Plenary

Representatives of international organizations, Member States and law-enforcement authorities convened today at the United Nations General Assembly for a special meeting to spur more effective use of an international legal weapon designed to fight burgeoning cross-border organized crime.

The General Assembly this morning elected Joseph Deiss, a former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Switzerland who led his country’s accession to the United Nations in 2002, as President of its sixty-fifth session.

Following a day-long debate on implementing the 2001 Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS and the follow-up 2006 Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS, the General Assembly this afternoon adopted by consensus a draft decision to take note of the Secretary-General’s recommendations on the matter, use the report to inform a high-level plenary meeting on the Millennium Development Goals in September, and hold consultations by December to pave the way for a comprehensive HIV/AIDS review next year.

Acknowledging that the production of reliable, timely statistics and indicators of countries’ progress were indispensable for informed policy decisions and monitoring implementation of the Millennium Development Goals, the General Assembly this afternoon decided to designate 20 October as World Statistics Day.

Meeting for a second day on the concept of human security, the General Assembly today heard appeals for clarity on a notion that, to some, remained too abstract and imprecise for international application, but to others was forward-thinking, synergistic and adaptable to the work of the United Nations. The Assembly’s discussion this morning centred on the Secretary-General’s report on human security (document A/64/701).

Citing the rise of borderless threats – pandemics, natural disasters and financial turmoil - and the ways in which such ills impacted the daily lives of millions of people worldwide, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon today backed the concept of “human security”, and urged Member States to consider the survival, livelihood and dignity of individuals as the fundamental basis for their security.

“Piracy may be the first international crime,” United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the General Assembly today, as he called for a “change in strategy” to combat the resurgent scourge through broader global cooperation and a new push for stability in war-torn Somalia, off whose coast pirates had, in the past year alone, hijacked some 56 ships and taken hostage nearly 750 crew members.

The General Assembly today elected 14 States to serve on the Human Rights Council for three-year terms starting next month, after all of them ran unopposed, following nominations by the regional groups of the exact number required to fill the Council’s vacancies.

The General Assembly today marked the sixty-fifth anniversary of the end of the Second World War, with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon describing the conflict as “one of the most epic struggles for freedom and liberation in history”, and adding that the devastating seven-year war had also led to the creation of the United Nations to foster peace, international cooperation and prevent future conflicts.

Concluding its special meeting on International Mother Earth Day this morning, the General Assembly heard appeals from developing States for concerted action to tackle environmental problems “consistent with moral and ethical values” at a time of great strain to the Earth. Recalling the events at Copenhagen, the representative of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines said that last-ditch efforts, though well intentioned, had produced a document that was “procedurally and substantively flawed”.