Palestinian efforts for full membership of the United Nations and its agencies was not a provocation but rather the exercise of their legal right to sovereignty and independence, Riyad Mansour, head of the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine, assured the Palestinian Rights Committee today.

Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks at the High-level Conference on the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) in New York on 16 December:

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s video message to the launch event for the World Summit of Legislators (to be held in Rio de Janeiro from 15-17 June 2012), in Rio de Janeiro on 16 December:

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message for the United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation, to be observed on 19 December:

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message for the launch of the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity, to be delivered by Kiyo Akasaka, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, in Kanazawa, Japan, on 17 December:

On 16 December 2011, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1970 (2011) concerning Libya decided to remove the names of the following entities from its List of Individuals and Entities subject to the travel ban and/or assets freeze: Central Bank of Libya; Libyan Foreign Bank.

On 30 November 2011, the Security Council Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee adopted revised Guidelines for the Conduct of its Work. The Guidelines were revised in compliance with paragraph 43 of Security Council resolution 1989 (2011), which directed the Committee “as a matter of priority, to review its guidelines with respect to the provisions of [that] resolution”.

On 30 November 2011, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1988 (2011) adopted Guidelines for the Conduct of its Work. The Guidelines were adopted in compliance with paragraph 26 of Security Council resolution 1988 (2011), which urged the Committee “to ensure that there are fair and clear procedures for the conduct of its work” and directed it to establish guidelines accordingly.

While agreeing that the current funding and backstopping arrangements for the United Nations special political missions were inadequate, delegates in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today argued over how to rectify that situation and offered diverging views on the Secretary-General’s proposals for doing so.