Tackling cybersecurity threats that continue to destabilize Governments, infrastructure and regions requires a new programme of action and the collective will to implement it, delegates said today, as the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) held a daylong thematic debate on several agenda items.
As the Sixth Committee (Legal) today took up the report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) and then commenced the debate on the protection of persons in the event of disasters, speakers highlighted the need for the legal architecture governing both international trade and disaster relief to evolve alongside a rapidly changing world still wrestling with the fallout of COVID‑19.
Impediments to freedom of expression for women, discrimination against migrants during the COVID-19 pandemic and an uptick in enforced disappearances were among the concerns addressed by human rights experts in the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as delegates raised questions about how better to protect vulnerable communities during interactive dialogues.
Israel’s ongoing occupation of the Palestinian territories and the Syrian Golan, colliding with the impacts of the COVID‑19 pandemic, have turned into a crisis within a crisis for the millions of people living there, delegates heard today as the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) took up the issue of those lands.
The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization), in a virtual meeting today, heard introductory statements and held an interactive discussion with senior officials on questions related to United Nations peacekeeping operations.
Despite the regional cooperation evident in various areas of the disarmament agenda — including nuclear‑weapon‑free zones, cyberspace and small arms and light weapons — States in possession of the largest arsenals must urgently do better, delegates told the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today, during its second virtual meeting.
United Nations initiatives to counter disinformation — especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic — and to provide populations around the globe with reliable and evidence-based content, were among several topics spotlighted today as the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) took up questions relating to information.
Senior officials from Kosovo and Serbia traded accusations of each other’s non-compliance of agreements today as the Security Council considered the recent escalation of tensions between the two sides, trust-building measures and whether the presence of the United Nations special political mission in Kosovo is still necessary.
Concluding a fiercely contested debate on crimes against humanity, before also taking up treaty registrations, administration of justice and an observer status request, delegates of the Sixth Committee (Legal) stressed that any future convention on the matter would only be as successful as the consensus it can gather. (For background, please see Press Release GA/L/3638.)
The Security Council decided this evening to extend the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) to 15 July 2022 and request the Secretary-General to assess its mandate, including whether and how it could be adjusted to address Haiti’s ongoing challenges.
