Meetings Coverage

International cooperation and assistance in capacity-building and technology transfer were key to the implementation of the United Nations Programme of Action to counter the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, delegates concurred as the fifth Biennial Meeting of States moved into day three of its session.

Systematic and wide-spread crimes continued to be committed with total impunity in Darfur nearly 10 years since the situation there was referred to the International Criminal Court, Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda told the Security Council today.

The Security Council today unanimously adopted two resolutions addressing threats to international peace and security, the first on the Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee and the second relating to the Taliban sanctions regime.

New weapon design and production methods — including the use of “3D” printing and non-traditional materials, such as polymers — had the potential to profoundly influence how weapons were marked and traced, and records kept, delegates heard today as the Fifth Biennial Meeting of States to combat the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons moved into day two of its session.

Resumed political dialogue between the Government of Côte d’Ivoire and the former ruling party was a significant step towards national reconciliation, but security and stability remained fragile, the head of the United Nations operation in that country told the Security Council today.

The General Assembly, adopting two resolutions today, endorsed the proposals of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations and followed up progress on the social dimensions of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), as well as approved the four-year appointment of Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein of Jordan as the new United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Against a backdrop of fragile security, illegal guns, grenades and rocket launchers had ripped communities apart while fuelling terrorism, and would require strong collective efforts to halt their spread, delegates heard today as the fifth Biennial Meeting of States to combat the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons opened its 2014 session.

Delegates concluded the twenty-fourth Meeting of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, approving a budget and adopting a draft decision, while tackling difficult maritime disputes over international waters.

The General Assembly capped its fourth Review of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy today, with the adoption of a consensus resolution stressing the importance of keeping that ongoing effort “relevant and contemporary” in light of emerging threats, and calling for stepped-up efforts by States and others to implement its four pillars in an integrated and balanced manner.