The Security Council this morning ended an arms embargo and other sanctions imposed on Sierra Leone during its brutal civil war, while, in a separate text, it extended the mandate for the Integrated Peacebuilding Office in the country (UNIPSIL) for one year, until 15 September 2011.

The Security Council this morning decided to authorize a temporary increase of 500 personnel for the military and police contingents of the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI), recalling its intention to do so to contribute to security before, during and after elections.

The Department of Public Information today announced the six winners of the second annual “Citizen Ambassadors to the United Nations” video contest, which focused this year on the Millennium Development Goals.

A number of key events in Afghanistan, including the Consultative Peace Jirga, the 20 July international Kabul Conference and the holding of parliamentary elections on 18 September, were stepping stones towards the full exercise of that country’s sovereign authority, the top United Nations official in Afghanistan told the Security Council today.

In a brief organizational meeting today, the Fourth Committee approved its work programme for the current session, during which it planned to consider more than a dozen topics, ranging from the peaceful uses of outer space to the to a review of peacekeeping operations and the decolonization of the remaining Non-Self-Governing Territories.

On 29 September 2010, the Committee approved the changes specified with strikethrough and underline in the entry below to its Consolidated List of individuals and entities subject to the assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo set out in paragraph 1 of Security Council resolution 1904 (2009) adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations.

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message for the International Day of Non-Violence, to be delivered by his Chef de Cabinet, Vijay Nambiar, tomorrow, 1 October, ahead of the observance on 2 October:

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

The 2010 Disarmament Fellowship Programme will commence its third and final segment at United Nations Headquarters, today, in New York.

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and Magnum Photos will open an exhibition to the public on Tuesday, 5 October, entitled “Access to Life”. Through photography, multimedia pieces and text, the project chronicles the transformative effect that access to free antiretroviral drug treatments is having on AIDS patients around the world.