General Assembly: Meetings Coverage

The General Assembly today adopted a resolution which for the twenty-third year in a row called for an end to the United States economic, commercial and financial embargo on Cuba.

The growing prospect of cyber warfare needed to be addressed urgently before such weapons broke down the entire edifice of international security, heard the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) as it considered other disarmament measures, before concluding its thematic debate.

The “remarkable” scale of United Nations peacekeeping operations, where personnel often operated in remote areas, across massive distances and in increasingly hostile environments, came alive today in the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) during briefings by senior Secretariat officials, as that body began its annual comprehensive review of the subject.

With a main focus on the draft articles addressing “expulsion of aliens” and the “protection of persons in the event of disasters”, the Sixth Committee (Legal) continued deliberations today on the report of the International Law Commission.

Globalization generated unbalanced outcomes, both among and within countries, the representative of Malawi told delegates in the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today.

Global peace and security depended in large measure on stability at the regional and subregional levels, making that relationship an inseparable one, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) heard today as delegations delivered statements on regional disarmament, weapons of mass destruction and the disarmament aspects of outer space.

The International Civil Service Commission’s ongoing efforts to shape a more modern, flexible compensation package for thousands of workers in the United Nations common system while bringing escalating salary costs under control was discussed at today’s meeting of the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary).

Private education choices must help, not hinder, the public system and the achievement of inalienable rights for all, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) heard today as it continued discussions on the protection and promotion of human rights, hearing from eight United Nations experts and delegates participating in interactive debates on a range of issues, from the right to adequate housing to physical and mental health.

As the Sixth Committee (Legal) commenced its annual consideration of the International Law Commission report, the Commission’s Chair detailed two new sets of draft articles on the “expulsion of aliens” and the “protection of persons in the event of disasters”.

Balancing various scientific capabilities of States with their common desire to contribute to assessing levels and effects of exposure to radiation underpinned an interactive session today in the Fourth Committee, prior to its approval of a draft resolution on the topic.