Latest horrific incident in Yemen demands ‘a full inquiry,’ Ban says, urging probe into funeral bombing

Outraged by Saturday’s bombing of a funeral in Yemen, top United Nations officials are strengthening their calls for the establishment of an independent body to probe alleged violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws in the war-ravaged country.

UN chief condemns terrorist attack in Bangladesh

UN, 2 July 2016 – Senior United Nations officials have condemned the terrorist attack in a café in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka that reportedly killed 20 hostages over the weekend.

Saudi denies threatening UN over blacklist

Saudi Arabia on Thursday denied threatening to cut-off humanitarian funding to pressurize the United Nations into removing the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen from a blacklist of child rights violators.

Gaza: Ban Ki-moon forms independent panel to investigate recent conflict

UN,  10 November 2014 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the formation of an internal inquiry aimed at reviewing “certain incidents” reported at United Nations facilities in the Gaza Strip during the recent summer conflict there between Palestinian factions and the State of Israel.

During his visit last month to the war-ravaged enclave, the Secretary-General called for a thorough investigation into incidents where UN facilities – including schools run by the UN agency tasked with assisting Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) – sustained hits resulting in the deaths of numerous innocent civilians and UN staff members.

Ukraine: Ban deplores planned holding of November ‘elections’ by rebel groups

UN, 29 October 2014 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today deplored the planned holding by armed rebel groups in eastern Ukraine of their own “elections” on 2 November, calling the potential polls a “breach of the constitution and national law.”

“These ‘elections’ will seriously undermine the Minsk Protocol and Memorandum, which need to be urgently implemented in full,” Mr. Ban said in a statement issued by his spokesperson in New York.

UN agency ramps up for Gaza reconstruction push. (UNRWA has consistently called for the lifting of the blockade)

UN, 19 October 2014 – A week after a major conference in Cairo on the reconstruction of war-ravaged Gaza, and in the wake of recent visits to Gaza by the Palestinian Prime Minister, Rami Hamdallah and United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, the key UN agency on the ground there has begun scaling up its response to meet critical needs of people in the Strip.
In a press release, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) announced today that it is now focusing on providing food, water and sanitation services to over 40,000 displaced people in 18 of its installations, psycho-social support particularly for children, cash grants to the homeless for rent, as well as urgent repairs to 118 UNRWA installations, so that we can bring our services to full capacity.

In Cairo, Ban urges parties to Gaza conflict to end "cycle of building and destroying"

UN, 12 October 2014 – On the next stop of his tour of North Africa, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Egypt today at a conference on the reconstruction of Gaza urged all parties to last summer's war to address the root causes of the protracted conflict to prevent the “cycle of building and destroying” from becoming a ritual. “We are here to stand with the people of Gaza who have endured a terrible summer of suffering,” said Mr. Ban in his remarks to the Cairo Conference on Gaza attended by the President of the State of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, and several foreign ministers including of Egypt, and Norway.

Ahead of summit, UN Headquarters complex becomes canvas inspiring action on climate change...

UN, 20 September 2014 – In the lead-up to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Climate Summit, the United Nations lit up its iconic Headquarters complex in New York with a spectacular 30-story architectural projection show aimed to inspire global citizens to take climate action.

Entitled “illUmiNations: Protecting Our Planet”, and organized in partnership with the Oceanic Preservation Society (OPS) and Obscura Digital, the projections were shown on the white marble west facade of the UN General Assembly Hall and north facade of the Secretariat building from 7:30 to 11 p.m. Saturday evening.

Ukraine: UN political chief says adverse security conditions hampering full access to crash site

 UN, 19 September 2014 – Two months after the crash of a Malaysia Airlines flight over Ukraine that killed 298 people on board, the top United Nations political official updated the Security Council on developments related to the investigation of the incident.

“While the cease-fire in south-eastern Ukraine, thus far, is holding, contributing to a marked de-escalation on the ground, the conditions are still not conducive for investigators to have full and unfettered access to the site,” said Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman.

UN: Ban fordert Waffenruhe in Ukraine für russischen Hilfskonvoi

UN-Generalsekretär Ban Ki-moon hat zu einer Waffenruhe in der Ukraine aufgerufen, damit russische Hilfslieferungen die notleidende Bevölkerung im Osten des Landes erreichen können.

Der Generalsekretär setze sich für einen Waffenstillstand und eine diplomatische Regelung, damit die Hilfe die bedürftigen Menschen erreichen könne, sagte Bans Sprecher Stéphane Dujarric am Donnerstag in New York. Zuvor bereits hatte Moskau das ukrainische Militär und die Milizen aufgefordert, für die Sicherheit des 1900-Tonnen-Hilfskonvois die Kämpfe einzustellen.

Israel confirms it fired into UN shelter in Gaza (denied killing anyone at the site)

The Israeli army has confirmed it fired a mortar round into a Gaza UN shelter where 15 people died on Thursday, but denied killing anyone at the site.
Briefing journalists on the findings of an internal military inquiry into the incident at a UN school in Beit Hanun, spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner said militants "in the vicinity" of the school fired mortar rounds and anti-tank rockets at Israeli forces.
The army responded with mortar fire, sending a stray round into the compound, he said.

