Description
Noon Briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Highlights:
- Secretary-General / COP31
- Trip Announcement / ASEAN
- Yemen
- Occupied Palestinian Territory
- Ukraine
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Deputy Secretary-General / Travels
- Special Representative Simão / Travels
- Haiti
- Security Council
- HC Türk / Autonomous Weapons
- Senior Personnel Appointment – UNITAR
- World Diabetes Day
- World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims
- International Day for the Prevention of and Fight Against all Forms of Transnational Organized Crime
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SECRETARY-GENERAL / COP31
The Secretary-General will soon leave Antalya, in Türkiye. Before leaving, he spoke to the media, and he said that for nearly ten years as Secretary-General, he has tried to speak the truth about climate change. Mr. Guterres said that sometimes, that truth has been uncomfortable or unwelcome; but his responsibility has never been to make the facts more convenient but to tell the truth rooted in the science and to be especially clear when the truth is hard.
The Secretary-General underscored that facts are facts, and the fact is that climate change does not stay in its lane. He highlighted that he has have never viewed climate action as just one of many other issues, and that climate action is central to every aspect of the work of the United Nations. You cannot build peace on a burning planet, he said. His remarks have been shared with you.
This morning, he had a closed meeting with the coalition of finance ministers for climate action, where he noted that finance ministers are central to climate action for a simple reason: the climate challenge is now an economic challenge.
Finance ministries are where governments make choices real, he said, adding that those choices will determine whether we get ahead of climate risk, or simply keep struggling to pay for the damage.
The Secretary-General also met with the Council of Engineers for the Energy Transition and had a closed meeting with the heads of the Multilateral Climate Funds.
Also today, he had a meeting with Indigenous peoples and spoke at an event with civil society organizations. He noted that this was his last COP as Secretary-General, and he said that meeting with the civil society was a fundamental priority. He thanked them for their courage, for their ideas and for their constructive advice.
TRIP ANNOUNCEMENT / ASEAN
On Saturday, the Secretary-General will arrive in Manila, the Philippines, to attend the 49th Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, hosted by this year’s ASEAN Chair under the theme “Navigating Our Future, Together.” During his stay, the Secretary-General will meet with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, and hold bilateral meetings with a number of heads of delegations.
On Sunday, he will attend the Opening Ceremony of the Summit, and on Monday, he will take part in the 16th ASEAN-United Nations Summit, which marks the 15th anniversary of the Comprehensive Partnership between the two organizations.
During his engagements, the Secretary-General is expected to emphasize the importance of ASEAN, stressing that the region has tremendous power and influence to tackle big problems, both in its neighborhood and around the world, and pointing to joint work on conflict prevention, climate action, sustainable development, peacekeeping and human rights.
The Secretary-General will have several activities on Tuesday, including a meeting with the U.N. Country Team in the Philippines, a dialogue with youth, and the Closing Ceremony of the ASEAN Summit.
He is expected to be back in New York on 19 November.
YEMEN
Across the country, civilians and civilian infrastructure are increasingly being hit by drones, missiles, airstrikes and shelling.
Civilians, including children, are being killed and injured in places that were considered safe only a couple of months ago, such as hospitals, markets, and their own homes. This is a worrying trend, and it must not become the accepted reality of this war. Obligations under international law apply to all parties under all circumstances.
Full Highlight: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-11-13
0:00 Climate action and summits
1:59 ASEAN and UN partnership
3:13 Humanitarian crisis in Yemen
4:25 Gaza humanitarian situation
5:56 Conflict updates in Ukraine
6:45 DRC Ebola and hunger crisis
8:09 Support for Lebanon
9:36 Elections in Cabo Verde
10:20 Violence and insecurity in Haiti
11:17 Autonomous weapons regulation
12:36 Staffing and appointments
13:41 Global awareness days
14:50 Q&A on Gaza aid
16:21 UN peacekeeper report
19:59 Detention of journalists