Following is the text of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s video message to the Global Model United Nations, in Kuala Lumpur, 14 August:

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

The second World Humanitarian Day and the seventh anniversary of the attack against the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad will be observed on Thursday, 19 August, at 10:30 a.m., in the General Assembly Building public lobby.

“We are nearing a turning point in the efforts to promote direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians,” Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Oscar Fernandez-Taranco told the Security Council today, expressing the United Nations conviction that direct and meaningful talks was the only avenue to a comprehensive, sustainable solution to the decades-old conflict.

Youth from all regions of the world came together on 14 to 18 August in the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to participate in the second edition of the Global Model United Nations Conference 2010 organized by the United Nations Department of Public Information on the theme “Towards an Alliance of Civilizations — Bridging Cultures to Achieve Peace and Development”.

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

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

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has today announced the appointment of Zachary Muburi-Muitaof Kenya as the Head of the United Nations Office to the African Union which was established by the General Assembly on 1 July 2010.

Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks on World Humanitarian Day, observed 19 August:

On 19 August 2010, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1737 (2006) issued its updated Consolidated List of Individuals and Entities subject to the travel ban and/or the assets freeze.