Jan Kubis, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, briefed the Security Council this morning and said that there is a clear need to provide sustained and predictable international support in ways that reinforce Afghanistan’s leadership. He said this summer unfortunately promises to be a “hot” one for Afghanistan.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
The Secretary-General spoke with the President of Somalia about today's attack against the United Nations in the capital, Mogadishu. Deeply concerned and outraged, he urged the President to ensure United Nations staff are protected, and to coordinate closely with the African Union Mission in Somalia.
The High Commissioner for Human Rights welcomed the Turkish Government’s decision to hold further action on Istanbul’s Gezi Park development and to submit the issue to a local referendum. She also urged all parties involved to act in a manner that would build on that decision while defusing the still highly combustible atmosphere.
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Children and Armed Conflict, briefing the Security Council today on the evolving and unprecedented threats for children, particularly in Syria, Mali and Central African Republic, said that she would be visiting Syria and that region soon to assess first-hand the situation.
The Secretary-General, condemning the killing of a peacekeeper during the shelling of the logistics base of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei in Sudan, called on both the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North to immediately stop hostilities and resume ceasefire negotiations.
The Department of Peacekeeping Operations is urgently approaching troop-contributing countries to replace Austria, which decided to withdraw its troops from the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force. The Force plays a vital role in increasingly difficult conditions to ensure strict observance of the ceasefire in the Golan.
The Secretary-General will depart New York on Monday, 17 June, for China, where he is scheduled to arrive on Tuesday, 18 June. He will hold meetings with President Xi Jinping, Premier of the State Council Li Keqiang, Foreign Minister Wang Yi and State Councillor Yang Jiechi, among other officials, to discuss issues of common interest.
The Secretary-General, concerned at the appalling upsurge of violence in Iraq, today underscored the pressing need for dialogue between political blocs and for all parties to redouble their efforts to ensure that the momentum of national reconciliation is not lost to those groups wishing to reignite sectarian violence.
The UN Support Mission in Libya has expressed its deep concern regarding the violence in Benghazi on Saturday, in which many people died and many others were injured. The Mission calls on all concerned to exercise maximum restraint and reiterates the necessity of resolving disagreements peacefully through dialogue and in a democratic spirit.
In a press statement read this morning, the members of the Security Council strongly condemned intense fighting in the Area of Separation, including the attack yesterday, which led to injuries suffered by two peacekeepers. They also expressed grave concern about the humanitarian impact of the recent heavy fighting in Al-Qusayr, Syria.