The Secretary-General convened a video and telephone conference call today with regional organizations and UN agencies to discuss the humanitarian situation in Libya. All urgently appealed to the authorities for immediate and unimpeded access into Libya to determine humanitarian needs and provide assistance.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
The World Food Programme (WFP) says the world must step up action to prevent a disaster inside Libya and that cutting off food supplies must not be used as a weapon. WFP is launching a nearly $40 million emergency operation to provide food aid to 2.7 million people in Libya, Egypt and Tunisia and planning a three-month programme to help shore up the food safety nets of Egypt and Tunisia.
The Secretary-General will meet with the General Assembly Member States at 3 p.m. as they consider their response to the Human Rights Council’s resolution on Libya. He urges decisive action in the General Assembly, warning that, in Libya, a Government that has lost its legitimacy has declared war on its own people.
The Secretary-General travelled to Washington, D.C., where he will meet with President Barack Obama, and they will discuss further steps to deal with the situation in Libya. He will also visit the Holocaust Museum, where he will warn that it is once more time to live up to our commitment to the words “never again”.
The Secretary-General is deeply concerned by the deteriorating situation in Côte d'Ivoire, including the armed clashes in Abidjan, as well as the fighting in the west between Forces Nouvelles elements and forces loyal to Mr. Laurent Gbagbo. He also deplores the latest threats by Mr. Gbagbo’s camp against the United Nations, including the recent call to impede the movement of peacekeepers in Abidjan beginning today.
Robert Serry, the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, briefed the Security Council this morning and conveyed the Secretary-General’s profound concern at the continued impasse, saying the longer it persists, the greater the worry that the modest achievements made so far will unravel.
Last night, the Secretary-General cut short a trip to Los Angeles, telling an audience there that the changes under way in the Middle East are historic. Whether in Libya or elsewhere, he said, our message must be consistent and strong: no violence. The time for change is now, and the UN stands ready to assist.
The Security Council held consultations this morning following a request from Libya’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations. After that, Council members agreed to hold a private meeting at 3 p.m., on “peace and security in Africa”, at which Council members expect to receive a briefing from the Secretariat.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has condemned the response of a number of Governments in the Middle East and North Africa to the legitimate demands of their people as illegal and excessively heavy handed. She is particularly troubled by targeted attacks of security forces on certain professions.
The Secretary-General attaches great importance to the forthcoming mission to Côte d’Ivoire by the five-member high-level panel established by the African Union’s Peace and Security Council to facilitate a peaceful solution to the post-election crisis in Côte d’Ivoire. He urges all Ivorian parties to extend their full cooperation to the high-level panel.