The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria, briefing the Security Council today on efforts to push forward a constitutional committee aimed at ending the eight-year-long conflict in Syria, also announced his decision to step down at the end of November, while vowing to vigorously pursue a balanced, fair and inclusive political solution “until the last hour” of his tenure.
A shift in States’ legal obligations when countering terrorism, the negative impacts of unilateral coercive measures and the right to development were among the many topics experts covered in briefings to the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as delegates engaged with them in lively interactive dialogues.
The International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals is essential to ensuring that the legacies of the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda Tribunals endure, the General Assembly heard today, as speakers considered the Mechanism’s first year as a “stand‑alone institution”.
Competition over land, water, minerals and other natural resources will increasingly fuel conflict unless efforts are stepped up to manage them for the benefit of local people and engender peace through sharing, the Secretary-General told the Security Council today.
The General Assembly decided today to provide additional rights and privileges of participation to the State of Palestine when it assumes its position as chair of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China for the year 2019.
Spiking insecurity and instability in Africa’s Sahel region indicates an urgent need to resolve the long-standing dispute over Western Sahara, delegates told the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) today, as it concluded its general debate on decolonization.
Renewable energy sources are the least expensive options in boosting electricity access, reducing air pollution and cutting carbon dioxide emissions worldwide, speakers stressed as the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) concluded sustainable development today.
Delegates today condemned the recent use of chemical weapons in Kuala Lumpur, Salisbury and towns in Syria, exchanging views on the establishment of an international mechanism to determine the perpetrators responsible for these crimes and administer justice, as the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) entered the penultimate day of its general debate.
The cash position of the Organization’s regular budget is precarious, the United Nations senior management official told members of the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today as she laid out the Organization’s key financial indicators for 2018.
The Sixth Committee (Legal) took up the report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) today, with delegates commending the progress of the various Working Groups and highlighting the finalization and adoption of a number of important legal texts.
