The Security Council today extended through January 2010 the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN), noting Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s assessment that the operation would be well placed to assist in the management of arms and armed personnel in line with the 25 June 2008 Agreement between political parties in the South Asian country.

Recognizing strides made by women in Japan in the 24 years since the country had acceded to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, experts of the Committee that reviews compliance with that Convention today discussed ways the country could overcome entrenched attitudes and other persistent obstacles to women’s equality.

Reaffirming the need to strengthen the synergy between Africa’s economic and social development programmes on the one hand, and its peace and security agenda on the other, the General Assembly today adopted a resolution that stressed the critical importance of a regional approach to conflict prevention on that continent.

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

Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks at an event with alumni of the Advanced Leadership Programme, in Beijing, today, 24 July:

Five years after the Security Council had placed the situation in Sudan’s war‑ravaged western Darfur region on its agenda, the top United Nations peacekeeping official today expressed his deep frustration that everyone -- the Government, the rebel movements and the international community –- had failed to muster the political will to address the crisis “in all its heart-wrenching complexity”.

Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks on climate change at the “Green Lights” programme launch in Beijing, today, 24 July:

Following is the text of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message to the United Nations Global Compact Board members, delivered today in New York by his Deputy Chef de Cabinet, Kim Won-soo:

The General Assembly debate on protecting civilians from the most serious atrocities continued today as delegates wrestled with the extent to which States should step in to stop -– and ultimately prevent -- genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing.

In a letter dated 21 July 2009 to the President of the Security Council, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon conveyed the agreement of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission and the Secretary-General of the United Nations to appoint Lieutenant General Patrick Nyamvumba of Rwanda as the Force Commander of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) with effect from 1 September 2009.