Activities of Secretary-General in Uganda, 30 May-1 June

Immediately upon arrival at Entebbe International Airport in the afternoon of 30 May, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Madam Ban Soon-taek and their delegation went to Kampala’s Mandela National Stadium to take part in the closing ceremony for the War Victims Football Game.  The Secretary-General and President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of Uganda entered the stadium attired in the soccer uniforms of the two teams, named “Justice” and “Dignity”, and proceeded onto the field for a short match.

In short remarks to the crowd after the game, the Secretary-General praised the undying spirit of victims of war crimes and reaffirmed the commitment of the United Nations to a robust system of international justice.

Later that evening, he and Madam Ban attended a dinner hosted by the Trust Fund for Victims and Cinema for Peace Foundation, at the end of which the Secretary-General acceptedthe first-ever Justitia Award on behalf of the United Nations, for the Organization’s work in the area of international criminal justice.  (See Press Release SG/SM/12929)

The following morning the Secretary-General held separate meetings with Judge Sang-Hyun Song, President of the International Criminal Court; Christian Wenaweser, Permanent Representative of Liechtenstein to the United Nations and President of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court; and with President Museveni.

After that, the Secretary-General delivered the keynote address to the Fourth International Criminal Court Review Conference, calling on all States to ratify the Rome Statute.  (See Press Release SG/SM/12930)

He repeated that appeal at a press conference soon afterwards, where his opening remarks included a call for an investigation into a deadly Israeli raid earlier that morning on an aid flotilla en route to Gaza in defiance of an Israeli blockade.  (See Press Release SG/SM/12931)

Together with former Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Secretary-General Ban later attended a side event titled “The Road from Rome to Kampala and Beyond”.  He went on to visit the Joint Clinical Research Centre and then addressed a town hall meeting of United Nations staff.

In the evening, the Secretary-General and Madam Ban attended a dinner hosted by the Ugandan President.

Due to mechanical problems with his aircraft later that evening, the Secretary-General was unable to fly to Nice, France, where he was due to address the 2010 Africa-France Summit.  While still in Kampala the next morning, he held several telephone conversations with Turkish, Israeli and other world leaders on the aid flotilla incident and its aftermath.

The Secretary-General departed Kampala for New York in the afternoon of 1 June.