General Assembly: Meetings Coverage

Agriculture was the livelihood of the majority of people living in rural areas and had significantly contributed to alleviating poverty, the representative of Sri Lanka told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today as it considered agriculture development, food security and nutrition.

Development of anti-ballistic missile systems and their integration into space assets was an “especially worrying dimension” and the resultant arms race in space would aggravate the intensity of conflicts on Earth, with potentially disastrous consequences, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) heard today as it concluded its thematic consideration of the item.

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today heard United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon formally unveil an initial budget proposal of $5.404 billion for the 2014-2015 biennium that begins on 1 January. That figure was 2.9 per cent lower than the budget for the current biennium that was set forth last December, he said. Despite efforts to minimize the impact of reductions, it was unrealistic to think they would have no impact.

Human exposure to radiation, after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, which damaged the nuclear power plant at Fukushima, was low or generally low, with no immediate health effects, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) heard today in a briefing by the Chair of the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation.

The lethal use of unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, came under scrutiny in the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as a United Nations human rights expert argued that the internationally recognized rule against arbitrary killing also applied to extraterritorial attacks by such weapons systems.

The outer space environment was becoming increasingly “congested, contested and competitive” as States vied to benefit from space-based technologies, while cautioning that it must not become the next theatre of proliferation, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) heard today as it took up its cluster on the disarmament aspects of outer space.

For African countries to continue to amass success stories towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals by the 2015 target date, the international community must deliver on commitments, building upon positive developments and promising prospects for economic growth, speakers said during the General Assembly’s joint debate today on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and the decade to roll back malaria in developing countries, particularly on the continent.

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) approved a draft resolution on the advancement of women and heard several presentations by United Nations experts today, as it continued its discussions on the protection and promotion of human rights.

A free and open global trading system could be a powerful engine for economic growth and poverty reduction - particularly in turbulent economic times, the representative from Canada said today, as the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) took up macroeconomic policy questions.

Speakers today in the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) said any breach of the chemical and biological weapons ban was repugnant and the recent use of chemical weapons a graphic reminder of the very real threat and scale of the potential consequences of those weapons, insisting that no effort should be spared to completely eliminate them for the sake of all humankind.