The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today considered the Secretary-General’s request to allot nearly $294 million, $1.1 billion and $1.2 billion for three United Nations peacekeeping operations in Africa as the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) recommended respective reductions of nearly $1.7 million, $5.1 million and $3 million.
Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, to the Multi-stakeholder Hearing on Tuberculosis in preparation for the United Nations General Assembly high-level meeting on Tuberculosis, in New York today:
While the Secretariat has effectively used improved management tools to avert a liquidity crisis and avoid spending restrictions this year, a senior United Nations financial official warned delegates in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today that the lagging monthly collection rates for the Organization’s 2023 regular budget require careful monitoring.
The United Nations Committee on Information — concluding its forty-fifth session today — approved two resolutions detailing Member States’ priorities for the Department of Global Communications, from combating disinformation, misinformation and information manipulation to reducing disparities in information flows by enhancing assistance for developing countries.
The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People today elected its Vice-Chair and Rapporteur, as the Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine updated the Committee on the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and gave a briefing on the guidelines for opinion case submissions to the International Court of Justice.
Delegates of the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today urged each other to build on their momentum as they consider the Secretariat’s $6.8 billion budget for 11 peacekeeping operations and agree on a financing device for peacebuilding activities.
Prior to adopting three draft resolutions tackling infrastructure connectivity, voluntary national reviews and cooperation with the Council of Europe, the General Assembly held its first ever formal debate on the use of the veto in the Security Council, with speakers deliberating the impact of the new transparency and accountability mechanism — enabled by resolution 76/262 — and its role in enhancing the General Assembly’s functions while achieving legitimacy in the use of the veto.
Concerned by a tidal wave of pressing global challenges from the spike in misinformation and disinformation to widening digital gaps, delegates today underscored the essentiality of multilingualism while outlining several concrete recommendations for the United Nations Department of Global Communications, as the Committee on Information concluded the general debate of its forty-fifth session.
Emphasizing the importance of trustworthy, verifiable information in a world beset with crises and in an environment rife with inaccurate reports, delegates today commended an ongoing initiative by the Department of Global Communications to draft a code of conduct to promote integrity in public information, while urging it to mainstream multilingualism and redouble efforts to combat misinformation and disinformation.
Briefing the General Assembly today, the Head of the Mechanism established to advance justice in Syria reported on that body’s continuing efforts over the past year, detailing its work with jurisdictions and investigations, but noting in light of increasing demand for its services that predictable financing through the regular budget and voluntary contributions by Member States are essential for it to continue serving the interests of victims, survivors and their families.