General Assembly: Meetings Coverage

Israel needed to change its aggressive stance towards the Palestinians or face the possibility of a catastrophic outcome in the future, Edward Peck, a former United States ambassador to Mauritania and Iraq, told the Palestinian Rights Committee today.

Following a day-long debate on implementing the 2001 Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS and the follow-up 2006 Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS, the General Assembly this afternoon adopted by consensus a draft decision to take note of the Secretary-General’s recommendations on the matter, use the report to inform a high-level plenary meeting on the Millennium Development Goals in September, and hold consultations by December to pave the way for a comprehensive HIV/AIDS review next year.

Acknowledging that the production of reliable, timely statistics and indicators of countries’ progress were indispensable for informed policy decisions and monitoring implementation of the Millennium Development Goals, the General Assembly this afternoon decided to designate 20 October as World Statistics Day.

ISTANBUL, Turkey, 27 May — With tensions high in Jerusalem, and public criticism growing worldwide over the lack of action to alleviate the desperate situation of Palestinians clinging to survival there, experts, students and representatives of non-governmental organizations attending a United Nations Forum called today for an end to Israel’s repressive policies in that city, urging fellow members of civil society to mobilize a coordinated, rights-based response.

Approaching the end of its four-week second resumed session, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today took up the proposed budget for the United Nations Office to the African Union, estimated to require $10.6 million, with speakers expressing regret at its late submission by the Secretary-General, leaving barely a day to consider possible gaps, as described by the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions.

A United Nations meeting in support of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process stressed the importance of the two-year State-building plan put forward by Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, aimed at developing institutions and strengthening the foundation for the future State of Palestine, and considered that the entire international community should be ready to recognize the new State once statehood had been declared by the Palestinian Authority at the appropriate time.

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today took up proposals to give the Secretary-General authority to commit $380.4 million in the next six months to the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) and $246.6 million in the next six months to the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT), whose most recent budgets reached $732.4 million and $690.8 million respectively.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today reiterated his support for the revived Israeli-Palestinian proximity talks, saying it was necessary that they lead quickly to direct peace negotiations so that progress could be made on core issues such as the status of Jerusalem, which was vital to both parties, and "should emerge from the negotiations as the capital of Israel and Palestine, with arrangements for the holy sites acceptable to all".

Meeting for a second day on the concept of human security, the General Assembly today heard appeals for clarity on a notion that, to some, remained too abstract and imprecise for international application, but to others was forward-thinking, synergistic and adaptable to the work of the United Nations. The Assembly’s discussion this morning centred on the Secretary-General’s report on human security (document A/64/701).

Citing the rise of borderless threats – pandemics, natural disasters and financial turmoil - and the ways in which such ills impacted the daily lives of millions of people worldwide, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon today backed the concept of “human security”, and urged Member States to consider the survival, livelihood and dignity of individuals as the fundamental basis for their security.