Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Robotic dancers took centre stage at a New Year gala hosted by the #chinese Book Club at UN headquarters. The theme: Hail the Galloping Globetrotter, Eighty Springs Young, honours the United Nations’ commitment and contributions to global governance over the past eight decades.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/K4ALmLz8oLM

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Noon Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Highlights:
India Trip Announcement
Geneva Trip Announcement
Secretary-General/Travel
Senior Personnel Appointments
West Bank
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Decolonization
Ukraine
Colombia
New Resident Coordinators – Angola and Mexico
Financial Contribution

INDIA TRIP ANNOUNCEMENT

Tomorrow, the Secretary-General will travel to New Delhi, in India, where he has been invited to take part in the AI Impact Summit.

He is scheduled to participate in the Summit’s opening ceremony, a plenary with Heads of State and Government, as well as a session on the role of science in international AI governance.

The Secretary-General will have bilateral meetings with the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, as well as with the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. He will also meet with leaders attending the Summit, tech leaders and members of the International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence.

While in India, the Secretary-General is also scheduled to take part in a roundtable organized by our UN colleagues to discuss renewable energy and energy transition. With India emerging as a global leader in renewable energy expansion, the discussion will bring 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. This engagement is part of the Secretary-General’s continued efforts to advance a faster, fairer and more inclusive global energy transition, aligned with the Paris Agreement.

GENEVA TRIP ANNOUNCEMENT 

On Sunday, the Secretary-General will arrive in Geneva, Switzerland. The following day, he will deliver remarks at the opening of the 61st session of the Human Rights Council. Later on Monday, the Secretary-General will address the High-Level Segment of the 2026 Session of the Conference on Disarmament.

While in Geneva, 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 night.

SECRETARY-GENERAL/TRAVEL

The Secretary-General has returned to New York from Addis Ababa, where, on Saturday, he spoke at the opening of the 39th African Union summit. He praised the UN’s partnership with the African regional organization, saying it has grown stronger over the past decade.

Looking ahead, Mr. Guterres added, we continue to have three major areas of focus in our work with the African Union: peace, economic action and climate action. He also renewed his call for reforms of the Security Council, saying the absence of permanent African seats is indefensible.

Later in the day, Mr. Guterres held a press conference and told reporters that Africa is navigating some of the world’s hardest challenges and doing so with determination, creativity, and resilience.

Turning to climate, he called on developed countries to triple adaptation finance, mobilize 1.3 trillion US dollars a year by 2035, and increase contributions to the Loss and Damage Fund.

With the right support, Africa will become a renewables powerhouse, he said. Mr. Guterres added that Africa’s critical minerals and resources will help create new industries and jobs, building value at home, not exporting value away. The plundering and exploitation of Africa’s resources must end, he said.

Throughout the day, the Secretary-General continued to hold bilateral meetings with leaders attending the summit.

Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-02-16

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXqr3KvqRFI

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Addressing the African Union (AU) Summit Secretary-General António Guterres said, “No more exploitation. No more plundering. The people of Africa must benefit from the resources of Africa.”

Speaking at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, amid conflict and tensions in several AU member states, the Secretary-General said, “In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, commitments must be honoured – starting with an immediate ceasefire and the respect of the territorial integrity of the DRC. In the Central African Republic, political and security gains must be consolidated. In Libya, all actors must advance a Libyan-led political process, supported by the United Nations Support Mission. Across West Africa and the Sahel, coordinated efforts are essential to end cycles of violence, terrorism and displacement. And in Somalia, sustained and predictable funding for the AU Support and Stabilization Mission is vital.”

In regards to peacekeeping in Somalia he also said, he regretted “the Security Council’s lack of consensus for finance through assessed contributions.” He said, “If the Mission of the AU in Somalia did not warrant global support, what would?” He assured: “More broadly, we are reviewing peace operations to ensure mandates are realistic, sequenced and well-resourced and supported by clear transition strategies.”

He also said, “In a world filled with division and mistrust, the African Union is a flagship for multilateralism. My gratitude runs deep. I will carry with me always the unwavering, decisive support of the African Group in the UN on issue after issue – initiative after initiative – in the shared struggle for justice and equality.”
Looking back, he noted, “Over the last decade, our cooperation has reached new heights. Joint frameworks on peace and security, sustainable development, and human rights. Collaboration during COVID-19. Important new partnerships. And the landmark adoption of Security Council Resolution 2719, creating a pathway for predictable funding for AU-led peace support operations.”

Guterres pointed out, that, “the absence of permanent African seats in the Security Council is indefensible.” He said, “this is 2026 — not 1946. Whenever decisions about Africa and the world are on the table, Africa must be at the table.”

The Secretary-General added, “Africa loses more each year in debt repayments and illicit financial flows than it receives in aid. At the same time, African countries pay borrowing rates up to eight times higher than those of advanced economies. We must triple the lending capacity of multilateral development banks. Mobilize more private financing. Reduce borrowing costs and risks, and support countries in situations of over-indebtedness. And reform the international financial architecture to ensure developing countries, particularly African countries, have full voice and participation in financial institutions and decision-making.”

He concluded, “Some have described my presence here as a farewell. It’s not true. I can guarantee that until the last moment of my mandate, Africa will be the priority number one of the UN in all its activities.”

Full remarks: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statements/2026-02-14/secretary-generals-remarks-the-39th-african-union-summit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boqqBIpuoJs

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Speaking to reporters during the African Union Summit Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, “the United Nations-African Union partnership is stronger than ever.”

Answering a question about Gaza solutions the UN Chief told the journalists in Addis Ababa, “There is a decision calling for a ceasefire, but unfortunately, we continue to see bombings in Gaza. There is a United Nations decision for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, but they are still there. There are decisions of the Security Council and the General Assembly affirming that Gaza is an integral part of the Palestinian State and that it is absolutely necessary to move forward in respecting the self-determination of the Palestinian people.”

He added, “It is not due to a lack of decisions by United Nations bodies that things are not fully moving in the right direction, even though there has been progress. It is because there have been obstacles, and there are still difficulties — and most of these obstacles and difficulties have been primarily due to the actions of the State of Israel, which maintains control over a large part of Gaza.”

On Sudan Guterres said, “The difficulty has been that both sides believe that they can win the war, and at the same time, a number of other countries are feeding that war in a way that makes the negotiations for peace much more difficult, and the obstacles for peace much more difficult. And I strongly hope that there will be decisions, namely, at the level of the Security Council, for true accountability, in relation to all the crimes that have been committed until now, and some of them were horrendous – you mentioned El Fasher – it is probably the most horrendous, but we have seen a carnage in Sudan that is totally intolerable in the 21st century.”

Secretary-General also recalled his tenure as a High Commissioner for Refugees a decade ago and said, “my colleagues that are today in the High Commission for Refugees having to work with half the resources I had at that time and with more refugees than the ones that I had at that time. So, this is something that is extremely, extremely painful for us to see people suffering and not to have enough resources to respond to their most basic needs.”

Finally, on tariffs, he noted, “Africa needs free trade for its goods, and Africa cannot be penalized, being a continent with enormous economic difficulties, by trade policies that are restrictive and by tariffs that do not allow African products to be competitive. We have witnessed the multiplication of tariffs in recent times, and I am a strong supporter of free trade, and I am a strong supporter of reducing the tariff levels at global level in order to be able to provide for global prosperity.”

Full Remarks:
https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/press-events/2026-02-14/secretary-generals-press-conference-the-39th-african-union-summit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4UoNEgtUrU