General Assembly

Marking the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, senior United Nations and Government officials today honoured the “heroes” that had fought and died to overcome the legacy of one of humanity’s “darkest chapters”, and called for action on behalf of millions who were still being subjected to intolerable forms of forced labour and exploitation.

The Human Rights Committee today continued its second reading of a draft general comment on the obligations of State parties under Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which sets out the rights to hold an opinion without interference, and to freedom of expression.

In an extraordinary action today, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) decided to recommend the use of United Nations regular budget funds to bolster the United Nations troubled refugee agency in the Middle East.

Continuing its second read-through of a draft general comment on article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights — concerning freedom of opinion and expression — the Human Rights Committee today determined the language for four paragraphs, covering the substance, forms and context in which such communications take place.

The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People will convene the United Nations Latin American and Caribbean Meeting in Support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace on 29 and 30 March in Montevideo, Uruguay.

While welcoming Mongolia’s efforts to bring its national legislation into line with its obligations under international treaties, members of the Human Rights Committee expressed considerable concern today that an absence of judicial independence jeopardized broader protections by eroding public faith in the most fundamental mechanisms of justice.

Mongolia had announced a moratorium on the death penalty in the last 10 years, in addition to having enacted a landmark gender equality law and streamlined procedures for registering non-governmental organizations with the State in order to improve their overall efficiency, the Human Rights Council heard today as it took up that country’s fifth periodic report.

As the General Assembly today considered the recent progress reports of the two key bodies of the United Nations peacebuilding architecture, delegates gave generally favourable reviews of their track records in responding to the needs and challenges on the ground of strife-torn and post-conflict countries.

Citing critical gaps between a number of admittedly excellent laws and proposed legislative amendments on the one hand, and the actual status of civil and political rights in Serbia on the other, experts of the Human Rights Committee pressed that country today to do more on several fronts, including the protection of minority rights, the effective functioning of its courts and grave instances of violence against journalists and human rights defenders.

While Serbia had made gains in reforming its judiciary, advancing minority participation in public affairs and generally fostering a “spirit of tolerance and inter-cultural dialogue”, the Government was aware of the challenges it faced in advancing civil and political rights, especially given the enduring legacy of conflict in the region, top officials told the Human Rights Committee today as its experts considered the country’s second periodic report.