General Assembly: Meetings Coverage

Peacekeeping was one of the most effective tools at the disposal of the international community to assist countries in the difficult transition from conflict to peace, the Fourth Committee heard today as it began its comprehensive review of peacekeeping operations, with briefings by the heads of the Departments of Peacekeeping Operations and Field Support.

The biggest blind spot of the development international agenda – the Millennium Development Goals – was its silence over inequalities, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) heard today, as it continued its discussions on the promotion and protection of human rights.

Building upon its work over the past year, the International Law Commission had made marked progress through launching many new undertakings, the Sixth Committee (Legal) heard today, as it began its review of the Commission’s annual report.

Agriculture was the livelihood of the majority of people living in rural areas and had significantly contributed to alleviating poverty, the representative of Sri Lanka told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today as it considered agriculture development, food security and nutrition.

Development of anti-ballistic missile systems and their integration into space assets was an “especially worrying dimension” and the resultant arms race in space would aggravate the intensity of conflicts on Earth, with potentially disastrous consequences, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) heard today as it concluded its thematic consideration of the item.

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today heard United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon formally unveil an initial budget proposal of $5.404 billion for the 2014-2015 biennium that begins on 1 January. That figure was 2.9 per cent lower than the budget for the current biennium that was set forth last December, he said. Despite efforts to minimize the impact of reductions, it was unrealistic to think they would have no impact.

Human exposure to radiation, after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, which damaged the nuclear power plant at Fukushima, was low or generally low, with no immediate health effects, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) heard today in a briefing by the Chair of the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation.

The lethal use of unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, came under scrutiny in the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as a United Nations human rights expert argued that the internationally recognized rule against arbitrary killing also applied to extraterritorial attacks by such weapons systems.

The outer space environment was becoming increasingly “congested, contested and competitive” as States vied to benefit from space-based technologies, while cautioning that it must not become the next theatre of proliferation, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) heard today as it took up its cluster on the disarmament aspects of outer space.

For African countries to continue to amass success stories towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals by the 2015 target date, the international community must deliver on commitments, building upon positive developments and promising prospects for economic growth, speakers said during the General Assembly’s joint debate today on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and the decade to roll back malaria in developing countries, particularly on the continent.