Source: United Nations (video statements)
Noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Highlights:
– Senior Appointment
– Security Council/Syria
SENIOR APPOINTMENT
The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert of the Netherlands as his new Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security. She will succeed Gilles Michaud of Canada, to whom the Secretary-General expressed his utmost gratitude for his leadership and tireless service to the Organization amidst the challenges posed by the increasing complexity of crises.
Ms. Hennis-Plasschaert brings to the position more than 30 years of experience in diplomacy, mediation and international security. She has served since 2024 as the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon, working with national, regional and international actors to advance stability in the face of compounding domestic and regional crises. She also served as Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) from 2018 to 2024. She was also Minister of Defence of the Netherlands.
SECURITY COUNCIL/SYRIA
This morning, the Security Council members held an open session on Syria. Briefing via VTC, Deputy Special Envoy for Syria, Claudio Cordone, said that he hopes to soon reach an understanding with the Government on broad areas for cooperation, building on proposals made in March and the valuable discussions held since then, as well as on the relocation of the Geneva-based staff to Damascus. Mr. Cordone said that he will return to Damascus next week to advance discussions on the transition and his Office’s role in supporting it.
For his part, Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, warned that humanitarian needs in Syria remain significant. About two-thirds of the population – that’s about 15.6 million people – and most of them are women and children, require help this year.
He added that current funding levels mean we will reach only about half of them. Almost halfway through the year, the humanitarian appeal is still barely more than 16 per cent funded, with some $480 million received towards the $2.9 billion needed.
He underscored that predictable and flexible humanitarian financing is essential to reach more people and make full use of improved access that we now have to many areas in Syria.
YEMEN
In a statement issued last night, the Secretary-General welcomed the deal reached between the parties to the conflict in Yemen to release more than 1,600 conflict-related detainees, the largest such release agreed upon since the start of the conflict in Yemen. This achievement is the result of weeks of direct negotiations in Amman, Jordan, under the auspices of the United Nations.
The Secretary-General calls on the parties to move swiftly toward implementing the deal in cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), so that families can be reunited as soon as possible. He also calls on them to work toward further releases, in line with their obligations under the 2018 Stockholm Agreement to release all conflict-related detainees for all.
He calls on the Government of Yemen and the Houthis to build on the positive momentum generated by Thursday’s deal and engage constructively with his Special Envoy on Yemen towards an inclusive political process for a just and lasting peace in Yemen.
The Secretary-General further urges the Houthis to immediately and unconditionally release all arbitrarily detained personnel from the United Nations, NGOs, civil society and diplomatic missions. He reaffirms that the United Nations system is determined to work through all possible channels to secure their safe release. The full statement is online.
Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-05-15