Meetings Coverage

States on the front lines were in a unique position to assess the nature of the terrorism threat in their regions and keep the international community informed, the Security Council heard this morning in a review of the work of its anti-terrorism committees.

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) concluded its work today, having approved 72 draft resolutions that are expected to be taken up by the General Assembly plenary next month.

The General Assembly would stress the need to increase investment in agriculture and rural development, including by giving technical and financial aid to least developed and net food-importing developing countries, with a view to increasing their agricultural productivity and infrastructure, according to one of two draft resolutions the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) approved by consensus today.

Progress in restoring constitutional order in Guinea-Bissau following the 2012 coup d’état remained “frustratingly slow” amid electoral delays and a generalized climate of fear, the United Nations senior official in the West African country told the Security Council today, stressing that the onus was now on the transitional Government to ensure the timely holding of presidential and legislative elections next year.

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) approved 18 draft resolutions today, including one on “The right to privacy in the digital age”.

Sending a strong message of support for the Middle East peace process, albeit with the traditionally divergent views on how to achieve its aims, the General Assembly today adopted six draft resolutions on the question of Palestine and the situation in the Middle East overall.

The Central African Republic was "a failed State headed by a fragile transitional Government" that was powerless to bring the country out of the crisis, the Security Council heard today from a senior official of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) in a meeting where several speakers called for the deployment of a multifaceted peacekeeping mission to that country.

Iraq’s deteriorating security environment and entrenched political deadlock were being exploited by terrorists intent on fomenting sectarian violence, the senior United Nations official in the country told the Security Council today, urging the 15-member body to support Iraqis’ aspirations to build a peaceful, inclusive and democratic nation.

The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) until 31 May 2014, underscoring that the Force’s mandate included taking the necessary actions to protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence, irrespective of the source.

Reiterating its strong condemnation of war crimes and crimes against humanity by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and its use of children in armed conflict, the Security Council today demanded that the group immediately cease all hostilities, release all abductees, and disarm and demobilize.