Middle East Peace Talks Still Deadlocked Despite International Efforts as Accord on Final-Status Issues Remain Elusive, Security Council Told

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Despite the international community’s recent efforts to resume stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, negotiations were still deadlocked and the goal of reaching a framework agreement on final-status issues remained elusive, B. Lynn Pascoe, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, said today.

Security Council Al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee Approves Amendments to One Entry

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On 17 January 2011, the Committee approved the changes specified with strike-through and underline in the entry below to its Consolidated List of individuals and entities subject to the assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo set out in paragraph 1 of Security Council resolution 1904 (2009) adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations.

United Nations Task Force Meeting in Riyadh to Look at Countering Appeal of Terrorism on the Internet

Note No. 6290
Hosted by the Naif Arab University for Security Studies, the conference is the third in a series of workshops undertaken by the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force (CTITF) through its Working Group on Countering the Use of the Internet for Terrorist Purposes. Previous meetings were held last year in Berlin, Germany, and in Seattle, United States, and explored the legal and the technical aspects of the issue.

Member States Urged to Prevent Haiti’s Electoral Process Distracting from Earthquake-Recovery Efforts

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Member States must work with all parties in Haiti to help steer the electoral process towards a credible outcome, amid widespread accusations of fraud, so that it did not distract from earthquake-recovery efforts, Alain Le Roy, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations told the Security Council today.

Malaysia’s Support for Main United Nations Training Vehicle Ensures Access of Diplomats from Least Developed Countries to UN Courses

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The Government of Malaysia is the first to contribute to the newly established Fellowship Fund created by the United Nations main training vehicle, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). A symbolic and timely gesture, in support of South-South cooperation, this contribution will ensure access of diplomats from least developed and developing countries to core diplomatic training courses.

Given Marked Increase of Institution-Building Mandates in United Nations Missions, More Must be Done to Ensure Engagement with Other Actors, Says Secretary-General

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Following is the text of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks to the special debate of the Security Council on post-conflict peacebuilding — institution-building, today, 21 January, in New York:

Secretary-General Tells Palestinian Committee There Is No Place for Irresponsible Rhetoric Questioning Israel’s Right to Security, Palestinians’ Right to Statehood

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Following is the text of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks at the opening of the 2011 session of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, today, 21 January, in New York:

Secretary-General, in Palestinian Rights Committee, Says Israeli Settlements Illegal, Hamper Efforts to Re-launch Negotiations, Prejudge Their Outcome

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“As we enter a new year, I am very concerned at the lack of progress towards peace between Israel and the Palestinians,” United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.

Exhibitions on the Holocaust to Open at United Nations Headquarters, 25 January

Note No. 6291
Two exhibitions on the Holocaust will open to the public in the Main Gallery of the Visitors Lobby on Tuesday, 25 January, as part of a week-long series of Holocaust remembrance activities at the United Nations. The International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust is 27 January and the theme of this year's observance is “Women and the Holocaust: Courage and Compassion”.