This morning, UN Humanitarian Chief Valerie Amos, the World Food Programme’s Ertharin Cousin as well as the High Commissioner for Refugees and his Special Envoy Actress Angelina Jolie [Pitt] briefed the Security Council on the Syria humanitarian crisis. Ms. Amos stressed that there is no humanitarian solution to the crisis, adding that the only solution is through political dialogue.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
The Secretary-General today spoke at the Security Council debate on the role of youth in countering vilent extremism and promoting peace. He stressed that youth lay at the heart of international peace and security.
The Secretary- General condemns the wave of xenophobic violence in South Africa that has resulted in the deaths of at least seven people in the past few weeks. He urges all efforts are made to avert future attacks and encourages peaceful solutions.
Addressing the Security Council, the Secretary-General said that both Israelis and Palestinians must demonstrate the commitment and courage necessary to chart a viable course towards a better future, by choosing peace over death and ending the suffering that has defined the conflict for far too long.
The Secretary-General condemns in the strongest terms the attack this morning on a United Nations vehicle in Somalia’s Puntland region that killed four United Nations staff and three other people, while injuring several others. He said terrorist attacks won’t diminish the United Nations commitment to work for the cause of peace in the country.
This morning, the Secretary-General and the heads of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund heard from the Presidents of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone about efforts to deal with the Ebola outbreak in those countries.
The Secretary-General is in Washington, D.C., today where he will soon have a working lunch with United States Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, following a discussion with members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on many issues of mutual concern.
The Special Representative on sexual violence in conflict, Zainab Hawa Bangura, addressed the Security Council during its debate on women, peace and security. She starts her visit tomorrow to Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey at a time when sexual violence is increasingly a tactic of terror used by extremist groups.
Zainab Bangura, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict is my guest today. She will brief you on the Secretary-General's latest report, which is scheduled to be discussed in the Security Council tomorrow.
The Secretary-General returned to New York from Qatar, where, in his address to the UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, he said that the roots of crime are everywhere threatening to choke the weak and vulnerable.