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

Senior Government officials at a special session of the General Assembly today called on Member States, with the support of the United Nations, to take action to enable young people to overcome widespread unemployment and other problems and to ensure that they participated integrally in global efforts for peace and sustainable development.

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

Without a credible path out of the profound, persistent deadlock in the Middle East peace process, coupled with far-reaching steps on the ground, theviability of the two-State solution and the Palestinian Authority’s state-building agenda was in jeopardy, the Secretary-General’s Personal Representative warned today.

Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks to the General Assembly meeting on the follow-up to the 2010 High-Level Meeting on the Conference on Disarmament and Multilateral Disarmament Negotiations, in New York, 27 July:

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Major General Abdul Hafiz of Bangladesh as the Force Commander of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).

Determining that the situation in Côte d’Ivoire remained a threat to international peace and security in the region, the Security Council decided today to extend until 31 July 2012 the mandate of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the West African country. Unanimously adopting resolution 2000 (2011), the 15-nation body also decided to maintain the strength of the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) at 9,792 military troops, 1,350 police officers and 8 customs officers.

Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks at the High-level Meeting on Youth side event, “Giving it Back, Passing it On: Corporate Engagement and Youth Philanthropy as Pathways to Development”, in New York, today, 27 July:

Following are Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks at the unveiling of the London Olympic Countdown Clock, in New York, 27 July:

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Lieutenant General Tadesse Werede Tesfay (Ethiopia) as Head of Mission and Force Commander of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA). Lieutenant General Tesfay will be responsible for discharging the mandate of UNISFA, as contained in Security Council resolution 1990 of 27 June 2011.