The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today recomended personnel apppointments to fill upcoming vacancies in the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) and four other bodies that help manage the United Nations vast human resources and its finances.
The General Assembly failed to elect the fifth remaining member today to the International Court of Justice. After seven rounds of voting, which were held concurrently of, but independently from, the voting process in the Security Council, the final choice between the two bodies did not concur.
The appalling level of violence and unprecedented scale of destruction unleashed by Israel upon the people of Gaza in July and August exacerbated the suffering of a population already reeling from years of repression and restriction, the Fourth Committee heard today, as it began its consideration of the Report of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Terri
Armed conflicts and weather-related disasters resulted in prolonged refugee situations, severely affecting host communities as well as humanitarian organizations, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) heard today as it concluded its discussion on refugees, returnees and displaced persons. The Committee also introduced several draft resolutions covering a range of issues, from missing persons to safety for journalists.
Delegates at the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today urged the Secretariat to detail and clarify the benefits — financial and operational — of a costly major enterprise planning project that would streamline administrative practices and boost efficiency throughout the Organization.
The General Assembly today, working concurrently, but independently, of the Security Council, elected four judges from an initial pool of eight candidates to the International Court of Justice for terms of nine years beginning 6 February 2015.
Commending the perseverance of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in the face of adverse conditions on the ground, speakers in the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) today called for renewed international financial and political commitment to end the suffering of Palestinian refugees, as they concluded consideration of the Agency’s work.
The real solution to the suffering and plight of refugees was not humanitarian action but political decisiveness, a top United Nations official told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today as it began its thematic debate on related issues, returnees and displaced persons.
Consideration of States’ constitutional challenges was crucial to the provisional application of treaties, speakers underscored today, as the Sixth Committee (Legal) concluded deliberations on a number of topics from the International Law Commission’s annual report.
Regional frameworks could assist the mobilization of financial and technological resources, and “serve as a catalyst to strengthen the global partnership for sustainable development by facilitating access to science, technology and innovation, and enhancing knowledge sharing and capacity-building”, Sebastiano Cardi (Italy) told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today while chairing its annual dialogue with the Regional Commissions.
