Continuing its resumed 2011 session, the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) today recommended special consultative status for 38 entities to the Economic and Social Council, postponing consideration of an additional 33 until answers to the Committee’s outstanding questions were supplied.

At its thirtieth meeting on 2 May 2011, the Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict agreed, in connection with the examination of the second report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in Afghanistan (document S/2011/55), to address the following message, through public statements issued by the Chairman of the Working Group:

Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks, partly delivered in French, to the Security Council on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in New York on 18 May:

Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks to the General Assembly’s informal interactive thematic debate on migration and development, 19 May, in New York:

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Margaret Vogt of Nigeria as his Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in the Central African Republic (BINUCA). Ms. Vogt will replace Sahle-Work Zewde of Ethiopia.

Deadly Israeli-Palestinian clashes, along with the Palestinian reconciliation and state-building efforts, showed that the conflict between the two sides was not immune to the political changes sweeping across the Arab world, a top United Nations official told the Security Council today. “One way or another, change will come to it too,” said Robert Serry, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Personal Representative of the Secretary-General.

Francis Deng, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide, and John Prendergast, co-founder of the Enough Project, will open a one-day event on genocide, organized by the United Nations Department of Public Information, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Conference Room 4, at New York Headquarters, on 20 May.

While noting the Organization’s improved financial situation at year-end 2010, Member States gathered at the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) session today reminded each other of their obligation to pay their assessments in full and on time so as to keep the United Nations running smoothly. Their debate came a week after the Under-Secretary-General for Management, Angela Kane, gave the Committee her semi-annual snapshot of the Organization’s financial picture.

Completing its fourth day of the resumed 2011 session, the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) today recommended special consultative status for 25 entities to the Economic and Social Council, and postponed consideration of 26 additional groups until the Committee receive answers to its outstanding questions.

While the global consensus that now stood behind the 2007 Declaration on Indigenous Rights should be celebrated, its implementation remained a “constant challenge” and strong efforts were needed, nationally and internationally, to make its principles “alive in the reality on the ground”, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues was told today during a full-day discussion of human rights concerns.