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.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
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.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Director-General today called for the protection of Syria’s cultural heritage. In line with the World Heritage Convention, UNESCO alerted the relevant authorities to objects that could appear on the international antiquities market.
In Baghdad today, the Secretary-General noted the Arab League’s Summit is the first since the remarkable events that transformed the Arab region. He said the lessons are eloquent and clear. For decades, the people in the Arab world saw tyrannies topple and democracies emerge elsewhere. Now, they see it as their time.
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Guinea-Bissau, Joseph Mutaboba, briefed the Security Council on the challenging political and security environment in Guinea-Bissau. He said restoring full constitutional order is now a crucial priority. Elections were marred by the killing of the former intelligence chief. Observers were unanimous that they were free and fair.
The Secretary-General took part in the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul today, and also had a wide range of bilateral meetings. He told world leaders the prospect of nuclear terrorism threatens international security and that the international community was united in its resolve to defuse that threat.
Ahead of the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit, the Secretary-General urged the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to reconsider its declared plans to launch a satellite. He called for its full compliance with Security Council resolutions, notably the one that prohibits any launch using ballistic missile technology.
The Secretary-General is leaving Singapore today for the Republic of Korea, where he will attend the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul and hold a range of bilateral meetings. In Singapore, he had meetings with the President, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, and also met other Government ministers.