Speakers today called for the United Nations to strike a balance between the fundamental principle of State sovereignty and the need to protect human rights, as the Security Council held a day-long debate on the tenets of the Organization’s Charter.
The Commission for Social Development concluded its fifty-fourth session today, approving three draft resolutions for adoption by the Economic and Social Council with one on Africa’s development, traditionally endorsed by consensus, requiring a rare vote to address the United States’ concerns over language around trade issues, and more generally, “the right to development”.
The General Assembly decided today that it would devote more time to examining the Secretary-General’s proposed plan of action to prevent violent extremism, as diverging views emerged on some key details.
Speakers called today for greater transparency in the procedures and practices of committees established to monitor United Nations sanctions and improve communication with affected countries, as the Security Council held a general debate on the working methods of its subsidiary bodies.
The Security Council today renewed until 12 March 2017 the mandate of the Panel of Experts monitoring sanctions imposed on those behind instability in Sudan’s western Darfur region, expressing regret that members of the Government as well as armed groups continued to disregard its demands, while also signalling its intention to impose measures against parties perpetuating violence.
Despite recent territorial losses inflicted upon Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the international community urgently needed “unity and action” to combat the continuing threat posed by the terrorist group, the ranking United Nations political official stressed today as he briefed the Security Council.
The Security Council decided today to maintain the current personnel ceiling of more than 12,800 in the military and police components of the United Nations peacekeeping operation in the Central African Republic and to increase the number of corrections officers, determining that the situation in the strife-torn nation remained a threat to international peace and security.
Economies must be put at the service of people, through effective integrated social policies, the United Nations Secretary-General told the Commission for Social Development today, stressing that, in a world where inequality was still too high and too few economies had attained sustainable growth, the body’s policy guidance would be critical to global efforts to end poverty by 2030.
There was now a common understanding that social policies inclusive of persons with disabilities were a “sound” investment in society and that their exclusion from decisions came with economic costs that countries could no longer ignore, the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities told the Commission for Social Development today, outlining ways to ensure the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development built on historic gains in their recognition.
Despite progress, the development crisis continued to prevail, with the widening inequality between people and countries, delegates in the Commission for Social Development heard today, debating ways to design policies that could improve overall well-being and effectively address challenges without sacrificing the productivity that allowed their communities to advance.
