The implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples should not be obscured by a discussion about whether or not it is a legally binding document and should be regarded as a “political, moral and legal imperative” without qualification, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) was told today, as it began its discussion of indigenous issues and the Second International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People.

World Statistics Day, celebrated for the first time on 20 October 2010 worldwide, will pay tribute to statisticians’ outstanding work in producing and disseminating data needed for responding to everyday challenges and for measuring progress in people’s lives.

Following are Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro’s remarks at an event to commemorate the entry into force of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, in New York, 19 October:

The patchwork of national and regional controls over the conventional weapons trade lacked the global support needed to reduce the millions of arms currently in circulation, delegates heard today in the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security), along with the introduction of two draft resolutions aimed at countering that deficit.

Timor-Leste was entering a crucial period that would help determine whether the country had overcome the political and institutional weaknesses that had contributed to the violent events of 2006, the Head of the United Nations Mission there told the Security Council today.

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

This is the text of an address by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today to the European Parliament, in Strasbourg, France:

More than a quarter century after its adoption, the objectives of the Convention against Torture had yet to be achieved, and the entire human rights treaty body system was slowed under a backlog of reports from Member States, the Third Committee was told today. The Committee began its discussion on human rights by focusing on international efforts to prevent the use of torture, in the absence of the Special Rapporteur on the issue, who was unable to be present due to other commitments.

To tackle the challenges posed by a constantly evolving global communications environment, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, Kiyo Akasaka, today told the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) that the Department of Public Information was applying a strategic approach, upgrading operational infrastructure, and adopting new information and communications technologies.

The Governments of Chad and the Central African Republic were doing their best to take over the tasks of the United Nations Mission there, known as MINURCAT, but needed continued support in that effort, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today. “We must not let MINURCAT’s hard-won achievements fade because of lack of funding and support,” said Youssef Mahmoud, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of MINURCAT.