"A single errant mortar [round] landed in the courtyard of the school," he said.
"The courtyard was completely empty" at the time of the incident, he added.

Israel rejects US truce proposal for Gaza. (Security cabinet refuses US-initiated ceasefire in the Gaza Strip)

Israel TV reported on Friday that the cabinet had rejected the proposal in its current form, mainly because it would mean Israel would cut short an ongoing effort to destroy Hamas military tunnels under the Gaza-Israel border.
The proposal called for a week-long pause in fighting over the Muslim holiday of Eid. During that time, the two sides would begin indirect talks on easing the border closure of the blockaded Gaza Strip.
Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, says any truce must include a guaranteed end to Israel's eight-year siege of the enclave. Israel had previously said it would reject any deal that included a clause to ease the blockade.

UN chief seeks arms embargo in Syria conflict

Ban Ki-moon calls on Security Council "to stem the flow of arms" to Syria, that he called "increasingly a failed state"....

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged the Security Council to impose an arms embargo on Syria, describing foreign powers and groups as "irresponsible" for giving military support to the warring parties in the three-year conflict.
"If divisions in the Council continue to prevent such a step, I urge countries to do so individually," said Ban on Friday.

Ahead of World Cup, UN hails power of sport to bring communities, peoples together

 UN, 9 June 2014 – Just days away from the kick-off of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hailed the “best values of sport” – teamwork, fair play and mutual respect – as the United Nations today joined the international fervour that accompanies the games, even getting its normally staid diplomats out of suits and ties and into their national team uniforms.

“The first game is not until Thursday, but the level of excitement is already high. I suspect people are already adjusting their schedules in order to be in front of the television to see their teams perform,” Mr. Ban said at an event at Headquarters to mark the start of the World Cup, taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia, Salvador and elsewhere across Brazil, from 12 June to 13 July.

Ukraine : Ban Ki-moon s'inquiète d'un dérapage de la situation dans l'est du pays

ONU, 24 avril 2014 – Le Secrétaire général des Nations Unies, Ban Ki-moon, a exprimé jeudi sa profonde inquiétude concernant la situation dans l'est de l'Ukraine, estimant qu'elle pourrait rapidement devenir incontrôlable.

« Le Secrétaire général est profondément préoccupé par la poursuite de la violence dans l'est de l'Ukraine, qui a entraîné des pertes en vies humaines, une instabilité accrue et qui contribue à un climat de peur et d'angoisse », a dit son porte-parole dans une déclaration à la presse.

In Russia, Ban calls for ‘honest and constructive dialogue between Kyiv and Moscow’

UN, 20 March 2014 – Leading diplomatic efforts to encourage all parties involved in the Ukraine crisis to find a peaceful solution, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met today with Russian President Vladimir Putin and emphasized the need for de-escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine, and restoring the “brotherly relationship” between the two countries.
“It is clear that we are at a crossroads. I will continue to fulfil my duty as Secretary-General of the United Nations and engage with all relevant parties. We must employ every possible diplomatic tool at our disposal to solve this crisis, which has grave political and economic ramifications,” stressed Mr. Ban, in a statement to the press in Moscow, earlier today.

UN chief calls on Ukrainians to find peaceful way forward amid current turmoil

24 February 2014 – Amid the rapidly unfolding events in Ukraine, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called for an inclusive political process to enable the country to emerge from its current crisis, one which reflects the aspirations of its people and preserves its unity and territorial integrity.
“He reiterates his call for non-violence and urges all Ukrainians to express their differences peacefully and through dialogue, and to seek a durable solution through compromise,” Mr. Ban’s spokesperson said in a statement.

Participation du vice-Premier ministre et ministre des Affaires étrangères E. Vénizélos à la conférence Genève II sur la Syrie (Montreux, 22.01.2014). -MAE Hellénique

MAE Hellénique,  lundi, 20 janvier 2014
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Suite à l’invitation du Secrétaire général de l’Organisation des Nations Unies, Ban Ki-moon, le vice-Premier ministre et ministre des Affaires étrangères, Evangelos Vénizélos se rendra à Montreux, Suisse, en vue de participer à la réunion de haut niveau qui donnera le coup d’envoi de la conférence de Genève sur la Syrie (Genève II) qui se tiendra mercredi 22 janvier 2014.

Ready for global disaster? Scientists leave 'Doomsday Clock' at five to midnight

The Science and Security Board of the US-based Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has warned UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that the hand of the Bulletin's symbolic Doomsday Clock still remains at five minutes to midnight because "the risk of civilization-threatening technological catastrophe remains high."

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is an online magazine that covers global security issues related to the dangers posed by weapons of mass destruction and emerging technologies. It was founded in 1945 after the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

UN chief Ban slams Israeli plans to advance east J'lem, West Bank construction....

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday blasted an Israeli announcement made earlier in the day to advance settlement construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

Ban condemned as "contrary to international law" the move announced by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in conjunction with Israel's release early Wednesday morning of 26 long-serving Palestinian prisoners.

He added that further Israeli building in areas over the Green Line constituted "an obstacle to peace".

However, Ban stated his appreciation for Israel's undertaking the "difficult step" of releasing the second batch of pre-Oslo prisoners amid "deep domestic opposition" as a gesture for continuing peace talks with the Palestinian Authority.