Speakers in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today expressed their concern over the deteriorating conditions at the Organization’s Nairobi conference centre, which are hindering the facility’s capacity to provide conference services.
In progress at UNHQ
Meetings Coverage
After approving without a vote five resolutions on requests for observer status in the General Assembly and deferring one request, the Sixth (Legal) Committee today commenced its discussion on the report and draft articles addressing the protection of persons in the event of disasters, with delegates debating the merits of elaborating an international treaty.
Several delegates called today for enhanced regional partnerships and coordinated action, especially with the African Union, as the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) continued its comprehensive review of peacekeeping operations.
Warning that the hospitality extended to refugees by developing countries should not be taken for granted, delegates in the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) called today for a “whole-of-globe” approach to ensure that all countries do their fair share, as they continued their debate on the promotion and protection of human rights.
As delegates concluded consideration of the third and final cluster of topics from the International Law Commission’s annual report, they emphasized the importance of addressing controversial issues, such as immunity of State officials who had committed crimes against humanity and the protection of the environment during armed conflict and occupation, with care and an acknowledgement of the matters’ complexity and political sensitivity.
Uprooted by war, today’s 68.5 million refugees are often branded as threats — turned back at borders, left to perish at sea, or detained indefinitely in horrific conditions, Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as he called for a return to dignity, human rights and a sense of shared humanity.
Despite recent progress, the continued impasse in the Conference on Disarmament undercuts its credibility and raises doubt about its continued relevance, delegates stressed today, as the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) took up its cluster on the disarmament machinery before concluding the thematic portion of its work.
The Security Council decided today to extend the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) until 30 April 2019, calling upon the parties to the dispute over that territory to engage constructively in resumed talks planned for the end of 2018.
Speakers overwhelmingly called on the United States to end its economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba as the General Assembly began its annual debate on the issue amid demands for the cessation of unilateral coercive measures.
Shrinking budgets are at odds with increasingly complex peace operations, delegates warned today, as the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) continued its general debate on the comprehensive review of United Nations peacekeeping.