Plenary

At a General Assembly session commemorating today the fifteenth anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development, United Nations Secretary‑General Ban Ki-Moon lauded that landmark meeting for sparking a shift in the international mindset on population issues and prodding Governments everywhere to recognize each individual’s right to reproductive health.

Pressed to conclude their work by 2010, top officials from the war crimes Tribunals investigating atrocities committed during the 1994 Rwandan genocide and the Balkan wars of the 1990s, today appealed to the General Assembly for more time, resources and compensation for staff who were throwing their full weight behind the pursuit of justice for victims.

In the General Assembly today, Member States threw their support behind the Secretary-General’s push to inject multilateralism with the renewed vigour it needs to combat today’s global crises.

No longer satisfied with a power balance that favoured the few but risked imperilling the many in another economic tailspin, world leaders addressing the General Assembly today appealed for a new brand of multilateralism that reflected developing nations’ concerns in global decision-making, as they wrapped up the annual general debate.

Concerned that the United Nations outdated structure left it ill-equipped to deal with twenty-first century realities, Government Ministers addressing the General Assembly today pressed the world body to revamp its institutions, extend its alliances and break old mindsets that had hampered its credibility as the world’s pre-eminent negotiating forum.

Still reeling in the aftermath of a global economic crisis begun far beyond their shores, leaders of small island nations, among others addressing the General Assembly today, exhorted large economies to drastically reduce greenhouse gases that were threatening their ecosystems and sending shock waves through the very markets and industries on which their fragile economies depended.

Championing their struggle to rebuild strife-torn nations and secure peace and long-term development, several leaders of the global South today appealed to the General Assembly for broad support to help them staunch terrorism, further entrench democracy and ensure that hard-won electoral gains would not be lost.

To effectively tackle terrorism, entrenched poverty and the threat of weapons proliferation, a more equitable multilateral system that valued diversity and fostered a “climate of dialogue” was urgently needed, world leaders attending the General Assembly’s annual debate stressed today, as they pushed for a more democratic United Nations.

Amid signs that countries were slowly pulling back from the brink of recession, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today cautioned world leaders attending the General Assembly’s annual debate that serious challenges remained, and that tackling the fallout from ongoing crises in food, energy and climate would require nothing less than rising to the call of an exceptional moment in history.

Acting on the recommendations of its General Committee, the United Nations General Assembly this morning adopted the work programme and agenda for its sixty-fourth session, which contained more than 160 items.