The Secretary-General strongly condemned the recent attacks in Iraq, including against the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday. He appealed to all Iraqis to unite in confronting terrorism and pledged United Nations support in that endeavour.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
The Secretary-General arrived in Sochi today to attend the opening of the Winter Olympics. Tomorrow, he will deliver a speech to the International Olympic Committee session, the first Secretary-General to do so. He will also speak to reporters, along with the President of the International Olympic Committee.
United Nations agencies and humanitarian partners have launched a revised appeal for South Sudan, calling for $1.27 billion to help 3.2 million people. Nearly 60 per cent of the funding will go to pre-positioning vital aid supplies before the rainy season starts in June making roads and bridges impassable.
The Secretary-General will depart New York on Tuesday evening for Sochi in the Russian Federation. On Friday, he will take part in the opening of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games. He will also hold bilateral meetings with world leaders attending the Games. He plans to return to New York on Saturday, 8 February.
The Secretary-General is in Munich, where he will have a trilateral meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and United States Secretary of State John Kerry. Tomorrow, he will address the Munich Security Conference and talk to other high-level officials there. He will also attend a meeting of the Middle East Quartet at the principals level.
Wrapping up her three-day visit to South Sudan today, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Valerie Amos, told reporters that, so far, aid workers — subjected to violence — have assisted more than 300,000 displaced people, but continuing insecurity has prevented their access to many others.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that the humanitarian community in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is concerned about the impact of violence on civilians in Katanga Province. It reports that there are now 400,000 displaced people in the province, up from 50,000 three months ago. Since October 2013, more than 700 houses in 20 villages have been attacked.
The joint mission of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the United Nations reported a further shipment of chemical weapons materials from Syria. The weapons were verified by joint mission personnel before being loaded in Lattakia port onto Danish and Norwegian cargo vessels.
The Secretary-General welcomes the agreement on cessation of hostilities signed yesterday in Addis Ababa by the Government of South Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army in opposition. He congratulates the Intergovernmental Authoriy on Development on the successful mediation of this agreement and underscores the necessity to continue a national political dialogue to reach a comprehensive peace agreement.
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees [in the Near East] is leading a three-day social media campaign, reaching tens of millions of people around the world to demand that the parties to the Syria conflict allow aid to flow to Yarmouk, the besieged Damascus key area hosting Palestine refugees in Syria.