Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon discusses developments in Middle East and North Africa with chief of Arab League Amr Moussa

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today condemned Libyan President Muammar Al-Qadhafi’s actions against protestors as possible crimes against humanity, calling for the punishment of those who “brutally shed” the blood of innocents.

“I have strongly condemned, again and again, what he has done. It is totally unacceptable,” Mr. Ban told reporters after rushing back early from a trip to Los Angeles to confer with his senior advisers on the Libyan crisis at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

“I am sure that the international community are considering a broad range of options,” he said, referring to his own extensive appeal he made to the Libyan leader in a long telephone call on Monday to end violence immediately. “He has not heeded to that… the Government of Libya must meet its responsibility to protect its people…

“At this critical juncture, it is imperative that the international community maintain its unity and act together to ensure a prompt and peaceful transition.”

Summarizing his position on the violence, which according to some media reports has claimed over 1,000 lives, Mr. Ban underscored what the UN special advisers on the prevention of genocide and the responsibility to protect said yesterday.

“The reported nature and scale of the attacks on civilians are egregious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law. I condemn them, loudly and without qualification,” he said. “Those responsible for brutally shedding the blood of innocents must be punished.”

Describing Monday’s 40-minute phone conversation with Mr. Qadhafi, Mr. Ban told a dinner in Los Angeles last night: “It was not an easy conversation. I told him, bluntly, that the violence must stop – immediately.”

According to media accounts, Mr. Qadhafi went on state TV yesterday to call on his supporters to fight those protesting against his four decades in power and today two pilots were reported to have crashed their warplane and parachuted to safety rather than execute orders to bomb the opposition-held city of Benghazi.

Mr. Ban applauded the decision of the Arab League to suspend Libya – “the first time the League has taken such an action on the domestic situation of one of its members” – and the UN Security Council’s statement condemning the use of force, demanding an immediate end to the violence, and calling on the Government to address the legitimate demands of the population, through national dialogue in full respect for human rights.

He told reporters today the he and his top advisers are closely watching developments in Bahrain, Yemen and other countries in North Africa and the Middle East where protests have erupted against entrenched leaders.

This afternoon he spoke by phone with Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa and he announced that tomorrow he will send UN Undersecretary-General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe and senior economic, development and human rights officials to Egypt, where popular demonstrations ousted President Hosni Mubarak earlier this month.

Over the weekend, he will dispatch a senior official of the Department of Political Affairs, Jamal Benomar, to Tunisia, where the current wave of popular demonstrations first crested, forcing President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to flee the country.

He welcomed the decision of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva to convene a special session on Libya on Friday, including the possible establishment of an international inquiry into the events there, and he voiced concern for people fleeing the country, noting that the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has appealed to neighbours in Europe and North Africa not to return them.

Mr. Ban, who has spoken repeatedly with leaders of the region in the weeks since unrest first erupted, noted in his speech last night that for years the UN has been calling attention to the so-called “youth bulge” in the Arab world. In some countries over 60 to 70 per cent of the population is under 30.

“Our Arab Human Development Report has consistently chronicled the need for economic, social and political reform across the region. In particular, it emphasized what we called a ‘deficit of democracy’ and the need for political leaders to address it. Now the situation has exploded onto the streets,” he said.

“The changes underway in the Middle East are historic. Whether in Libya or elsewhere, our message must be consistent and strong: no violence. The time for change is now. The United Nations stands ready to assist the people of the region in meeting the challenges of this great transition.”

Source: UN.org

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18 February 2011 – With 80 per cent of the world’s people lacking adequate social protection and global inequalities growing, top United Nations officials are calling for a new era of social justice that offers basic services, decently paid jobs, and safeguards for the poor, vulnerable and marginalized.

“Social justice is more than an ethical imperative; it is a foundation for national stability and global prosperity,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a message ahead of the World Day of Social Justice, observed on 20 February. “Equal opportunity, solidarity and respect for human rights, these are essential to unlocking the full productive potential of nations and peoples.”

UN International Labour Organization (ILO) Director-General Juan Somavia also highlighted the linkage between social justice and national stability, citing the protests in North Africa and the Middle East that have already driven Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak from office.

“As Tunisia and Egypt are showing us, jobs and justice, bread and dignity, protection and democracy, national and global security are not unrelated demands,” he said in a message for the Day. “What happens in the future will very much depend on whether the connections are recognized and acted upon.”

