Noon Briefings

The first group of United Nations monitors arrived in Damascus and has begun working. Early tasks include liaising with Syrian authorities and security forces, as well as the opposition. The Secretary-General again urged the Government to end the violence, voicing his expectation that political dialogue will continue.

We issued a statement on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in which the Secretary-General said that despite its failure, the launch of a so-called “application satellite” by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was deplorable as it defied the firm and unanimous stance of the international community. He said that today’s launch was in direct violation of Security Council resolution 1874 (2009) and threatened regional stability.

At a press conference with Geneva-based international media today, the Secretary-General said the Syrian situation was looking calmer and that today was a critical moment for ending the violence. But, he added, the world was watching with sceptical eyes since many previous promises have not been kept.

This morning, the President of the Security Council issued a presidential statement noting the steady progress made in Sierra Leone on national reconciliation and gender equality. She called on all parties to foster an environment conducive to the holding of free and fair elections.

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, Martin Kobler, told the Security Council today that violence in Syria could potentially affect the fragile balance of power in Iraq and increase communal tensions there. Iraqi leaders were encouraged to find common ground to break the political impasse.

The Secretary-General is alarmed by reports of continued violence and human rights violations in Syria, resulting in increased refugee flows. Informed by Turkey last Thursday of the arrival of thousands of new Syrian refugees, the United Nations swiftly mobilized emergency assistance to help the newly arrived.

This morning, the President of the General Assembly, the Secretary-General and the Joint Special Envoy on Syria, Kofi Annan, spoke to the General Assembly, with the Secretary-General saying that there can be no higher priority at this moment than stopping the bloodshed in Syria. The Security Council also issued a presidential statement, in which it called on the Syrian Government to implement urgently and visibly its commitments under the Envoy’s six-point proposal.

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, Augustine Mahiga, has expressed his outrage at the suicide attack at Mogadishu’s National Theatre during a celebratory ceremony today, which reportedly killed at least six people and injured scores more. He said this tragic event should not derail the progress being made in Somalia.

United Nations agencies are expressing grave concern over the humanitarian situation in Mali, where, in the past five days, more than 2,000 people have fled to Burkina Faso and Mauritania because of the recent insecurity and the political instability. Since January, the fighting in northern Mali has since uprooted more than 200,000 people.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that rains brought on by a tropical depression have caused flooding in large parts of Fiji. The Government estimates that 150,000 people have been affected so far. The United Nations has offered support to the Government, which is leading the humanitarian response.