The Secretary-General met today with a group of Ambassadors representing countries in the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

Referring to the burning of a Quran in an incident in Florida recently, the Secretary-General said he was on record as specifically condemning such acts when the issue first arose last year.

He condemned the incident and said such actions cannot be condoned by any religion. He said such actions contradict the efforts of the United Nations and many people around the world to promote tolerance, intercultural understanding and mutual respect between cultures and religions.

The Secretary-General said he supported the UN High Representative of the Alliance of Civilizations, who said in a statement that the desecration of the Quran - as of any holy text - should be vehemently repudiated. Equally, no religion tolerates the slaughter of innocent people.

The Secretary-General also discussed issues related to the work of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and the Middle East peace process, as well as the evolving situation in the Middle East and North Africa.

The Secretary-General thanked the Ambassadors for their condemnation of and condolences for the attack on our staff at the UN offices in Mazar-i-Sharif. He said such an attack cannot be justified under any circumstances.