Honouring the eighth United Nations Secretary-General as he prepared to step down on 31 December after a decade at the head of the world body, the Security Council in a special tribute meeting praised Ban Ki-Moon this morning for his dedicated work on behalf of serving “We the people” above any other consideration.
Concluding its work for the main part of the General Assembly’s seventy-first session today, the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) voted against a proposed amendment to a text by recorded vote, unanimously approving that draft as a whole, for a total of six draft resolutions on topics ranging from debt sustainability and development to food security and beyond.
The current battle in Syria must be followed by an immediate end to violence by all sides, unfettered humanitarian access and genuine engagement without preconditions on finding a political solution to stop the conflict, the Security Council heard today in a meeting called by France and the United Kingdom.
Delegates in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today gave mixed reviews of the Secretary-General’s plans to consolidate the United Nations fragmented administrative services, which if properly implemented, would improve its ability to serve global duty stations and field offices through a leaner, more effective and cost-efficient structure.
The role of the Sixth Committee (Legal) was crucial to strengthening international cooperation to confront threats to peace and security, the General Assembly affirmed today, as it adopted 25 resolutions and 4 decisions of that Committee without a vote.
Unless the impasse in Sudan’s Darfur region was broken, the five suspects indicted for grave crimes committed there would remain at large and impunity would encourage new crimes, the International Criminal Court’s Chief Prosecutor warned today as she delivered her twenty-fourth biannual briefing to the Security Council.
The Security Council decided this morning to extend the mandate of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) by nine months, until 15 September 2017.
The General Assembly, taking up a range of items this afternoon, considered the latest report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) — the main United Nations organ devoted to the peaceful uses of nuclear energy — while also adopting a text related to the work of the Credentials Committee and electing seven members to the Committee for Programme and Coordination.
Seeking to strengthen the international response to terrorism, the Security Council today unanimously adopted a resolution aimed at enhancing and fortifying judicial cooperation worldwide.
António Guterres of Portugal was sworn in today as the next Secretary-General of the United Nations, with the General Assembly paying tribute to his predecessor, Ban Ki‑moon.
