Domestic resource mobilization and taxation were crucial to achieving sustainable development, several panellists stressed today at a joint meeting of the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) and the Economic and Social Council.
The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) met this afternoon to hear the introduction of four draft resolutions relating to a centre in Central Africa, Nazism, the right of the Palestinian People to self-determination and the situation in Syria, with the latter triggering comments from some speakers opposed to country-specific texts.
Continuing their debate on the third cluster of topics from the report of the International Law Commission, Sixth Committee (Legal) delegates today sought clarity and balance on a broad array of elements covered by the three diverse subjects under discussion.
Approving a draft resolution on the peaceful uses of outer space today, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) also concluded its general debate on the work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), as delegations voiced their concerns about the plight of the refugees and the Agency’s financial sustainability.
The Security Council this morning renewed the measures granted to States and regional organizations cooperating with authorities in Somalia in the fight against piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of that country for a further period of 12 months.
The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today began examining the proposed compensation package for the United Nations system, including a more performance-linked pay system, a single pay scale for staff with or without dependents, as well as implementation of the new retirement age of 65 for existing staff by 1 January 2017.
The Security Council today renewed authorization of the European Union-led multinational stabilization force (EUFOR ALTHEA) in Bosnia and Herzegovina for another year, a decision taken ahead of its semi-annual debate on the situation there in the 20 years since the historic Dayton Accords had ended the Bosnian war.
The “historic” and popular uprising led by Palestinian youth now into its second month had brought the Middle East question back to the forefront of the international conversation, the Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine told the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People today as it approved four draft texts to be considered by the General Assembly.
In a ministerial meeting today, the Security Council approved changes to the United Nations mission in Somalia, consolidating efforts around the strategic objectives established for the country to better respond to a dramatic expansion of requested support.
With conflicts expanding in the Middle East, thrusting one community after another into extreme insecurity, Palestine refugees remained among the most marginalized due to Israel’s ongoing occupation and the absence of sustainable, predictable funding, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) heard today as it took up the work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
