United Nations, New York, USA, January 04 2016 – Stephane Dujarric, United Nations Secretary-General Spokesperson
Photos by: Luiz Rampelotto/EuropaNewswire
United Nations, January 04 2016
During a telephone conversation with the foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia, the UN Secretary-General expressed his disappointment at the execution of the Shiite cleric Sheikh al-Nimr in Riyadh and said the attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran was “deplorable”, his spokesman told reporters today in New York.
Stephane Dujarric said the Secretary General
“reiterated his views on capital punishment and his disappointment at the execution of Sheik al-Nimr, whose case the Secretary-General had raised with Saudi authorities on several occasions. The Secretary-General also reiterated that the attack on the Saudi embassy in Teheran was deplorable, but added that the announcement of a break in Saudi diplomatic relations with Tehran was deeply worrying.”
Dujarric also said the Secretary-General urged
“both foreign ministers to avoid any action that could further exacerbate the situation between the two countries and in the region as whole. He stress the importance of continues and constructive engagement by both countries in the interests of the region and beyond.”
The spokesman said “the Secretary-General has spoken out repeatedly against the use of the death penalty, and he’s also brought up personally the case of Sheik al-Nimr in a number of meetings he’s had with very senior Saudi officials both here in New York and in Riyadh and I think that the statement can be read as a clear condemnation of the execution and I think he expresses his deep disappointment and dismay that it took place.”
Since 2007, the UN General Assembly has adopted a series of resolutions calling on States that retain the death penalty to establish a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty altogether.
Source: UNTV, Photos: Luiz Rampelotto/EuropaNewswire