Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

**Secretary-General's Travel

All right, good afternoon. The Secretary-General is continuing his trip to India.

This morning, in New Delhi, he took part in a panel at the AI Impact Summit, and the panel was on the Role of Science in International AI Governance. The Secretary-General 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 the facts, we need trust, and we need to share that trust across countries and across sectors. That is why the UN is building a practical architecture that puts science at the centre of international cooperation on AI, he said.

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

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

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 in an effort to identify concrete steps to further accelerate renewable energy deployment, strengthen grids and storage, as well as 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 sixty-first session of the Human Rights Council. Later in the day, he will also address the high-level segment of the 2026 Session of the Conference on Disarmament.

As we mentioned earlier this week, he will also be having a number of bilateral meetings with senior officials, ministers and others who are in attendance of both those events.

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 a new visitor centre at the UN in Geneva, and he will be heading back here on Monday evening.

**South Sudan

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

Mr. Fletcher travelled 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, as you recall, a recent flare-up of conflict has further intensified humanitarian needs and made our work even more challenging.

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

He will continue to 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 (OCHA) tells us that families continue to live in overcrowded shelters, which of course pose severe fire risks as well as health risks. Families cook, sleep and store their belongings in small spaces and also use open fire to cook the food that they have. Since November of last year, our partners have recorded at least 12 fires in these shelters.

In ten days leading up to 17 February, humanitarians provided shelters 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.

Displaced families need adequate shelter to protect them from the elements and provide more privacy. Our partners working in shelters 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 9were denied outright. Eight missions were approved but faced impediments, of which six were fully accomplished. Organizers cancelled seven other missions for operational or security reasons.

Humanitarian partners coordinated the entry of fuel, medical supplies, animal fodder and hygiene kits. The teams also facilitated the medical evacuation of patients through Rafah and Kerem Shalom/Karem Abu Salem crossings.

Turning to the West Bank, our humanitarian colleagues warn of the continued violence and other coercive practices by Israeli forces and settler communities, resulting in casualties, destruction of property, and forced displacement.

Between 3 and 16 February, 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.

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 have been impacted by the attacks.

Overall, since January 2023, and as of 16 February, some 880 Palestinian families- that's over 4,700 people - have been displaced across the West Bank due to settler attacks and access restrictions.

And I just want to flag one particular case, and that 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 in the village of Mukhmas. This took place on [Wednesday] and Nasrallah then succumbed to his wounds later in the day. In the same attack, 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 him and his entire family.

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

**Lebanon

A quick note up north on the activities of our Blue Helmets in southern Lebanon. This week peacekeepers have found several unexploded ordnances, including rockets, bombs, and rocket launchers, at multiple locations within the area of operations. Yesterday, peacekeepers also 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 disposal.

The peacekeeping mission (UNIFIL) also continues to report daily Israel Defense Forces (IDF) activities on land and air inside Lebanese territory and continues to observe firing across the Blue Line. Yesterday, 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 is also continuing. In a serious incident of intimidation, the peacekeeping mission reported that on Tuesday, a peacekeeper performing his duty inside a UN position near Naqoura, which is 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 against our UN peacekeepers must stop.

We once again call on everyone to uphold their obligations under Security Council resolution 1701.

**Somalia

Our colleagues at the World Food Programme (WFP) are sounding the alarm that its life-saving emergency food and nutrition assistance in Somalia is at imminent risk of stopping. WFP said that urgently requires $95 million to continue supporting the most food insecure people in Somalia between March and August of this year. Without immediate funding, the WFP said that it will be forced to halt humanitarian assistance by April.

This warning follows the declaration of a national drought emergency. 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 and helping keep famine at bay.

But today, the agency 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 last year to just over 600,000.

WFP noted that a quarter of the population in Somalia, the equivalent of 4.4 million human beings, face crisis levels of food insecurity or worse, including nearly 1 million women, men, and children experiencing severe hunger.

**Democratic Republic of the Congo

And from the DRC [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 - just since Monday - from Lemera to the surrounding villages. Residents, mostly women and children, are fleeing into the bush for safety, while others remain confined to their homes.

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

Everyone involved in this conflict must comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, so we can have 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 at this point.

**Ukraine

Turning to Ukraine: Today, UN-Women noted that four years into Russia's full-scale invasion, millions in Ukraine struggle to keep the lights on and heat in their homes, with the crisis taking a particular toll on women. The Agency points 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 they 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; the real toll is probably much higher.

