Somalia

Marking the Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, the Secretary-General said it would be an error to think that the Holocaust was simply the result of the insanity of a group of criminal Nazis.  On the contrary, it was a culmination of millennia of hatred and discrimination targeting the Jews — what we now call anti-Semitism.

Despite repeated delays and instances of malpractice, the election of a new Parliament marked a milestone in Somalia’s post-conflict transformation, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in that country told the Security Council today.

The United Nations Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) condemned today the coordinated suicide bombing attack at a hotel in Mogadishu.  The attack reportedly killed dozens of Somali civilians and soldiers, while wounding many more.  The Mission reports that Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process told the Security Council today that despite the relative tranquillity of the Israel-Palestinian conflict compared to other regional crises, the spectre of violence is always near.  He said that all stakeholders must avoid any unilateral action that would prejudge a negotiated final status solution.