The top United Nations official in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, warning of what he called an “extremely fragile” political situation in that country, this morning called on the Security Council to urge the parties to return to dialogue, guarantee the right to peaceful opposition and to end impunity for violence, encouraging regional organizations to engage more closely with the situation.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced today the launch of a new platform for scaling up innovative finance solutions to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 at a meeting with high-level officials from ministries of finance and foreign affairs, together with leaders from major global financial institutions.

During its forty-ninth session, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) had made great strides in its programme of work, including the finalization and adoption of three texts on secured transactions, arbitration and online dispute resolution, the Chair of the forty-ninth session told the Sixth Committee (Legal), as they took up that body’s report.

Obscene amounts were being spent on military budgets and to maintain and modernize nuclear weapons at the expense of such pressing global issues as sustainable development, climate change and the refugee crisis, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) heard today.

Implementation of the 2030 Agenda, Addis Ababa Action Plan and the Paris Agreement were the “moral imperatives of our time”, said General Assembly President Peter Thomson (Fiji) as the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) took up the topic of sustainable development.

Concluding its consideration of decolonization questions today, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) approved 20 draft resolutions for adoption by the General Assembly, four of them by recorded vote.

Femicide — the killing of women because of their gender — and other human rights violations targeting them were hotly debated today as the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) began its consideration of the advancement of women.

Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks at the event on financial solutions for the Sustainable Development Goals, in New York today:

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message for the International Day of the Girl Child, observed on 11 October:

Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks at the Africa Week high-level inaugural event on strengthening partnerships for inclusive sustainable development, good governance, peace and stability in Africa, in New York today: