Plenary

With the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries a little more than a month away, the General Assembly convened today an interactive civil society hearing to explore ways grass-roots organizations could revive the global drumbeat on behalf of the world’s poorest countries and put pressure on Governments to honour their promises to deliver sustainable development for all.

Italy and Europe shared a future with the Mediterranean, a region where political unrest had shaken many countries, and the European Union should be ready to do more for those struggling to build new foundations on the basis of freedom, respect for human rights, democratic progress and good governance, Giorgio Napolitano, President of Italy, stressed today in a wide-ranging address to the General Assembly.

Born from the commitment made by the international community at the 2005 World Summit to meet Africa’s special needs, the 10-year capacity-building programme for the African Union pioneered a model of true partnership between the United Nations and regional organizations, representatives of several African nations told the General Assembly today.

Marking the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, senior United Nations and Government officials today honoured the “heroes” that had fought and died to overcome the legacy of one of humanity’s “darkest chapters”, and called for action on behalf of millions who were still being subjected to intolerable forms of forced labour and exploitation.

As the General Assembly today considered the recent progress reports of the two key bodies of the United Nations peacebuilding architecture, delegates gave generally favourable reviews of their track records in responding to the needs and challenges on the ground of strife-torn and post-conflict countries.

Warning that the past century’s heedless resource consumption had left the world at an uncertain crossroads, senior United Nations officials and Government leaders today challenged the international community to define and urgently implement a practical, twenty-first century development model that could “connect the dots between the key issues of our time” — climate change, population growth, poverty and environmental stress — and build a resilient, sustainable future.

The General Assembly this afternoon, reopening consideration of its agenda item relating to the world social situation and to youth, ageing and disabled persons and the family, decided to hold a two-day high-level meeting on youth at Headquarters in New York on 25 and 26 July based on the overarching theme of dialogue and mutual understanding.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon urged the international community today to hammer out a concrete plan during the Fourth United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries to improve the plight of the world’s most vulnerable people and meet the 2015 deadline for realizing the Millennium Development Goals.

The General Assembly decided this afternoon on new rules for the election of the 36 members of the Executive Board of the World Food Programme (WFP).

In an unprecedented move today, the United Nations General Assembly suspended Libya’s membership in the Human Rights Council, the Organization’s pre-eminent human rights body, expressing its deep concern about the situation in that country in the wake of Muammar Al-Qadhafi’s violent crackdown on anti-Government protestors.