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

The following Security Council press statement on the Afghanistan elections was issued by the Council President, John Sawers ( United Kingdom), on 20 August:

The twenty-first United Nations Conference on Disarmament Issues will be held in Niigata, Japan, from 26 to 28 August. Hosted by the Government of Japan and the City of Niigata, the Conference is organized by the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs through its Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Jean-Maurice Ripert of France as Special Envoy for Assistance to Pakistan. The Special Envoy will report to the Secretary General through the United Nations Development Group Chair.

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message for International Literacy Day, observed on 8 September:

Following is the statement by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the passing of United States Senator Edward Kennedy:

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

The United Nations issued today the sixtieth volume of the Yearbook of the United Nations, covering the activities of the Organization in 2006. During that year, outgoing Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that “the only answer to this divided world must be a truly United Nations” and his newly appointed successor, Ban Ki-moon, urged the world “to work together for a United Nations that can deliver more and better”.

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

The following Security Council press statement on the terrorist attack in Kandahar was read out today by Council President John Sawers ( United Kingdom):