Secretary-General/African Union Summit, France, Yemen & other topics - Daily Press Briefing

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

Highlights:
- Secretary-General/African Union Summit
- Secretary-General/France
- Yemen
- Namibia
- Security Council/Syria
- Occupied Palestinian Territory
- Democratic Republic of Congo/Peacekeeping
- Democratic Republic of Congo/Humanitarian
- Bangladesh
- International Day
- Guest Tomorrow
- Financial Contribution

SECRETARY-GENERAL/AFRICAN UNION SUMMIT
On Thursday morning, the Secretary-General will arrive in Addis Ababa, in Ethiopia, to take part in the 38th African Union Summit.  While there, he is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with the leadership of the African Union Commission, Ethiopian authorities as well as Heads of State and Government from the continent.
On Friday, 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, concerning the situations in Sudan and the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
On Saturday morning, the Secretary-General will attend the opening session of the African Union Summit. He will deliver remarks, during which he will reaffirm that the partnership between the United Nations and the African Union has never been stronger.
He is also expected to reiterate his calls for reforms of the international financial architecture, as well as for permanent representation of African countries at the Security Council.
On Saturday, the Secretary-General is also scheduled to hold a press conference. 

SECRETARY-GENERAL/FRANCE
Before leaving Paris for Addis Ababa to attend the African Union Summit, the Secretary-General visited the headquarters of Reporters Sans Frontières, where he met with its Director General, Thibaut Bruttin.
Addressing the staff, the Secretary-General said that organizations like RSF are on the front line in the common fight for truth against fiction, for science against conspiracy, and for the fight against impunity when journalists face violence and even death. 
The Secretary-General said the struggle to defend freedom of the press and the journalists themselves is essential to preserve our democracies.

YEMEN
The Secretary-General strongly condemned the death in detention on 10 February of a World Food Programme (WFP) colleague who had been arbitrarily detained by the Houthi de facto authorities since 23 January 2025. The circumstances surrounding this deplorable tragedy remain unclear, and the United Nations is urgently seeking explanations from the Houthi de facto authorities.
The Secretary-General has called for an immediate, transparent and thorough investigation and for those responsible to be held accountable. In his statement, he said that the continued arbitrary detention of dozens of personnel from the United Nations, national and international non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, and diplomatic missions, is unacceptable. He renewed his call for their immediate and unconditional release.

Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/ossg/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=12+February+2025