UN Secretary-General in South Africa
PRETORIA, South Africa, February 26, 2009/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Daily press briefing by the office of the spokesperson for the UN secretary-general
The Secretary-General is in South Africa, and he met for almost two hours today with the President, President [Kgalema] Motlanthe and other Government officials, as he started his week-long African trip with a stop in South Africa — his first official visit to that country as Secretary-General.
The Secretary-General and the President discussed a wide range of political issues, including Zimbabwe, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi and South Africa’s role in peacekeeping operations. The Secretary-General also stressed the leading role played by South Africa in engaging non-industrialized countries on the global threat of climate change.
Speaking to the press afterwards, the Secretary-General said that the partnership between the Zimbabwean parties will need to be nurtured. He said that the United Nations is ready to ensure that the enormous challenges confronting the Zimbabwean people are effectively addressed. But he warned that he remains concerned about reports of arrests and detention of opposition activists and human rights defenders, and that he hopes that these people will be freed as soon as possible.
He added that the United Nations will support nationally owned stabilization and recovery programmes to deal with the cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe.
The Secretary-General and his wife later had a private meeting with former President Nelson Mandela and his wife at the Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg.
SOURCE : United Nations – Office of the Spokesperson of the Secretary-General
