Noon Briefings

The Secretary-General has appointed Mr. Romano Prodi of Italy as his Special Envoy for the Sahel, and he looks forward to Mr. Prodi’s leadership in shaping and mobilizing an effective United Nations and international response to the complex crisis plaguing the countries and people of this region.

The Secretary-General delivered the keynote address at the Council of Europe’s World Forum for Democracy in Strasbourg, in France, today, and said the situation in Syria is posing serious risks to the stability of neighbours and the entire region. He expressed concern about the continued flow of arms to both sides, and urged those countries providing them to stop doing so.

The Secretary-General is alarmed by escalating tensions along the Syrian-Turkish border. As the situation inside Syria deteriorates yet further, the risks of regional conflict and the threat to international peace and security are also increasing. The Secretary-General calls on all concerned to abandon the use of violence, exercise maximum restraint and move towards a political solution.

The Secretary-General is appalled and deeply saddened by the latest attack on peacekeepers in Darfur, which occurred during the evening of 2 October when unidentified armed assailants ambushed a UNAMID patrol in El Geneina, West Darfur. Four Nigerian peacekeepers were killed and eight were wounded.

Meeting today with the Syrian Foreign Affairs Minister, the Secretary-General raised in the strongest terms the killings, massive destruction, human rights abuses and aerial and artillery attacks by the Government. They discussed the growing humanitarian crisis and its alarming spillover to neighbouring States.

The Secretary-General, at a meeting this morning on countering nuclear terrorism, said the prospect of terrorists acquiring nuclear materials is one of the most unnerving threats imaginable. We must use all tools, he said, to contain this nuclear genie and not allow these arms to proliferate to non-State actors.

The Secretary-General today congratulates the Governments of Sudan and South Sudan for signing accords on security, the common border and economic relations. He urges their implementation, and calls on both Governments to find solutions to the future of the disputed and claimed areas and the final status of Abyei.

The Secretary-General participated today in a high-level meeting on the Sahel, on the margins of the general debate of the General Assembly. He said that any proposed military solution to the security crisis in northern Mali should be considered extremely carefully, and that this could have significant humanitarian consequences, including further displacement and restrictions on humanitarian access.

The Secretary-General addressed dozens of world leaders at the General Assembly’s high-level meeting this morning on the rule of law. He asked leaders to uphold the highest standards of the rule of law in their decision-making at all times, and urged States to sign on to today’s declaration, on what he said is a truly historic occasion.

The Secretary-General, flanked by UN Goodwill Ambassadors, rang the Peace Bell today in a ceremony held just before the start of the general debate. Noting that the theme of this year’s observance is “Sustainable Peace for a Sustainable Future”, he said armed conflicts attack the pillars of sustainable development.