Following is the text of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s opening remarks to the “Envision: Addressing Global Issues through Documentaries” event in New York today, 14 May:

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks at the launch of the report of the Commission on Climate Change and Development, in New York, today, 14 May:

The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues will meet at Headquarters from 18 to 29 May to discuss ways to further implement the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which gained momentum last month, when Australia officially endorsed it after previously having voted against it.

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

During the second day of its work in Saint Kitts and Nevis today, the Regional Seminar on the Implementation of the Second International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism (2001-2010) took up the challenges and opportunities in the process of decolonization in the Non-Self-Governing Territories outside the Caribbean, and considered the role of the United Nations system in providing them with development assistance.

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message on World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, to be observed on 17 May:

A green revolution in Africa would only be possible if the approach to agricultural development on the continent underwent its own revolution, the Commission on Sustainable Development was told during the first of two plenary round tables today.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced today the appointment of Franz Baumann of Germany as Assistant Secretary-General, Department for General Assembly and Conference Management. Mr. Baumann will replace Yohannes Mengesha.

At the conclusion of its three-day review of the challenges and opportunities associated with the decolonization process today, participants of the 2009 Caribbean regional seminar on decolonization exchanged views on the impact of the event and considered the way forward in promoting the goals of the Second International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism (2001-2010).

As the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today took up the first three of more than a dozen peacekeeping budgets to be considered for the upcoming 2009/10 financial year, the Committee was told that projected delays in the deployment of troops to Sudan suggested the possibility of reductions to the amounts proposed by the Secretary-General for the multi-million dollar UNMIS and the billion-dollar UNAMID, although some States cautioned against underbudgeting.