The provisional approval of the draft revised Notes on Organizing Arbitral Proceedings and parts of a model law on secured transactions were among key achievements during the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law’s (UNCITRAL) forty-eighth session, said its Chair as he presented that Commission’s report to the Sixth Committee (Legal) today.
Prior to opening its annual debate on outer space issues today, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) unanimously approved a draft resolution on the University for Peace, by which the General Assembly would request the Secretary-General to expand the scope for using that institution’s services as part of his conflict-resolution and peacebuilding efforts.
Any peace based on deterrence was akin to peace between two persons pointing guns at each other’s heads with their fingers on the trigger, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) heard today as it began its thematic discussion on nuclear weapons, with briefings by the heads of the relevant organizations and agencies.
As it began its discussion of sustainable development, the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) emphasized that the need for an effective global response to climate change could not be overstated.
A year after the first ever World Conference on Indigenous Peoples, Member States were called upon today to give them a greater voice, particularly in the context of achieving the Sustainable Development Agenda, as the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) began its consideration of their rights.
The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) unanimously approved a draft resolution today, by which the General Assembly would urge all mine-affected States to identify all areas containing mines and other explosive remnants of war, and engage in clearance when possible.
“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 crisis sparked by fresh violence in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza could not be stopped by security measures alone, the Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs told the Security Council today, urging Palestinians and Israelis to respect decades-old status quo arrangements around holy sites, and for political leaders on all sides to calm their language in a joint effort to deescalate the situation.
Decrying crimes committed by the small number of United Nations officials and experts on mission, speakers in the Sixth Committee (Legal) today said such acts tarnished the reputation of the Organization and damaged relations with local populations, as they called for perpetrators to be held to account.
