The Secretary-General spent what he described as “a profoundly moving day” in Nagasaki. He toured the Atomic Bomb Museum and met with a number of survivors. He said his visit had strengthened his conviction that nuclear weapons must be outlawed, and he urged all nations to support his five-point action plan for nuclear disarmament and to agree to negotiate a nuclear weapons convention at the earliest possible date.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
In Tokyo, the Secretary-General spoke to students this morning, one day before he is to visit Nagasaki, and said that he hoped the younger generation of Japanese will become leaders for disarmament. He told students at Waseda University in Tokyo that they should tell the stories of the survivors of nuclear bombs, the hibakusha, since their testimony is the most graphic argument against the nuclear threat.
The UN Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, confirms that there has been an exchange of fire between the Lebanese army and the Israeli army along the Blue Line, in the general area of El Adeisse. UNIFIL has been focused on restoring calm in the area through intensive contacts with both the parties. To that end, the Acting Force Commander, Brigadier General Santi Bonfanti, decided to personally fly by helicopter to El Adeisse.
The Secretary-General announced this morning that he has set up a Panel of Inquiry on the flotilla incident of 31 May. He called the launch of the Panel “an unprecedented development”. He thanked the leaders of Israel and Turkey, with whom he engaged in last minute consultations over the weekend, for their spirit of compromise and forward looking cooperation.
The Office of the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO) condemned the attack on Ashkelon earlier today, in which a rocket struck a residential area. Indiscriminate rocket fire against civilians is completely unacceptable and constitutes a terrorist attack.
UNSCO has called on the de facto authorities in Gaza to ensure that these kinds of actions do not occur.
The Secretary-General will meet tomorrow with Israeli Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Ehud Barak. He expects to discuss a range of issues with him, including the situation in Gaza and the need to continue Israel’s freeze on settlement activity.
The Secretary-General welcomes today’s action by the General Assembly to quickly approve his nominee for Under-Secretary-General for the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), Carman Lapointe-Young of Canada, who possesses the breadth and depth of experience and expertise required for this demanding position.
The United Nations and its humanitarian partners in Kyrgyzstan launched a revised flash appeal today, seeking $96.4 million for humanitarian assistance in the southern regions of the country, where last month’s violence affected some 400,000 people.
The Trial Chamber of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia today found Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, guilty of crimes against humanity and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and sentenced him to 35 years of imprisonment.
The Secretary-General briefed the Security Council this morning in closed consultations to discuss his visit to Afghanistan earlier this week. That meeting, he said, marked the official launch of the Kabul process, which will see a transition to greater Afghan responsibility and ownership, in both security and civilian areas.