The United Nations-backed convention banning the use of cluster munitions will enter into force on 1 August after the 30th country ratified the pact today, a move that was immediately welcomed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as "a major advance on the global disarmament agenda."

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s newly appointed Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict promised today a more coherent and effective battle against the scourge, citing recent mass rapes in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and calling her new task "mission irresistible."

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today named a Filipino general as the new Force Commander for the United Nations peacekeeping operation in the Golan Heights, tasked with observing the ceasefire between Israel and Syria in the region.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on the support of African leaders to give new impetus to his campaign to end the violence suffered by women on the continent, which he called the “unsung heroines” of development in the region.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today paid tribute to United Nations personnel who perished in the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti earlier this month, hailing their courage and dedication in the face of catastrophe.

Senior United Nations official Hédi Annabi, lauded by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as a "true citizen of the world" and a "mild man with the heart of a lion," was laid to rest in the soil of his Tunisian homeland today, nine days after he died in the rubble of Haiti’s devastating earthquake.

The Security Council today discussed ways of further enhancing cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations in tackling global crises, with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calling for greater flexibility in facing the "new landscape" of ever more complex problems.

Heralding 2010 as the year of development, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today underscored the urgent need to ensure that action is accelerated to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eight anti-poverty targets with a 2015 deadline.

As the United Nations officially launched the International Year of Biodiversity today, Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon called the failure to protect the world’s natural resources a "wake-up call" and urged each country and each person to engage in a global alliance to protect life on Earth.