Expressing deep regret that civilians continued to account for the vast majority of casualties in armed conflicts, the Security Council reaffirmed today its readiness to respond to the targeting of civilians and the blocking of humanitarian aid, as it opened a day-long debate on the matter.

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

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message for Africa Industrialization Day, 20 November:

Tomorrow, 13 November, the Dag Hammarskjöld Library will officially launch “UN Member States on the Record”, a new research tool which will dramatically facilitate research on the work and actions of each Member State, and make information more accessible and easy to find.

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message for the International Day for Tolerance, on 16 November:

Acting without a vote, the Sixth Committee (Legal) today approved 10 draft resolutions and three decisions, as it wound up its main body of work for the current Assembly session by giving consideration to the report of the Committee on Relations with the Host Country.

The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) approved two draft resolutions today, including a text that would have the General Assembly demand that Israel stop exploiting, damaging, depleting or endangering the natural resources of the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the occupied Syrian Golan.

The General Assembly would express deep concern at the negative stereotyping of religions and manifestations of intolerance and discrimination in matters of religion or belief by one of 16 texts the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) approved today -- six of them by recorded vote.

A new tone of flexibility and compromise emerged during the General Assembly’s annual debate on Security Council reform, as delegates vowed to push towards achieving a model that would produce the elusive consensus needed to revamp the United Nations’ most recognizable body.

The new Permanent Observer for the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization, Roy S. Lee, today presented his letter of appointment to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.