Plenary

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).

Reiterating the urgent need to tackle the interconnected challenges in Afghanistan – from increased extremist violence, to the development of sound institutions and strong democratic processes - the General Assembly today adopted by consensus a broad based resolution appealing to the international community for continued support for a coherent, Afghan-driven strategy that would help the Government keep the war-torn country on the road to recovery.

In their fourth annual debate on the work of the Human Rights Council, General Assembly delegates said today that in its five years of existence, the Geneva-based body had managed to build a solid foundation, yet, its progress hinged on improving its record on mainstreaming human rights into the United Nations system.

Five years after its establishment, the Peacebuilding Commission was today at a crossroads, and the United Nations must choose whether to place peacebuilding at the heart of its work, or allow the advisory body to settle into the limited role it had developed thus far, General Assembly delegates stressed today as they pledged to conduct their first in-depth review of the Organization’s peacebuilding architecture.

The Presidents of the International Court of Justice and International Criminal Court told the General Assembly today they had made great progress in their work promoting the rule of law and confronting impunity, while Assembly delegates noted the growing complexity of their cases and increased workload, and pushed for the judicial bodies to receive more human and financial resources.

Condemning nearly a half-century of sanctions against Cuba as a “policy in search of a justification”, General Assembly delegates today called for a swift, complete end to the United States economic, commercial and financial embargo against the island nation, which they said had crippled its development and whose justification was morally indefensible.

The General Assembly today elected 18 members of the Economic and Social Council to serve three-year terms beginning 1 January 2011. Those elected today were Australia, Cameroon, China, Ecuador, Finland, Gabon, Hungary, Latvia, Malawi, Mexico, Nicaragua, Norway, Pakistan, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Senegal and the United Kingdom.

In the prevailing complex economic and financial climate, the work of the Economic and Social Council took on particular relevance, with its specialized discussion forums — the Annual Ministerial Review, the Development Cooperation Forum and the high-level meeting with the Bretton Woods institutions among them — uniquely tailored to address social ills endemic to a world emerging from sharp downturn, the General Assembly heard today as it took up the Council’s 2010 annual report.

During a day of lively and wide-ranging discussion on the significance of sport as a driving force for peace and development, and intercultural dialogue as a tool to ensure respect and the equal dignity of all cultures, the General Assembly adopted a consensus resolution recognizing the potential of sport to help attain the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, and foster an atmosphere of tolerance.

In the wake of the General Assembly’s renewed commitment to galvanizing political momentum towards implementation of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, it was crucial for international partners to cooperate on redressing the ills of the world’s most strife-ridden continent, said delegates gathered today for their annual joint debate on development in Africa.