Parliamentarians from around the world joined diplomats and United Nations officials at Headquarters today to discuss ways of advancing the Israeli-Palestinian peace process towards a two-State solution, a goal Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said could still be achieved if the parties, supported by the international community, demonstrated collective political will needed to implement the existing constructive proposals.
As the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today took stock of the planned refurbishment of the Palais des Nations in Geneva, delegates stressed the need to control costs and integrate the expertise gained during the massive renovation of the Organization’s New York Headquarters.
As the General Assembly considered the annual report of the Security Council on its work supporting the peaceful resolution of conflicts, delegations, while acknowledging the progress made by the 15-nation body, also called for continued reforms to its working methods and greater transparency for the Organization’s wider membership as it tackled complex international crises.
The General Assembly would reaffirm that international trade was an engine for development and sustained economic growth, benefiting all countries at all stages of development, according to the terms of one of four draft resolutions approved today by the Second Committee (Economic and Financial).
Afghanistan, which this year saw the first democratic transfer of power from one president to another, had great potential, through its new unified Government, to serve as a hub for connectivity and trade across Asia and thus enhance the development and prosperity of the entire region, delegates heard today as the General Assembly unanimously adopted a draft resolution on the situation in that country.
The twenty-fifth anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child was a moment to assess progress made and the work that remained to be done to help children fully realize their human rights, the General Assembly heard today, as a dozen speakers from United Nations agencies and regional groups took the rostrum, before holding a wide-ranging panel debate.
The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) approved three draft resolutions today, including one on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, in a meeting marked by heated discussion.
The Palestinian Rights Committee today approved four draft resolutions relating to the question of Palestine, as it considered the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as well as all violence against civilians, be they Palestinian or Israeli.
The United Nations regular budget for the biennium 2016-2017 would increase by almost $160 million, or 2.9 per cent, from the current two-year period, to reach a record $5.7 billion, primarily due to the need to support new special political missions, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) heard today.
The Meeting will be convened by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on 21 November.