For its part, WHO [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 couple of depressing reports to flag.

One is a joint one by our UN office in Haiti and the UN Human Rights Office there. They detail the brutal and widespread trafficking of children by Haitian gangs. According to the report, most of the 26 gangs currently operating in Haiti are trafficking in children

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 sexual violence, kidnapping and targeted killings.

There is no comprehensive data unfortunately on the number of children trafficked by gangs. However, in 2024, we estimated that more than 500,000 children are living in areas that are under the effect of control of gangs. That number today must also be much higher.

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. More information online.

**Human Trafficking

And a report today published by the UN Human Rights Office on scam centres 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 South-East Asia, but as well as other places in the world.

The report documents instances of torture, sexual abuse and exploitation, forced abortions, food deprivation, solitary confinement, among other horrific and grave human rights abuses. Victims described being lured into scamming jobs under false pretences and then being coerced into perpetrating online fraud.

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, these 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, the 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 understanding.

**Financial Contribution

Lastly, Friday - we've got two countries paid today.

A little quiz for you, it's challenging.

These two countries are both island nations. Both begin with the letter "M". One country is in the northern hemisphere and one country is in the southern hemisphere. They are separated by three time zones.

[responses from the crowd] No, not Maldives. [response: "Mauritius."] Mauritius, yes. It is in the southern hemisphere, now think of one in the northern hemisphere that is also an island nation. [response: "Malta."] Exactly, [Malta] very well.

So, we thank our friends in Valletta and Port Louis for their full contributions to the Regular Budget. We are now up to 71, thanks to Malta and Mauritius.

**Questions and Answers

Spokesman: Pan, you get the first question if you have one.

Question: Thank you, Steph. Iranian UN Ambassador [Amir-Saeid] Iravani sent a letter to the Secretary-General and the President to the Security Council yesterday. And he asked the SG and the Security Council to act without delay. So, has the SG read the letter, and what's his reaction? Thank you.

Spokesman: The letter from the Permanent Mission of Iran?

Question: Yes.

Spokesman: Yes. The letter has gone to the Security Council and to the General Assembly, as requested by the Permanent Mission of Iran. And I can tell you and reiterate yet again that we are very concerned about the heightened rhetoric we're seeing around the region, by the heightened military activities, war games, or just increased military naval presence in the region. And we encourage both the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran to continue to engage in diplomacy in order to settle the differences. Edie?

Question: First, the United Nations Correspondents' Associations also sends condolences to our colleague Abdelhamid Siam on the death of his cousin. Secondly, at the Artificial Intelligence Summit in India which the Secretary-General attended, the United States said that it opposes any global rules on regulating artificial intelligence. Does the Secretary-General have any reaction to that?

Spokesman: Well, you know, I think the reaction is encompassed in what the Secretary-General said. The Secretary-General is not calling for the United Nations to rule over AI. He's calling for - and has put in place - an architecture with the help of Member States to try to ensure that everybody gets a seat at the table, right? And as he said yesterday that it's not left in the hands of a few nations and on the whims of billionaires. AI will and has already impacted all of us. It is vital that those countries who may not have the technology also have a voice and that science and fairness be put at the centre of AI. Alex?

Question: Thanks, Steph. Do you have any comments on the US Supreme Court decision on tariffs, by any chance?

Spokesman: No. By any chance, no. But just to reiterate what we've always said - is that in a trade war, in a tariff war, there are no winners.

Question: And secondly, if I may, do you expect any payments from the United States, like, shortly in the coming days, weeks, or…?

Spokesman: Well, I think we've confirmed to some of you that we've received $160 million from the United States a few days ago for payment to their dues in 2025. And obviously, when there are more payments, we will let you know.

Question: Did they explain, why it was like 160? Why not less, not more?

Spokesman: I think those are questions you need to ask them.

Question: Thank you.

Spokesman: Thank you. All right. Any question? Yes, sir. Go ahead.

Question: President [Donald] Trump said yesterday at the Board of Peace meeting that he would be speaking with the Secretary-General in a little while. So, when is the talk expected to take place?

Spokesman: Well, you know, obviously, as you know, the Secretary-General is in India, so it's about [ten] and a half hours ahead of New York. We're still expecting a call, but I think with the time difference, obviously that's a bit challenging. As soon as the call occurs, we will let you know. Okay. Thank you all. I wish you all a peaceful weekend.