General Assembly

The classic practice of inserting peacekeepers between warring parties had shifted as troops now confronted intra-State issues, requiring new dimensions in civilian, policing and civic domains, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) was told today, as it continued its general debate on the whole question of peacekeeping operations in all their aspects.

Two cornerstones of United Nations action against terrorism have no proper legal basis in the organization’s Charter today, since international terrorism was not “a permanent threat to peace” and did not justify the Security Council’s supranational powers over individuals or Member States, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) was told today.

Examining the issues involved in objections to treaties as related to State succession would be a useful contribution to the future settlement of State succession issues, Slovenia’s representative said today as the Sixth Committee (Legal) continued its annual consideration of the report of the International Law Commission with a focus on draft guidelines on objections to treaties and other matters, including the Commission’s work methods.

With information and communications technology increasingly driving development in everything from business to health-care services to education programmes, it was imperative that all countries had the necessary broadband connectivity, speakers told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today.

Halting the production of bomb-making material, holding to non-proliferation promises and forging a united effort to eliminate nuclear weapons were among the core challenges put to nuclear-weapon States today in the provisions of 12 draft resolutions and one decision approved by the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security), as it began taking action on the 60 texts before it.

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today heard Secretariat officials unveil a set of recommendations that would move the United Nations a step closer to unifying the conditions of service for thousands of staff members around the world and carry an initial price tag of tens of millions of dollars.

Condemning nearly a half-century of sanctions against Cuba as a “policy in search of a justification”, General Assembly delegates today called for a swift, complete end to the United States economic, commercial and financial embargo against the island nation, which they said had crippled its development and whose justification was morally indefensible.

The United Nations should consider developing a convention on the rights of detainees, Manfred Nowak, Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, told correspondents today at a Headquarters press conference.

Speaking at a Headquarters press conference today, the United Nations Special Rapporteur, promoting the right to physical and mental health, said that the so called “campaign for a drug free world” could actually result in violations of the right to health, as people who used drugs might not come forward to get the care they needed for fear of being arrested, or could be denied health care if they sought help.

There was no greater sign of a Member State’s commitment to collective security than the willingness to send its nationals into harm’s way under the United Nations flag, Fourth Committee delegates heard today as their Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) entered day two of their annual discussion of the whole question of peacekeeping operations in all their aspects.