Meetings Coverage

The Security Council this morning underlined the obligations of Member States to take steps to prevent terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria from benefiting from trade in oil, antiquities and hostages, and from receiving donations.

Twenty years after the landmark “Copenhagen Summit”, speakers in the Commission for Social Development today called for transformative public policies that supported a rights-based vision of a world which uplifted living standards for society’s most neglected while recognizing the vast differences among countries’ abilities to bring about that worthy goal.

Parliaments, cities and local authorities could provide a “rich tapestry of opportunities” in the context of sustainable development, said ministers and other senior officials as the General Assembly concluded its High-level Thematic Debate on Means of Implementation for a Transformative Post-2015 Development Agenda today.

Despite the collective failure of Israelis, Palestinians and the international community to advance a political solution during the 2014 International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People aimed at catalysing global action, “all good forces must now be mobilized”, Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson urged today in a message from the Secretary-General.

Social protections, inclusive employment and equal access to education were essential for ensuring that people with disabilities remained at the heart of development efforts in the post-2015 era, the Special Rapporteur on Persons with Disabilities told the Commission on Social Development today, outlining priorities for her three-year tenure since the establishment of her mandate by the Human Rights Council last December.

As the General Assembly opened its two-day high-level meeting aimed at finding ways to turn the new sustainable development vision into reality for millions worldwide, ministers and other senior officials crafted and shared approaches to “connect the dots” of financing the ambitious global agenda.

Amid widening inequalities both within and among countries, delegates in the Commission for Social Development today tackled the perceived trade-off between economic growth and social progress, debating ways to design policies that could improve overall well-being without sacrificing the productivity that allowed their communities to flourish.

The Security Council this morning urged the parties in the inter-Malian negotiation process in Algiers to resume their talks to achieve and implement a comprehensive peace agreement, while demanding that all groups cease hostilities or face possible targeted sanctions.

Reporting both the end of a prolonged political impasse and the eruption of violent protests in Kosovo, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative told the Security Council this morning that leaders of the parties there must engage seriously in ongoing dialogue and make the hard choices required for regional stability.

The Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations today concluded substantive work of its 2015 regular session with the presentation of the body’s draft report, which will be finalized for adoption next week.