Expressing continued grave concern over piracy off the coast of Somalia despite a sharp decline in attacks, the Security Council today renewed for another year authorizations, first agreed in 2008, for international action to fight the crime in cooperation with Government authorities.
Even as the international community scaled up its response to the Ebola crisis in Liberia, it might also need to consider how best to support the rebuilding of the West African nation in the wake of that epic health emergency, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations told the Security Council today, stressing that the opportunity must be seized to spur positive transformation.
Reform of the Security Council, long overdue, needed to reflect current political realities, delegates told the General Assembly today as it held its annual debate on the matter and the manner in which that body could become a more democratic, transparent and effective organ, tasked with delivering worldwide peace and security.
The Security Council this afternoon renewed the authorization of the European Union-led multinational stabilization force in Bosnia and Herzegovina, known as EUFOR ALTHEA, for a further 12 months.
The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) met this morning to introduce a package of draft resolutions on a broad range of measures aimed at tackling pressing issues, including monitoring mercenaries, combating intolerance and human rights reporting on Syria.
After four years of Government performance that had fallen “way short of the mark”, newly elected leaders in Bosnia and Herzegovina had a fresh opportunity to make real economic gains and set the Balkan nation back on track towards European integration, the top United Nations official in the country told the Security Council today.
Given the upsurge of violence in Libya and corresponding lack of progress on accountability for serious crimes, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court this morning urged the Security Council to take a more proactive stance in assisting the country to address those issues.
The General Assembly today voted to retain mention of Syria in a resolution on cooperation between the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), as it took action on seven resolutions on cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations.
Twenty-six countries pledged approximately $560 million during a Headquarters event, in support of United Nations development activities, which primarily covered 2015. The amount represents an increase of approximately $72 million in comparison to last year’s pledges.
Eight years after they gave the go-ahead for the massive, $2.21 billion-dollar renovation of the United Nations historic Headquarters building, delegates at the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) aired their concerns about financing nearly $155 million in additional costs, plans to make the Library and South Annex buildings secure, and the dismantling of the temporary North Lawn Building.
