Press Release

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message for the International Day of Forests, to be observed on 21 March:

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message for World Down Syndrome Day, 21 March:

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message, delivered by Amina J. Mohammed, his Special Adviser on Post-2015 Development Planning, to the International NGO Conference on Advancing the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda, in Bonn on 20 March:

On 18 March 2013, Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 2048 (2012)concerning Guinea-Bissau updated the entry specified below to its Consolidated Travel Ban List.

The following Security Council press statement was read out by Council President Vitaly Churkin (Russian Federation):

On 19 March 2013, the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999) and 1989 (2011) approved the addition of the entry specified below to its Al-Qaida Sanctions List of individuals and entities subject to the assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo set out in paragraph 1 of Security Council resolution 2083 (2012) adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations:

For centuries forests have been a source of food, fibre, livelihoods, resources and water. They are also central to combating climate change, but until today, and despite a multitude of special days honouring or commemorating key elements of human life, there has never been a globally recognized day for paying homage to the world’s forests.

Member States have completed a first round of discussions aimed at articulating a set of new set of sustainable development goals that will shape the United Nations development agenda. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opened a two-day inaugural meeting of the new General Assembly working group tasked with proposing new universal sustainable development goals that should build on the success of the Millennium Development Goals while inspiring and galvanizing action.

Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks to the Security Council debate on Afghanistan, today, 19 March:

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message for the International Day of Nowruz, to be observed on 21 March: