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

A multimedia exhibition illustrating the impact of malaria will open to the public on Monday, 15 March, in the Main Gallery of the Visitors Lobby at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

The following statement was issued today by the Middle East Quartet (United Nations, Russian Federation, United States and European Union):

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message for World Water Day, to be observed on 22 March:

The Commission on the Status of Women concluded its fifty-fourth session today with the adoption of six resolutions on a range of issues concerning gender equality and women’s empowerment, and the approval of one text, by recorded vote, on Palestinian women, to be sent to the Economic and Social Council for adoption. The Commission also adopted the draft report of its current session, as well as the provisional agenda of its fifty-fifth session.

Vince Henderson, the new Permanent Representative of Dominica to the United Nations, today presented his credentials to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Mario Pescante, the new Permanent Observer of the International Olympic Committee to the United Nations, presented his letter of appointment to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today.

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message for the International Day of Nowruz, to be observed on 21 March:

Government officials and development experts from small island developing States are conducting a series of regional meetings to discuss how their sustainable development plans are faring in a difficult global financial environment and at a time when the impact of climate change is being more keenly felt.

The well-integrated system of buses, subways and trains in Seoul, capital of the Republic of Korea, will highlight the health, economic and quality-of-life benefits of a sustainable public transport system during a meeting in that city on 16‑17 March.