The Secretary-General, participating in the official commemoration of International Women’s Day here at UN Headquarters, said that women and girls are subjected to shocking attacks and abuse. No country is immune, but the violence is not inevitable. All must wage this struggle: women and men, girls and boys.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
The Secretary-General has welcomed this morning’s adoption of Security Council resolution 2094 (2013) on the recent nuclear test by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. He said in a statement that the Security Council had sent an unequivocal message that the international community will not tolerate its pursuit of nuclear weapons and related acts.
As you will have seen, we issued a statement last night in which the Secretary-General expressed his sadness at the death of Venezuelan President Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías. This morning, the Security Council observed a minute of silence in honour of President Chávez.
The Security Council has begun consultations this morning concerning a draft resolution on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Then, at 3:00 p.m., the Secretary-General will brief the Security Council in an open meeting, followed by consultations, on his new report about the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Secretary-General met over the weekend with the Joint Special Representative for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi. Both expressed deep frustration at the failure of the international community to act with unity to end the conflict and referred to recent statements by the Syrian Government and the opposition, saying the United Nations would be prepared to facilitate a dialogue between them.
The Secretary-General is in Geneva, where he has just been delivering the annual Sergio Vieira de Mello lecture. In it, he said that as Sergio Vieira de Mello and the colleagues who died with him in Baghdad proved in their too-short lifetimes, the United Nations is dedicated to fulfilling its humanitarian imperative.
Before leaving Vienna for Geneva today, the Secretary-General held talks with the Foreign Minister that covered Syria, Mali and the Middle East peace process, among other topics. He also met the heads of UN agencies based in Vienna. Tomorrow, he will visit the Human Rights Council and attend a high-level panel discussion.
The Secretary-General has been attending the fifth Global Forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations in Vienna today. In remarks at the opening, he said whenever tensions divide communities, the opportunity exists to build bridges and help people move from conflict to collaboration. It was particularly important for the Alliance to work where the risk is greatest.
The Secretary-General arrived in Vienna earlier today. One of the main reasons for his visit to Vienna is to attend the fifth Global Forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, which starts tomorrow. Today, he attended the Alliance's youth event, where he said the world needed to draw on the energy, idealism and action of young people.
Robert Serry, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, is deeply saddened and concerned about the death in Israeli detention on 23 February of Arafat Jaradat. He takes note of the preliminary findings of the autopsy conducted on Mr. Jaradat’s body, with the participation of Israeli and Palestinian experts. The United Nations expects the autopsy to be followed by an independent and transparent investigation.