The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) until 30 May 2015, authorizing it to use “all necessary means” to carry out its civilian protection, human rights and humanitarian assistance duties, and to support the 2014 Cessation of Hostilities Agreement between the new Government and Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM).
By the terms of one of six draft resolutions that the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) approved this afternoon, the General Assembly would express serious concern at the lack of progress in the Doha Round of World Trade Organization negotiations and would reiterate the call for the necessary flexibility and political will needed to break the current impasse in the negotiations.
Offering a range of solutions for moving the Middle East peace process forward, while regretting the steps backward due to escalation of violence in recent months, the General Assembly adopted six draft resolutions today by recorded vote on the question of Palestine and the situation in the Middle East overall.
International efforts to keep weapons of mass destruction out of the hands of non-State actors must be continually strengthened through stepped‑up engagement by Member States, the outgoing head of the Security Council’s subsidiary body on the issued, known as the 1540 Committee, said this afternoon.
Approving a new draft resolution on protecting children from bullying, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) took action on and sent a total of 14 draft texts to the General Assembly.
In a briefing to the Security Council today, the Chair of the “1591” Committee on Sudan detailed recent discussions aimed at identifying information gaps and capacity-building requirements related to the travel ban, assets freeze and arms embargo in place against the North African country since 2005.
“We cannot paper over the differences and the difficulties that we face today,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon told delegations gathered to mark the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
This year of solidarity with the Palestinians, in which the international community sought to achieve their right to live as a free people in their homeland, had instead seen the peace process collapse and conditions deteriorate due to Israel’s illegal actions, the General Assembly heard today as it opened an annual two-day debate on the question of Palestine and the situation in the Middle East.
As the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today took stock of the planned refurbishment of the Palais des Nations in Geneva, delegates stressed the need to control costs and integrate the expertise gained during the massive renovation of the Organization’s New York Headquarters.
As the General Assembly considered the annual report of the Security Council on its work supporting the peaceful resolution of conflicts, delegations, while acknowledging the progress made by the 15-nation body, also called for continued reforms to its working methods and greater transparency for the Organization’s wider membership as it tackled complex international crises.
