The international community must act with unity and in a consistent and coordinated manner in response to events in the Middle East and North Africa, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon emphasized to world leaders gathered over the weekend in Deauville, France, for the annual summit of the Group of Eight (G8) leading industrialized nations.

May 27, 2011 - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (left) meets with Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France, at the 37th G8 Summit in Deauville, France on Friday. UN Photo/David Ohana

The unfolding events in the Middle East and North Africa were among several issues the United Nations chief raised in his closed-door discussions with G8 leaders on May 27, who met against the backdrop of the so-called "Arab spring" - the wave of pro-democracy movements that have already toppled long-standing regimes in Egypt and Tunisia and led to open conflict in Libya.

Mr. Ban urged increased support for humanitarian assistance, both for affected populations in Libya and in neighboring countries.

He stressed that job growth and education opportunities for young people and women are paramount, and that a sustainable transition to democratic and accountable governments in the broader region will also need concrete support for large-scale infrastructure.

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The Security Council has welcomed the arrests of two fugitives wanted by the United Nations tribunals set up to try those responsible for the worst crimes committed during the Balkans conflicts of the 1990s and the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

Ratko Mladic

Ratko Mladic, the war-time leader of the Bosnian Serb forces, was arrested May 26 in Serbia after evading capture for almost 16 years. He has arrived at The Hague, where he will stand trial before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

In addition, Bernard Munyagishari, who is wanted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, was arrested on May 25 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

"The members of the Security Council reiterate their support for the search for the last fugitives from the ICTR and call on member states to continue efforts to fight all forms of impunity in the Great Lakes region," said Ambassador Gérard Araud of France, which holds the rotating Security Council presidency this month, said in a statement.  

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United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has voiced his concern about potential flotillas to Gaza, and written to governments of countries around the Mediterranean Sea asking them to discourage their use to deliver assistance to the territory.

File Photo: The MV Mavi Marmara aid-carrying ship leaving Antalya, Turkey for Gaza last year.

"The Secretary-General called on all governments concerned to use their influence to discourage such flotillas, which carry the potential to escalate into violent conflict," his spokesperson said in a statement.

"He further called on all, including the government of Israel, to act responsibly and with caution to avoid any violent incident."

In his letter to the governments, Mr. Ban expressed his belief "that assistance and goods destined to Gaza should be channeled through legitimate crossings and established channels."

Israel imposed the blockade on Gaza for what it called security reasons after Hamas, which does not recognize Israel's right to exist, ousted the Fatah movement in the Gaza Strip in 2007. The two factions reached a deal earlier this month agreeing to form a national unity government and hold elections within a year.

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United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the United Nations family paid tribute to the more than 120,000 military, police and civilian personnel serving in peacekeeping missions across the world and honored those who have lost their lives in the cause of peace.

May 27, 2011 - Alain Le Roy (left) Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, pins a peacekeeping service medal to an officer during a medal parade held in observance of International Day of UN Peacekeepers at UN headquarters in New York. UN Photo/Paulo Filgueiras

"Their deployment is a manifestation of our collective conviction that people who have survived a war should not have to suffer again through a period of insecurity, injustice and fear - and that only by removing these conditions can we engender lasting peace," Mr. Ban said in his message on the International Day of UN Peacekeepers, observed on May 29 every year.

The marking of the Day this year was already a particularly somber occasion. In early April, seven personnel were murdered in an attack on a UN compound in Afghanistan, and a few days later, 32 lives, many of them UN staff, were lost in the crash of a plane serving the UN peacekeeping operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Those incidents followed others involving fatalities around the world, including last year's loss of a total of 173 peacekeepers to natural disasters, violence, accidents and disease, including the more than 100 who died in a single catastrophic event - the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

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