The Security Council this morning was briefed on Libya by the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Jeffrey Feltman, who condemned in the strongest terms the attack on the United States diplomatic presence in Benghazi yesterday and extended condolences to the families of those killed.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
In a statement issued earlier today, the Secretary-General congratulated Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on his selection as President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, following the vote of the New Federal Parliament in Mogadishu yesterday. The selection of the new President ends the eight-year political transition.
The Secretary-General is in Geneva today, where he addressed the Human Rights Council this morning. He commended the 47-member body for its quick action in responding to the crisis in Syria and said he is deeply troubled by the apparent choice of both sides to pursue a solution through force rather than dialogue.
Mokhtar Lamani of Canada has been appointed as Head of the Office of the UN-League of Arab States Joint Special Representative for Syria in Damascus. He brings a wealth of experience, having held a wide range of diplomatic positions, most notably as (what was then) the Organization of the Islamic Conference representative in New York.
The Secretary-General has appointed James Rawley of the United States as Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, at the level of Assistant Secretary-General. Mr. Rawley will also serve as UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Addressing the General Assembly today on the responsibility to protect, the Secretary-General said he is haunted by the fear of not living up to the call “never again”. He praised the Assembly’s response to the Syrian crisis, but said the immense human cost on Syrians of failing to protect was evident to all.
The Secretary-General will speak to the General Assembly this afternoon, along with the new Joint Special Representative for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi. He will discuss developments and say the humanitarian situation is grave, both in Syria and in neighbouring States, but that the response plan is only half-funded.
The Security Council discussed the humanitarian crisis in Syria more widely in its ministerial meeting yesterday afternoon, and the Deputy Secretary-General, Jan Eliasson, said more than 2.5 million people — including refugees from Palestine and Iraq — are now in grave need of assistance and protection inside the country.
The Secretary-General spoke at the Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Tehran this morning, and said that, by assuming the group's leadership, Iran had the opportunity to demonstrate that it can play a moderate and constructive role internationally. He urged the Government to build international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear programme.
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Democratic Republic of the Congo has expressed his deep concern over reports of further massacres of civilians in North Kivu, in the east. The killings are the latest in a series of violent attacks by armed groups systematically targeting the civilian population.