Expressing deep concern at the recent tensions in Nepal, the Security Council today extended by four months the mandate of the United Nations Mission there, after which it would leave the country, as requested by the Government. Unanimously adopting resolution 1939 (2010), the Council decided to extend the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) until 15 January 2011.

The Democracy Photo Challenge, a worldwide competition that engages people around the world in a global dialogue on democracy, will launch the 12 winning photos in an exhibition in the South Gallery of the Visitors’ Lobby on 15 September, the International Day of Democracy.

Following are Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks at the event with swimmer Marcos Diaz’s “Swim across the Continents with the United Nations for the Millennium Development Goals”, in New York today, 15 September:

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

Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks at the press briefing to launch the 2010 report of the Millennium Development Goals Gap Task Force, in New York today, 16 September:

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

The growth of international terrorism, insurgency, piracy and human suffering in Somalia demanded an intensified, focused and coordinated response by the international community, the Secretary-General’s new Special Representative for the Horn of Africa country told the Security Council this morning. “Experience in Somalia has shown that the more delayed or inadequate the response is, the more complex the crisis becomes,” Augustine Mahiga said in his first appearance before the Council.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has announced the appointment of Rima Khalaf, a national of Jordan, as Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA). She succeeds Bader Al-Dafa, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his dedication and commitment to the Organization and his leadership of ESCWA at a critical juncture of its work in the region.

The following Security Council press statement was read out today by Council President Ertuğrul Apakan (Turkey):