Needing care must never mean losing autonomy, the Third Committee heard today, as experts championed the dignity of older persons and delegates spotlighted children in conflict, Indigenous Peoples’ rights and the growing threats posed by illicit drugs and organized crime.
The First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today approved its programme of work and opened the general debate, with speakers stressing the need to abide by nuclear non-proliferation and similar arms treaties, as well as to create nuclear-weapon-free zones.
With global norms under increasing strain, speakers in the Sixth Committee (Legal) both underscored the importance of the rule of law to inter-State relations and noted how these obligations are given effect at the domestic level as debate opened on that topic today.
Give Morocco’s autonomy plan a chance, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) heard from some petitioners today, even as others underscored that there should be no compromise on the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination.
Despite gains in least developed countries in education, health and electricity access, the situation remains “sobering” amid persistent poverty and reversals in funding, speakers warned the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today, as it took up reports on the issue.
While stringent cash conservation measures have been used effectively over the last few years to keep the Secretariat running smoothly, ongoing monthly fluctuations in United Nations regular budget collections make efficient budget planning difficult, the Organization’s top management official told Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) delegates today.
The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) today heard speakers from New Caledonia call on France to stop criminalizing those fighting for freedom.
While detailing national efforts to prevent and combat terrorism, speakers also underlined the need for an international framework to unite them as the Sixth Committee (Legal) continued its debate on “measures to eliminate international terrorism” today.
Nuclear risks persist, arms-control arrangements are under pressure and new technologies are transforming the character and speed of conflict, Khalilur Rahman, President of the UN General Assembly, told the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today, as it began its general debate.
Poverty, widening inequality, conflict and violence against women are threatening hard-won social gains, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) heard today, as speakers warn that development cannot endure when women and girls are denied fundamental rights.
