The Security Council this morning decided to extend the mandate of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) for one year, until 15 October 2016, at the Secretary‑General’s recommended force levels of up to 2,370 troops and 2,061 police.
Halfway into the Third International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism, the United Nations must rise to its responsibilities and put an end to colonial occupations once and for all, delegates stressed today as the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) continued its general debate on the issue.
The plight of children living in the midst of conflict had worsened in many parts of the world, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) heard today as it began its consideration of the promotion and protection of the rights of young people with an interactive dialogue with top United Nations officials.
Delegates at today’s session of the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) praised the Organization’s top auditing watchdog’s crucial work in keeping tabs on the finances of nearly two dozen United Nations entities responsible for spending billions of dollars each year.
The myriad peace and security challenges facing the world, the United Nations ability to address them, and the link between security and the new Sustainable Development Agenda, were debated today as the General Assembly took up the Secretary-General’s annual report on the work of the Organization.
The United Nations Support Office for the African Union Mission in Somalia (UNSOA) required “significant” strengthening, the Under-Secretary-General for Field Support told the Security Council today, with its efforts reprioritized around strategic objectives set by the 15‑member body and within areas of African Union operations with the Somali National Army.
The Security Council today outlined sweeping actions to improve implementation of its landmark women, peace and security agenda, covering its work on countering violent extremism and terrorism, improving working methods and broadly taking up the gender recommendations of a just-completed global study it had requested two years ago.
During a meeting characterized by impassioned pleas, calls for justice and appeals to rationale, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) heard testimony on Western Sahara for a second day in an effort to find a solution to the Territory’s 40-year pursuit of self-determination.
Small arms and light weapons resulted in devastating consequences for civilians, particularly women and children, and their lucrative trafficking and unregulated proliferation made them easily obtainable, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) heard today during its general debate.
Delegates today called on a United Nations oversight body to boost its capacity to investigate corruption, mismanagement of resources and sexual abuse, as the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) began its examination of such functions, amid fraud allegations involving a former General Assembly President.
