Concerned by the high level of overdue payments for peacekeeping operations, speakers in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today called on Member States to meet their financial obligations to the United Nations promptly so it could completely fulfil its mandate to maintain international peace and security.
Speakers from myriad sectors in Africa shared perspectives on why the continent, despite being resource rich, remained home to the planet’s poorest people, as the Economic and Social Council concluded its integration segment today.
Describing the European Union as an indispensable partner of the United Nations, the bloc’s senior-most diplomat told the Security Council today that it was ready to move beyond the current international uncertainty and join the Organization in building a more cooperative world order.
Government officials from around the globe today outlined efforts — often inspired by the deeply cross-cutting nature of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development — to implement integrated, multisectoral policies, as they addressed the Economic and Social Council’s integration segment.
Delegations voiced support today for the Secretary-General’s efforts to reform peacekeeping, but warned that cost-cutting must not undermine the ability of missions to effectively carry out their mandates, as the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) took up the Organization’s proposed 2017/18 peacekeeping budget and budget performance for 2015/16.
Describing poverty as a multi-dimensional phenomenon that could not be measured by income alone, several speakers said today that the structural factors keeping people poor were often missing from policymaking.
Eradicating sexual exploitation and abuse in United Nations peacekeeping missions would require a collective and holistic approach that left no room for impunity, delegates said today as the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) took up the Secretary-General’s blueprint for tackling the issue across the Organization.
State cooperation with the International Criminal Court was crucial to ensuring justice for victims of mass atrocity crimes committed during 2011 events in Libya, its Chief Prosecutor said today, pressing the Security Council for assistance in the arrest and surrender of those allegedly responsible.
Taking stock of progress and future challenges, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues closed its sixteenth session today with a batch of strong recommendations for improving the lives of indigenous peoples, and the message, “nothing about us without us”.
The United Nations Forum on Forests approved its “omnibus” resolution today, outlining the broad contours for countries to report on sustainable woodlands management, financing for those efforts, expanded engagement with partners, and influencing high-level political discussions in the Economic and Social Council.
