Despite some gains, the world had been locked in a “cycle of intense frustration” over the lack of progress on nuclear disarmament, as the “flawed step-by-step approach” was not enough to achieve the goal of the complete elimination of nuclear weapons, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) heard today, as it continued its general debate.
The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today began examining the United Nations’ programme planning, a critical process in the Organization’s regular budget formulation, while approving a recommendation that five Member States in arrears on dues payment be allowed to vote in the General Assembly.
A far-reaching debate on the best interests of Non-Self Governing Territories fostered contentious exchanges and strong opinions from a broad array of representatives and petitioners this afternoon, as the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) entered its second day of debate on decolonization issues.
The work of the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) must be aligned with the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development, the Committee heard today as it conducted a discussion on its working methods after concluding its general debate.
Amid concerns that the progress made since the cold war had stalled, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) was warned today that there was “no time to lose”, and the international community was urged to “roll up its sleeves” and tackle the world’s disarmament issues.
A total of 21 donors today announced contributions, or their intention to contribute, to the 2016 budget of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), as officials urged stable financing for the Agency against a backdrop of expanding crises in the Middle East.
While the United Nations decolonization process had achieved “historic successes”, colonial thinking and behaviour were still “rampant”, with 17 lands remaining on the Organization’s list of Non-Self-Governing Territories, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) heard today, as it opened its annual debate on the issue.
States and United Nations agencies must strengthen cooperation in addressing transnational crimes, human trafficking and the world drug problem while putting human beings at the heart of solutions to combat those threats, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) heard today during its general discussion of crime prevention, criminal justice and international drug control.
As the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) continued its general debate today, African Member States, both least developed and middle-income, stressed the need to implement a new development agenda “without the burden of the past”, as they called on wealthy nations to restructure debt.
Members of the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today called on each other to work together this session as they tackled a complex and ambitious agenda that included the Organization’s two‑year multi‑billion‑dollar budget for 2016-2017 and whether to re-adjust the methodology used over the next three years to assess Member States’ contribution to the regular budget as well as its peacekeeping operations.
