As the Sixth Committee (Legal) began its consideration of the International Law Commission report today, speakers took up the first of three clusters of topics, including the chapters on “General principles of law”, “Sea-level rise in relation to international law” and “Other decisions and conclusions of the Commission”, while also discussing the Commission’s approach and working methods.
The proliferation of small arms and light weapons deserves no less attention than the dangers posed by weapons of mass destruction, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) heard today as its thematic debate on conventional weapons continued.
The plight of internally displaced persons and human rights implications of foreign debt were among concerns addressed in briefings to the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as delegates also discussed the human rights situations in the Central African Republic, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Myanmar.
Enhanced understanding of international law facilitates greater inclusion in global decision-making and fosters cooperation among those seeking such knowledge, speakers said today in the Sixth Committee (Legal), as they praised the United Nations Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law.
Special mandates holders called for domicide, starvation as a war tactic, and poverty wages to be classified as war crimes and rights violations, while delegates also sounded an alarm over terrorist threats to civilian populations in Israel and Palestine, as the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) continued its series of dialogues on human rights today.
Positions hardened over two competing approaches to preventing an outer space arms race — one promoting responsible behaviours through voluntary commitments and the other calling for an early start of negotiations on a legally binding instrument — as the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) concluded its thematic debate on the subject today.
Outer space is becoming a contest for supremacy, drawing on space-based communications and intelligence assets, and the early development of anti-satellite weaponry, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) heard today as its thematic debate opened on preventing an arms race in that realm.
Taking up the agenda item on the responsibility of international organizations, speakers in the Sixth Committee (Legal) were divided about the future of the related International Law Commission’s draft articles, debating whether to codify those texts into an international instrument, keep the topic on the Committee’s agenda or utilize the drafts as guidelines.
As the global environmental crisis inflicts despair on millions of people worldwide, States must implement and enforce stronger climate and environmental laws, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) heard today, as they also engaged in a series of interactive dialogues on equitable order, coercive unilateral measures and the right to safe drinking water.
The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization), acting without a vote, approved two draft resolutions today, focused on press freedom, access to information in developing States and the work of the Department of Global Communications, as it concluded its debate on questions related to information.
