General Assembly

Irrespective of the current global financial crisis, it was “time to get back to basics”, the General Assembly heard today, as delegations reaffirmed the mutual responsibilities and obligations of their Governments to fulfil commitments on development financing agreed at the dawn of the new century, and discussed new ways of raising more funds to rescue millions of people from poverty.

The General Assembly would stress the importance of continuing to consider the issue of development cooperation with middle-income countries, according to one of six draft resolutions that the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) approved by consensus today.

In the face of the increasingly devastating scourge of climate change and a global financial crisis that demanded the smarter use of natural resources, delegates in the General Assembly stressed today that urgent action was needed in efforts to sustainably manage the world oceans and marine ecosystems.

Marking the tenth anniversary of the International Year of Volunteerism, the General Assembly today showcased the diversity, breadth and depth of volunteering worldwide, with United Nations officials, diplomats and volunteers themselves hailing volunteerism as “one of the clearest expressions of solidarity in action”.

The General Assembly would stress the need for active measures to reduce excessive food-price volatility, while acknowledging the incomplete understanding of its causes and the importance of carrying out more research, according to one of five draft resolutions that the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) approved by consensus today.

Stressing the need for the Secretary-General to make every effort to ensure that technical and logistical support is provided for elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in full and on time, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today asked the General Assembly to appropriate $69.56 million to the Special Account for the United Nations Mission in that country.

The General Assembly met this afternoon to consider ways to improve the on-the-ground effectiveness of the United Nations and ensure that the Organization delivered on two decades’ worth of development commitments, with delegations focusing on ways to strengthen civilian capacity in the aftermath of conflict and following-up the historic Millennium Summit.

On the recommendation of its First Committee (Disarmament and International Security), where concern over the paralysis in the United Nations disarmament machinery and the resulting negotiating impasse on key issues had informed much of the session’s debate, the General Assembly today adopted 47 resolutions and five decisions in its ongoing effort to temper national positions with a more flexible approach to revitalizing the multilateral disarmament process.

The General Assembly would urge the international community to adopt urgent measures to eliminate the use of unilateral coercive economic measures against developing countries as they were inconsistent with the principles of international law and the multilateral trading system, according to one of 14 draft resolutions approved by the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today.

The General Assembly needed to be revitalized and empowered in order to meet the current global challenges and fulfil its central role, as envisaged by the United Nations Charter, General Assembly President Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser told that body today. More than ever, world events necessitated a strong and responsive General Assembly and it should not be restricted to being a venue for deliberation, he said.