General Assembly: Meetings Coverage

Anti-personnel mines were “perverse”, as they were triggered by victims with the aim of killing or severing the victims for life, and did not distinguish between combatants and civilians, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) heard today during its consideration of mine action assistance.

Ten years after the world collectively agreed on a comprehensive framework to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, resolute and renewed political will and adequate funding were still needed to implement the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) was told today.

As the Sixth Committee continued its debate on the second part of the annual consideration of the International Law Commission report, delegates, in the service of strengthening international law, sought to clarify and improve the several sets of draft articles being discussed.

Emphasizing the vital importance of international trade to the growth and development of least developed countries, delegates in the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) underlined today the urgent need to successfully conclude a development-oriented outcome to the Doha Round of World Trade Organization negotiations.

Revitalizing the work of the Conference on Disarmament, accelerating the implementation of nuclear disarmament commitments, and granting negative security assurances to non-nuclear-weapon States were among the aims of the 10 draft texts approved today as the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) continued its action on the 53 draft texts before it.

As the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today wrapped up its debate on the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2012-2013, several delegates criticized the budget for short-changing the Organization’s development agenda, at the expense of developing countries.

While peacekeeping operations remained an integral tool for maintaining peace and security, full‑scale military operations could not be seen as a replacement for long‑term peaceful diplomatic efforts, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) was told today as it concluded its debate on peacekeeping for the main part of the sixty‑sixth session.

As the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) concluded its debate on the promotion and protection of human rights today, Member States described national efforts to meet obligations to rights that they described as “equal, indivisible and mutually reinforcing”.

As the Sixth Committee concluded its debate on the first group of topics contained in the International Law Commission’s report and moved to its second group — “effects of armed conflicts on treaties”, “expulsion of aliens” and “protection of persons in the event of disasters” — the delegate of Colombia said the Commission’s draft articles on “protection of persons” were among the Commission’s most practical and efficient areas of work.