“I am encouraged that Israelis and Palestinians have re-engaged in direct dialogue. But for these negotiations to have a chance at success, they need to be meaningful,” Mr. Ban said at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“I know that when a problem has remained an open wound for decades, causing hardships and casualties on both sides, it might sometimes seem that the problem will never be solved,” he continued.

“Dealing [with] the symptom might seem easier in the short term. It takes courage, vision, and creativity to decide that the long-term cost of that problem is actually too high. That is what is happening now with the Israeli-Palestinian issue.”

Direct negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians stalled in September 2010, after Israel refused to extend its freeze on settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territory. Following recent efforts by United States Secretary of State John Kerry, the two sides resumed negotiations this week.

“I am here to urge all the leaders to continue along the path to peace and to underscore a shared commitment to work together to make 2013 a decisive year for Israeli-Palestinian peace and peace in the region,” stated Mr. Ban, who is visiting Israel for the sixth time as Secretary-General.

In addition to Mr. Netanyahu, Mr. Ban also met with Israeli President Shimon Peres. Speaking to reporters along with Mr. Peres, the Secretary-General noted that direct negotiations remain the “single most credible path” to a solution.

He also urged all parties to avoid actions that risk undermining the negotiations. “Both sides need to sustain an environment conducive for the peace process to move forward. People need to see improvements on the ground, including economic progress for Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, and greater security for Israelis and Palestinians.”

Mr. Ban also held meetings with Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon and the Leader of the Opposition, Shelly Yachimovich. A separate meeting with Ambassador Martin Indyk, the US Special Envoy for the Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations, covered the resumption of direct negotiations between the parties.

In addition, Mr. Ban took part in an Israeli Model UN event at the UN headquarters in Jerusalem, at which he said students everywhere should have both passion and compassion, and lift their vision beyond boundaries. While at the UN headquarters, the Secretary-General met the new head of the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), Major-General Michael Finn.

Also today, Mr. Ban visited the grave site on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who the UN chief noted lived through the war to become “a champion of peace and security” for Israel and the region.

“As Secretary-General of the United Nations it is a great honour for me to work together with the people of Israel to build upon his legacy,” Mr. Ban said, adding that he hoped that both parties, Israelis and Palestinians, will remember Mr. Rabin’s legacy and realize a two-State solution.

Mr. Ban’s two-day visit to the region also took him to Jordan and Palestine.

The two men discussed the escalating humanitarian crisis and the disconcerting rise in sectarian violence in Syria over a working dinner in New York last night, according to a read-out provided by Mr. Ban’s spokesperson.

In June, discussions about the international conference were held in Geneva with participation from senior United States, Russian and UN officials, led by the Joint Special Representative of the UN and the League of Arab States, Lakhdar Brahimi.

Still not scheduled, the goal of such a conference would to be to achieve a political solution to the conflict in Syria through a comprehensive agreement between the Government and the opposition for the full implementation of the Geneva communiqué of 30 June 2012.

Issued after a meeting of the Action Group for Syria, the document lays out key steps in a process to end the violence. Among others, it calls for the establishment of a transitional governing body, with full executive powers and made up by members of the present Government and the opposition and other groups, as part of agreed principles and guidelines for a Syrian-led political transition.

Since fighting began in March 2011 between the Syrian Government and opposition groups seeking to oust President Bashar Al-Assad, more than 100,000 people have been killed, almost 2 million have fled to neighbouring countries and a further 4 million have been internally displaced. In addition, at least 6.8 million Syrian require urgent humanitarian assistance.

Ban and Lavrov also discussed the Middle East peace process, with the UN chief saying he was encouraged by the resumption of direct negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and reiterating that the UN would do its utmost to support them.

The Secretary-General and the Foreign Minister also discussed the situations in Lebanon and Afghanistan, among other topics.

“It is my sincere hope that we can convene an international conference on Syria as soon as possible to help parties come to the negotiating table,” Mr. Ban said at a joint press conference in Sochi with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Last week, following talks in Moscow between Mr. Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry, the two countries announced they would work together to achieve a political solution to the Syria crisis, and agreed to convene an international conference aimed at achieving this goal.

“I thanked the Foreign Minister for working with US Secretary of State Kerry on finding a way forward,” said Mr. Ban. “Now our challenge is to build on the momentum that Foreign Minister Lavrov and Secretary Kerry have helped to generate.”

He added that although a date for the conference has not yet been set, it should take place soon. “We will try to fix a date as soon as possible. We should not lose this momentum generated by Minister Lavrov and Secretary Kerry. There is high expectation that this meeting should be held as soon as possible.”

Since March 2011, fighting between the Syrian Government and opposition forces seeking to oust President Bashar Al-Assad has killed more than 70,000 people, and left 6.8 million people in need. In addition, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced today that the number of Syrian civilians who have fled their country to escape conflict has passed the 1.5 million mark.

