Meetings Coverage

The Commission on Population and Development ended its fifty-sixth session today, unable to adopt by consensus a draft resolution concerning the agenda item on population, education and sustainable development.

Colombia is forging ahead in its total peace policy, rooted in its implementation of the Final Agreement with the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - People’s Army  (FARC-EP), despite facing multiple challenges, the Special Representative for the country told the Security Council today.

Recommendations by the International Law Commission are not binding and accepting them is “entirely in the hands of Member States”, a United Nations senior principal legal officer told the Sixth Committee (Legal) today during its resumed session, as he briefed delegates on the Commission’s procedure with the General Assembly and its process in drafting the articles on prevention and punishment of crimes against humanity.

Against the backdrop of the major demographic issues facing the world today, the United Nations Population Division’s data has been essential as it serves as a reference for domestic population projections, experts underscored today, as the Commission on Population and Development continued its fifty-sixth session with a general debate as well as a panel discussion on “Programme implementation and future programme of work of the Secretariat in the field of population”.

Investing in lifelong education, including for women, young people and migrants, leads to healthier, more prosperous societies, experts underscored today, as the Commission on Population and Development continued its fifty-sixth session with a general debate as well as a panel discussion on “Population, education and sustainable development.”

As the Sixth Committee (Legal) continued its resumed session today to consider the International Law Commission’s recommendation to codify a convention on crimes against humanity, speakers deliberated over two clusters of draft articles addressing measures States should take on national platforms regarding those crimes, while also exploring the methods of international cooperation between countries when considering extradition of alleged offenders.

Amid surging clashes between non-State armed groups, massive displacement and a “catastrophic” humanitarian situation, the United Nations continues to offer the best framework for the lasting stability of Mali and the larger Sahel region, the Organization’s senior official in that country told the Security Council today, as he detailed recent developments on the ground.

Deprivation of access to education on sexual and reproductive health and rights results in a range of harmful practices — such as early and child marriages, unwanted pregnancies and high levels of gender-based violence — which have an enormous adverse effect on sustainable development, speakers stressed today, as the Commission on Population and Development continued its fifty-sixth session.

As the Sixth Committee’s (Legal) resumed session on its agenda item “Crimes against humanity” entered its second day, delegates grappled with the challenge of defining such crimes in a way that balances facilitating future development on the one hand and establishing legal certainty on the other — all in service of preventing and punishing some of the most serious international crimes.

Education is a door-opener and a life-changer, especially for girls and women, senior United Nations officials stressed, as the Commission on Population and Development opened its fifty-sixth session, against the backdrop of a global learning crisis.