Meetings Coverage

Consultations around peacekeeping, political or other mandates must be interactive, direct and focused on political strategy, a briefer told the Security Council today as it held an open debate on its own working methods.

Warning that the United Nations is in the midst of a financial crisis that has been years in the making, the Secretary-General presented the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) with a set of proposals today designed to put both the regular and peacekeeping budgets of the Organization on more solid ground. 

Despite recent political and security gains, Central Africa still faces looming threats — from the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Cameroon to Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo — requiring local solutions alongside strong continuing international support, the head of the regional United Nations office told the Security Council today.

The General Assembly, acting by acclamation today, elected Tijjani Muhammad Bande (Nigeria) today as President of its seventy-fourth session, as well as 20 Vice-Presidents.

The General Assembly recognized today the right of return of all internally displaced persons and refugees in Georgia and their descendants, regardless of ethnicity, to their homes throughout that country, including Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia.

The Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations concluded its 2019 session today, adopting the report of its resumed session containing six draft decisions on matters calling for action by the Economic and Social Council; among them, dates for the accreditation body’s 2020 session.

While the global fight to defeat AIDS has produced remarkable progress over the past decade — with HIV infections among children and deaths from related illnesses among people of all ages nearly cut in half — greater efforts are needed to overcome one of history’s greatest health crises, delegates told the General Assembly today as they registered mixed results in reversing negative trends.

Renewing its authorization of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) for one year ahead of national elections in 2020, the Security Council decided to maintain deployment and reduce uniformed personnel by 1,000 in line with the existing plan to gradually transfer such responsibilities to Somali security forces.

Concerned about the cash deficits of several closed United Nations peacekeeping missions, delegations today called for the speedy reimbursement of expenses to countries that supply personnel and equipment, as the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) reviewed the financial position of those operations.

The Security Council decided today to renew until 31 May 2020 the arms embargo it imposed on South Sudan last year, as well as the sanctions put into place in 2015 on those blocking peace in the country.