Meetings Coverage

The Economic and Social Council met this morning to elect a Vice-President of the Council from the Latin American and Caribbean States.

Upon the recommendation of its Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization), the General Assembly adopted 25 draft resolutions and three draft decisions today, tackling issues ranging from decolonization issues to outer space activities, to the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict and beyond.

With the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda set to formally close at the end of December, and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia striving to complete its work by the end of 2017, the Presidents and Prosecutors of both bodies, as well as the President of the International Residual Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals briefed the Security Council today on their proceedings.

Recognizing the threat to stability and development posed by the rise of radicalization among young people, the Security Council today urged Member States to consider ways to give youth a greater voice in decision-making at the local, national, regional and international levels.

Noting the progress made towards implementation of the United Nations Integrated Strategy for the Sahel (UNISS), the Security Council today encouraged further progress, including through support for the Group of Five for the Sahel (G5 Sahel — Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger) in its efforts to address the security and political challenges to the region’s stability and development.

With more than two dozen speakers and the heads of two of the world’s ocean and sea authorities proclaiming the crucial importance of healthy oceans and seas to coastal and landlocked States alike, the General Assembly today adopted a resolution on sustainable fisheries without a vote while deferring action on a draft text on oceans and the Law of the Sea.

Central Africa’s security and humanitarian crisis triggered by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) should not be underestimated, senior United Nations and African Union officials in the region told the Security Council today, urging all forces involved in combating the armed group to sustain their momentum and coordinate more closely in order to eliminate its influence.

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today approved a draft resolution renewing its support for the United Nations internal justice system set up in 2009 to resolve disputes for tens of thousands of employees worldwide.

The General Assembly today, closely following the recommendation of its First Committee (Disarmament and International Security), where delegates increased their participation in debates by 40 per cent from last year, adopted 57 draft resolutions and decisions — 23 on nuclear weapons — requiring 29 recorded votes in all, including on separate provisions.

The General Assembly would underline the instrumental role of agricultural technology in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development under the terms of a draft resolution approved by a recorded vote today by the Second Committee (Economic and Financial), which also took action by consensus on six other texts as well as a draft decision.