Nazek Hariri discusses STL with UN chief

Nazek Hariri, wife of slain Lebanese statesman Rafik Hariri met U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon in New York and wished him well in his efforts to achieve peace and justice. “Mrs. Hariri visited the U.N. secretary-general ... and wished him well in his efforts to achieve peace and justice as well as seek the truth and do right in the Middle East and in countries all over the world,” a statement from Hariri’s office said Wednesday. The statement said the meeting took place on the sidelines of the Rafik Hariri United Nations Habitat Memorial Award ceremony held in New York. The award, named after the late Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, was established in March 2009 by the Hariri family jointly with the U.N.-Habitat through the Rafik Hariri Foundation. Hariri was assassinated in a massive bombing in Beirut in 2005. A U.N.-backed court has since been established to prosecute his killers. Nazek, who was accompanied by her son Fahd Hariri and her daughter Hind Hariri al-Karout, discussed the Special Tribunal for Lebanon with Ban at his residence in New York. The two also touched on the situation in Lebanon and the region in light of recent developments, according to the statement. Present at the meeting were Ban’s senior advisors, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman, Special Envoy of the Secretary General Terje Roed-Larsen, and Special Adviser to the Secretary General on Change Implementation Kim Won-Soo. “The Secretary-General and Mrs. Ban warmly welcomed Mrs. Hariri and praised late Prime Minister Hariri’s achievements and statesmanship,” said the statement. It said Mrs. Hariri handed Ban a book under the title "Lebanon before and after the war" in recognition of his efforts. From DailyStar