Source: United Nations (video statements)
Noon Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Highlights:
– Secretary-General/India
– Sudan
– South Sudan
– Syria
– Security Council/Middle East
– Occupied Palestinian Territory
– Democratic Republic of the Congo
– Peace-Building Fund
– International Organization for Migration
– Central African Republic
– Chad
– Peace-building fund
– Burkina Faso
– Costa Rica
– Honour Roll
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SECRETARY-GENERAL/INDIA
The Secretary-General is in New Delhi, in India, where this morning he spoke at the opening ceremony of the AI Impact Summit. In his remarks, he said that holding the summit in India has special meaning and brings this conversation closer to the realities shaping much of the world, because the future of AI cannot be decided by a handful of countries and the whims of a few billionaires.
Last year, the General Assembly took two decisive steps, he said. First, by creating an Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence, and second, by launching a Global Dialogue on AI Governance within the UN, where all countries, together with the private sector, academia and civil society, can all have a voice.
He told participants that real impact means technology that improves lives and protects the planet. And he called on them to build AI for everyone, with dignity as the default setting.
Throughout the day, the Secretary-General had exchanges and meetings with the government and tech leaders attending the summit. He also met with the UN team in India.
Tomorrow morning, the Secretary-General is scheduled to participate in a roundtable organized by the United Nations to discuss renewable energy and energy transition. Immediately after that, he will return back to the site of the AI summit to take part in a panel on the Role of Science in International AI Governance.
The Secretary-General is also scheduled to have bilateral meetings with the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, as well as with the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.
SUDAN
This morning, the Security Council held an open briefing on the situation in Sudan. Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, described over 1,000 days of brutal war devastating the country. She noted that long-range drones and aerial strikes by both sides have severely affected civilians and civilian infrastructure, leaving no part of Sudan safe. DiCarlo emphasized that parties must respect international humanitarian law and human rights, and that violators must be held to account. She stressed that progress on a political vision for Sudan’s future is urgent, and any ceasefire must be anchored in a credible process toward an inclusive transition.
Edem Wosornu, the Director of the Crisis Response Division at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), briefed the Council via videoconference from Geneva. Linking to DiCarlo’s call for accountability, she highlighted the findings from the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan, which describe atrocities by the Rapid Support Forces in and around El Fasher in late October 2025 as “indicators of a genocidal path.” The Mission documented coordinated attacks targeting people based on ethnicity, gender, or perceived political affiliation, causing mass killings, serious physical and mental harm, sexual violence, arbitrary detention, torture, enforced disappearances, and accompanied by dehumanizing rhetoric.
Civilians continue to bear the brunt of this conflict, as we told you again and again.The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) confirmed that an earlier attack in West Kordofan on Monday killed 15 children. OCHA reports that yesterday a strike on an education centre near Rahad town in North Kordofan killed four civilians and injured four others. That is what local sources are telling them.
These incidents reflect a broader pattern of violence affecting civilians. The UN reiterates its call for the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, and for all parties to adhere to their obligations under international humanitarian law.
Full Highlights
https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-02-19