African Union, Central African Republic, Yemen & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (13 February)

Noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Highlights:
Secretary-General/African Union
Central African Republic
Security Council/Yemen
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Syria
Democratic Republic of the Congo
World Radio Day
Financial Contribution

SECRETARY-GENERAL/AFRICAN UNION
The Secretary-General is in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he will take part in the 38th African Union Summit. Today, he met with the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed, and he also met with our UN colleagues.
Tomorrow, the Secretary-General will have a series of bilateral meetings with the leadership of the African Union Commission, as well as heads of State and Government from the continent. He is also scheduled to take part in meetings of the AU Peace and Security Council at the level of Heads of State and Government, on the situation in Sudan and on the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Secretary-General will deliver remarks during the opening session of the African Union Summit on Saturday, and he is also scheduled to hold a press conference – at 3:00 pm, Addis time that day.

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
In a statement issued yesterday, the Secretary-General strongly condemned the killing of a Tunisian peacekeeper of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) during the night of 11 February by an unidentified armed person near the village of Zobassinda.
The Secretary-General recalls that attacks targeting United Nations peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law. He calls on the Central African authorities to spare no effort in identifying the perpetrators of this tragedy so that they can be brought to justice swiftly.
Regarding the peacekeeper who was tragically killed in the Central African Republic on Tuesday, his name is Seifeddine Hamrita from Tunisia. Once again, the UN extends its deepest condolences to his family, friends, and all members of the peacekeeping mission.

SECURITY COUNCIL/YEMEN
This morning, our Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, briefed Security Council members on the situation in the country. He stated that the tentative reduction in hostilities, along with the release of the crew of the Motor Vessel Galaxy Leader, is a welcome relief, and we must build on this opportunity as a foundation for further de-escalation.
Mr. Grundberg said that over the past month, he continued his active engagement with all regional and international actors. His message to all remains that only a political settlement of the conflict will support the Yemenis in their aspirations for lasting peace.
For his part, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, says that almost 20 million Yemenis are in dire need of our support, right now. He asked the Council to back us to return UN operations to full capacity and give us the money to deliver for those we serve. The UN reiterates its calls for the immediate and unconditional release of those arbitrarily detained by the Houthi de facto authorities.

Full highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/ossg/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=13%20February%202025