General Assembly

Colonialism had no place in the modern world, speaker after speaker declared today in the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization), echoing the words of the Secretary-General and the foundational resolution of the General Assembly on the subject from more than five decades ago.

The need for coordinated international cooperation in combating all forms of organized transnational crime and for more robust financial support to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) were two recurring topics on which delegates in the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) focused today, as they concluded their discussion on crime prevention and criminal justice, and international drug control.

The peaceful settlement of disputes was real and achievable when the rule of law in its truest sense had consistent and committed adherence at the international and national levels, said delegates in the Sixth Committee (Legal), as deliberations on the principle continued.

The gap between emerging and least developed countries was widening as the latter continued to lag behind in their pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals, Haiti’s representative stressedtoday, as the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) continued its general debate.

Until the total elimination of nuclear weapons became a reality, non-nuclear-weapon States had the “legitimate right” to negative security assurances against the use or threat of use of those weapons, Bangladesh’s representative told the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today, as many in the debate sought to stave off that crippling potential by correcting what they saw as a serious weakness in the nuclear non-proliferation regime.

The “deafening silence” of the Special Committee on Decolonization to Gibraltar’s requests as to whether it had achieved a full measure of self-government did nothing to advance that Territory’s progress towards decolonization, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) was told today as it grappled with the methodological quandary that keeps the decolonization debate at the forefront of international concerns.

Transnational organized crime, including trafficking in people and drugs, was a challenge that “violates human rights and undermines development”, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) heard today as it began its general discussion of crime prevention, criminal justice and international drug control.

There could be no peaceful settlement of disputes without the observance of the rule of law at the international and national levels, Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson told the Sixth Committee as deliberations on the subject began.

Quality teachers did not just improve test scores, they had long-term positive effects on the socioeconomic status of children 20 and 30 years down the line, delegates in the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) heard today as they opened their first general debate of the sixty-eighth session.

Conditions for a world free of nuclear weapons “did not yet exist,” the United States’ representative told the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today, quick to add, however, that, together, the international community was “completely capable” of creating those conditions.