The United Nations must ensure that the impact of its Economic and Social Council — a critical platform for measuring sustainable development progress and amplifying stakeholders’ voices — was “greater than the sum of its parts”, the General Assembly heard today as it considered the Council’s diverse activities in 2017.
Most large-scale disasters were climate-related, with devastating floods, droughts and storms doubling over the last four decades, a United Nations official told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) as it took up sustainable development today.
While deferring action on four observer requests, the Sixth Committee took up the report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) fiftieth session that included possibilities of reform, as well as the finalization and adoption of two legislative texts in the areas of electronic commerce and secured transactions.
While delegates stressed that Member States must ensure accountability for crimes committed by their nationals when deployed as United Nations officials and experts on mission, speakers remained divided on elaborating an international convention addressing the matter, as the Sixth Committee (Legal) took up the topic today.
The Organization’s financial indicators for 2017 for peacekeeping operations and the tribunals remained generally sound and positive, although the regular budget cash was currently exhausted and reserves were at low levels, the United Nations senior management official told the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today.
VIENNA, 6 October — The International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East concluded today, with two panel discussions exploring themes of bias, objectivity, truth and the role of both social and traditional media in covering the issues that mattered most to Palestinians and Israelis.
Delegates from several African countries called for greater regional cooperation in the peaceful resolution of the Western Sahara question today, as the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) continued its general debate on decolonization.
As it continued its newly-opened 2018 session this afternoon, the Economic and Social Council completed the election of its bureau and took note of appointments to the Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters.
Amid fears of a nuclear stand-off, several speakers addressing the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today drew attention to the danger of reaching a “point of no return”, and recommended ways to diffuse tensions.
Social customs and norms often erected barriers to women’s access to the resources needed for them to gain economic independence, speakers today told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural), concluding discussions on the advancement of women.
