While remaining seized of ongoing situations of concern in Libya, Syria, Sudan, South Sudan and elsewhere, the Security Council planned to focus on preventive diplomacy when world leaders arrived for the opening of the upcoming General Assembly session, Nawaf Salam (Lebanon), Council President for September, said at Headquarters today.

The Panel of Inquiry on the 31 May 2010 Flotilla Incident, which was an independent body established in August last year, submitted its report to the Secretary-General this morning. The report is now available on the United Nations website.

Diplomats working to strengthen implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities stressed today the need for Governments to work harder to identify and tear down barriers hampering the employment of disabled persons and preventing them from participating fully in their communities.

The Secretary-General started the weekend in Australia, holding talks with Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd in Canberra before flying to the Solomon Islands and Kiribati to see for himself the effects of climate change. In Kiribati he joined President Anote Tong and many young people to plant mangroves on a beach to help fight coastal erosion.

The Secretary-General strongly condemns the bomb attack at the Indian High Court in New Delhi which has killed and injured many today. He reiterates his firm stance that there is no justification for indiscriminate violence against civilians and expresses his solidarity with the Government and people of India.

Visiting the United Nations as a “father who wants to bring his son home”, the father of captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit said today that his son’s release must be considered in the context of the Palestinian bid for recognition as a Member State during the upcoming General Assembly session.

In the past year, the General Assembly had made important contributions to the mobilization of support for the Millennium Development Goals, the green economy and sustainable development, as well as the role of the United Nations in global governance, Joseph Deiss (Switzerland), outgoing Assembly President, said at his final Headquarters press conference today.

The first-ever report by the Secretary-General on the use of preventive diplomacy by the United Nations and its partners is now available. Entitled Preventive Diplomacy: Delivering Results, it makes the case that building the world's capacities for fast and effective preventive diplomacy is “without a doubt, one of the smartest investments we can make”.

Preventive diplomacy — first defined by former Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld 50 years ago — was crucial to defusing tensions before they escalated into conflict, and such efforts were increasingly being undertaken by the United Nations, Member States and other partners amid the changing political and security landscape, B. Lynn Pascoe, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, said today at a Headquarters press conference.

The Secretary-General attended the closing of the sixty-fifth session of the General Assembly today and expressed his great appreciation for the outgoing President Joseph Deiss. He said that Mr. Deiss highlighted the relevance of the General Assembly as the United Nations chief deliberative and representative body.