Meetings Coverage

The General Assembly today elected by secret ballot Francis Belle (Barbados), Rachel Sikwese (Malawi), Eleanor Donaldson-Honeywell (Trinidad and Tobago) and Margaret Tibulya (Uganda) to serve half-time terms of office on the United Nations Dispute Tribunal, each for seven years beginning immediately, while also deciding to endorse the accreditation of several major group organizations to participate in a review of the United Nations overarching development strategy for small-island States.

Spotlighting the relevance of strong triangular cooperation, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, told the Security Council today that its work with police- and troop-contributing countries and the Secretariat is critical to ensuring continued progress and enhancing operations in the field.

Global partnerships are essential to helping the world’s most vulnerable countries eradicate poverty and address climate change, among other global challenges, delegates said today, as the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development held a thematic review focused on the specific needs of such States.

Combating terrorism and organized crime hinges on unravelling and severing the ties between these twin threats while addressing their root causes, delegates told the Security Council today.

Four years after their adoption, progress on many of the Sustainable Development Goals remains slow amid rising inequality, the impacts of climate change and the world’s most vulnerable people suffering the most, the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development heard today as it began its fourth annual session.

The Economic and Social Council adopted a resolution today on the process for assessing the coherence of the United Nations development work, as delegates in its day-long integration segment explored how the system can more cohesively help Governments advance peaceful, prosperous societies.

The General Assembly today adopted 22 draft resolutions and 1 draft decision forwarded by its Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary), thereby authorizing an annual United Nations peacekeeping budget of $6.51 billion for the 2019/20 fiscal year and requesting the Secretary-General explore options to improve the Organization’s cash position.

Concluding the second part of its resumed session, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today sent 22 draft resolutions and 1 draft decision to the General Assembly, asking it to authorize an annual United Nations peacekeeping budget of $6.51 billion and have the Secretary-General explore options to improve the Organization’s cash position.

Concluding its 2019 substantive session, the Special Committee on Decolonization today approved draft resolutions on five Non-Self-Governing Territories, including one that would have the General Assembly encourage the administering Power of French Polynesia to recognize and compensate persons impacted by three decades of nuclear testing in the South Pacific Territory.

The Security Council today renewed the mandate of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) for one year, requesting the Mission to respond to the deteriorating security situation in the country’s central region as a second strategic priority.