The myriad peace and security challenges facing the world, the United Nations ability to address them, and the link between security and the new Sustainable Development Agenda, were debated today as the General Assembly took up the Secretary-General’s annual report on the work of the Organization.
During a meeting characterized by impassioned pleas, calls for justice and appeals to rationale, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) heard testimony on Western Sahara for a second day in an effort to find a solution to the Territory’s 40-year pursuit of self-determination.
Small arms and light weapons resulted in devastating consequences for civilians, particularly women and children, and their lucrative trafficking and unregulated proliferation made them easily obtainable, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) heard today during its general debate.
Delegates today called on a United Nations oversight body to boost its capacity to investigate corruption, mismanagement of resources and sexual abuse, as the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) began its examination of such functions, amid fraud allegations involving a former General Assembly President.
While 2015 had seen renewed commitments on the advancement of women, States must go beyond political will and adopt concrete measures for gender equality and women’s empowerment, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) heard today during the second day of its thematic debate.
As the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) met today to consider poverty eradication, delegates debated the merits of rural and industrial development in achieving that.
The fight against terrorism began in the building of peaceful and inclusive societies and effective and accountable institutions, as well as an international comprehensive convention, the Sixth Committee (Legal) heard today.
By building an extraordinary legal edifice of international criminal accountability, the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the Former Yugoslavia had helped lay the groundwork for future generations to prosecute international law violations more efficiently and with a better understanding of the law, the General Assembly heard today as it took up the latest reports on the courts.
Despite multifaceted international efforts, speakers in the Sixth Committee (Legal) today noted with alarm the growth of terrorist groups, stressing that if measures diverged from the norms of international law, the crisis would only worsen.
Armed conflict had caused the world to become fragmented and left it “shaken to the core” as the system of global security became diluted, and international relations turned to “mutual alienation and mistrust”, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) heard today during its general debate.
