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| Tuesday,
June 17,
2008 |
Washington,
D.C. |
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Secretary-General
Ban
supports
King
Abdullah's
decision
to
address
oil
prices
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Saudi
Arabia's
King
Abdullah
agreed
to
convene
a
meeting
of the
world's
major
oil
producers
to
discuss
ways
of
dealing
with
soaring
fuel
prices.
United
Nations
Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon
welcomed
the
decision.
"I
am
grateful
that
the
king
intends
to
convene
a
high-level
meeting
of
major
oil
producers
and
consumers
on
this
issue
next
week
in the
Kingdom,"
Mr.
Ban told
reporters
in
Jeddah
following
meetings
with the
Saudi
monarch
and
other
officials.
"We
also
expect
that his
majesty
the king
and his
government
will
take the
necessary
measures
to
stabilize
the
price of
oil."
King
Abdullah
"acknowledged
that
the
current
oil
price
is
abnormally
high,
due to
speculative
factors,
and he
is
willing
to do
what
he can
to
manage
the
price
of oil
to the
adequate
level,"
Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon
(left)
holds
discussions
with
King
Abdullah
bin
Abdul
Aziz
Al
Saud
(right)
of
Saudi
Arabia
in
Jeddah,
Saudi
Arabia
over
the
weekend.
© UN
Photo/Eskinder
Debebe
Saudi
Arabia
has
also
reportedly
announced
it
will
increase
its
oil
production
by
200,000
barrels
a day
starting
next
month
in an
effort
to
deal
with
the
growing
demand.
Mr.
Ban,
who
was on
a
two-day
visit
to the
kingdom,
said
oil
prices
have
had a
major
impact
on the
rising
cost
of
food,
a
concern
expressed
by a
number
of
world
leaders
during
a
recent
summit
held
in
Rome
to
discuss
the global
food
crisis.
It has
also
"weakened
our
capacity
to
address
climate
change
issues,"
he
noted,
adding
that
the
issues
of
food
costs,
fuel
prices
and
climate
change
should
be
addressed
in a
comprehensive
manner.
|
Security
Council
receives
Iran
sanctions
update
The
United
Nations
Security
Council
has
received
an
update
on the
efforts
by a
number
of
countries
to
implement
measures
related
to sanctions
imposed
against
Iran.
 Ambassador
Jan
Grauls
of
Belgium,
chairman
of
the
Iran
sanctions
monitoring
committee,
told
an open
meeting
of
the
Council
that
there
are
89
reports
under
resolution
1737,
76
reports
under
resolution
1747,
and
51
reports
under
resolution
1803.
Resolution
1737,
passed
in
December
of
2006,
banned
trade
with
Iran
in
all
items,
materials,
equipment,
goods
and
technology
which
could
contribute
to
the
country's
enrichment-related,
reprocessing
or
heavy
water-related
activities,
or
to
the
development
of
nuclear-weapon
delivery
systems.
The
Council
also
adopted
resolution
1747
in
March
of
2007
to
further
tighten
the
sanctions
by
imposing
a
ban
on
arms
sales
and
expanding
the
freeze
on
assets.
The
15-member
Council
imposed
additional
sanctions
against
Iran
in
resolution
1803,
adopted
in
March
of
this
year.
These
included
the
inspection
of
cargo
suspected
of
carrying
prohibited
goods,
the
tighter
monitoring
of
financial
institutions
and
the
extension
of
travel
bans
and
asset
freezes,
over
its
nuclear
program.
A
wide-view
of
the
members
of
the
Security
Council
voting
to
impose
additional
sanctions
against
the
Islamic
Republic
of
Iran
for
its
nuclear
programme in
March
of
2008
at
UN
headquarters
in
New
York.
©
UN
Photo/Evan
Schneider
Mr.
Grauls
also
reported
that
the
committee
now
had
revised
guidelines
for
its
work
that
incorporated
the
relevant
provisions
of
the
three
separate
resolutions.
In
addition,
the
group
consolidated
the
annexes
to
the
three
texts
-
containing
the
names
of
individuals
and
entities
subject
to
the
travel
ban,
travel
notification
or
assets
freeze
-
into
a
single
list.
Resolution
1737
tasks
the
committee
with
seeking
information
from
the
International
Atomic
Energy
Agency
(IAEA)
on
actions
it
has
taken
to
implement
measures
imposed
by
the
resolution,
defining
the
scope
of
the
technical
cooperation
provided
to
Iran.
Iran's
nuclear
program
has
been
a
matter
of
international
concern
since
the
discovery
in
2003
that
the
country
had
concealed
its
nuclear
activities
for
18
years
in
breach
of
its
obligations
under
the
Nuclear
Non-Proliferation
Treaty.
|
|
First
Lady
Laura
Bush
to
host
international
literacy
symposium
First
Lady
Laura
Bush
will
host
an
international
literacy
meeting
in
New
York
in
September
in
her
capacity
as
honorary
ambassador
for
the
UN
Literacy
Decade.
Mrs.
Bush
will
host
the
symposium
on
literacy
which
will
draw
together
the
conclusions
of
six
regional
United
Nations
Educational,
Scientific
and
Cultural
Organization
(UNESCO)
conferences
in
the
last
two
years
and
identify
next
steps.
This
year
represents
both
the
mid-term
of
the
UN
literacy
decade
and
the
halfway
point
towards
the
2015
target
date
for
achieving
education
for
all
and
the
Millennium
Development
Goals
( MDGs).
Mr.
Koïchiro
Matsuura,
head
of
UNESCO,
said
that
Mrs.
Bush's
"hard
work
and
dedication
have
encouraged
other
first
ladies
across
the
globe
to
speak
out
in
support
of
literacy,
and
have
propelled
national
governments
and
other
key
partners
to
step
up
their
commitments
in
this
area."
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Johan
Verbeke
Special
Coordinator
of
the
Secretary-General
for
Lebanon
Johan
Verbeke,
Special
Coordinator
of
the
Secretary-General
for
Lebanon,
is
a
career
diplomat.
He
joined
the
Belgian
Ministry
of
Foreign
Affairs
in
1981
and
has
been
posted
in
the
Middle
East
(Lebanon
and
Jordan),
Central
Africa
(Burundi)
and
South
America
(Chile
as
Chargé
d'Affaires).
He
also
served
as
Deputy
Chief
of
Mission
in
Washington,
D.C.
In
his
last
posting
in
Brussels,
he
served
as
Chef
de
Cabinet
of
the
Minister
of
Foreign
Affairs.
Since
September
2004,
he
has
been
the
Permanent
Representative
of
Belgium
to
the
United
Nations
in
New
York.
In
this
capacity,
he
has
served
on
the
Security
Council,
as
well
as
on
the
Peacebuilding
Commission.
-
Read
more
about
Johan
Verbeke...
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A
young
resident
of the
Zam
Zam
camp
of
internally
displaced
persons
in El
Fasher,
Sudan.
© UN
Photo/Tim
McKulka
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