General Assembly

A United Nations General Assembly-mandated Working Group to study issues relating to the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity beyond areas of national jurisdiction will meet in New York from 31 May-3 June.

General Assembly President Joseph Deiss (Switzerland) briefed the press at Headquarters today on a wide range of topics, covering his recent travels on behalf of the world body and highlighting his meetings with political groupings and Government officials on matters, such as Security Council reform, global governance and support for the least developed countries.

The Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, also known as the Special Committee of 24, will hold its annual regional seminar in Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, from 31 May to 2 June.

A draft resolution concerning the financing of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was introduced today in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) by the representative of Argentina, on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China.

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today considered the financing requirements of two special political missions, as well as revisions to the way in which Member States contributing troops to United Nations peacekeeping operations were reimbursed for their equipment.

The General Assembly today elected 15 States to serve on the Human Rights Council for three-year terms beginning next month, in a single round of secret balloting which followed the candidates’ nomination by their respective regional groups.

While noting the Organization’s improved financial situation at year-end 2010, Member States gathered at the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) session today reminded each other of their obligation to pay their assessments in full and on time so as to keep the United Nations running smoothly. Their debate came a week after the Under-Secretary-General for Management, Angela Kane, gave the Committee her semi-annual snapshot of the Organization’s financial picture.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today opened the General Assembly’s first-ever thematic debate on international migration and development with a strong call for an intelligent, cooperative approach, focused on the positive “to harness the unstoppable force of migration for the greater good”.

The 10-year Programme of Action adopted at the close of the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Development Countries gave new momentum to global efforts to improve the lot of the world’s most vulnerable, impoverished nations, Gyan Chandra Acharya, (Nepal), Chair of the Group of Least Developed Countries, said at a Headquarters press conference today.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is the first international human rights treaty of the twenty-first century. On 10 May, Colombia became the 100th country to ratify this Convention. In doing so, it joins the ranks of those countries that now support greater access, backed by their legal systems, for citizens with disabilities to fully participate in the lives of their communities, including the political process and health and education services.