The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Liu Jieyi (China):

The Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations recommended three organizations for special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council and deferred action on the status of 25 others, as it continued its 2015 regular session today.

The Secretary-General condemns in the strongest terms the barbaric murder of Kenji Goto.  He calls for the unconditional release of all hostages held by Da'esh and others, and extends his condolences to Mr. Goto's family, and to the people and Government of Japan.

The world’s 1.8 billion young people – 90 per cent of whom lived in developing countries — were a source of innovation, hope and resilience whose power to transform economies must be unleashed in efforts to shape the post-2015 development agenda, senior United Nations officials and youth representatives alike told the Economic and Social Council’s fourth annual Youth Forum today.

Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, to the Economic and Social Council Youth Forum, in New York today:

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message to the ninth Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean Plenary Session, in Monaco today:

Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks at the General Assembly meeting in memory of Ambassador Mårten Grunditz of Sweden, in New York today:

Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks at the General Assembly meeting in memory of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, in New York today:

The General Assembly today approved the Secretary-General’s proposal to extend the terms of office of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres, until the end of this year, given the heightened refugee problem.