General Assembly: Meetings Coverage

The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today introduced 31 draft resolutions and approved five of them, including one calling on Israel to cease its occupation of the Palestinian Territory and Syrian Golan.

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) approved its first‑ever draft resolution on combating trafficking in human organs today, with Spain’s delegate introducing it as a “novel” approach to crime prevention.

Delegates in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today wanted to better understand how ongoing arbitration proceedings preventing a final close-out of the paperwork surrounding the multi-billion-dollar renovation of the United Nations Headquarters will impact the project’s final cost.

The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) approved a draft resolution on the effects of atomic radiation without a vote today, while voting to reject proposed amendments to its provisions on criteria for joining the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation.

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) sent eight draft resolutions to the General Assembly today, covering a range of topics, from literacy and volunteering, to the annual designation of 4 January as World Braille Day beginning in 2019.

The First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today approved eight draft texts, including one calling for the universalization of the Arms Trade Treaty and the implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

After approving four draft resolutions concerning the work of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) today, the Sixth Committee (Legal) critiqued its own working methods, with delegates emphasizing the need to make better use of time and calling for an improved relationship with the International Law Commission.

Senior United Nations officials today addressed improvements in gender diversity and upcoming reforms in relation to special political missions, as the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) began its consideration of that matter.

Some 19 countries pledged a total of $425.69 million at today’s 2018 United Nations Pledging Conference for Development Activities, reflecting an increase from the 2017 amount of $398.98 million.

The First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today approved eight draft texts, including one that would have the Assembly re-emphasize its support for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to continue to establish the facts surrounding allegations of chemical weapon use in Syria and identify, where possible, the perpetrators of such crimes.