Evoking the “apocalyptic horror” of bombed and besieged Aleppo, the senior United Nations humanitarian official pleaded with the Security Council today to take the minimum action necessary to finally allow wide-spread humanitarian access and end the slaughter in Syria.
In a near‑unanimous vote, the General Assembly today adopted a resolution on the necessity of ending the United States economic, commercial and financial embargo on Cuba, despite the resumption of diplomatic relations between the two countries two years ago.
As the Sixth Committee (Legal) continued its consideration of the first cluster of topics from the International Law Commission’s annual report, including “Protection of persons in the event of disasters” and “other decisions and conclusions”, speakers, in a heated debate, tackled the complex matter of subsequent agreements and subsequent practice when interpreting treaties.
Pointing out that persons with disabilities were not a homogenous group, special mandate holders told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today that some within that marginalized population had additional vulnerabilities and needed special attention to ensure they were not left behind.
The evolution of modern peacekeeping from simple ceasefire-monitoring into multidimensional missions, required the adjustment of mandate scales and the creation of exit strategies, speakers in the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) emphasized today as they continued their comprehensive review of peacekeeping.
Despite the vital role of women in preventing conflict and helping to forge peace, they were far too often prevented from participating fully in peacemaking processes to the detriment of society as a whole, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the Security Council today, as it began a day-long open debate on the subject.
The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) continued its discussion of human rights today, with six Special Rapporteurs updating on ways to improve respect for the rights to food, water and adequate living standards, especially following the 2010 outbreak of cholera in Haiti that had claimed 10,000 lives.
Israel’s continued occupation of the State of Palestine and the Syrian Golan was throwing people into poverty and severely impeding sustainable development, speakers told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) as it debated those territories today.
As the Sixth Committee (Legal) continued its debate on the first cluster of topics from the International Law Commission’s report, speakers, while in general agreement on the topic “Identification of customary law”, raised questions over some of the specific language contained in that chapter.
Broad cooperation on a range of strategic initiatives, including the establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones, were needed to address common challenges and build a sound regional security architecture, the First Committee heard today during its thematic debate on regional disarmament.
