The window of opportunity to enact guardrails against the perils of autonomous weapons and artificial intelligence’s military applications is rapidly closing, as the world prepares for a “technological breakout”, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) heard today during a day-long debate on how use of science and technology can undermine security.
Outer space must become an arena for international cooperation for global sustainable development, and not a theatre for an arms race, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) heard today as it began its consideration of international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space.
As the Sixth Committee (Legal) began its consideration of the International Law Commission report today, speakers took up the first of three clusters of topics, including the chapters on “General principles of law”, “Sea-level rise in relation to international law” and “Other decisions and conclusions of the Commission”, while also discussing the Commission’s approach and working methods.
Amid the current political impasse and rising tensions between Pristina and Belgrade, which have resulted in violence, the international community must urge both sides to foster purposeful and concerted actions towards peaceful resolution, the United Nations top official in Kosovo said today, as representatives asserted differing opinions about the cause of regional instability and the lack of implementation of relevant agreements.
Speakers in the Security Council today called for the swift deployment and integration of the Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti, the enforcement of renewed sanctions, and broad political dialogue, all as a means to provide the conditions for elections and to combat the situation of shocking and spiralling gang violence in the country.
The proliferation of small arms and light weapons deserves no less attention than the dangers posed by weapons of mass destruction, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) heard today as its thematic debate on conventional weapons continued.
The plight of internally displaced persons and human rights implications of foreign debt were among concerns addressed in briefings to the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as delegates also discussed the human rights situations in the Central African Republic, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Myanmar.
Enhanced understanding of international law facilitates greater inclusion in global decision-making and fosters cooperation among those seeking such knowledge, speakers said today in the Sixth Committee (Legal), as they praised the United Nations Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law.
Against the backdrop of a raging conflict between Israel and Hamas and a nearly two-year war waged by the Russian Federation against Ukraine, the United Nations and regional and subregional organizations must further strengthen their cooperation and promote among Member States full use of the diplomatic tools and mechanisms set forth in the UN Charter to peacefully resolve conflicts, and foremost prevent them, delegates told the Security Council today.
Special mandates holders called for domicide, starvation as a war tactic, and poverty wages to be classified as war crimes and rights violations, while delegates also sounded an alarm over terrorist threats to civilian populations in Israel and Palestine, as the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) continued its series of dialogues on human rights today.
