{"disclaimer":"Transcripts available through this tool are created by using automatic speech recognition and are not official records nor official documents of the United Nations. Official records and official documents are available on the Official Document System of the United Nations.","url":"https://transcripts.un.org/en/briefing/sg/2026-08-04","llms":{"note":"Plain-text sibling of this page, compact for LLM context. For the full API guide (search, listing, URL grammar) see /llms.txt.","textUrl":"/en/briefing/sg/2026-08-04.txt","guide":"/llms.txt"},"video":{"id":"k1r/k1ruoq2ull","kaltura_id":"1_ruoq2ull","title":"Afghanistan, Lebanon, Occupied Palestinian Territory & other topics - Daily Press Briefing","clean_title":"Afghanistan, Lebanon, Occupied Palestinian Territory & other topics - Daily Press Briefing","url":"https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1r/k1ruoq2ull","date":"2026-08-04T00:00:00.000Z","scheduled_time":"2026-08-04T16:00:00.000Z","status":"finished","duration":"00:11:22","category":"Press Conferences","body":null,"event_code":null,"event_type":null,"session_number":null,"pv_symbol":"BRIEFING/SG/2026-08-04","pv_part":1,"slug":"briefing/sg/2026-08-04"},"metadata":{"summary":"Noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.","description":"Highlights:\n- Afghanistan\n- Lebanon\n- Occupied Palestinian Territory\n- Venezuela","categories":["Media","Press Conferences"],"geographic_subject":["AFGHANISTAN","LEBANON","OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY","VENEZUELA"],"subject_topical":["NOON BRIEFING"],"corporate_name":[],"speaker_affiliation":["SECRETARIAT"],"related_documents":[{"title":"Noon briefing highlights","url":"https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-08-04"}]},"transcript":{"transcript_id":"assemblyai-universal-3-5-pro-ad06aee3-7717-4891-91b2-8ed170491f44","language":"en","data":[{"statement_number":1,"start":4.273,"pageUrl":"/en/briefing/sg/2026-08-04?t=5","paragraphs":[{"sentences":[{"text":"Good afternoon, everyone.","start":4.273,"end":5.14,"topics":[],"words":[{"text":"Good","start":4.273,"end":4.433},{"text":"afternoon,","start":4.433,"end":4.738},{"text":"everyone.","start":4.835,"end":5.14}]},{"text":"In a short while, you will hear from our guest, Olga Cherevko, the spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Afghanistan.","start":6.618,"end":14.778,"topics":[{"key":"afghanistan-recognition","label":"Afghanistan Recognition and UN Representation","description":"The exchange examined whether the de facto authorities in Afghanistan could be seated at the United Nations. 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Speakers emphasized that civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected under international humanitarian law."}],"words":[{"text":"We","start":207.115,"end":207.196},{"text":"stress","start":207.196,"end":207.516},{"text":"that","start":207.516,"end":207.677},{"text":"under","start":207.677,"end":207.837},{"text":"international","start":207.837,"end":208.398},{"text":"humanitarian","start":208.398,"end":208.928},{"text":"law,","start":208.96,"end":209.056},{"text":"civilians","start":209.537,"end":210.13},{"text":"and","start":210.387,"end":210.467},{"text":"civilian","start":210.467,"end":210.852},{"text":"infrastructure","start":210.948,"end":211.526},{"text":"must","start":212.023,"end":212.247},{"text":"be","start":212.247,"end":212.391},{"text":"protected","start":212.391,"end":212.808},{"text":"and","start":212.808,"end":212.953},{"text":"should","start":212.953,"end":213.129},{"text":"not","start":213.129,"end":213.37},{"text":"be","start":213.37,"end":213.45},{"text":"targeted.","start":213.45,"end":213.915}]},{"text":"Learning spaces must remain safe and protected environments for both students and teachers.","start":214.733,"end":219.512,"topics":[{"key":"gaza-civilian-protection","label":"Protection of Civilians in Gaza","description":"The discussion highlighted the dangers facing civilians in Gaza, including shootings, demolitions and attacks affecting homes and learning spaces. Speakers emphasized that civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected under international humanitarian law."}],"words":[{"text":"Learning","start":214.733,"end":214.973},{"text":"spaces","start":214.989,"end":215.39},{"text":"must","start":215.439,"end":215.615},{"text":"remain","start":215.615,"end":215.92},{"text":"safe","start":215.92,"end":216.337},{"text":"and","start":216.497,"end":216.561},{"text":"protected","start":216.641,"end":217.074},{"text":"environments","start":217.074,"end":217.572},{"text":"for","start":217.844,"end":217.924},{"text":"both","start":217.94,"end":218.101},{"text":"students","start":218.101,"end":218.614},{"text":"and","start":219.063,"end":219.127},{"text":"teachers.","start":219.207,"end":219.512}]},{"text":"Meanwhile, today in the West Bank, our partners tell us that Israeli authorities demolished parts of a school in the Masafer Yatta area of southern Hebron, where more than 1,000 Palestinian residents are under pressure to leave.","start":220.747,"end":233.224,"topics":[{"key":"gaza-civilian-protection","label":"Protection of Civilians in Gaza","description":"The discussion highlighted the dangers facing civilians in Gaza, including shootings, demolitions and attacks affecting homes and learning spaces. 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Speakers emphasized that civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected under international humanitarian law."}],"words":[{"text":"Across","start":234.683,"end":235.004},{"text":"the","start":235.004,"end":235.084},{"text":"West","start":235.084,"end":235.325},{"text":"Bank,","start":235.325,"end":235.565},{"text":"more","start":235.646,"end":235.742},{"text":"than","start":235.742,"end":235.886},{"text":"80","start":236.127,"end":236.271},{"text":"Palestinian","start":236.367,"end":236.864},{"text":"schools","start":236.864,"end":237.185},{"text":"are","start":237.185,"end":237.265},{"text":"currently","start":237.265,"end":237.57},{"text":"subject","start":237.57,"end":238.003},{"text":"to","start":238.003,"end":238.131},{"text":"demolition","start":238.131,"end":238.597},{"text":"or","start":238.885,"end":238.949},{"text":"related","start":238.949,"end":239.414},{"text":"orders.","start":239.414,"end":239.719}]},{"text":"So far this year, our education partners have reached more than 60,000 students in the West Bank through remedial and catch-up learning 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funding remains critically low, with just over 10% of the funding required for education support secured this 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psychological support for women, children and vulnerable groups, as families begin the long process of rebuilding their 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