General Assembly

NAIROBI, 1 July — The first plenary session of the United Nations Seminar on Assistance to the Palestinian People, taking place in Nairobi, Kenya, began with a presentation by Maria-Jose Torres-Macho, Deputy Head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

The Bureau of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People issued the following statement today:

The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People will convene the United Nations Seminar on Assistance to the Palestinian People at the United Nations Office in Nairobi, Kenya, on 1 and 2 July, under the theme “Fostering Active International Solidarity with the Palestinians: Solidifying the Economic Underpinnings of an Independent State”.

Concluding its week-long session today, the Fifth Biennial Meeting of States on small arms and light weapons adopted by consensus an outcome document that highlighted the international community’s renewed commitment to preventing, combating and eradicating the illicit trade.

Representatives of international, regional and non-governmental groups discussed the strengths and weaknesses of the United Nations small arms action plan, with many urging States to fully implement the 2001 instrument and others cautioning against infringing legitimate business and personal rights, as the Fifth Biennial Meeting of States continued its session today.

International cooperation and assistance in capacity-building and technology transfer were key to the implementation of the United Nations Programme of Action to counter the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, delegates concurred as the fifth Biennial Meeting of States moved into day three of its session.

New weapon design and production methods — including the use of “3D” printing and non-traditional materials, such as polymers — had the potential to profoundly influence how weapons were marked and traced, and records kept, delegates heard today as the Fifth Biennial Meeting of States to combat the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons moved into day two of its session.

Against a backdrop of fragile security, illegal guns, grenades and rocket launchers had ripped communities apart while fuelling terrorism, and would require strong collective efforts to halt their spread, delegates heard today as the fifth Biennial Meeting of States to combat the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons opened its 2014 session.

The Bureau of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People issued the following statement today: