At today’s Security Council meeting on protecting civilians in armed conflict, the Secretary-General strongly condemned the nuclear weapons test by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. He said it is absolutely essential that the Council act and speak with one voice and engage the Government in a unified manner.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
The Secretary-General strongly condemned the mortar attack that took place on Saturday on Camp Liberty, which killed a number of residents and injured other residents and Iraqi police officers. Camp Liberty is the temporary transit facility near Baghdad for former residents of Camp Ashraf. The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) is in close contact with the Government of Iraq on the response to the incident.
The Secretary-General chaired a meeting of the UN system High-level Task Force on Global Food Security this morning. The heads of 23 UN and Bretton Woods institutions committed to urgent action for coordinated, comprehensive efforts to achieve the Zero Hunger Challenge, with attainment of the Millennium Development Goal on poverty and hunger as the first step.
Last night, the Secretary-General welcomed the Joint Statement issued by Myanmar's Peacemaking Committee and the delegation of the Kachin Independence Organization, in which they agreed to work on an overall framework to de-escalate the violent conflict in Kachin. He urged the parties to continue their efforts towards sustainable peace and expressed hope that the latest developments would result in a silencing of the guns in Myanmar for the first time since its independence.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has condemned today’s assassination of Chokri Belaid, who campaigned against political violence in Tunisia. Navi Pillay said she was extremely saddened to hear the news of Mr. Belaid’s murder, calling him a prominent defender of human rights and democratic values and a firm opponent of political violence.
Jeffrey Feltman, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, expressed concern about allegations of serious human rights violations reportedly perpetrated by Malian defence and security forces. The United Nations calls upon all parties to respect international human rights and humanitarian norms, and do everything possible to ensure that all perpetrators are brought to justice.
Martin Kobler, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, has condemned in the strongest possible terms the coordinated attacks on the police headquarters in Kirkuk yesterday, which have claimed dozens of lives and injured many more.
The Joint Special Representative for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, will meet this evening with Mouaz Alkhatib, a leader of the Syrian opposition, on the margins of a security conference in Munich. Tomorrow, he is scheduled to have bilateral meetings with United States Vice-President Joseph Biden and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
The International Fact-Finding Mission on Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory today published its report, which calls for a halt to all Israeli settlement activity. The Mission says that, in compliance with article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, Israel must cease all settlement activities without preconditions.
The Secretary-General is in Kuwait City, where he convened the Pledging Conference on Syria. He told the gathered leaders that the situation in Syria is catastrophic and getting worse by the day, with at least 60,000 people killed and 4 million people in immediate need. He urged the parties in Syria: “In the name of humanity: Stop the violence.”