General Assembly: Meetings Coverage

The “deafening silence” of the Special Committee on Decolonization to Gibraltar’s requests as to whether it had achieved a full measure of self-government did nothing to advance that Territory’s progress towards decolonization, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) was told today as it grappled with the methodological quandary that keeps the decolonization debate at the forefront of international concerns.

Transnational organized crime, including trafficking in people and drugs, was a challenge that “violates human rights and undermines development”, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) heard today as it began its general discussion of crime prevention, criminal justice and international drug control.

There could be no peaceful settlement of disputes without the observance of the rule of law at the international and national levels, Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson told the Sixth Committee as deliberations on the subject began.

Quality teachers did not just improve test scores, they had long-term positive effects on the socioeconomic status of children 20 and 30 years down the line, delegates in the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) heard today as they opened their first general debate of the sixty-eighth session.

Conditions for a world free of nuclear weapons “did not yet exist,” the United States’ representative told the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today, quick to add, however, that, together, the international community was “completely capable” of creating those conditions.

While labelling the Organization’s overall financial condition “generally positive”, the United Nations senior management official told the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today that the regular budget’s cash position this year was under pressure with $945 million of its $2.61 billion regular budget still outstanding.

In a consensus text adopted today, the General Assembly resolved that the post-2015 agenda should reinforce the international community’s commitment to poverty eradication and sustainable development.

A 60-year-old injustice had been corrected when French Polynesia was re‑inscribed on the United Nations-identified list of Non-Self-Governing Territories, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) was told today as it continued its annual decolonization debate, informed by both fresh perspectives and traditional takes on one of the Organization’s foundational pursuits.

Older persons were an invaluable social force that could contribute to social development, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) heard today as more than 40 speakers took part in the conclusion of its general discussion on that topic, with one describing longer lives as “a triumph of human development”.

As the Sixth Committee (Legal) continued its debate on measures to eliminate international terrorism, delegates insisted that all courses of action must remain within the framework of international law.