secure a de-escalation in Sudan. 

In Cairo, he also met with the Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, US Senior Advisor for Arab and African Affairs, Massad Boulos, as well as other officials including Djibouti’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Foreign Minister, all of this to strengthen cooperation and collective efforts to end the horrendous warin Sudan. 

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO 

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs(OCHA) warns that severe access restrictions, resulting from both insecurity and administrative hurdles, are hampering life-saving operations in the territories of Fizi, Mwenga and Uvira. All of this in the province of South Kivu.  

Although a period of relative calm this month has allowed schools to gradually reopen in the cities of Uvira and Baraka, the humanitarian situation remains in flux. 

The area hosts more than 330,000 human beings who have fled conflict. It is also facing a surge in cholera cases. In the first half of this month, health authorities in Fizi, Mwenga and Uvira reported more than 1,200 suspected cholera cases and 28 deaths. 

While UN humanitarian partners are scaling up their response, fighting and red tape continue to slow down humanitarian operations. 

Key roads have been designated as zones of military operations, and at least three vehicles belonging to our humanitarian partners have reportedly been confiscated by armed groups since 22 December. 

Restrictions on transport across lakes have delayed the delivery of supplies to respond to cholera. 

OCHA continues to engage with local authorities to secure guarantees for humanitarian access to all those areas that need to have it, and we continue to advocate for unhindered access for aid workers and their supplies. 

The UN also continues to urge all parties in the ongoing conflict in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to respect international humanitarian law and humanitarian principles, and to facilitate immediate, safe and unhindered access. 

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY

The Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ramiz Alakbarov, is continuing his visit to Gaza. In Gaza City and North Gaza governorate, he visited several health service points and nutrition facilities, as well as a temporary learning space. He met with our partners and heard from Palestinians who are receiving services at these locations.  

He also went to a food distribution point in Beit Lahyia, which was activated to serve thousands of people who have recently returned to the area, as well as a joint distribution point in Gaza. Dr. Alakbarov thanked UN partners for their tireless efforts to serve people in need and reaffirmed his support for their continued dedication. 

Tomorrow, he will be visiting more different facilities in southern Gaza. 

Meanwhile, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs(OCHA) warns that insecurity in Gaza – that includes airstrikes, shelling and armed clashes – is on the rise, leading to civilian casualties. Last week saw the highest number of incidents resulting in casualties since the ceasefire went into effect, with more than 300 of those reported.   

OCHA reiterates that under international humanitarian law, civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected at all times.  

Meanwhile, our partners continue to distribute shelter assistance to people in need across the Gza Strip. Since Sunday, we and our partners have provided more than 9,700 families with tents, mattresses, blankets and warm clothes, as well as hundreds of cooking pots and kitchen utensils.  

OCHA also continues to stress the need for the unrestricted flow of critical supplies into Gaza.            

These include timber, plywood, cement and tool kits to reinforce shelters and repair people’s homes, in addition to equipment to clear debris and break down rubble, along with water pumps and sandbags to drain stormwater and mitigate flooding.  

UN partners report that since the ceasefire took effect, they have re-opened 36 health facilities and established 26 new ones. They also warn, however, that only around 40 per cent of health facilities are functioning, most of them only partially. 

YEMEN/SECURITY COUNCIL 

This morning, the Security Council met to discusses Yemen. Hans Grundberg, the Special Envoy for Yemen, spoke via videoconference from Riyadh, in Saudi Arabia. He focused on the developments in southern Yemen. He highlighted his ongoing engagement with Yemeni stakeholders, regional partners, and the international community, including recent discussions in Cairo, in Muscat, and in Riyadh, where he is currently is. All of those aimed at easing tensions and supporting a political path forward. 

Also briefing was Ramesh Rajasingham, the Director of the humanitarian division at OCHA. He briefed the Council remotely from Geneva, warning that more than 18 million Yemenis, that’s half the population of that country, are expected to face acute food insecurity just next month. This is of course compounded by the severe funding cuts that humanitarian colleagues have seen.  

Mr. Rajasingham has urged Security Council members to use their influence to secure the release of 73 of our colleagues who remain arbitrary detained by the Houthi authorities in Yemen.  He also encouraged them to boost funding for the worsening crisis and stay united in their response. 

GLOBAL TEMPERATURES  

Lastly, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in Geneva today confirmed that 2025 was one of the three warmest years on record. This is continuing the streak of extraordinary global temperatures. WMO also pointed out that the past 11 years have been the 11 warmest on record.  

The global average surface temperature on earth was 1.44 °C above the 1850-1900 average. That is what WMO’s consolidated analysis of eight datasetsshows. Two of these datasets ranked 2025 as the second warmest year in the 176-year that we have been keeping records, and the other six ranked it as the third warmest year. 

The World Meteorological Organization added that a separate study published in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences shows that ocean temperatures were also some of the highest on record in 2025, reflecting the long-term accumulation of heat within the climate system.

BRIEFINGS 

This afternoon, at 2:00 p.m., there will be a briefing by the President of the General Assembly of the United Nations, Annalena Baerbock. She will brief journalists following the remarks she made in the General Assembly this morning. 

Tomorrow, the Secretary-General will also speak at the General Assembly to deliver his traditional start of the year remarks. He will underscore that we must continue to uphold the principles that guide multilateral cooperation, defend human rights, and promote peace and justice for all.  

Tomorrow, also, the noon briefing guest will be Jorge Moreira da Silva, the Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). He will be briefing from Jerusalem to speak about his ongoing trip to the region. 

On Friday, the noon briefing guest will be Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the head of É«¿âTV Operations department. He will brief journalists from Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia, on his recent trip to the Middle East.