United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon speaks during the opening of the G77+ China Summit in Santa Cruz de la Sierra June 14, 2014.
CREDIT: REUTERS/DAVID MERCADO
(Reuters) – U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has been urging Iraq’s Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to hold dialogue to try to stop the sectarian violence that has erupted this month, he said on Tuesday, adding that governments who neglect human rights are creating “breeding grounds for extremism and terrorism”.
Ban told a news conference in Geneva: “I hope that with the strong support of regional countries and the international community in a broader sense, we will be able to help Iraq government first of all to restore peace and stability in their country.”
(Reporting by Tom Miles, editing by Stephanie Nebehay)