Meetings Coverage

The questions of New Caledonia, the United States Virgin Islands and Western Sahara were the focus of discussions this afternoon in the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization), as it continued its general debate on decolonization issues, hearing from representatives of Non-Self-Governing Territories and petitioners.

Reinforcing the well-being of the world’s youth was not just a question of basic rights, but should be a key strategy in bolstering the vitality of the global village, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) was told today, as it concluded its discussion on social development.

As the Sixth Committee (Legal) this afternoon took up the question of measures to eliminate international terrorism, Mexico’s representative on behalf of the Rio Group of countries was one of many delegations calling for a finalization of the comprehensive convention on terrorism as a way to strengthen the effectiveness of existing mechanisms.

Closely linked to climate change, the global food crisis was a wake-up call for the international community to revitalize agricultural production and trade, while rectifying systemic imbalances in those areas, several speakers said today, as the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) continued its general debate.

Just one nuclear weapon exploded in one major city could kill hundreds of thousands and destabilize society, economies and ways of life, and halting their spread and preventing nuclear terrorism should be a shared responsibility because no single nation, no matter how powerful, could do that alone, the United States representative told the Disarmament Committee today.

Following the conclusion of its discussion on the scale of assessments for the regular budget, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today took up the scale of assessments for determining Member States’ contributions in 2010-2012 for the peacekeeping operations budget, the first such review in nine years. Delegates expressed concern at an anomaly in the determination process that caused a number of developing countries to be assessed at the same level as developed economies.

In the General Assembly today, Member States threw their support behind the Secretary-General’s push to inject multilateralism with the renewed vigour it needs to combat today’s global crises.

The Security Council today called for a wide range of measures to strengthen the participation of women at all stages of peace processes, as it began an intensive day-long discussion on the topic. Through the unanimous adoption of resolution 1889 (2009), the Council reaffirmed its landmark 2000 resolution 1325 on “women and peace and security”, and condemned continuing sexual violence against women in conflict and post-conflict situations.

A retooling of work methods, a revival of spirit, and a honed capacity to engage with all concerned parties were necessary to put an end to the unfinished business of decolonization, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) was told, as it began its general debate on the subject today.

Sha Zukang, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, this morning warned of “unparalleled negative consequences” to human development, with up to 100 million more people expected to fall below the poverty line, due to the poor health of the world economy.