General Assembly

The world community was facing a series of complex and interconnected threats that together formed a web of drugs, crime, corruption and even terrorism, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) was told today, as it began its general discussion on crime prevention, criminal justice and international drug control.

A new democracy based on the rule of law and the will of the people had sprung from the recent revolution in Tunisia, instituting deep-seated reforms that would guarantee Tunisian citizens the right to a dignified life, the delegate of Tunisia told the Sixth Committee (Legal) today as it took up its agenda item: the rule of law at the international and national levels.

While multilateralism had never been more vital, “inertia and deadlock prevailed on critical issues”, the representative of Guyana told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today as it concluded its general debate.

Efforts must be redoubled to “counter the biggest danger facing our planet today”, namely, nuclear proliferation, France’s delegate told the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today, championing arms non-proliferation as the critical component to strengthening and safeguarding security.

In a session during which the General Assembly was slated to scrutinize the complex methodology used to determine each Member State’s annual budget contribution, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today adopted a consensus resolution that allowed six countries to retain their voting rights even though they had fallen behind in paying their annual dues to the Organization.

The United Nations could no longer “turn a blind eye” to the risks posed by a failed State in the Western Sahara, as that would jeopardize global security, the Fourth Committee heard today, as petitioners for Western Sahara, New Caledonia, Guam, Turks and Caicos, and the United States Virgin Islands took the floor in the decolonization debate.

Austerity measures adopted by developed countries to address the current economic upheaval hurt global growth and pushed millions more into poverty just when greater social protection was needed, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) was told today.

During the concluding discussion in the Sixth Committee (Legal) on the subject of measures to eliminate international terrorism, delegates today repeatedly illustrated that no country or State in the world was immune from terrorism, and that it now was imperative to finalize the draft articles of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.

Although the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) region had enjoyed a “golden decade” of growth and development in the late 1990s and up to 2008, it had been hit harder by the “great recession” than any other, Executive Secretary Ján Kubiš told the Second Committee today.

The path from Prague was fast and straight, but now that path was starting to move into “uncharted terrain”, the United States Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, Verification and Compliance told the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today as it debated viable approaches and credible options for the oft-expressed goal of general and complete disarmament.