The following statement was issued today by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon: The Secretary-General welcomes the adoption of the law on ratification of the new START [Treaty on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms] by the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, thereby allowing for the Treaty to enter into […]
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon: The Secretary-General welcomes the inauguration earlier today of the Wolesi Jirga, the Lower House of the Afghan Parliament, presided over by President Hamid Karzai. The inauguration marks the end of the electoral process and the beginning of a period in […]
Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva today, 26 January: It is a great pleasure to address the Conference on Disarmament. Thank you for welcoming me for the third time since I took office. I am here to express my confidence in the great potential of this […]
The United Nations peacebuilding architecture was bolstering its ability to help post-conflict nations avoid the all-too-common fate of relapsing into violence after the departure of peacekeeping missions, Peter Wittig (Germany), outgoing Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission, said today. ?The challenge is huge,? Mr. Wittig said during a Headquarters press conference, noting that half of all […]
Reporting on her humanitarian mission to Sri Lanka last week, Catherine Bragg, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, said that the humanitarian needs in that country were ?still significant? and activities should be stepped up to address the most critical. Briefing correspondents today at Headquarters, Ms. Bragg called for strong engagement with […]
Pirates Expanding Geographic Reach in More Sophisticated, Better Organized Attacks, Says Jack Lang, Seeking Prosecution of Sea-borne Raids in Domestic Courts As pirates tightened their grip in the waters off the Somali coast and surrounding Indian Ocean, the Secretary-General?s top adviser on the legal issues related to that menace proposed a series of far-reaching […]
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is pleased to announce the appointment of Kiran Mehra-Kerpelman as Director of the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in New Delhi, India. She will assume her new duties on 1 February 2011. Since August 2004, Ms. Mehra-Kerpelman has served as the Chief of the Web, Information Production and Dissemination […]
Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks to the Human Rights Council in Geneva today, 25 January: Good afternoon, I am honoured to address you today. I understand you had to rearrange your schedule to make this possible. I am very grateful for your flexibility. Human rights lie at the core of all we […]
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon: The Secretary-General welcomes today’s surrender of the Executive Secretary of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), Callixte Mbarushimana, to the International Criminal Court in The Hague by French judicial authorities. Callixte Mbarushimana is accused of having committed […]
A race was under way between Somali pirates and the rest of the world and, without fast, strong action, ?we will reach a point of no return where we will be unable to turn things around?, warned the United Nations top official charged with tackling the legal issues related to Somali piracy. At a […]
