As the humanitarian situation in Syria continued to worsen, greater efforts would be needed to overcome such challenges as impediments to humanitarian access and the massive funding shortfall, a top United Nations humanitarian official said at a Headquarters press conference today.

The Secretary-General arrived in Kuwait City very early this morning. He met with the Emir, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, and he expressed gratitude for the important role that Kuwait is playing in convening tomorrow's Donor's Conference on Syria. In the afternoon, the Secretary-General and Nabil Elaraby, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, discussed the crisis in Syria and reiterated their strong support for the Joint Special Representative, Lakhdar Brahimi.

The Secretary-General is in Kuwait City, where he convened the Pledging Conference on Syria. He told the gathered leaders that the situation in Syria is catastrophic and getting worse by the day, with at least 60,000 people killed and 4 million people in immediate need. He urged the parties in Syria: “In the name of humanity: Stop the violence.”

Outgoing United Nations Police Adviser Ann-Marie Orler called today for a change in the Organization’s policing mindset so as to develop a greater focus on quality over quantity.

The International Fact-Finding Mission on Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory today published its report, which calls for a halt to all Israeli settlement activity. The Mission says that, in compliance with article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, Israel must cease all settlement activities without preconditions.

The Security Council had undertaken a significant amount of work over the past month, including several well-attended debates, Mohammad Masood Khan (Pakistan), that body’s outgoing President, said today at a Headquarters press conference.

The Joint Special Representative for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, will meet this evening with Mouaz Alkhatib, a leader of the Syrian opposition, on the margins of a security conference in Munich. Tomorrow, he is scheduled to have bilateral meetings with United States Vice-President Joseph Biden and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Martin Kobler, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, has condemned in the strongest possible terms the coordinated attacks on the police headquarters in Kirkuk yesterday, which have claimed dozens of lives and injured many more.

The main thematic focus for the Republic of Korea’s month-long Presidency of the Security Council would be civilian protection, Ambassador Kim Sook said today, briefing reporters at Headquarters on the 15-nation body’s February work programme, which also featured meetings on United Nations peacekeeping operations in South Sudan and Kosovo.

Jeffrey Feltman, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, expressed concern about allegations of serious human rights violations reportedly perpetrated by Malian defence and security forces. The United Nations calls upon all parties to respect international human rights and humanitarian norms, and do everything possible to ensure that all perpetrators are brought to justice.