In his message on the occasion of 'International Day Against Nuclear Tests', UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said "we urgently need new progress in achieving a world free of both nuclear tests and nuclear weapons," which are increasingly being viewed as "dangerous relics of the Cold War" and are "long overdue for permanent retirement".
Pakistan has taken up the "despicable act" of desecration of the Quran in Florida with the United Nations, and urged it to take urgent steps to promote inter-faith harmony in the wake of increasing acts of Islamophobia.
The world on Saturday condemned the three explosions that rattled Nigeria's 50th independence day in Abuja and claimed 15 lives. Condemning the attacks, Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan promised that those behind the act "will pay dearly for this heinous crime." Nigeria's former colonial master Britain condemned the act and promised to help the oil-rich African nation in bringing the attackers to book.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Saturday left for New York where she is going to participate in the International Yoga Day event being organised by the Indian Mission at the United Nations.
The global community is in a position to eradicate AIDS, but funding will be critical to future progress, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said as the fight against endemic entered into its fourth decade.
The powerful United Nations Security Council on riday approved a second five-year term for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, ahead of the voting by the 192-member General Assembly next week.
With countries across the world, including India, staking claim to being home to the seven billionth baby, United Nations Chief Ban Ki Moon said his office would not be able to pin-point who the world's seven billionth inhabitant is and where the baby was born.
In a departure from diplomatic norms, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has issued a statement voicing concern over the security situation in Kashmir over the past one month.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said the progress at the climate conference here have been "insufficient", warning that the absence of a "breakthrough" would condemn the lives of billions of people "to smaller futures".
United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon on Monday called the killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden a "watershed moment" in the war against terrorism, expressing relief that "justice" had been done.
A United Nations panel has said killing of tens of thousands of people in the final stages of the Sri Lankan civil strife could amount to "war crimes", but Secretary General Ban Ki-moon insisted he would only launch an international investigation if Colombo agrees or member states call for it.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday welcomed US President Barack Obama's new Af-Pak strategy, in particular the initiative to boost 'civilian efforts' to make Afghan institutions stronger and entrust more responsibilities to domestic authorities.
United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon has appointed Atul Khare of India as assistant secretary-general for peacekeeping operations.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday said the UN would play a role in resolving the situation in Kashmir when India and Pakistan wanted the world body to step in.
"The Secretary-General regrets the latest loss of life. He (Ban) calls for an immediate end to violence and urges calm and restraint by all concerned," Martin Nesirky told media persons on Wednesday, adding that Ban was "closely following events".
Underlining that the UN will lead the climate change negotiations, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has rejected the possibility of a "double track" approach being adopted on Climate Change where simultaneous talks between the big economies run in parallel with the United Nations negotiations.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday expressed concern over the recent developments in Sri Lanka, including the detention of two UN staff members without charges.
Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, is among 19 members chosen by UN chief Ban Ki-moon for a high-level advisory group on Climate Change Financing tasked with mobilising funds pledged during the Copenhagen meet to tackle global warming.
Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has been made part of high-level UN panel on global sustainability set up by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
"Ban's spokesperson issued the e-mail on his own, misquoting the secretary general. And some of the separatist leaders tried to exploit it by claiming that the SG is calling for dialogue between India and Pakistan on the Kashmir issue," the sources said. "The issue has been settled despite what some news media is claiming."
The role of the Pakistani-origin spokesperson of United Nations secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has come under scanner with the denial of the UN chief's controversial remarks on Kashmir by his office.
A landmark treaty banning cluster munitions will come into force from August 1, the United Nations announced, but all major powers, the US, China, Russia Israel and India are shunning it.
A special United Nations envoy to Crimea, who was threatened by 10 to 15 armed men, is safe and will return to Ukrainian capital Kiev to continue his mission, the United Nations has said.
Intense rocket barrage prevented a plane carrying United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt from landing at the Kabul airport on Tuesday and the aircraft was forced to be diverted to Bagram air base.
According to reports, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has talked to Indian External Affairs Minister SM Krishna as well as his Pakistani counterpart, Shah Mehmood Qureshi on the telephone to raise the prospect of another "talk about talks".
Rejecting Pakistan's appeal to reopen the probe by United Nations into the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said, "The work of the commission is complete."
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has rejected the UN deadline of January 31 for submission of emission targets and climate actions under the Copenhagen Accord.
The Sri Lankan government has slammed the decision of the United Nations to set up a panel of experts to advice Secretary General Ban Ki Moon on the human rights situation in the country, saying it was 'unwarranted' since Colombo has already formed a mechanism to address accountability issues. "The proposed panel of experts was unwarranted since Lanka has already set in motion its local mechanism to address accountability issues, said Minister of External Affairs G L Peiris.
Concerned over the plight of civilians caught up in the ongoing fighting in Sri Lanka, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has dispatched his Chef de Cabinet Vijay Nambiar, a former Indian diplomat, to the island nation to underscore his message for protection of civilians and resolution of the humanitarian situation there. Members of the UN Security Council on Wednesday expressed grave concern over the worsening crisis in northern Sri Lanka.
The UN AIDS agency (UNAIDS) also commended the decision by the Chinese government.
The United Nations on Tuesday delayed till April 15 the release of its probe panel's report on the assassination of former Pakistani premier Benazir Bhutto following a request from Islamabad.
The United Nations has launched an independent review of the functioning of its top climate change body IPCC, which has come under much criticism in the recent months for some errors in its reports.
"There is a serious problem of accountability and transparency, efficiency, mobility and professionalism," Ban said on September 11 at the United Nations.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has regretted Colombo's the decision to expel James Elder, a spokesman for United Nation's Children Fund in Sri Lanka for allegedly making adverse remarks against the government over rights violations and war causalities.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said on Wednesday he intended to set up an international commission to probe the assassination of former Pakistani premier Benazir Bhutto during a meeting with her widower, President Asif Ali Zardari.
The Indian Consulate celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Republic Day in New York with much fanfare.
The United Nations on Thursday recalled its top envoy to Sri Lanka and closed down an office in Colombo following angry protests against a UN panel which was set up to probe allegations of war crime during the country's civil war.
"If he (Ban) is available and running we will endorse him for a second term," the diplomat said, adding he did not want to comment and dismissed as speculative that former UN Under Secretary General and sitting Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor might contest for the election.
UN chief Ban-Ki moon vowed to stand behind the Haitian people as he visited the quake- devastated country and termed the catastrophe a "tsunami-like disaster". Touring the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince on Sunday, UN Secretary-General Ban assured the disaster-hit people that "help is already arriving".
China has backed Sri Lanka in its opposition to the setting up of a human rights panel by the United Nations to look into alleged rights abuses during the ethnic war, saying the government was capable of handling it.
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