There was now a common understanding that social policies inclusive of persons with disabilities were a “sound” investment in society and that their exclusion from decisions came with economic costs that countries could no longer ignore, the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities told the Commission for Social Development today, outlining ways to ensure the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development built on historic gains in their recognition.

The United Nations Department of Public Information is pleased to announce that the Republic of Korea has confirmed its desire to host the sixty-sixth Department of Public Information (DPI)/Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Conference in Gyeongju from 30 May to 1 June 2016.

The Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan voiced concern over the legislature’s passing of the Non-Governmental Organizations’ (NGO) Bill, which limits foreign aid workers in the country.  He said he was concerned that its adoption would have wide-ranging and negative ramifications on humanitarian operations.

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson’s remarks at an informal meeting of the General Assembly on the coherent, efficient and inclusive follow-up of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in New York today:

Despite progress, the development crisis continued to prevail, with the widening inequality between people and countries, delegates in the Commission for Social Development heard today, debating ways to design policies that could improve overall well-being and effectively address challenges without sacrificing the productivity that allowed their communities to advance.

The United Nations mission in the Central African Republic has identified seven new possible victims of sexual exploitation and abuse in Bambari.  The soldiers implicated are from Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo.  Their Governments have been notified and asked to launch investigations.

On Sunday evening, 31 January 2016, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Madam Ban Soon-taek arrived from Addis Ababa in Muscat, where he would deliver a lecture at the National Defense College.

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message for the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, observed on 6 February:

On Thursday evening, 28 January, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, accompanied by Madam Ban Soon-taek, flew from New York to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to attend the twenty-sixth Africa Union Summit, whose theme was “2016: African Year of Human Rights with Particular Focus on the Rights of Women”.

Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s opening remarks to the Supporting Syria and the Region conference, in London today: