Having made considerable progress in reducing the rates of new HIV infections and expanding the availability of antiretroviral drugs, the global community must resist the temptation to “rest on its laurels” and instead redouble efforts to completely eradicate the virus, the General Assembly heard today, as delegates outlined national progress towards meeting testing and treatment benchmarks to that end.
Continuing its 2018 coordination and management segment, the Economic and Social Council today adopted four resolutions and one draft decision on women’s empowerment, and four draft decisions on myriad topics as it took up issues including sustainable development, population and development, and human rights.
With the security situation in Darfur remaining largely stable, now was the time for the United Nations — in partnership with the African Union — to closely couple the drawdown of its hybrid peacekeeping mission in the Sudanese province with the build-up of a peacebuilding effort that would focus on addressing the root causes of conflict, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations told the Security Council this afternoon.
The Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations adopted today the report of its 2018 resumed session, which contained seven draft decisions on matters calling for action by the Economic and Social Council; among them, dates for the accreditation body’s 2019 session.
Opening the substantive portion of its 2018 session today, the Special Committee on Decolonization took up the long‑standing questions of Gibraltar and Western Sahara, while also approving several annual resolutions relating to the dissemination of information about its work and the dispatching of visiting missions to the world’s 17 remaining Non‑Self‑Governing Territories.
The Security Council today renewed measures designed to implement the arms embargo on Libya for another year, in particular those authorizing Member States to inspect vessels on the high seas off the country’s coast when reasonable grounds existed to believe they violated the ban.
An effective accountability system was critical to the successful management of the United Nations Secretariat, delegates told the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today, as they called for continued refinement of policies and practices regardless of decisions taken on overall reform of the Organization’s executive branch.
In a single round of voting today, the General Assembly elected Belgium, Dominican Republic, Germany, Indonesia and South Africa as non-permanent members of the Security Council for two-year terms spanning 2019-2020.
Welcoming security, economic and political reforms in Somalia — including the peaceful election of a new Speaker of the House of People and resumed Parliament activity — the Security Council today noted with concern recent fighting in the northern Sool region, urging parties to cease hostilities, pull back their forces and engage in dialogue.
Recognizing the role youth could play in conflict prevention and resolution, the Security Council today urged the Secretary‑General and his Special Envoys to take their views into account in security‑related discussions, and to facilitate their equal and full participation at decision‑making levels.
