Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks at a screening of Countdown to Zero, in New York, 5 May:

Increased globalization, urbanization and rising prosperity around the world are taking an ever greater toll on the world’s ecosystems, according to two reports issued to coincide with the opening of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development.

The General Assembly today marked the sixty-fifth anniversary of the end of the Second World War, with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon describing the conflict as “one of the most epic struggles for freedom and liberation in history”, and adding that the devastating seven-year war had also led to the creation of the United Nations to foster peace, international cooperation and prevent future conflicts.

Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks at a special session of the General Assembly to commemorate the sixty-fifth anniversary of the end of the Second World War, in New York, 6 May:

As long as the possession of nuclear weapons equalled power in the global “psyche”, the implications for the future of non-proliferation and disarmament would be profound, the 2010 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Review Conference heard today.

The Commission on Sustainable Development today began exploring a 10-year framework of programmes to promote sustainable consumption and production patterns, with speakers saying that change must begin in developed countries, where consumption was focused on luxury, whereas it was based on meeting basic needs in the developing world.

The following statement was issued on 5 May by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

Following is the text of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks to the Inter-Parliamentary Union and Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, “Advancing Nuclear Disarmament: The Power of Parliaments”, in New York, 6 May:

The membership of the Multistakeholder Advisory Group, which is entrusted with assisting in the preparations for the annual meeting of the Internet Governance Forum, has been renewed. A total of 56 members, 3 among them new, have been appointed. The Advisory Group members are from all stakeholder groups, representing Governments, private sector and civil society, including the academic and technical communities, representing all regions.

Meeting in four parallel sessions today, delegates in the Commission on Sustainable Development sounded the alarm over consumption and production habits that could put the Millennium Development Goals at risk, as they continued their review of key issues worldwide.