“The crisis in Syria is first and foremost on our minds,” Mr. Ban stated. “I am deeply concerned about the ongoing violence and the terrible impact on millions of civilians.”

The Secretary-General and Mr. Lavrov also discussed how the Syria crisis is affecting the wider region, including countries such as Lebanon and Jordan. They also exchanged views on a number of other issues, including the Middle East peace process, the situation in Afghanistan, climate change, and the situation on the Korean peninsula.

Mr. Ban also discussed these issues today with President Vladimir Putin, with whom he underscored the importance of the strong partnership between the UN and Russia. He commended the emphasis Russia places on multilateral diplomacy in addressing key global challenges, according to a read-out of the talks.

“He congratulates the people of Kenya for their impressive determination to participate peacefully in the elections, and for the patience they have demonstrated while awaiting the results,” his spokesperson said in a statement.

According to media reports, Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) announced that Uhuru Kenyatta had narrowly avoided a run-off by winning 50.07 per cent of votes in a credible and transparent poll. Voter turnout in the 4 March election was reportedly the largest ever in the country, at 86 per cent.

Mr. Ban spoke by phone yesterday with Mr. Kenyatta and the other candidate, Raila Odinga.

“He reiterated his call for both leaders to send clear messages of calm to their supporters, and he reminded them of the commitments they have made throughout this process to channel any electoral grievances through the established legal avenues,” said Mr. Ban’s spokesperson.

“He therefore welcomes the measured statements both have made since the announcement of results. Kenyans are depending at this time on wise and responsible leadership.”

“I am heading to the region to appeal personally for ending the violence and contribute to ongoing efforts to that end,” he said in a statement.

The new wave of violence in Gaza and Israel – which includes rocket attacks against Israel from Gaza, and Israeli airstrikes on Gaza – has resulted in several people being killed or wounded on both sides.

Ban said that he is “deeply saddened” by the reported deaths of more than 10 members of the Dalu family, including women and children, and additional Palestinian civilians killed as a result of the ongoing violence in Gaza.

He is also alarmed by the continuing firing of rockets against Israeli towns, which has killed several Israeli civilians.

“This must stop,” he stated, strongly urging the parties to cooperate with all efforts led by Egypt to reach an immediate ceasefire.

“Any further escalation will inevitably increase the suffering of the affected civilian populations and must be avoided.”

According to a readout from the Secretary-General’s spokesperson, Ban expressed his concern to Netanyahu about the deteriorating situation in southern Israel and Gaza, which includes an alarming escalation of indiscriminate rocket fire from Gaza into Israel and the targeted killing by Israel of a Hamas military operative in Gaza.

Ahmed Said Khalil al-Jabari, the head of the military wing of the Palestinian group Hamas that controls Gaza, was killed when his car was reportedly targeted during Israeli air strikes on the territory that followed a wave of rocket attacks against Israel from Gaza.

The Secretary-General reiterated his strong condemnation of rocket fire out of Gaza and noted his expectation that Israeli reactions are measured so as not to provoke a new cycle of bloodshed that could cause additional civilian casualties and have dangerous spillover effects in the region.

He also called for the parties to exercise the utmost restraint and to respect international humanitarian law.

The 15-member Council met Wednesday night behind closed doors, with the participation of the two parties, and heard a briefing on the situation from Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman.

In his conversation with Morsi, the Secretary-General stated the need to prevent any further deterioration of the situation, and expressed strong support for the leadership being exercised by Egypt to restore calm in the region.

Since October security forces have used teargas and stun grenades to disperse at least three large rallies protesting an effort by the country’s ruler to amend the country’s electoral law in a way that might reduce opposition representation in parliament.

Opposition groups – consisting of Islamists, liberals, and nationalists – have called for another gathering in al-Erada Square in front of the National Assembly building in Kuwait City on November 11, marking the 50th anniversary of the country’s constitution.

“The right to peaceful assembly is enshrined in the constitution Kuwaitis will be celebrating,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “Authorities should lift the ban and permit people to express their views.”

Some of the rallies brought out tens of thousands of protesters, such as a “March of Dignity” on October 20 – the largest in the country’s history. The Interior Ministry justified the use of force to disperse protesters, saying that they “rioted and used violence,” “threw stones at police forces,” and “blocked traffic.” At the October 20 event, dozens of people were injured, according to news reports, including at least 11 policemen, according to the Interior Ministry.

However accounts from Kuwaiti human rights activists and videos examined by Human Rights Watch indicate that the demonstrations have been largely peaceful. In any event the use of violence by some protesters would not justify as drastic a step as the prohibition of all demonstrations. Restrictions on the right to peaceful assembly must be proportionate, Human Rights Watch said.

Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, Kuwait’s emir, issued the decree to amend the electoral law on October 19. The next day, the Interior Ministry warned that it would “absolutely not allow” sit-ins, gatherings, and marches regardless of how long they will last except within a designated area near the National Assembly building in Kuwait City.

