Gearing up to implement the international community’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the General Assembly today adopted 41 resolutions and two related decisions aimed at strengthening nations’ efforts to reach agreed goals.
Prevention and development must be at the centre of all efforts to address both the quantitative and qualitative changes that were emerging in threats around the world, the Secretary‑General of the United Nations told the Security Council today, as some 60 Member States participated in an all‑day debate tackling complex contemporary challenges to international peace and security.
The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) was presented today with documents assessing the second performance report on the 2016‑2017 programme budget, as well as the programme budget implications and revised estimates resulting from exchange rates, inflation and resolutions and decisions of the General Assembly’s main committees and other United Nations bodies.
The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today considered the ongoing implementation of the Umoja enterprise resource planning project throughout the Organization, with delegates calling for greater transparency about the real cost of an ambitious initiative that had slipped behind schedule and surpassed its original cost estimates.
Acting on the recommendations of its Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural), the General Assembly adopted 59 resolutions and six decisions today on a range of issues, from women’s rights, terrorism and refugees, to self‑determination and the human rights situations in individual countries.
Disappointed with the outcome of the just‑concluded eighth round of talks in Geneva, the Secretary‑General’s Special Envoy for Syria told the Security Council today that the agenda had not moved forward and that the opportunity for real negotiations had been missed.
The Security Council today renewed the authorization for cross‑border and cross‑conflict‑line humanitarian access to Syria for a further 12 months, until 10 January 2019.
The head of United Nations political affairs urged the Security Council today to maintain strong support for the agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme, asking its signatories to work out their respective concerns, as it remained vital for international stability.
The Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process informed the Security Council today that he was particularly concerned as to the future of international collective efforts to achieve peace between Israelis and Palestinians, pointing to a growing risk that parties could revert to more unilateral actions.
At a time of deepening regional tensions, expanding terrorist and criminal networks, and traditional and non‑traditional conflicts wreaking havoc on communities, the pressing issue of the spread of small arms, light weapons and their ammunition were key determinants of crises, demanding swift action to curb their illicit trade, the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs told the Security Council this afternoon.
