The Special Committee on Decolonization approved a draft resolution today reiterating that a peaceful and negotiated settlement of the sovereignty dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom was the only way to end the “special and particular” colonial situation of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas).
Delegates in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today aired their concerns about the security risks and lagging management reforms that persist throughout the Organization’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) system more than two years since the Secretary-General began carrying out a five-year plan to modernize the vast network.
With the long-term goal of improving the United Nations worldwide delivery of administrative support services in mind, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today took up the Secretariat’s proposal to create three shared service centres — in Nairobi, Budapest and Mexico City — to handle dozens of transactional services.
The Special Committee on Decolonization approved two draft resolutions for the General Assembly’s consideration today, as it heard petitioners on the questions of Guam, Turks and Caicos and the United States Virgin Islands.
Spotlighting the impact of Hurricanes Irma and Maria on Puerto Rico’s already serious economic and social challenges — including unemployment, insolvency and poverty — the Special Committee on Decolonization approved a draft resolution today that would call upon the United States to shoulder its responsibility to facilitate the realization of the right of Puerto Ricans to self‑determination.
In an emergency meeting, the General Assembly today adopted a resolution deploring the use of excessive, disproportionate and indiscriminate force by Israeli forces against Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and particularly the Gaza Strip.
The General Assembly today elected 18 members of the Economic and Social Council to serve three-year terms beginning 1 January 2019. Those elected were Angola, Armenia, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Jamaica, Kenya, Luxembourg, Mali, Netherlands, Pakistan, Paraguay, Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and the United States. The 18 outgoing members were Afghanistan, Algeria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Czechia, Guyana, Iraq, Italy, Lebanon, Nigeria, Peru, Republic of Moldova, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, United States and Viet Nam.
Having made considerable progress in reducing the rates of new HIV infections and expanding the availability of antiretroviral drugs, the global community must resist the temptation to “rest on its laurels” and instead redouble efforts to completely eradicate the virus, the General Assembly heard today, as delegates outlined national progress towards meeting testing and treatment benchmarks to that end.
Opening the substantive portion of its 2018 session today, the Special Committee on Decolonization took up the long‑standing questions of Gibraltar and Western Sahara, while also approving several annual resolutions relating to the dissemination of information about its work and the dispatching of visiting missions to the world’s 17 remaining Non‑Self‑Governing Territories.
In a single round of voting today, the General Assembly elected Belgium, Dominican Republic, Germany, Indonesia and South Africa as non-permanent members of the Security Council for two-year terms spanning 2019-2020.
