Meetings Coverage

In his first address to the General Assembly, the new head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said today he aimed to change the widespread perception of the Vienna-based body as simply the world’s “nuclear watchdog”, emphasizing instead a balanced approach to pursuing non-proliferation of atomic weapons and the peaceful use of nuclear energy, two of the three pillar objectives of the landmark 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Twenty-one Member States pledged approximately $470 million today at an event in support of United Nations development activities for 2011.

Plans to reform Guinea-Bissau’s security sector, reintegrate former combatants and end impunity in the country, if properly pursued, would create the conditions for wider international cooperation with the West African country, Joseph Mutaboba, Special Representative of the Secretary-General, told the Security Council this morning.

Despite a “façade” of actively pursuing peace, Israel continued to infringe on the basic human rights of the Palestinians and inflict “untold suffering” through a blockade that prevented the flow of goods and people, even in life-and-death situations, undermining any future prospects for a peaceful settlement, delegates told the Fourth Committee today, as it began its annual discussion of Israeli practices affecting the human rights of Arabs in the occupied territories.

Acting by consensus without a vote, the Sixth Committee (Legal) approved a total of 10 draft resolutions today, among them four relating to the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) and one to the responsibility of States for internationally wrongful acts. The Committee also took note of the report of the terrorism working group and heard the introduction of three additional draft resolutions.

As it moved to fill upcoming vacancies on five bodies that support its work in overseeing the Organization’s human resources and budget, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today recommended six people, whose names it will send to the General Assembly, to fill slots opening up in January on the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions.

At a special ceremony today in observance of the 2010 World Food Day on the theme “United against Hunger”, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that in a world of plenty, the world’s food systems were failing the most vulnerable. Calling for the world’s food systems to be “fixed” in order to meet that internationally agreed development target, he said achieving that would lift up whole societies and help achieve all of the other Goals.

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) took action today on three draft resolutions — all adopted without a vote — that would have the General Assembly welcome the establishment of UN Women, declare 23 June every year International Widows’ Day and condemn all forms of violence against women and girls.

Israel’s continuing restrictions on Palestinian movement and access to natural resources, its expansion of settlements, and its military offensive against the Gaza Strip in December 2008 and January 2009 had deepened the hardship suffered by the Palestinians, Amr Nour, Director of the United Nations Regional Commissions New York Office, told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today.

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today considered the financing needs of the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT), as the Mission prepared to wind down its operations by year’s end and liquefy millions of dollars in assets.