Meetings Coverage

Marking the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, senior United Nations and Government officials today honoured the “heroes” that had fought and died to overcome the legacy of one of humanity’s “darkest chapters”, and called for action on behalf of millions who were still being subjected to intolerable forms of forced labour and exploitation.

Delivering a briefing today on the critical situation in Libya following the Security Council’s imposition of a no-fly zone on the country, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the international community must “continue to act with speed and decision” to save civilian lives.

With continued strong international support to help Sierra Leone overcome critical challenges such as youth unemployment and vulnerability to shocks, the country’s emergence from a brutal civil war could have a “ripple effect” on other troubled countries in Africa, the Executive Representative of the Secretary-General told the Security Council this morning.

The Human Rights Committee today continued its second reading of a draft general comment on the obligations of State parties under Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which sets out the rights to hold an opinion without interference, and to freedom of expression.

In an extraordinary action today, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) decided to recommend the use of United Nations regular budget funds to bolster the United Nations troubled refugee agency in the Middle East.

While they praised the overall efforts of Peacebuilding Commission to meet its mandated objectives as a platform for galvanizing action and aligning long-term support for post-conflict countries, members of the Security Council today acknowledged the 5-year-old body’s growing pains, as it endeavoured to meet the extremely high expectations placed on it, increase its visibility in the field and strengthen interaction with other actors in and outside the United Nations.

Continuing its second read-through of a draft general comment on article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights — concerning freedom of opinion and expression — the Human Rights Committee today determined the language for four paragraphs, covering the substance, forms and context in which such communications take place.

The incoming Chair of the Committee established to monitor sanctions on Iran related to its nuclear programme reported two new cases of alleged violations of those sanctions as he gave his first 90-day report to the Security Council this afternoon, the seventeenth such report since the Committee’s establishment.

Amid a sharp spike in violence between Israelis and Palestinians — including the “alarming escalation” over the weekend of rocket fire from the Gaza Strip into Israeli civilian areas and the ensuing Israel air strikes that left three Palestinians dead — a senior United Nations political official today told the Security Council that the international community must make a “decisive” effort to ease tensions and bring the parties back to the negotiating table.

Stressing the importance of a comprehensive approach to challenges in Afghanistan and affirming the need to reinforce Afghan ownership of those efforts, the Security Council this morning extended the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in the country, known as UNAMA, for one year, until 23 March 2012.