The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) began its consideration of the proposed 2019 budgets of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) today, with Iraq’s representative underscoring his Government’s opposition to any cutbacks to the funding for UNAMI or to the number of positions held by Iraqi nationals within the Mission.
Although the United Nations and partners completed an epic aid operation in Syria this month, persistent violence and gaps in humanitarian access underline the critical need to renew the cross-border aid authorization set to expire in December, a senior humanitarian affairs official told the Security Council today.
The General Assembly would express profound alarm that greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise worldwide and remain deeply concerned that all nations are experiencing an increase in adverse impacts of climate change, according to one of eight draft resolutions the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) approved today.
The Palestinian people’s struggle is not directed against Judaism as a religion, but against the colonial occupation of their land and people, the Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine said during a special observance today.
Delegates in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today threw their support behind the Secretary‑General’s efforts to bolster the Organization’s global resident coordinator system – an integral part of ongoing efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development - by backing his request for an appropriation of $13.57 million for 2019.
The General Assembly today elected by secret ballot Joëlle Adda (France) and Francesco Buffa (Italy) as judges on the United Nations Dispute Tribunal and Jean-François Neven (Belgium), Graeme Colgan (New Zealand) and Kanwaldeep Sandhu (Canada) as judges on the Appeals Tribunal.
In an emergency Security Council meeting today requested by Ukraine following the seizure of three its naval vessels by Russian Federation warships in a waterway near Crimea, the United Nations top political official urged restraint from both sides to prevent dangerous escalation.
The General Assembly adopted nine resolutions today, eight of which focused on promoting cooperation between the United Nations and myriad regional and international organizations, as Member States repeatedly stressed the need for countries to work together to achieve common goals and targets.
The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today introduced one draft resolution and approved four, including a text stressing the positive role entrepreneurship plays in driving job creation, reducing inequalities and expanding opportunities for all.
Describing the situation in Burundi as calm but fragile, the senior United Nations official there told the Security Council today that after supporting a regionally-led inter-Burundian Dialogue process for more than three years, the time has now come for partners to re-evaluate how best to help the country out of its long-standing political impasse.
