General Assembly President Joseph Deiss (Switzerland) briefed the press at Headquarters today on a wide range of topics, covering his recent travels on behalf of the world body and highlighting his meetings with political groupings and Government officials on matters, such as Security Council reform, global governance and support for the least developed countries.
In progress at UNHQ
General Assembly
GA/COL/3218
The Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, also known as the Special Committee of 24, will hold its annual regional seminar in Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, from 31 May to 2 June.
The 10-year Programme of Action adopted at the close of the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Development Countries gave new momentum to global efforts to improve the lot of the world’s most vulnerable, impoverished nations, Gyan Chandra Acharya, (Nepal), Chair of the Group of Least Developed Countries, said at a Headquarters press conference today.
HR/5049-L/T/4423
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is the first international human rights treaty of the twenty-first century. On 10 May, Colombia became the 100th country to ratify this Convention. In doing so, it joins the ranks of those countries that now support greater access, backed by their legal systems, for citizens with disabilities to fully participate in the lives of their communities, including the political process and health and education services.
DEV/2895
ISTANBUL, 13 May — Slashing by half the list of 48 States with the most extreme poverty and vulnerability to crises is the goal of a new 10-year action plan agreed by the world’s Governments at the conclusion this evening in Istanbul, Turkey, of the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries.
DEV/2893
ISTANBUL, 12 May — With negotiators edging towards consensus on the outcome of the United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, speakers today used the gathering’s penultimate plenary session to press for a 10-year action plan grounded in sound policies that ensured delivery on past pledges for development assistance and brought down the barriers blocking their paths to economic growth.
DEV/2894
ISTANBUL, 12 May — As central managers of families and communities, women held the key to unlocking human development potential, but unless they were equally empowered to access financial, social and health services, and engaged — from the start — in decisions that affected their lives, least developed countries would remain powerless to unleash it, said participants in the last of six high-level thematic debates held during the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries.
DEV/2890
ISTANBUL, 11 May — Broad agreement emerged today during the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries concerning the responsibility of the world’s poorest countries for their own development and the need for those recipient Governments to optimize international assistance, as the meeting continued into its third day.
DEV/2892
ISTANBUL, 11 May — An expert panel at the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries this afternoon considered the unique vulnerabilities of those countries and weighed strategies to help them rise above a raft of complex challenges, including geographical isolation, skyrocketing food prices, global warming, and lack of access to clean water.
DEV/2891
ISTANBUL, 11 May — The inexorable collapse of autocratic regimes in Africa, the stirring cries for free expression in the Middle East, and the demand for transparent political processes worldwide were vivid examples of why good governance practices should be encouraged –- and reinforced -- in all societies, experts said this morning during a high-level panel at the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries.