Meetings Coverage

Piracy off the coast of Somalia was not only a criminal activity, but it was, first of all, a very successful business, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia and Head of the United Nations Political Office there told the Security Council today.

The Security Council this morning authorized for another year, until 18 November 2010, the European Union Stabilization Force (EUFOR) mandated to ensure continued compliance with the Dayton Peace Agreement that ended fighting in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1995.

The Second Committee approved three draft resolutions today, including a text by which the General Assembly would reiterate its deep concern over the destruction by the Israeli Air Force of oil storage tanks near Lebanon’s El-Jiyeh electric power plant due to the adverse implications for sustainable development in that country.

Addressing several issues today, among them a number of reports under its human resources management agenda item, members of the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) heard from staff representatives on the new staff regulations and rules proposed for implementing the new contractual arrangements, and in their debate stressed the importance of going forward with the implementation of continuing contracts.

Expressing its strong endorsement of continuing assistance by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) in preparations for upcoming elections, the Security Council this morning welcomed the parliamentary agreement which would allow the polls to take place in January 2010.

Mirroring the international community’s growing awareness of the trauma that people and their Governments suffered when their cultural properties were stolen or trafficked, the General Assembly today considered a draft resolution that asked Member States to actively cooperate in returning displaced cultural artefacts to their rightful home countries.

Terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction to non-State actors continued to be a threat to international peace and security, and cooperation was a crucial element in the efforts to counter that threat, Ranko Vilovic ( Croatia) told the Security Council today.

While near-consensus had been reached on many issues that had stymied reform of the Security Council for years, questions about exactly how to expand the 15‑member body in a way that guaranteed its effectiveness remained a stubborn snag in building on progress, General Assembly delegates said today as they wrapped up their two-day joint debate on those and other security matters.

The General Assembly would express deep concern at the negative stereotyping of religions and manifestations of intolerance and discrimination in matters of religion or belief by one of 16 texts the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) approved today -- six of them by recorded vote.

Acting without a vote, the Sixth Committee (Legal) today approved 10 draft resolutions and three decisions, as it wound up its main body of work for the current Assembly session by giving consideration to the report of the Committee on Relations with the Host Country.