Mr. Ban said the continuing fallout from the global financial and economic crisis makes achieving social justice more important than ever. “For the tens of millions who have lost their jobs since the crisis began, the global recession is far from over,” he noted, underscoring UN efforts to establish a global “social protection floor” to guarantee food security, health services for all and old-age pensions for the 80 per cent of the world’s people who now lack protection.

“No one should live below a certain income level, and everyone should have access to essential public services such as water and sanitation, health and education,” he added. “The pursuit of social justice is crucial to maximizing the potential for growth with equity and minimizing the risks of social unrest. Together, let us rise to the challenge and ensure that our work for sustainable development delivers social justice for all.”

Mr. Somavia highlighted decent employment opportunities as a vital plank for social justice. “It is time to build a new era of social justice on a foundation of decent work,” he said. “Women and men without jobs or livelihoods really don’t care if their economies grow at 3, 5 or 10 per cent per year if such growth leaves them behind and without protection.

“They do care whether their leaders and their societies promote policies to provide jobs and justice, bread and dignity, freedom to voice their needs, their hopes and their dreams and the space to forge practical solutions where they are not always squeezed… Yet the world of work is in tatters today: more than 200 million people are unemployed worldwide, including nearly 80 million youth.”

Both these figures are at or near their highest points ever, while the number of workers in vulnerable employment – some 1.5 billion – and the 630 million working poor living with their families on $1.25 a day or less is increasing, he warned.

Among the essential stations on the path to social justice, Mr. Somavia cited the need to make job creation targets a central component of macroeconomic policy priorities alongside low inflation and sound fiscal accounts, and to provide fiscally sustainable social protection to the eight out of 10 people who lack any form of social security in the world today.

Outlining the principles behind the social protection floor earlier this week, ILO Social Security Department Director Michael Cichon stressed the fact that it would only take 2 per cent of global GDP [gross domestic product] to basically give security systems to all the world’s poor.

Tripartite delegations of Governments, employers and workers from all 183 ILO member States are due to meet in June to draw up a long-term strategy for the floor’s four entitlements that would guarantee basic income security for children; access to some social assistance for people of working age that prevents them from falling into absolute food poverty; a basic old-age pension for people over a certain age; and essential health services for all.

SOURCE: UN.ORG
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FORTUNE — Hosni Mubarak and Zine El Abidine Ben-Ali have been forced out of Eygpt and Tunisia, but their arms stockpiles, furnished in large by American defense contractors, are still there. The U.S. government has sold billions of dollars worth of planes, tanks, and missiles to Middle Eastern countries in recent years. As power shifts in the region, so too will control of those weapons.

Please read more:  http://money.cnn.com/

Iran’s rulers are applauding Arab people power as it sweeps away hostile regimes, while making sure their domestic opponents, who held similar mass protests in 2009, aren’t inspired to try again.

Hours before President Hosni Mubarak stepped down on Feb. 11 and Cairo reverberated with cheers, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in a speech to mark the 32nd anniversary of Iran’s Islamic revolution, said Egypt’s uprising heralded “a new Middle East” without Israeli and U.S. interference. A week earlier, at Friday prayers in Tehran, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said that “the Iranian nation is witnessing the echo of its voice in other parts of the Muslim world.”

Mubarak and Tunisia’s Zine El Abidine Ben Ali were labeled U.S. lapdogs by Iran for repressing religious groups or opposing its nuclear program.

Please read more:  http://www.bloomberg.com/

31 January 2011 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling on Egypt’s leaders to take some “bold measures” to address the concerns of the scores of thousands of people who have been demonstrating for change, stressing at the same time that the protests must be peaceful.

“I have been repeatedly saying that the leaders of any country, including Egypt, should first of all listen attentively, most sincerely, to the voices of people,” he told a news conference yesterday in Addis Ababa, where he is attending a summit meeting of the African Union (AU). “And they have a broad responsibility, first of all, to provide decent jobs and good opportunities to maintain a decent living.

“This is what I have been urging them. At the same time, it is important that the Governments ensure that a proper channel of communication is ensured – their freedom of speech, expression, and their freedom of association should also be ensured,” he added, underlining that this expression should be done peacefully in a way that does not lead to social and political instability.

Asked directly what concrete steps he thinks President Hosni Mubarak should take to show that he is listening to the voices of the people of Egypt and if he thinks the appointment of a new Government is sufficient, Mr. Ban replied: “I would leave it to the Egyptian leaders. Reflecting all these concerns and wishes, they should take some bold measures to address their concerns.”

