General Assembly: Meetings Coverage

Representatives of international, regional and non-governmental groups discussed the strengths and weaknesses of the United Nations small arms action plan, with many urging States to fully implement the 2001 instrument and others cautioning against infringing legitimate business and personal rights, as the Fifth Biennial Meeting of States continued its session today.

The General Assembly’s six Main Committees elected their Bureaux for the sixty-ninth session today, with the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) holding a secret ballot requested by the Group of Arab States over Israel’s nomination as Vice-Chair.

International cooperation and assistance in capacity-building and technology transfer were key to the implementation of the United Nations Programme of Action to counter the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, delegates concurred as the fifth Biennial Meeting of States moved into day three of its session.

New weapon design and production methods — including the use of “3D” printing and non-traditional materials, such as polymers — had the potential to profoundly influence how weapons were marked and traced, and records kept, delegates heard today as the Fifth Biennial Meeting of States to combat the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons moved into day two of its session.

The General Assembly, adopting two resolutions today, endorsed the proposals of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations and followed up progress on the social dimensions of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), as well as approved the four-year appointment of Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein of Jordan as the new United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Against a backdrop of fragile security, illegal guns, grenades and rocket launchers had ripped communities apart while fuelling terrorism, and would require strong collective efforts to halt their spread, delegates heard today as the fifth Biennial Meeting of States to combat the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons opened its 2014 session.

The General Assembly capped its fourth Review of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy today, with the adoption of a consensus resolution stressing the importance of keeping that ongoing effort “relevant and contemporary” in light of emerging threats, and calling for stepped-up efforts by States and others to implement its four pillars in an integrated and balanced manner.

As the General Assembly began its fourth review of the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy today, Member States condemned the recent terrorist attacks and the abduction of Turkish diplomats in Iraq, as well as the attacks in Nigeria and Pakistan, calling for a deepening of international cooperation and a full and balanced implementation of the Strategy’s four pillars.

The General Assembly today elected by acclamation Sam Kutesa, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Uganda, as President of its sixty-ninth session.