Around 11 o’clock this morning, local time, the United Nations House in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, was struck by a car bomb. In remarks to the press, the Secretary-General condemned the attack, which he called “an assault on those who devote their lives to helping others”. A number of people are dead; many more are wounded.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
The Secretary-General has invited regional organizations to participate in a meeting tomorrow to discuss Libya. The invitees include the African Union, the European Union, the Organization for Islamic Cooperation and the League of Arab States. The objective is to develop ways to work together on the post-conflict phase.
Senior representatives of the Secretary-General met yesterday with the Chairman of the Executive Bureau of the National Transitional Council of Libya, which highlighted among Libyans’ needs and priorities: transitional justice and human rights; electoral assistance; socio-economic recovery; and security.
The Secretary-General has been speaking to world leaders and heads of regional and global organizations in an effort to coordinate the response to the recent developments in Libya. The Chairman of the National Transitional Council of Libya stressed the significance of UN support in the post-conflict period.
The Secretary-General said that the dramatic scenes in Tripoli are a testament to the courage and determination of the Libyan people to seek a free and democratic future. It is crucial now for the conflict to end with no further loss of life, and no retribution, and he called on Colonel [Muammar al-] Qadhafi’s forces to cease violence immediately and make way for a smooth transition.
The Secretary-General condemns in the strongest terms the suicide attack at a mosque during Friday prayers in Pakistan’s Khyber tribal region, where over 40 people were reportedly killed and 100 injured. He is appalled at this deliberate attack during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and the reported use of a teenager to perpetrate the attack.
Speaking by phone yesterday with Syria’s President, the Secretary-General voiced alarm at the latest reports of excessive use of force by Syrian security forces against civilians. He stressed the need to immediately halt all military operations and mass arrests. The President said the military and police operations had stopped.
The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) reports that there are some 875,000 Somali refugees and asylum seekers in neighbouring countries, with Kenya, Yemen, Ethiopia and Djibouti hosting more than 90 per cent of them. About 1.5 million more Somalis are internally displaced, mostly in the country’s south-central region.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has released its report on alleged violations of international law, including crimes against humanity, in South Kordofan perpetrated in June. Meanwhile, High Commissioner Navi Pillay is calling for an independent and objective inquiry, aimed at holding perpetrators to account.
The second of three planned humanitarian flights by UNHCR landed in Mogadishu, the capital of famine-hit Somalia, this morning. The plane unloaded a 32-ton consignment of shelter and other aid items. The agency is expecting to send another flight into Mogadishu tomorrow.