MaximsNewsNetwork: AFGHANISTAN TERRORIST ATTACK: UN SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

MaximsNewsNetwork: 29 October 2009 - UNTV - United Nations: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to brief the press after a closed meeting with the Security Council on Afghanistan.

The United Nations Secretary-General today (29 October) briefed the members of the Security Council on the terrorist attacks against the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) which happened yesterday claiming the lives of five staff members and injuring nine others.

Following the closed door meeting Ban met journalists and said that the organization was being targeted, in this case precisely because of our support for the Afghan elections.

He added that not counting peacekeepers, 27 UN civilian personnel had lost their lives to violence so far this year, more than half of them in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Ban said that the UN will not be deterred, but he added that the job cannot be done alone. We need the support of the Member States.

Ban announced that this morning he had received a phone call from Afghan President Hamid Karzai who assured him of the tightened security support for UNAMA.

The Secretary-General reminded journalists that the second round of the Afghan presidential election was only a week away, and he added that the UN was considering a number of immediate short-term measures which included consolidating UN staff in Kabul and around the country, as well as exploring the feasibility of bringing into the country additional security units to guard UN facilities and also ask the international community to step up its support.

Ban stressed that the primary responsibility for the safety and security of UN staff falls on Afghanistan government. But he also added that at the same time what I said in here (Security Council) is that we need support from Afghanistans security forces as well as from international community.

Following Bans statement to the press, the Security Council issued a presidential statement in an open door meeting.

Vietnamese Ambassador Le Luong Minh, in his capacity as President of the Security Council for the month of October, said that the Security Council expressed its strong support for the Secretary-General and all UN personnel in fulfilling these difficult but important tasks. The statement further expressed solidarity for UN staff on the ground and commended the determination of the United Nations not to be deterred by the tragic incident and to carry on its missions in Afghanistan.

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• Afghanistan
• terrorist attacks
• UN Security Council
• UNAMA
• Ban Ki-moon
• Pakistan
• Le Luong Minh
• Viet Nam
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