Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message, as delivered by Kiyo Akasaka, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, to the International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East, in Budapest today, 12 July:

Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks at the Security Council open debate on children and armed conflict, in New York, 12 July:

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Peter Wittig (Germany):

BUDAPEST, 12 July — Welcoming journalists and creators of fiction, theatre and music this morning to a seminar in Budapest, Hungary, on the media’s vital role in resolving the Middle East conflict, the United Nations communications Chief called on them to further utilize their talents to help counter narratives of “fear, hostility and violence” that reified the standstill in the peace process.

Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks to the General Assembly’s informal interactive thematic debate on the responsibility to protect, 12 July, in New York:

The United Nations and its partners sought to ensure that the history of the twenty-first century was the first “not to be written in the blood of innocents”, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said as the General Assembly convened an interactive thematic debate on the role of regional and subregional arrangements in implementing the responsibility to protect.

Building on more than a decade of contributions towards a comprehensive framework for protecting children affected by conflict, the Security Council today declared schools and hospitals off limits for both armed groups and military activities, calling for all parties that attacked such facilities to be held accountable and placed on the Secretary-General’s annual list of those committing grave violations against children.

The Security Council today recommended to the General Assembly that the Republic of South Sudan be admitted as a Member of the United Nations, adopting resolution 1999 (2011) without a vote. In a statement (S/PRST/2011/14) read out during a formal meeting by Guido Westerwelle, Foreign Minister of Germany, the 15-nation body noted with great satisfaction the Republic of South Sudan’s solemn commitment to uphold the purposes and principles of the Charter and to fulfil all the obligations therein.

BUDAPEST, 13 July — As the International Media Seminar on Middle East Peace closed in Budapest, Hungary, today, top Hungarian and United Nations officials urged media creators to reach out to individuals in the region to foster a climate conducive to peace, following two final panels that explored the role of journalism, social media and the arts in that effort.

Costa Rica’s adoption of a gender-equality policy and the election of its first female President in 2010 were landmark events that would allow women more economic autonomy, political participation and social protection, all of which were essential to overcoming entrenched discriminatory barriers, the country’s delegation said today while presenting its combined fifth and sixth periodic reports to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.