Member States must avoid allowing political differences to distract them from their responsibilities, the President of the General Assembly told the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) today, as it continued its general debate on international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space.
Voicing alarm that the United Nations financial situation could turn dire as 2017 winds down, speakers in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) called today on those Member States that had yet to pay their assessed contributions to the Organization to do so without delay.
Middle-income countries had initially reaped globalization’s benefits, but were now suffering from the so-called “megatrends” of labour market shifts, rapid technological advances and climate change, speakers said today as the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) took up globalization and interdependence.
The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) discussed the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment with mandate-holders and treaty body representatives today, as it opened broader debate on the promotion and protection of human rights.
Delegates voiced both support for reform efforts and concerns about their potential implications today, as the General Assembly considered that issue alongside other agenda items, including follow-up to the outcomes of major United Nations conferences and summits.
Sounding the alarm on famine exacerbated by conflict, Secretary-General António Guterres urged the international community to step up efforts to end violence, ensure humanitarian assistance and foster long-term development in South Sudan, Nigeria, Somalia, Yemen and other areas of instability-rooted starvation.
Domestic job creation, education and social protection were crucial in strengthening national economic situations, the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) heard today as it concluded its debate on the eradication of poverty.
The Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons took centre stage today, as delegates from States without atomic bombs strongly urged States possessing them to shrink their arsenals and work towards the common goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world, as the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) continued its thematic debate on the issue.
With global challenges increasing in the face of ever-rising numbers of migrants and refugees, speakers deliberated the balance between the protection of those persons’ human rights and States’ right to ensure national security, as the Sixth Committee took up the matter of expulsion of aliens today.
While the Outer Space Treaty was a landmark instrument, some of its undeveloped aspects remained within the legal regime in order to preserve security in space, a joint ad hoc meeting of the First (Disarmament and International Security) and Fourth Committees (Special Political and Decolonization) heard today.
