Meetings Coverage

The ambitious, multi-year overhaul of the historic United Nations Headquarters — known as the Capital Master Plan — was on track for completion by the end of 2014 within a variance of no more than 4 per cent of the original approved budget of $1.88 billion, the Plan’s top official told the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today.

In keeping with the tradition of consensus practiced in the Sixth Committee (Legal), the General Assembly adopted without a vote 22 resolutions and three draft decisions that highlighted the priorities of the Organization in the international legal arena.

Acting on the recommendation of its Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization), the General Assembly this morning adopted 24 resolutions and two decisions, nine among them concerning the Arab‑Israeli conflict, with others focused on decolonization, outer space, atomic radiation, information and public outreach, and peacekeeping. Recorded votes were required for more than half.

The fragile security situation along the border of Sudan and South Sudan required the prompt return of both parties to the negotiating table to prevent a further descent into violence that could impact the whole region, the head of United Nations peacekeeping told the Security Council today.

States Parties to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families today elected by secret ballot seven members to the Committee that monitors the treaty’s implementation, to replace those whose four-year terms will expire on 31 December.

Holding a series of expert panel discussions as part of its Fifth High‑Level Dialogue on Financing for Development, the General Assembly today provided space for in‑depth consideration by Government and civil society representatives of key issues such as reform of the international financial system, innovative sources of development aid, and the impact of the financial crises on foreign investment.

The deliberations that took place over the fifth High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development should be seen as an important step towards renewing and improving the global partnership for development launched by the landmark Monterrey Consensus and its follow-up Doha Declaration, the Acting President of the General Assembly said today.

The Presidents of the ad hoc International Tribunals investigating war crimes committed during the Balkan wars of the 1990s and the 1994 Rwanda genocide today highlighted the contributions of those courts to international criminal law, but cautioned the Security Council that limited resources, lack of State cooperation in critical areas and ongoing staffing challenges threatened the successful completion of their work.

Despite extreme poverty, rampant unemployment and isolated violent incidents, Burundi’s overall political and security landscapes were “calm” with much anticipated for the Government’s long-term vision, the top United Nations official in that country told the Security Council today.

With Palestinian refugees gaining none of the political and human rights advances seen elsewhere in the Middle East, and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) facing severe financial constraints, 18donors pledged contributions to the Agency’s 2012 budgetthis afternoon, with several Governments expressing their intention to announce their pledges at a later date.