Following is the text of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, 25 November:

The General Assembly would demand that Israel stop exploiting, damaging, depleting or endangering natural resources in occupied Arab lands, by the terms of one of five draft resolutions approved today by its Second Committee (Economic and Financial).

Draft resolutions that would have the General Assembly address the human rights situations in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Iran and Myanmar were approved by the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, but not before delegations debated the validity of such country-specific motions.

Acting on the recommendations of its Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary), the General Assembly today appointed officials to several of its subsidiary bodies for terms of office beginning on 1 January 2011, including its influential Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), which plays a crucial role in managing the United Nations vast human and financial resources.

The new Permanent Representative of Kyrgyzstan to the United Nations, Talaibek Kydyrov, today presented his credentials to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message for World Philosophy Day, observed 18 November:

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message to the symposium: “Audacity, the Only Challenge for a New Africa”, in Cotonou, Benin, 18 November:

The new Permanent Representative of Senegal to the United Nations, Abdou Salam Diallo, today presented his credentials to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The United Nations is calling for nominations for its Public Service Awards 2011, an international competition designed to promote and support innovations and public service delivery worldwide.

Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, to the UNA-USA (United Nations Association of the United States of America) 2010 dinner, on 18 November: