Meetings Coverage

A Special Meeting of the States Parties to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea today elected Szymon Uścinowicz of Poland to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, filling the 21-member body’s last seat allotted to the Group of Eastern European States.

While Afghanistan had made progress “unthinkable a decade ago”, the challenges and tragedies that remained required both the Government and its international partners to follow through firmly on commitments made in recent international conferences, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative told the Security Council this afternoon.

Strongly condemning ongoing attacks and atrocities carried out in Central Africa by the Lord’s Resistance Army rebel group, the Security Council this afternoon urged swift implementation of United Nations and African Union strategies to address the threat through cooperation of all countries, organizations and peacekeeping operations in the region.

As 2012 drew to a close, momentum was slipping for a two-State solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and tensions on the ground were worsening after the upgrade of Palestinian status in the General Assembly last month, the United Nations political affairs chief told the Security Council today, calling on all stakeholders to put bitterness aside to focus on the hard, practical work of forging an agreement in the year ahead.

The Security Council this morning extended until 30 June 2013 the mandate of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), which monitors the ceasefire in the Golan Heights between Israel and Syria, expressing grave concern at recent violations by the Syrian Armed Forces in the mission’s area of operations.

As the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) neared its 31 December 2012 completion, the Security Council this morning commended the country for the “remarkable achievements” of the past decade, underscoring the importance of continued support to the fledgling nation as it embarked on the next stage of its development.

In a single round of voting today, the Fourteenth Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child elected nine members to the 18-member committee charged with monitoring implementation of the treaty and its two Optional Protocols.

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) this afternoon examined revised budgetary estimates for the 2012-2013 cycle related to a diverse array of issues, including sustainable development, decisions of the Human Rights Council, the Special Court for Sierra Leone, the arms trade treaty, the contingency fund and financing of the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste.

The General Assembly today, acting on the recommendation of its Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization), drew divided support among its resolutions and decisions on decolonization and issues concerning Israeli practices and the United Nations Agency tasked with mitigating the plight of the region’s refugees, but attracted broad backing for drafts on the effects of atomic radiation, peacekeeping, outer space, information and University for Peace.