Press Conference

The United Nations needed to regain relevance to rise to the twenty-first century’s new challenges, including the recent food and financial crises, the Senior Vice-President of the Economic and Social Council told reporters today at Headquarters, as he announced a special ministerial meeting on sustainable development — “Building the Future We Want” — to be held here on 24 September.

United Nations officials today launched an online platform for the exchange of information on expertise to support countries emerging from conflict in building institutions for inclusive governance, security, justice, jobs, economic growth and service delivery among other areas.

Solutions to bridge the massive gap in access to sustainable energy between the global North and South – particularly solutions emanating from the South – would be showcased at an innovative international expo in November, experts involved in organizing the event said at a Headquarters press conference today.

Following is a transcript of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s press conference, held in New York on 19 September:

The General Assembly’s journey over the past 12 months had been momentous, historic and challenging, as Member States stepped up to address conflicts, significant political developments and other pressing global issues of the day, General Assembly President Nassir Abdulaziz al-Nasser ( Qatar) said today, just days before handing over to his successor on Tuesday.

Human security and human development must be at the “centre of the equation” if Afghanistan was to find peace and prosperity, Michael Keating, Deputy Special Representative for that country, said at a Headquarters press conference today.

Anybody in the room on 13 December 2006 when the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was adopted had felt the tremendous spirit behind the movement and understood that a “key tool to transform our societies” had joined the ranks of international human rights instruments, correspondents were told today as the Fifth Session of the Conference of States Parties to the treaty convened at Headquarters.

Forging greater ties between the United Nations and the League of Arab States to address Middle East turmoil and working closely with their new Joint Special Representative on the crisis in Syria would be among the top priorities of the Security Council in September, the Permanent Representative of Germany, whose delegation holds the Council’s rotating presidency for this month, said today.

“Enough is enough,” said Dieudonné Mbaya Tshiakany, National Moderator of l’Eglise du Christ au Congo, referring to the conflicts that had killed 6 million Congolese, at a Headquarters press conference, entitled "Peace is still possible within the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda".