Economic issues

The global economic and financial crisis had highlighted the need to reform the international financial system and architecture, and added a new impetus to ongoing international discussions on that subject, the General Assembly would stress, according to one of three draft resolutions approved without a vote by the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today.

The General Assembly would demand that Israel stop exploiting, damaging, depleting or endangering natural resources in occupied Arab lands, by the terms of one of five draft resolutions approved today by its Second Committee (Economic and Financial).

The General Assembly would call upon the United Nations to promote ecotourism as an instrument to help realize the Millennium Development Goals, and to support similar efforts by developing countries, by the terms of one of three draft resolutions that the Second Committee approved by consensus today.

Bringing the United Nations another step closer to the official 1 January 2010 launch of “UN Women”, the Economic and Social Council today elected - by acclamation and by secret ballot – the 41 inaugural members to the Executive Board of the new entity established to meet the unique and often under-represented needs of women and girls worldwide.

Israel’s continuing restrictions on Palestinian movement and access to natural resources, its expansion of settlements, and its military offensive against the Gaza Strip in December 2008 and January 2009 had deepened the hardship suffered by the Palestinians, Amr Nour, Director of the United Nations Regional Commissions New York Office, told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today.

In assessing the importance of equity in evaluating different growth strategies, the international community must consider the cultural context rather than simply comparing poverty levels, Jan Kubiš, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), told the Second Committee this afternoon during its annual dialogue with the United Nations regional commissions.

Despite marked improvements for millions of slum-dwellers worldwide over the last decade, the number of people living in urban squalor was still rising and must be addressed through global action, Joan Clos, Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today as it began consideration the work of that agency.

Developed countries must take the lead to ensure the adoption of a legally binding agreement at the 2010 United Nations Climate Change Conference to be held in Cancun, Mexico, later this month, delegates stressed today as the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) began its consideration of sustainable development.

Given its stagnant food production and rising levels of malnourishment, Africa would not be able to feed itself unless the outside world helped with money and technology to spur agriculture across the continent, Malawi’s representative told the Second Committee today as it considered agriculture development and food security.

If managed effectively, migration could be greatly beneficial to countries of both origin and destination, the Second Committee heard today as it began its consideration of international migration and development.