Most large-scale disasters were climate-related, with devastating floods, droughts and storms doubling over the last four decades, a United Nations official told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) as it took up sustainable development today.
States must overcome narrow national interests and “misguided notions of parity” to overcome the disarmament machinery’s deadlock and lead the Conference on Disarmament to adopt a programme of work, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) heard today as its general debate entered a second week.
While Argentina would always defend the right to self‑determination everywhere, that principle was not absolute and must not be used as a pretext for interfering with the territorial integrity of existing States, the country’s representative cautioned today, as the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) continued its general debate on decolonization issues.
The United Nations must ensure that the impact of its Economic and Social Council — a critical platform for measuring sustainable development progress and amplifying stakeholders’ voices — was “greater than the sum of its parts”, the General Assembly heard today as it considered the Council’s diverse activities in 2017.
VIENNA, 6 October — The International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East concluded today, with two panel discussions exploring themes of bias, objectivity, truth and the role of both social and traditional media in covering the issues that mattered most to Palestinians and Israelis.
Social customs and norms often erected barriers to women’s access to the resources needed for them to gain economic independence, speakers today told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural), concluding discussions on the advancement of women.
Amid fears of a nuclear stand-off, several speakers addressing the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today drew attention to the danger of reaching a “point of no return”, and recommended ways to diffuse tensions.
The Organization’s financial indicators for 2017 for peacekeeping operations and the tribunals remained generally sound and positive, although the regular budget cash was currently exhausted and reserves were at low levels, the United Nations senior management official told the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today.
Delegates from several African countries called for greater regional cooperation in the peaceful resolution of the Western Sahara question today, as the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) continued its general debate on decolonization.
While delegates stressed that Member States must ensure accountability for crimes committed by their nationals when deployed as United Nations officials and experts on mission, speakers remained divided on elaborating an international convention addressing the matter, as the Sixth Committee (Legal) took up the topic today.
