Plenary

As deterrents of war crimes and guards against the “baser” aspects of human nature, the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia had had a far‑reaching impact over the course of their lifespan, said General Assembly delegates in a joint debate today.

The General Assembly today elected four judges from an initial pool of eight candidates to the International Court of Justice for terms of nine years beginning 6 February 2012. A fifth vacancy remained open following seven rounds of voting. The Assembly sent three current judges, Hisashi Owada (Japan), Xue Hanqin (China) and Peter Tomka (Slovakia) back to their posts in The Hague by re-electing them, while choosing a single new justice, Giorgio Gaja (Italy).

Calling for an end to the stalemate in intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council reform, delegates in the General Assembly today urged action on the matter, as they concluded their annual debate on the subject. Assembly members wanted the Council — which had not been reformed in half a century — to better reflect present day geopolitical realities and the rapidly evolving challenges that the United Nations faced in the twenty-first century.

Calling for expansion of the Security Council and effective negotiations on Council reform, as well as greater input from non-members and transparency in reporting on its deliberations, the General Assembly in two meetings today took up the Council’s annual report and began its debate on reform of that 15-nation body.

Evaluating the work of the Human Rights Council, General Assembly delegates today said that during its five-year existence, the Geneva-based Council had developed considerably, but that it should avoid politicization and continue to take the lead in addressing urgent human rights situations around the world.

In the wake of the near-meltdown at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi power plant that had “changed the landscape” of nuclear safety, General Assembly delegates today said the incident was a grave reminder of the need to close existing safety gaps in the world’s nuclear programmes.

Cooperatives — member-driven business enterprises that put people front and centre — offered a viable and vibrant alternative economic model, General Assembly delegates said this afternoon, as the United Nations launched the 2012 International Year of Cooperatives.

The Presidents of the International Court of Justice and International Criminal Court today implored General Assembly delegates to honour the Courts’ jurisdictions, and respectively, rely on international law to resolve disputes between States, and “stand united” behind collective efforts to suppress the gravest crimes known to humanity.

Drawing parallels to recent political uprisings in defence of freedom and self-determination, General Assembly delegates today again denounced the decades-old economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States on Cuba, voting overwhelmingly to adopt the world body’s twentieth consecutive resolution calling for an end to the measures.

The General Assembly today elected 18 members of the Economic and Social Council to serve three-year terms beginning 1 January 2012.