Activities of Secretary-General in Qatar, 13 April

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon flew overnight from New York to Doha to take part in the first meeting of the International Contact Group on Libya, on Wednesday, 13 April.

He told the officials gathered at the meeting that the international community had acted swiftly and decisively in the past seven weeks.  But he said that even the most optimistic observers foresee a protracted period of instability before sustainable peace can be restored.  And in the meantime, the humanitarian situation continues to worsen.  (See Press Release SG/SM/13508)

The Secretary-General said he had spoken by telephone with Libyan Prime Minister Al Baghdadi Ali Al-Mahmoudi before leaving New York.  He again emphasized to the Prime Minister the need for an immediate stop to the fighting and for all parties to abide by Security Council resolution 1973 (2011).

The Secretary-General said there had been some improvements on the humanitarian front in recent days as some supplies reached Misrata, but much more needed to be done.  He said the flash appeal for Libya was so far only 39 per cent funded, which is clearly insufficient, given the prospective need.  He said the United Nations system had already begun planning for potential peacemaking, peacebuilding and reconstruction once a ceasefire has been agreed.

During the day, the Secretary-General met with Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa, the Foreign Minister of Bahrain.  Having heard the Foreign Minister’s briefing on recent developments in Bahrain, the Secretary-General called for maximum restraint and caution.

The Secretary-General then flew to Cairo to co-chair a meeting on Libya the following day with the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Amre Moussa.