UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon will travel to the Middle East to show support for the peace talks between Palestine and Israel, a spokesperson said here on Tuesday. Ban is departing for Jordan where he will meet with King Abdullah II and the country's Minister of Foreign Affairs. After which, he will travel to the Palestinian territory of Ramallah and visit Jerusalem. The UN chief is expected to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, and hold talks with Israeli President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, UN deputy spokesperson Eduardo del Buey told reporters here at a daily briefing. He will also meet the lead Israeli and Palestinian negotiators and the U.S. Special Envoy for the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, Martin Indyk, said del Buey. The secretary-general will also visit the graves of former Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. - Xinhua | English.news.cn

UN chief to travel to Middle East to show support for peace talks - Xinhua | English.news.cn: "When asked about Ban's specific message to the leaders of the two nations involved in peace talks, the deputy spokesperson said "it would be a message of support for the Middle East peace talks, " adding that "the Secretary-General is involved in the Middle East peace process as one of the principal members of the Quartet. "

The Quartet, which comprises the UN, the European Union, Russia and the United States, commits itself to the Middle East peace on the basis of the widely backed two-State solution, which means a secure State of Israel to live in peace with an independent State of Palestine.

Israel and Palestinians resumed peace talks on July 29 over an Iftar dinner hosted by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. It came almost three years after the last direct talks broke down between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.

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UN chief hails Pakistan’s leading role in peacekeeping operations. Visiting Pakistan on the eve of its Independence Day, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hailed the country’s lead role in United Nations peacekeeping operations, while also addressing issues such as girls’ education and the use of drones. Mr. Ban told an audience at the inauguration of the Centre for International Peace and Stability in Islamabad that he was overwhelmed with gratitude: “gratitude as the United Nations Secretary-General and gratitude as a global citizen for what Pakistan and her people have been doing for international peace and security. “More than 100 countries contribute troops and police for United Nations peacekeeping missions. Pakistan is number one,” he stated, adding that is impossible to speak about the history of UN peacekeeping without highlighting the country’s contributions. He noted that 8,000 of Pakistan’s men and women currently serve in complex and challenging missions, including Darfur, Haiti and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The new Centre, at the National University of Science and Technology, demonstrates Pakistan’s determination to be a force for peace by drawing on its experiences, sharing its knowledge and deepening its contribution, Mr. Ban said. “Training is a strategic investment in peacekeeping and here you will build the skills in preparing peacekeepers to take on a new generation of challenges.”

United Nations News Centre - UN chief hails Pakistan’s leading role in peacekeeping operations: "The Secretary-General said the UN is also working to rise to these challenges, including through the use of new technologies to help in better implementing its mandates and to provide better security for its troops.

“Let me be clear that these new tools, such as unmanned unarmed aerial vehicles, are for information purposes only. They are essentially flying cameras,” he stated.

“But armed unmanned aerial vehicles are a different matter,” he continued. “As I have often and consistently said, the use of armed drones, like any other weapon, should be subject to long-standing rules of international law, including international humanitarian law.

“This is the very clear position of the United Nations. Every effort should be made to avoid mistakes and civilian casualties.”

While in the Pakistani capital, Mr. Ban also took part in an event at the Islamabad College for Girls to promote education, especially for girls and women." PLEASE CLICK LINK TO READ FULL ARTICLE

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