As the demonstrations calling for Mr. Mubarak’s resignation accelerated last week, Mr. Ban urged all Egyptians to ensure that political protests do not lead to further violence, and he called on the Government to see this “as an opportunity to engage in addressing the legitimate concerns of the people.”

On Friday he told a news conference in Davos, Switzerland, where he attended the World Economic Forum, that a fundamental principle of democracy is to protect and ensure the freedom of speech of the people, and he stressed that the situation in Egypt and the wider region must not lead to further violence.

Also last week, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay urged the Egyptian Government to exercise restraint and initiate investigations into reports of the use of excessive force, particularly the killing of at least five and possibly more civilians.

“It has been brought to my attention that since the street protests erupted, police have confronted protestors with rubber-coated bullets, tear gas, water cannons and batons, and arrested more than 1,000 people, including political opponents,” she said. “While maintaining rule and order are important, the responsibility of the Government to protect the rights to life, liberty and security is paramount.”

She called on the Government to guarantee the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and expression, including by restoring free use of mobile phones and social networks, which were reportedly cut to impede demonstrators from mobilizing.

“People must be entitled to express their grievances against violations of their civil and political rights as well as their frustrations at lack of realization of their economic rights, the right to work and the right to an adequate standard of living,” Ms. Pillay said.

“And governments in the region and around the world must take heed. Suppressing citizens’ voices, silencing dissent and stifling criticism will not make the problems go away. Recent events in the region highlight the fact that tackling serious problems by resorting primarily to high-handed security measures only causes them to fester and eventually erupt on a large scale.” The protests in Egypt are taking place just weeks after anti-government demonstrations led to the ouster of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in Tunisia earlier this month.

Source: UN.ORG

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28 January 2011 – Top United Nations officials today urged the Government of Egypt to protect the rights of its citizens amid the political protests taking place in the country, particularly freedoms of expression, information and assembly.

“One of the ground principles of democracy is to protect and ensure the freedom of speech of the people,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters in Davos, Switzerland, when asked about the situation in Egypt.

According to media reports, anti-government protests are intensifying across Egypt, as police clash with demonstrators in several cities demanding the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak. Protests continued today despite reports of widespread disruptions to Internet and mobile phone service from early on Friday.

The Secretary-General stressed that the situation in Egypt, and the wider region, must not lead to further violence.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay urged the Egyptian Government to exercise restraint, and to initiate investigations into reports of the use of excessive force, particularly the killing of at least five and possibly more civilians.

“It has been brought to my attention that since the street protests erupted, police have confronted protestors with rubber-coated bullets, tear gas, water cannons and batons, and arrested more than 1,000 people, including political opponents,” she said.

“While maintaining rule and order are important, the responsibility of the Government to protect the rights to life, liberty and security is paramount.”

She called on the Government to guarantee the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and expression, including by restoring free use of mobile phones and social networks.

“People must be entitled to express their grievances against violations of their civil and political rights as well as their frustrations at lack of realisation of their economic rights, the right to work and the right to an adequate standard of living,” Ms. Pillay stated.

“And governments in the region and around the world must take heed. Suppressing citizens’ voices, silencing dissent and stifling criticism will not make the problems go away. Recent events in the region highlight the fact that tackling serious problems by resorting primarily to high-handed security measures only causes them to fester and eventually erupt on a large scale.”

The protests in Egypt are taking place just weeks after anti-government demonstrations led to the ouster of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in neighbouring Tunisia earlier this month.

Source: UN.ORG

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Voicing renewed concern at the growing violence in Tunisia, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged that all efforts be taken to restore peace and stability in the north African country, according to his spokesperson.

President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled the country last week amid the growing protests and violence by protesters reportedly angered by rising prices of essential commodities, lack of employment opportunities, alleged corruption and limitations on fundamental rights and freedoms.

“The Secretary-General appeals for broad-based consultations in Tunisia to establish an inclusive interim government leading to the holding of timely and credible elections through which the citizens of Tunisia can freely choose their leadership,” Mr. Ban’s spokesperson said in statement, adding that, “the United Nations stands ready to provide assistance to the Tunisian people.”

It was the second time in as many days that Mr. Ban has called for dialogue among all sides to resolve differences peacefully and to restore stability to the country.

Yesterday in Abu Dhabi, where he was attending a global energy forum, the Secretary-General told reporters the international community should support efforts to restore genuine democracy in the country.

Source: UN.ORG