United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Robert Watkins of Canada as Deputy Special Coordinator for Lebanon, where he will also serve as the United Nations Resident Coordinator and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative. The new Deputy Special Coordinator succeeds Marta Ruedas of Spain, who will complete her assignment at the end of the year.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Susan Rice (United States):

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

On 22 December 2010, the Security Council Al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee approved the deletion (de-listing) of the three entries specified below from its Consolidated List. The assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo set out in paragraph 1 of Security Council resolution 1904 (2009) therefore no longer apply to the following individuals:

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today wrapped up the main part of a sixty-fifth session that aimed to boost the Organization’s efficiency by overhauling how tens of thousands of staff around the globe are hired, trained and paid, while continuing to modernize its outdated information and communications technology system.

The following statement was issued on 24 December by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

Wrapping up the main part of the sixty-fifth session, General Assembly President Joseph Deiss (Switzerland) hailed the “constructive and cooperative spirit” that had prevailed over three months of critical, and at times challenging, deliberations on a range of issues, from poverty eradication and human rights to sustainable development and disarmament.

The following statement was issued on 25 December by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

The following statement was issued on 26 December by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

Amid mounting concern that the United Nations was losing ground to smaller and more agile groupings, the General Assembly — during the main part of its sixty-fifth session — was repeatedly urged to redeploy its heavy political capital and near-universal membership to regain its pre-eminence, and breathe new life into the very principles that had called the Organization into being: peace and security, friendship among nations and international cooperation.