Meetings Coverage

The General Assembly today appointed two members to its Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions following the recommendation of its Fifth Committee (Budgetary and Administrative).

Concerned by the high level of overdue payments for peacekeeping operations, speakers in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today called on Member States to meet their financial obligations to the United Nations promptly so it could completely fulfil its mandate to maintain international peace and security.

Following its recent three-day visiting mission to Colombia, the Security Council today adopted a presidential statement paying tribute to that country’s people for embarking on the path to peace after more than 50 years of conflict.

The Chairs of three terrorism-related Security Council subsidiary bodies briefed members today, reporting on the activities of the Committees concerning counter-terrorism, Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh), Al-Qaida and associated groups, and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Speakers from myriad sectors in Africa shared perspectives on why the continent, despite being resource rich, remained home to the planet’s poorest people, as the Economic and Social Council concluded its integration segment today.

Delegations voiced support today for the Secretary-General’s efforts to reform peacekeeping, but warned that cost-cutting must not undermine the ability of missions to effectively carry out their mandates, as the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) took up the Organization’s proposed 2017/18 peacekeeping budget and budget performance for 2015/16.

Government officials from around the globe today outlined efforts — often inspired by the deeply cross-cutting nature of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development — to implement integrated, multisectoral policies, as they addressed the Economic and Social Council’s integration segment.

Describing the European Union as an indispensable partner of the United Nations, the bloc’s senior-most diplomat told the Security Council today that it was ready to move beyond the current international uncertainty and join the Organization in building a more cooperative world order.

Describing poverty as a multi-dimensional phenomenon that could not be measured by income alone, several speakers said today that the structural factors keeping people poor were often missing from policymaking.

State cooperation with the International Criminal Court was crucial to ensuring justice for victims of mass atrocity crimes committed during 2011 events in Libya, its Chief Prosecutor said today, pressing the Security Council for assistance in the arrest and surrender of those allegedly responsible.