Meetings Coverage

With Afghanistan set for a mid-July launch of its two-year transition process — covering security, governance and efforts to bring opposition groups into the political mainstream — the top United Nations official in that country told the Security Council today that the “train was on track and moving forward”, but to be successful, it must be underpinned by the socio-economic development that the Afghan people so desperately needed and deserved.

Acting on the request of the President of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the Security Council decided this morning that, notwithstanding the relevant articles of the court’s Statute, ad litem judges may be eligible to stand for, and vote in, elections for its presidency.

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary), following days of what its Chairman called “very difficult and at times unorthodox” negotiations, closed its second resumed session this morning by approving the budgets for 13 United Nations peacekeeping operations, and agreed also on a one-time supplemental payment of $85 million over the next year to troop-contributing countries.

Emphasizing the fundamentally civilian character of aid, the General Assembly today reaffirmed the need for the consent of disaster-affected States when using military assets to support the implementation of humanitarian assistance, in conformity with international law, including international humanitarian law, and humanitarian principles.

In the early hours of the morning today, the General Assembly, acting on the recommendations of its Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary), adopted a peacekeeping budget of more than $7 billion for the period from 1 July 2011 to 30 June 2012.

Expressing grave concern about the serious events that had occurred in the area of operations of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) on 15 May and 5 June, jeopardizing the long-standing ceasefire between Israel and Syria, the Security Council today renewed the mandate of the Force charged with supervising the ceasefire since 1974 for six months, until 31 December 2011.

Convinced that the United Nations must continue to improve its peacekeeping capabilities and enhance the effective deployment of its operations, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) today approved, without a vote, a draft resolution by which the General Assembly would review the implementation of previous proposals of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations and consider new ones, so that the Organization could fulfil its responsibilities in that field.

The Security Council this morning extended the terms of office of eight permanent and nine ad litem judges serving in the Trial Chambers of the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia until 31 December 2012, or until the completion of their assigned cases.

The Security Council today extended the temporary redeployment of infantry and aviation units from the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) to the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI).

BRUSSELS, 29 June — As it closed in Brussels this afternoon, the United Nations International Meeting in Support of the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process issued a call to the European Union and its Member States to support recognition of Palestinian statehood at the United Nations during the sixty-sixth session of the General Assembly.