The First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) approved its agenda and work programme for the sixty-sixth General Assembly session at a brief organizational meeting today.

Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks at a special event on the occasion of the International Day of Non-violence, 30 September, in New York:

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

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message to the opening of the Oslo Governance Forum, on 3 October:

Following the adoption by the Security Council of resolution 2009 (2011), the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1970 (2011) concerning the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya has made available on its website the updated list of individuals and entities subject to the travel ban and/or asset freeze, at the following URL: http://www.un.org/sc/committees/1970.

In terms of the work of the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security), it is clear that “we should not close up shop and wait for the dawning of world peace as a precondition for disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control to succeed”, High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Sergio Duarte, told Member States, opening the Committee’s general debate for the session.

Rising social inequalities stemming from the still-unfolding global economic downturn were a “time bomb” that, if left unaddressed, would tear apart the moral fabric of society and undermine prospects for social development, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Sha Zukang, told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as it opened its annual session with a debate on social development.

Today, the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia has launched its official website at www.thecgpcs.org. The Contact Group, established 14 January 2009 pursuant to United Nations Security Council resolution 1851 (2008), is a voluntary, ad hoc international forum of approximately 70 countries, organizations and industry groups with a common interest in combating piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, and bringing to justice pirates and their financiers and facilitators.

As democratic movements drove political change in North Africa and the Middle East, and as new economic powers transformed the geopolitical landscape, the United Nations, to maintain its respected stature, must define effective, multifaceted strategies suited for a new era, General Assembly delegates said today as they considered the Secretary-General’s report on the Organizations’ work.

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