Yemen, Lebanon & other topics - Daily Press Briefing | United Nations

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

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Highlights:

- Secretary-General/France
- Yemen
- Lebanon
- Lebanon/Humanitarian
- Egypt
- Occupied Palestinian Territory
- Libya
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Somalia
- Security Council
- Cyprus
- Report/Africa
- International Days
- Financial Contributions
- Guest Tomorrow

SECRETARY-GENERAL/FRANCE
Earlier today, the Secretary-General arrived in Paris where, tomorrow, he will attend the Artificial Intelligence summit, co-hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India.
He is expected to tell leaders gathered there that the growing concentration of AI capabilities in the hands of a few companies and countries risks widening global inequalities and deepening geopolitical divides.
He will underscore that we must prevent a world of AI "haves" and "have-nots," and he will call on AI leaders to pool expertise and cooperate with each other. He will emphasize that it is in the interests of government and technology leaders to commit to global guardrails.
While in Paris, he is also expected to meet with President Emmanuel Macron and other world leaders during a working dinner later today.
He will also have a bilateral meeting with the French Foreign Minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, prior to attending the AI summit.
The Secretary-General will leave Wednesday evening for the African Union summit.

YEMEN
Following the recent detention by the Houthi de facto authorities of eight additional United Nations personnel, including six working in Sa’ada governorate, which has impacted the UN’s ability to operate, the Secretary-General has instructed the agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations, in the absence of the necessary security conditions and guarantees, to pause all operations and programmes in Sa’ada governorate, Yemen.
This extraordinary and temporary measure seeks to balance the imperative to stay and deliver with the need to have the safety and security of the UN personnel and its partners guaranteed. Such guarantees are ultimately required to ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of our efforts.
This pause is to give time to the de facto authorities and the United Nations to arrange the release of arbitrarily detained UN personnel and ensure that the necessary conditions are in place to deliver critical humanitarian support guided by the principles of impartiality, neutrality, independence and humanity.
The United Nations remains fully committed to assist the millions of people in need across Yemen.

Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/ossg/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=10+February+2025