Nothing represented the best of the United Nations globally than the sight of blue helmets safeguarding peace day in and out in difficult locations, the representative of Indonesia said this morning, as the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) continued its comprehensive review of peacekeeping operations, during which speakers laid out their vision for a process that responded to new challenges without abandoning traditional tenets.
The United Nations was faced with a “unique opportunity” to retool itself to ensure it was fit to play a key role in fulfilment of the post-2015 development agenda, the representative of the United States told delegates in the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today.
Civil society spaces were shrinking around the world as ordinary people’s lives were being changed without their input and against their will, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) heard today as it continued its consideration of human rights, with presentations by six experts who had investigated problems in specific countries, and two reporting on global issues.
“While the world has sufficient capacity and resources to ensure adequate food and good nutrition for the global population, over 800 million people are still suffering from chronic hunger”, Viet Nam’s representative told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today as it met to discuss agriculture development, food security and nutrition.
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.
