The Central African Republic configuration of the Peacebuilding Commission this morning called for stepped-up inter-community dialogue in the north of the country and improved funding for security sector reform, as it adopted its first biannual review of the strategic framework for peacebuilding.

Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks at the opening of the exhibition “Architecture of Murder”, in conjunction with the International Day in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, in New York, today, 26 January:

Recommending consultative status with the Economic and Social Council for 13 entities today, the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) also postponed its consideration of 44 other applications, pending receipt of additional information, and heard one complaint.

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s video message for the Follow-up Conference on the International Year of Sanitation, in Tokyo from 26‑27 January:

The Peacebuilding Commission must create closer ties with the Bretton Woods institutions in 2010, in addition to a more structured relationship with the Security Council and streamlined working methods to better and more swiftly help post-conflict countries sustain peace and development, Peter Wittig (Germany), the newly elected Chairperson of the Commission’s Organizational Committee, said today.

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

With Israeli-Palestinian negotiations at an “extremely worrying impasse”, due largely to simmering tensions and frequent protests in East Jerusalem, ongoing deprivation in the Gaza Strip, and an uptick in militant rocket fire into Israel, a senior United Nations political official today warned the Security Council that the effort to forge a viable Middle East peace was seriously at risk.

Recommending consultative status with the Economic and Social Council for 8 entities today, the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) also postponed its consideration of 34 other applications, pending receipt of additional information, and held a discussion about its working methods.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Staffan de Mistura of Sweden as his Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

Welcoming the Secretary-General’s recommendations for continued action on the political, security and recovery tracks in embattled Somalia, the Security Council today authorized the African Union to maintain its mission there ‑‑ AMISOM ‑‑ until 31 January 2011 and asked it to increase its force strength, with a view to achieving the originally mandated target of 8,000 troops thus enhancing its ability to fully carry out its mandate.