As the Sixth Committee (Legal) began its consideration of the International Law Commission report today, speakers addressed the first of three clusters of topics, critiquing the Commission’s working methods and offering competing views about the future of draft articles and conclusions on “Crimes against humanity” and “Peremptory norms of general international law” (jus cogens).
Whereas long-standing restrictions on the importation of weapons have largely prevented their flow into the hands of Al-Shabaab — a group responsible for ongoing terror attacks across the Horn of Africa — those measures require updating to better reflect reality on the ground, the head of the Security Council’s Somalia Sanctions Committee said today.
The global demand for legal training met by the Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law must be matched by funding for its activities, the Sixth Committee (Legal) heard today as it began its consideration of the Programme.
Special Rapporteurs presented reports on human trafficking, internal displacement and modern slavery, with one warning that some 17 million children have been displaced by conflict and violence, as the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) continued its interactive dialogues today.
Calling for more control of the flow of small arms and light weapons and enhanced regulations on autonomous weapons systems, delegates highlighted the damage done to communities around the world by a range of legal and illegal weaponry, as the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) concluded its thematic debate on conventional weapons.
The ranking United Nations official in the Central African Republic appealed to the Security Council today to renew the mandate of the Organization’s peacekeeping mission in that country with a focus on elections planned for 2020 and 2021, as well as other challenges.
The existence of two different pay scales in Geneva undermines the United Nations common system aimed at maintaining the same employment conditions across different duty stations, speakers warned today as the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) began examining the role of the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) in setting such standards.
Targeted killings, such as that of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, are emblematic of a global pattern of killings of reporters and activists, and the most important action to take in these cases of “terminal silencing” is to speak up, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions Agnes Callamard told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as delegates engaged with mandate holders on the promotion and protection of human rights.
Delegates highlighted the role of the Scientific Committee in informing radiation safety standards for the entire international community, as the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) approved a draft resolution on the effects of atomic radiation today.
The recent escalation of hostilities in north‑east Syria — following a Turkish military operation launched on 9 October — has exacerbated the safety and well‑being of the area’s 3 million residents, a top United Nations humanitarian official warned the Security Council today, adding that nearly 180,000 people have fled that border region in just two weeks.
