The real impact of the global financial and economic crisis had yet to be faced, Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann, President of the General Assembly, said at Headquarters today.

The Secretary-General strongly regrets the decision of the Sri Lankan Government to expel Mr. James Elder, Spokesman for UNICEF in Sri Lanka.

The upcoming United Nations Summit on Climate Change would be crucial in providing much-needed political momentum for negotiations on the issue as the deadline for an international deal loomed, Janos Pasztor, Director of the Secretary-General’s Climate Change Support Team, said at Headquarters this afternoon.

The Secretary-General has noted with deep concern the recent decision of the Government of Israel to approve further construction in settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Each year, more people killed themselves than died in war, terrorist activities and homicides, correspondents at Headquarters were told on the occasion of World Suicide Prevention Day, with the theme: “Suicide Prevention in Different Cultures”.

Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs Patricia O’Brien delivered a message on the Secretary-General’s behalf to the Consultative Conference on International Criminal Justice.

The Commission of Experts on Reform of the International Monetary and Financial System had helped to make the United Nations an important player in the financial realm over the past year, Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann, outgoing President of the General Assembly, said at a Headquarters press conference this afternoon.

While fundamental decisions had to be taken about the 2011 referendum, the security of South Sudan was threatened both by internal conflicts and Lord’s Resistance Army activities, a top official of the United Nations Mission in the Sudan (UNMIS) said today at a Headquarters press conference.

The Secretary-General condemns the firing of at least two rockets against Israel from southern Lebanon on 11 September.

Lynn B. Pascoe, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, outlined, at a Headquarters press conference this afternoon, a wide range of political issues confronting his Department on the eve of the opening of the sixty-fourth session of the General Assembly tomorrow.