Meetings Coverage

“Nuclear weapons are a loaded gun pointing to the head of humankind,” the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) heard today at the conclusion of an annual debate that reflected a growing appetite for weighing the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons and the imperative of putting an end to their testing, frustration over the stand-off in the disarmament treaty-making body, and the disproportionate impact of small arms and light weapons — for which progress hinged on consistency with national interests.

Comprehensive measures and international cooperation were necessary to protect children from violence, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) heard today as it concluded its debate on the rights of children.

The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) concluded its consideration of decolonization questions this morning, forwarding 11 draft resolutions to the General Assembly, five of which it approved by recorded votes.

In one round of voting, the General Assembly today elected Egypt, Japan, Senegal, Ukraine and Uruguay to serve as non-permanent members of the Security Council for the next two years.

The contemporary global security architecture was “fraying”, and hopes for a peace dividend generated by the end of the cold war were “increasingly giving way to the advent of a new cold war”, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) heard today as it continued its general debate.

Economic stagnation and lacklustre recovery from the global economic crisis had revealed dysfunction in international organizations and the need to reform unequal power structures, the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) was told today as it took up consideration of “Globalization and interdependence”.

The Organization’s financial indicators for 2015 were “generally sound and positive,” except for the cash position of the regular budget, whose funds had been depleted, the United Nations senior management official told the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today.

Underscoring parity and fairness, delegates called for the equal treatment of States in the promotion of the rule of law, as well as improved leverage for countries with limited capacities in multilateral treaty processes, as the Sixth Committee (Legal) continued its deliberations today on the principle.

The time had come for States to move on from universal ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child to its universal implementation, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) heard today, as it continued its discussion on the rights of children.

The United Nations Support Office for the African Union Mission in Somalia (UNSOA) required “significant” strengthening, the Under-Secretary-General for Field Support told the Security Council today, with its efforts reprioritized around strategic objectives set by the 15‑member body and within areas of African Union operations with the Somali National Army.