This year of solidarity with the Palestinians, in which the international community sought to achieve their right to live as a free people in their homeland, had instead seen the peace process collapse and conditions deteriorate due to Israel’s illegal actions, the General Assembly heard today as it opened an annual two-day debate on the question of Palestine and the situation in the Middle East.
Approving a new draft resolution on protecting children from bullying, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) took action on and sent a total of 14 draft texts to the General Assembly.
“We cannot paper over the differences and the difficulties that we face today,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon told delegations gathered to mark the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
Politicization of children’s rights should be avoided and national sovereignty and values should be respected, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) heard today as it approved 10 draft texts, including a new one on the rights of the child.
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.
