Monthly Archives: February 2016

Statistical Yearbook for Asia and the Pacific 2015

The Statistical Yearbook for Asia and the Pacific 2015 is a reference of current and emerging trends of economic, social and environmental development in Asia and the Pacific. For the first time the Yearbook is aligned with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and each Goal below, when clicked, links to analyses of development trends, data tables and statistical data challenges. Continue reading →

DPI Syria Update No.135 – 24 February 2016

UN conducts first airdrops of humanitarian aid in Syria
Briefing the Security Council on 24 February, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O’Brien announced that the United Nations had carried out its first humanitarian airdrop of 21 tonnes of items in the besieged town of Deir Ezzor. He also told the Council that following the agreements facilitated through discussions in Munich earlier this month, an aid convoy had reached 40,000 people in Madimayet, in rural Damascus. Continue reading →

In Message for World Day of Social Justice, Secretary-General Stresses Building Inclusive Societies, Bringing ‘People in from the Margins’

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message for the World Day of Social Justice, observed on 20 February:

The World Day of Social Justice highlights the imperative of building a future of dignity for all. Continue reading →

Statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General on the murder of a United Nations staff member in Iraq

The Secretary-General condemns the shocking murder, verified on 15 February, of Amer al-Kaissy, an Iraqi national who served as liaison officer for the United Nations Mission in Iraq in Diyala, Iraq. Mr. al-Kaissy, who was abducted in Diyala Governorate in April 2015 by unidentified persons, distinguished himself as a courageous and dedicated UNAMI staff member. Continue reading →

Boutros-Ghali Courageous in Asking Member States Difficult Questions, Upheld Secretariat’s Independence, Secretary-General Says upon Predecessor’s Death

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

I am deeply saddened to learn of the death of my predecessor, Boutros Boutros-Ghali.

The late Secretary-General, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, was a respected statesman in the service of his country, Egypt.  He was a well-known scholar of international law and brought formidable experience and intellectual power to the task of piloting the United Nations through one of the most tumultuous and challenging periods in its history, and guiding the Organization of the Francophonie in subsequent years.

As Secretary-General, he presided over a dramatic rise in United Nations peacekeeping.  He also presided over a time when the world increasingly turned to the United Nations for solutions to its problems, in the immediate aftermath of the cold war.  Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali did much to shape the Organization’s response to this new era, in particular through his landmark report “An Agenda for Peace” and the subsequent agendas for development and democratization.

He showed courage in posing difficult questions to the Member States, and rightly insisted on the independence of his office and of the Secretariat as a whole.  His commitment to the United Nations — its mission and its staff — was unmistakable, and the mark he has left on the Organization is indelible.

I extend my deepest condolences to Mrs. Boutros-Ghali, as well as to the rest of the family, to the Egyptian people, and to the late Secretary-General’s many friends and admirers around the world.

The United Nations community will mourn a memorable leader who rendered invaluable services to world peace and international order.