United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomes the announcement by the Sustainable Energy for All Executive Committee of the selection of Rachel Kyte of the United Kingdom as the first Chief Executive Officer of the international not-for-profit organization “Sustainable Energy for All Partnership” (SE4ALL Partnership) to be hosted by the Government of Austria. 

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

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message for the International Day of Charity, observed on 5 September:

In September, the Security Council would focus on a range of issues, from the humanitarian crisis in Syria and the political climate in Lebanon to the broad settlement of conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa, the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation said today at a Headquarters press conference.

The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen condemned the killing of two International Committee of the Red Cross staff members in Amran Governate.  The Emergency Relief Coordinator reiterated a call for all parties to the conflict to respect international humanitarian law and to protect aid workers.

The Security Council today renewed an arms embargo on non-State actors in Liberia for nine months while terminating other sanctions on the country, including a travel ban and asset freeze on those deemed a danger to its stability.

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson’s remarks at the ceremony dedicating a commemorative plaque at the Tree of Peace and Unity, in New York today:

The Secretary-General called today the “start of a new era”, as he handed over to the General Assembly the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to be endorsed at the Summit later this month.  He said the new Agenda aimed high, putting people at the centre of development while fostering prosperity, peace and justice.

In a historic move today, the General Assembly adopted a resolution transmitting to its seventieth session a sweeping post-2015 development agenda aimed at eliminating poverty and hunger, protecting the planet and fostering peace, to be acted on during a high-level summit later this month.

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message, delivered by Thomas Gass, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, to the breakfast meeting with parliamentarians on the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, in New York today: