Demanding an immediate withdrawal of the Sudanese Government and of all military elements from the contested Abyei area, the Security Council today strongly condemned the Sudanese Government’s military seizure of the town and the resulting displacement of tens of thousands of residents, through a statement read out by Nelson Messone of Gabon, the Council’s President for June.

The following statement was issued on 4 June by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

The following statement was issued on 5 June by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

It was critical for the parties in both North and South Sudan to reach accord on all outstanding issues under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement before the South declared independence on 9 July, the Security Council heard today, as the leaders of its recent mission to Africa briefed members on the visit.

Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks to the Security Council meeting on the global impact of HIV/AIDS on peace and security, in New York, today, 7 June:

SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES, 1 June — In their second day of discussion, participants in the Caribbean regional seminar on decolonization today pressed the Special Committee on Decolonization charged with monitoring implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples to take a more active role in unlocking long-standing political stalemates that had bedevilled progress around the world

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message, delivered by Vijay Nambiar, Under-Secretary-General and Chef de Cabinet, to the U Thant Institute luncheon in Fairfield, Connecticut, on 4 June:

Reaffirming its previous commitment to address the HIV/AIDS pandemic as a threat to international peace and security, the Security Council this morning encouraged the incorporation of HIV prevention, treatment, care and support in the implementation of peacekeeping mandates. Resolution 1983 (2011), building on the first Council action on HIV/AIDS, resolution 1308 (2000), was adopted unanimously in a meeting presided by Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba.

NEW YORK, 7 June (United Nations Global Compact Office) — When it comes to broad implementation of responsible business practices, company size matters most. And while businesses around the world seem to be making tangible progress in addressing environmental concerns, many continue to struggle in the human rights and anti-corruption arena.

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message to the forty-first General Assembly of the Organization of American States, as delivered by Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, in San Salvador, 7 June: