General Assembly: Press Release

Amid mounting concern that the United Nations was losing ground to smaller and more agile groupings, the General Assembly — during the main part of its sixty-fifth session — was repeatedly urged to redeploy its heavy political capital and near-universal membership to regain its pre-eminence, and breathe new life into the very principles that had called the Organization into being: peace and security, friendship among nations and international cooperation.

The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People will hold a special meeting in observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People in Conference Room 2 of the North Lawn Building at 10 a.m. on Monday, 29 November, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 32/40 B of 2 December 1977.

At the inaugural high-level stakeholders meeting in New York, the Member States of the United Nations endorsed the importance of the Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund and pledged further support. A total of 33 Member States spoke at the meeting on 4 November, commending the Fund as a fast, relevant and catalytic resource for supporting peacebuilding initiatives in countries emerging from conflict.

The progress made in addressing the vulnerabilities of small island developing States and achieving sustainable development through the implementation of the Mauritius Strategy will be reviewed by the 192-member United Nations General Assembly on 24 and 25 September.

With the continuing loss of biodiversity representing a major obstacle to attainment of the Millennium Development Goals, the United Nations General Assembly will consider strategies for speeding up the implementation of measures to protect and conserve species and ecosystems around the world.

Isabelle Picco, Permanent Representative of Monaco to the United Nations, was elected Chair of the Sixth Committee (Legal) on 11 June 2010.

Gert Rosenthal of Guatemala was elected Chair of the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) on 11 June 2010.

Chitsaka Chipaziwa, Permanent Representative of Zimbabwe to the United Nations, was elected Chair of the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) on 27 August 2010.

Ochir Enkhtsetseg, Permanent Representative of Mongolia to the United Nations, was elected Chair of the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) on 11 June 2010.