The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki‑moon:
The difficult and complex conventional arms control challenge, which delegates hoped would be mitigated with the coming entry into force of the Arms Trade Treaty, dominated debate in the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today.
Human trafficking and illicit drugs were jeopardizing peace and social order by ravaging communities, spilling over borders and violating the human rights of its victims worldwide, delegates told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) as it concluded a two-day discussion on crime prevention, criminal justice and international drug control.
Access to justice must be ensured if a society were to be truly based on the rule of law, Sixth (Legal) Committee delegations emphasized today as they continued their deliberations on the principle and shared national practices.
In a meeting dominated by harsh words and displays of raw emotion, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) heard petitioners on Western Sahara emphasize the urgency of international action to settle the territory’s long-running quest for self-determination and also bolster regional and global security.
The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) was the only Main Committee of the General Assembly to date that had adopted a decision on improvements to working methods, Committee Chair Sebastiano Cardi (Italy) told delegates today.
Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki‑moon’s message for the International Day for Disaster Reduction, to be observed on 13 October:
Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki‑moon’s message on the occasion of the “Music for Peace” event, delivered by Maher Nasser, Acting Head, Department Of Public Information, in New York today:
In Washington, D.C., today the Secretary-General participated in several meetings, including key sessions on the fight against Ebola, and said that the building blocks for a global response to counter the virus was in place, but that at least a 20-fold surge in assistance was needed and that it was time for the international community to step up.
Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki‑moon’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, to the World Bank meeting on post-2015 financing for development in Washington, D.C., today:
