Fourth Committee

There was no greater sign of a Member State’s commitment to collective security than the willingness to send its nationals into harm’s way under the United Nations flag, Fourth Committee delegates heard today as their Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) entered day two of their annual discussion of the whole question of peacekeeping operations in all their aspects.

United Nations peacekeeping was a dynamic and essential element of the international community’s response to global peace and security threats, but success was never guaranteed because peacekeeping, almost by definition, went to the most physically and politically demanding environments, and the process faced rapidly diminishing resources, overstretch and the need for greater consensus, said the United Nations Peacekeeping Chief today in the Fourth Committee.

The Department of Public Information was the public voice of the Organization, and the promotion of multiculturalism and multilingualism must remain the hallmark of the United Nations, infusing efforts to achieve common undertakings and mature responses in every aspect of its work, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) heard today just prior to its approval, without a vote, of two draft resolutions on questions relating to information.

While extending its network beyond traditional means of communication to reach new geographic and demographics audiences, the Department of Public Information (DPI) should also strengthen existing channels such as radio and the United Nations Information Centres, and continue striving to achieve language parity, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) heard today.

To tackle the challenges posed by a constantly evolving global communications environment, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, Kiyo Akasaka, today told the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) that the Department of Public Information was applying a strategic approach, upgrading operational infrastructure, and adopting new information and communications technologies.

Delegations in the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization), before concluding their consideration of the peaceful uses of outer space, weighed the strength of existing international space law to prevent the militarization of outer space and to respond to other current challenges, such as the use of nuclear power sources in outer space and the threat of space debris.

Global responses to human emergencies and advances in national space sectors were among the hard proof of the world’s commitment to the notion of developing outer space for the good of humankind, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) heard today during its general debate on international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space.

Space-based technologies were increasingly important in a world where no region was spared the growing scope and threat of emergency situations and disasters, the Fourth Committee was told today, as it began its consideration of international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space.

The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization), guided by the fundamental and universal principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter, would have the General Assembly declare the period 2011-2020 as the Third International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism, by one of 12 draft texts approved today, capping its general debate on decolonization.

As the Fourth Committee continued its general debate on decolonization issues today, delegations praised the progress that had been made towards self-determination in the Pacific region, while expressing frustration with the scant progress towards reducing the number overall of United Nations-listed Non-Self-Governing Territories, including Western Sahara.