Meetings Coverage

Welcoming Burundi’s “remarkable transition” towards democracy, national dialogue and good governance, senior United Nations officials told the Security Council today that the Burundian Government’s peace-consolidation efforts should be matched by the international community’s commitment to help overcome the country’s “daunting” remaining socio-economic challenges.

The Security Council this morning extended the Panel of Experts that monitors the arms embargo and sanctions on those who impede peace in Sudan, particularly in the violence-wracked Darfur region, until 19 February 2012.

Despite progress made in ensuring the rights of indigenous communities around the world, indigenous peoples still lacked enough say in what happened on, and to, their territories, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues was told today during a day-long discussion focused on the environment and free, prior and informed consent.

Continuing its resumed 2011 session, the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations recommended special consultative status for 11 entities to the Economic and Social Council, postponing consideration of an additional 40 until answers to the Committee’s outstanding questions were supplied.

Despite the death of Osama bin Laden, the Security Council’s three counter-terrorism committees must continue to strengthen their efforts through enhanced effectiveness and cooperation with Member States, speakers said today during the regular six-month briefings by the Chairpersons of the subsidiary bodies. Peter Wittig (Germany), Chair of the Committee established pursuant to resolution 1267 (1999) on Al-Qaida and the Taliban, said Bin Laden’s death was clearly a turning point.

The annual United Nations forum on indigenous issues kicked off today with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calling on delegates to make further strides against the marginalization of indigenous communities, which still made up an estimated one third of the world’s rural poor.

The Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations today recommended 43 entities for consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, and postponed consideration of 18 applications, as it resumed its 2011 session.

The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) until 31 July 2011, also authorizing the Secretary-General to extend until 30 June 2011 the temporary redeployment of equipment from the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) to UNOCI.

Secretariat officials today laid out their financing proposals for the 2011/12 period for four peacekeeping operations — the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), United Nations Mission in the Sudan (UNMIS), the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) and support for African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) — to the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today at its second resumed session.

The Commission on Sustainable Development ended its nineteenth session early Saturday morning, unable to agree on policy decisions on practical measures to advance chemical and waste management, transform transport and mining practices, and establish a long-awaited 10-Year Framework of Programmes for sustainable consumption and production patterns, which was first called for at the 2002 World Summit for Sustainable Development.