Category: MIL-OSI

Source: United Nations (video statements)

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

Highlights:
– Secretary-General Travel
– South Sudan
– Occupied Palestinian Territory
– West Bank
– Lebanon
– Somalia
– Democratic Republic of the Congo
– Ukraine
– Haiti
– Human Trafficking/Scam Centres
– International Days
– Financial Contribution

SOUTH SUDAN

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

Mr. Fletcher traveled 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 a recent flare-up in conflict has further intensified humanitarian needs.

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

He will 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 tells us that families continue to live in overcrowded shelters, which pose severe fire and health risks. Families cook, sleep and store their belongings in small spaces and also uses open fire. Since November 2025, our partners have recorded at least 12 fires in these shelters.  

In ten days leading up to 17 February, humanitarians provided shelter assistance 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 shelter 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 nine were denied outright. Eight missions were approved but faced impediments, of which six were fully accomplished. Organizers cancelled seven other missions for operational and security reasons.  

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

Turning to the West Bank, OCHA warns of the continued violence and other coercive practices by Israeli forces and settler communities, resulting in casualties, destruction of property, and displacement.  

Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-02-20

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WA8Wkdw868

Source: United Nations (video statements)

The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan said in a new report that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) carried out a coordinated campaign of destruction against non-Arab communities in and around El Fasher, the hallmarks of which point to genocide. Investigators documented evidence, which they said, establishes that at least three underlying acts of genocide were committed: “killing members of a protected ethnic group; causing serious bodily and mental harm; and deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the group’s physical destruction in whole or in part.”

Read more on UN News: https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/02/1166997

OHCHR Press Release: https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/02/sudan-evidence-el-fasher-reveals-genocidal-campaign-targeting-non-arab?sub-site=HRC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qziR3yz6PgE

Source: United Nations (video statements)

UN top official for political affairs Rosemary DiCarlo welcomed the progress in the initiative led by the Quad countries to secure a humanitarian truce in Sudan, calling on parties to the conflict to engage with the initiative “in good faith and without preconditions.”

The Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs briefed the Council on the situation in Sudan, noting that near the fourth year of the war, the fighting continues to expand.

In recent weeks, the frontlines have fluctuated in North Darfur, North Kordofan, South Kordofan and Blue Nile states. She also cautioned that the risk of regionalization of the conflict is a matter of urgent concern.

DiCarlo also said, “alongside work to silence the guns, progress on charting a political vision for the future of Sudan is of utmost urgency.”

She said, “we must anchor any ceasefire in a credible political process that can pave the way for an inclusive transition. And we are firmly committed to ensuring that voices reflecting Sudan’s diversity are heard.”

The Under-Secretary-General reiterated, “it is critical for all of Sudan’s partners to be united behind peace efforts,” explaining this entails ensuring the flow of weapons to the warring parties is cut off.

She said, “The war has gone on this long and been this deadly in large part because of the support the parties have received from abroad,” adding that unified messaging and strong action by the Security Council is “more important than ever.”

DiCarlo said, “pressure must be brought on the parties and those who back them to end the war now. The parties must also know that there will be accountability.”

OCHA official Edem Wosornu briefed the Council via video link.

She described the human toll of the fighting is “egregious.”

The UN humanitarian affairs office reminded all parties that “they must protect civilians and ensure their essential needs are met.”

Wosornu said, “this includes taking constant care to spare civilians and civilian objects, allowing civilians to move to safer areas, and allowing humanitarian relief to reach civilians in need safely.”

“The scale, severity, and brutality of gender-based sexual violence demand urgent international action to support survivors, prevent further abuse, and reinforce protection services – and hold perpetrators to account,” the OCHA official highlighted.

She urged the Council to use influence to urge the parties to respect international humanitarian law and protect civilians across Sudan, and to ensure that are protected and their work facilitated.

The UN humanitarian affairs office also asked the members of the Council and all other Member States with influence to “work together in pursuit of an immediate stop to the fighting, to stem the flow of weapons into Sudan, and to press for the lasting, inclusive peace that is so desperately needed.”

Hala Alkarib, Regional Director of the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA) also spoke at the Council.

She highlighted, “sexual and gender-based violence against Sudanese women and girls is a central feature of this conflict.”

“Such violence, including rape, torture, enslavement, trafficking, detention, abductions and killing continues since the beginning of the war,” she added.

The women’s rights activist also warned, “the collapse of the health care systems means that survivors of sexual and gender-based violence lack adequate medical care and psychosocial support.”

She explained, “without access to necessary sexual and reproductive health care, including post rape care, women are dying of hepatitis, HIV / AIDS, syphilis and other STIs. Without access to emergency contraception and safe abortion, survivors are forced to carry unwanted pregnancies to term.”

For his role, Sudanese Ambassador Al-Harith Idriss al-Harith Mohamed told the Council, “Sudan remains committed to constructive engagement with the US for peace.:

He called for “bringing pressure to bear on the regional sponsor so that they can cease supplying the militia with military equipment.”

Ambassador Mohamed reiterated, “ending external military interference must precede any other step. It is the key to stopping the war and to enhance civilian protection.”

The Sudanese Ambassador also rejects “any expansion of the scope of resolution 1591, and any arms embargo imposed on the Sudanese Armed Forces.”

He said, “we believe this would be as a support to the militias. We believe shortcomings can be addressed by revitalizing the Jeddah Declaration, which contains commitments that can be built upon.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAc2N1doNZ0

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
———————–
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

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