General Assembly

After an historic global recession pushed millions more into poverty and raised fears that the traditional system of checks and balances might fail to prevent another, the United Nations General Assembly used the main part of its sixty-fourth session to urge the creation of a more equitable multilateral structure that would see developing countries increasingly take positions of power, from the Security Council to the Bretton Woods institutions and other global decision-making forums.

The General Assembly concluded the main part of its substantive session early this morning with the adoption a $5.16 billion budget for the United Nations 2010‑2011 biennium, and importantly, a resolution that maintains the current scale by which States are assessed dues to the Organization, reflecting a compromise between the need to review that formula and maintain a balanced approach to assessments.

Recognizing the numerous difficulties faced by survivors of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, the General Assembly today adopted a resolution requesting the Secretary-General to encourage relevant United Nations agencies, funds and programmes to provide assistance in the areas of education, medical care, skills training and microcredit programmes aimed at promoting self-sufficiency.

In 66 meetings of its sixty-fourth session, the United Nations General Assembly adopted 226 resolutions and 57 decisions, Ali Abdussalam Treki (Libya), President of the 192-member body, said during an end-of-year press conference at Headquarters today. Mr. Treki said the Assembly was now close to completing its programme of work for the first quarter, with five out of its six Main Committees having completed their work. The Fifth Committee was expected to conclude tomorrow.

In a bid to boost recovery from the global financial, economic crisis and tackle entrenched policy challenges to long-term growth, trade and sustainable development, the Assembly laid the groundwork for consideration of those issues by unanimously adopting –- out of 38 development-related actions put forward by its Second Committee –- several resolutions and landmark texts on food security, legal rights for the poor, and principles governing humankind’s relationship with the earth.

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today approved a draft that would have the Assembly reaffirm the Organization’s new internal justice system, which became effective on 1 July, and request the Secretary-General to provide information on how justice would be administered to non-staff personnel under the new system -- such as contractors, consultants, daily paid workers, personnel under service contracts and personnel under special service arrangements.

In efforts to highlight their contribution to society and help address the challenges they face, the United Nations is dedicating a year to young people by proclaiming 2010 the International Year of Youth, commencing on next 12 August.

The General Assembly today adopted 56 resolutions and 9 decisions recommended by its Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural), acting with new-found consensus on several historically contentious texts, including those on the rights of the child, the right to food and the report of the Human Rights Council.

With the United Nations poised to spend $599 million on 27 special political missions in 2010, including two large missions in Afghanistan and Iraq, speakers in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today called for greater accuracy in budget projections, as well as greater clarity on the rationale used to decide the type, size and scope of each mission.