The political upheaval in Kuwait began on June 18, when the ruler suspended the parliament that had been elected in February for a month following growing tensions between the legislature and the government. On June 20, the constitutional court voided the February elections and reinstated the previous parliament, elected in 2009, which included more government supporters.

In August the government petitioned the court to allow it to amend the electoral law to reduce the number of people for whom each eligible voter can cast a vote from four to one in parliamentary elections. Opposition groups strongly oppose such a change which they have described as an attempt to reduce the opposition presence in future parliaments. The groups say that the next elected parliament should make any needed changes to the law.

On September 25 the constitutional court rejected the government’s request. On October 7 the emir dissolved the reinstated 2009 parliament and set December 1 to elect a new parliament. Then on October 19, he changed the electoral law by decree.

Kuwait ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in 1996. Article 21 of the ICCPR states that “the right of peaceful assembly shall be recognized,” and that “no restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right other than those imposed in conformity with the law and which are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security or public safety, public order, the protection of public health or morals or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.”

“The government has an obligation to respect the right to gather peacefully regardless of whether demonstrators support or oppose its policies,” Stork said. “If force is required to quell violence by protesters it should be the absolute minimum necessary to protect lives and property.”

Soon after arriving in Tehran, the UN chief attended a working lunch at the Parliament Building with the Speaker, Ali Larijani, and other officials, and later had meetings with President Ahmadinejad, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Saeed Jalili.

“In all these meetings, the Secretary-General conveyed the clear concerns and expectations of the international community on the issues for which cooperation and progress are urgent for both regional stability and the welfare of the Iranian people,” the spokesperson told a news briefing at UN Headquarters in New York.

“These include Iran’s nuclear programme, terrorism, human rights and the crisis in Syria. We expect to be able more details on these talks later,” he added.

The UN chief is in Iran to attend the 16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). Taking place in the capital, Tehran, and under the chairmanship of Iran, the NAM Summit began on Sunday and ends on Friday, and is expected to draw representatives from its 120 members, as well as from various associated observer countries. The UN chief will address the Summit on Thursday.

“This is very important opportunity for Iran to play a very important role as moderate and constructive leader of the international community in addressing all the challenges,” Mr. Ban said in a media encounter upon arrival at Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport, earlier on Wednesday, adding that Iran has a “very important” role to play in the region, particularly when it comes to the situation in Syria.

A UN spokesperson who addressed the same news briefing by telephone from Tehran said that while discussing the nuclear question in his meeting with President Ahmadinejad, the Secretary-General said he has been following closely Iran’s talks with the P5+1 grouping, made up of the five Security Council permanent members – China, France, Russia, United Kingdom and United States – along with Germany.

The spokesperson in Tehran stated that the UN chief regretted that little tangible progress has been achieved so far during the talks, and that the talks needed to be serious and substantive.

“He said that Iran needed to take concrete steps to address the concern of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and prove to the world that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes,’ the spokesperson noted. “He said that there is no alternative to peaceful, diplomatic and negotiated settlement which should be reached step by step and based on reciprocity.”

The Secretary-General made the same point on the nuclear question in his meeting with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran’s nuclear activities have been of international concern since the discovery, in 2003, that Iran had concealed its nuclear activities for 18 years, in breach of its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Iran has repeatedly stated that its nuclear programme is for the peaceful purpose of providing energy, but many countries contend it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

Ban has previously expressed the hope that the parties can quickly achieve a negotiated solution that restores international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme. In 2011, the Security Council imposed a fourth round of sanctions against Iran, citing the proliferation risks of its nuclear programme and its continued failure to cooperate with the IAEA.

On Syria, in his separate meetings with the President and the Supreme Leader, Ban urged them both to use Iran’s influence to impress upon the Syrian leadership the urgent need for the violence to stop and to create the conditions for a credible dialogue and a genuine political process that meets the will of the Syrian people, the spokesperson in Tehran said.

He added that the Secretary-General reiterated his opposition to the further militarization of the conflict and he called on all States to stop supplying arms to all sides in Syria.

Syria has been wracked by violence, with more than 17,000 people, mostly civilians, killed since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began some 17 months ago. Over the past month, there have been reports of an escalation in violence in many towns and villages, as well as the country’s two biggest cities, Damascus and Aleppo. In addition, the conflict has displaced many people, both inside the country and into neighbouring countries.

On human rights, in his meeting with the President, Secretary-General Ban said that the human rights situation in Iran remains a source of concern, and that fundamental, civil and political rights should be respected.

In that meeting as well as his meeting with the Supreme Leader, the UN chief also mentioned that he strongly objected to recent remarks from Iranian officials denying the Holocaust and Israel’s right to exist, the spokesperson in Tehran noted, adding that Mr. Ban said that such offensive and inflammatory statements were unacceptable and should be condemned by all.

The Secretary-General had similar exchanges with the Speaker of Parliament and with the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, with the talks with the latter focussed primarily on the nuclear issue.