The implementation of a renewed Strategic Plan for the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in Libya has provided “significant and clearly discernible” results, its Prosecutor told the Security Council today, cautioning however that real and profound resource restrictions are having an impact on his Office’s work.
The Security Council met today following an incident in the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk on 7 November, where shelling by Ukrainian forces reportedly killed six people and wounded another 11, with several delegates pointing out that the Russian Federation convened the meeting to divert attention from the continued and relentless suffering and damage wrought by their military aggression against Ukraine.
Updating Member States on the status of adherence to the safeguards governing the management of nuclear weapons, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) today briefed the General Assembly on IAEA’s work, including in Ukraine, Iran, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and elsewhere.
Approving one request for observer status and deferring nine others today, the Sixth Committee (Legal) also heard the oral reports of two Working Groups and took up its agenda item on revitalizing the General Assembly’s work, as several delegates suggested alternative working methods to rejuvenate stagnated discussions.
The Security Council met today for a briefing on the work of its Committee established pursuant to resolution 2140 (2014) for the period 16 March to date.
The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) approved 12 draft resolutions today, covering issues that included the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights, imposition of unilateral coercive measures, rights of Indigenous Peoples, right to self-determination and right to food.
At a time of worsening conflict and alleged human rights and international law violations, the work of the International Court of Justice and the Human Rights Council has never been more important, Member States said today in the General Assembly as debates concluded for the session on the reports of the two bodies, with several speakers expressing distress over the situation in Gaza.
Speakers today urged respect for international humanitarian law — and upheld the two-State solution as the only sure path to peace in the Middle East — as the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) concluded its general debate on Israeli practices affecting the human rights of the Palestinian people and other Arabs of the occupied territories.
The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) today began its general debate on Israeli practices which impact the human rights of Palestinians and other Arabs in occupied territories and concluded its consideration of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), with speakers expressing alarm at the fast-rising death toll in Gaza and an upsurge in violence between settlers and Palestinians in the West Bank.
Delegates in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today considered the financial status of the $77.9 billion United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund and the $2.16 billion capital master plan, with the latter drawing concerns over rising closeout costs due to an arbitration case with the plan’s construction manager.
