Noon Briefings

The Secretary-General will brief the Security Council on Afghanistan in closed consultations at 3:30 this afternoon.

The Security Council began its work this morning with consultations to discuss the Secretary-General’s most recent report concerning Lebanon and the implementation of resolution 1559 (2004). The report, which is out as a document today, calls the June elections another milestone in Lebanon’s transition.

In the Security Council this morning, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Alain Le Roy, was joined by the Under-Secretary-General for the Department of Field Support, Susana Malcorra, to brief members on practical ways to strengthen the capacity of the African Union to build and maintain peace, as well as to reinforce the relationship between the United Nations and the African Union.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights today reiterated its belief that something similar to Justice Richard Goldstone’s Gaza Fact Finding Mission is also needed for Sri Lanka ‑‑ given the widespread concerns about the conduct of the recent war there. The Office said it is still deeply concerned that some 250,000 displaced people are living in what are basically internment camps.

Peacekeepers from the African Union–United Nations mission in Darfur (UNAMID) have intervened in a deadly ethnic clash in North Darfur between two tribes. At least two people died and six people from both sides sustained injuries during the fighting. The immediate cause of the clash is believed to be access to water sources.

The Security Council this morning held consultations on West Africa, and the Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Haile Menkerios, briefed the Council members on his visit to Guinea and the subregion, to prepare the ground for a commission of inquiry to investigate the violence that took place in Guinea on 28 September.

The Secretary-General, in remarks to reporters this morning, warmly welcomed the statement today by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, making it clear that the constitutional process regarding the Afghan elections must be fully respected. He said that the United Nations will do its utmost for the conduct of the second round of elections, scheduled for 7 November 2009, in a free, fair, transparent and secure environment.

The Secretary-General strongly condemns yesterday’s terrorist attacks in the Sistan-Baluchistan province of Iran which resulted in the death of a large number of people and many injured.

The twelfth Special Session of the Human Rights Council, on the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and East Jerusalem, wrapped up this morning.

Today in Geneva, the Human Rights Council began its special session on the “human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and East Jerusalem”.