The Security Council today renewed authorization of the European Union-led multinational stabilization force (EUFOR ALTHEA) in Bosnia and Herzegovina for another year, a decision taken ahead of its semi-annual debate on the situation there in the 20 years since the historic Dayton Accords had ended the Bosnian war.

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message, delivered today in New York by Susana Malcorra, Chef de Cabinet, at the event commemorating the fifth anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations Academic Impact, titled “The Next Generation of Global Citizens”:

The Secretary-General, in his address to the Summit of Arab and South American countries, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, plans to highlight the transition made by Latin American nations sought by so many people across the Arab world.  He will stress the role of community, civil society and human rights groups to that end.

Approving a draft resolution on the peaceful uses of outer space today, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) also concluded its general debate on the work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), as delegations voiced their concerns about the plight of the refugees and the Agency’s financial sustainability.

Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, to the Fourth Summit of Arab and South American Countries, in Riyadh today:

The “historic” and popular uprising led by Palestinian youth now into its second month had brought the Middle East question back to the forefront of the international conversation, the Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine told the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People today as it approved four draft texts to be considered by the General Assembly.

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message to the launch of the International Year of Pulses 2016, in Rome today:

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message, delivered by Cristina Gallach, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, to the opening ceremony of the photo exhibition in commemoration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Chinese Armed Forces’ participation in United Nations Peacekeeping Operations, in New York today:

The Security Council this morning renewed the measures granted to States and regional organizations cooperating with authorities in Somalia in the fight against piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of that country for a further period of 12 months.

With conflicts expanding in the Middle East, thrusting one community after another into extreme insecurity, Palestine refugees remained among the most marginalized due to Israel’s ongoing occupation and the absence of sustainable, predictable funding, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) heard today as it took up the work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).