Meetings Coverage

The Security Council today commended the Special Court for Sierra Leone’s important contribution to international criminal justice, as well as its role in strengthening stability in West Africa and “bringing an end to impunity”, and also hailed the completion of trial proceedings against former Liberian President Charles Taylor for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Welcoming national assumption of security responsibilities in Afghanistan while acknowledging continued challenges in completing that process, the Security Council this afternoon decided to extend the authorization of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in that country for the twelve months ending 13 October 2013.

As the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) met to hear petitioners on its annual draft of decolonization issues, many decried the violation of the human rights of Western Saharan refugees, including what some claimed was the exploitation of their natural resources by Morocco.

The creation of decent work opportunities — especially for the world’s 74.8 million unemployed young people — was vital to reducing inequality, eradicating poverty and promoting sustained, equitable economic growth, speakers said today, as the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) wrapped up its two-day discussion of social development.

A phenomenon that had grown in scope, sophistication and complexity, terrorism could only be combated through the eradication of its root causes, adherence to relevant instruments of international law and global and regional partnerships, delegates told the Sixth Committee (Legal) today as it concluded its debate on measures to eliminate terrorism.

The international community must not lose sight of the emerging and interconnected threats of food insecurity and climate change, Cambodia’s representative warned delegates today, as the Second Committee continued its general debate.

Advancing priorities common to all States advanced the interests of each State and had the potential to revitalize faltering global disarmament efforts, the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Angela Kane, told the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today during its annual debate.

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today took up the scale of assessments for determining Member States’ contributions for the Organization’s 2013-2015 peacekeeping operations budget, with speakers strongly cautioning against any changes to the methodology that would place extra financial burdens on small developing countries and did not reflect the “special responsibility” of permanent Security Council members to maintain international peace and security.

Citing an increasingly interdependent world in which the three pillars of the United Nations - peace and security, development and human rights – continued to converge in complex ways, General Assembly delegates today called for greater equity between developed and developing countries in matters ranging from multilateral decision-making to sustainable development policy, as they considered the Secretary-General’s annual report on the work of the United Nations system.

In order to finish the unfinished task of decolonization and speed the process, it was necessary to evolve “a new dynamic” between collecting objective information about the situations in the remaining Non-Self-Governing Territories — home to 2 million people — and pursuing stronger dialogue between them and their administering Powers, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) was urged today as it began its annual debate on that subject.