Meetings Coverage

Urging the parties in Cyprus to build on previous progress in negotiations for the reunification of the divided island by intensifying the momentum of talks, the Security Council this morning extended the mandate of the United Nations peacekeeping force there, known as UNFICYP, until 15 June 2010.

The outgoing members of the Security Council -– Burkina Faso, Costa Rica, Croatia, Libya and Viet Nam –- delivered briefings today on the work of subsidiary bodies they had chaired during their two-year tenure.

Acting without a vote, the Sixth Committee (Legal) today approved a resolution to grant observer status in the work of the General Assembly for the 25‑member Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean, while also deciding to request that the General Assembly consider how best the Council of Presidents of the General Assembly could contribute its unique expertise to the Organization’s work once a resolution on recommending observer status for the group was withdrawn.

Concluding its sixty-fourth session today, the Second Committee approved five draft resolutions on a range of agenda items, including a text by which the General Assembly would note with deep concern that the world financial and economic crisis had severely impacted international trade, with a particular effect on developing countries, resulting in lower fiscal revenues and balance-of-payment problems.

Recognizing the devastating impact of conflicts fuelledby the illicit diamond trade and the gross human rights violations that have been perpetrated in such conflicts, the General Assembly today adopted a consensus resolution reaffirming its strong support for the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, which imposes strict requirements on rough diamond shipments to certify them as “conflict free”.

Burundi was making commendable progress in emerging from the civil conflict that had ravaged the country for more than a decade, but it required continued international assistance in several critical areas, Youssef Mahmoud, Executive Representative of the Secretary-General, told the Security Council today.

The Security Council committee monitoring the implementation of sanctions imposed on Iran had received reports of further violations of a ban on the export of arms and related materiel to Iran, its Chairman told the Council today.

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today took up the $244.09 million budget of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the $301.89 million budget for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, being told that their work was expected to grow in complexity in 2010-2011, before they could wind down to a close.

Acting on the recommendations of its Fourth Committee, the General Assembly this afternoon adopted 25 draft resolutions and three draft decisions covering decolonization, outer space, atomic radiation, information and public outreach, the University for Peace, assistance in mine action, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East and Israeli practices in the occupied Arab territories.

With millions fighting a daily battle against discrimination to gain access to education, health services and decent work, the President of the General Assembly today urged the United Nations family to join hands with Governments and other stakeholders around the world in embracing diversity and ending discrimination, during a special meeting to mark the end of the International Year of Human Rights Learning.