Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced by fighting in northern Mali and dozens have been subjected to arbitrary detention, extra-judicial executions or sexual violence including rape, Amnesty International said today.

MONROVIA, THURSDAY MAY 10, 2012: The President of the Republic of Liberia, Her Excellency Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has by Proclamation declared Monday, May 14, 2012 as National Unification Day to be observed throughout the Republic as a National Holiday.President Johnson Sirleaf has  ordered and directed all public buildings and  business houses closed during the observance .The Proclamation further calls upon all religious and private institutions as well as citizens and foreign residents within the country to utilize all available means to instill in them the virtue and benefits of the national spirit of unification and integration.

(MONROVIA, LIBERIA – Thursday, May 10, 2012): United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has named three world leaders to co-chair a High-Level Panel on the post-Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) framework on development.

Making the announcement Wednesday, May 9, at United Nations Headquarters in New York, Mr. Ban named His Excellency President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia; Her Excellency President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia; and His Excellency Prime Minister David Cameron of the United Kingdom as co-chairs of this High-Level Panel on the post-MDG framework on development, expressing his gratitude for their commitment.

New York May 9 ,2012, the United Nations Secretary General Ban Kim Moon has named President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as one of three  Co-chairs of  a High- level Panel of Eminent Persons  which he will establish to steer  the preparation of a  Post -2015 Development Agenda.  The other Co-chairs are the President of Indonesia, Yudhoyono  and the Prime Minister of  Great   Britain David Cameron.

The UN Secretary General made the announcement on Thursday, 9 May,  in an informal meeting held at the General Assembly to brief Member States on the outcome of his recent trips which took him to several parts of the world. He said that he has complete confidence in the ability of these leaders to effectively carry on this task in the interest of the global community.