Meetings Coverage

The General Assembly would stress the need to increase investment in agriculture and rural development, including by giving technical and financial aid to least developed and net food-importing developing countries, with a view to increasing their agricultural productivity and infrastructure, according to one of two draft resolutions the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) approved by consensus today.

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) concluded its work today, having approved 72 draft resolutions that are expected to be taken up by the General Assembly plenary next month.

States on the front lines were in a unique position to assess the nature of the terrorism threat in their regions and keep the international community informed, the Security Council heard this morning in a review of the work of its anti-terrorism committees.

Progress in restoring constitutional order in Guinea-Bissau following the 2012 coup d’état remained “frustratingly slow” amid electoral delays and a generalized climate of fear, the United Nations senior official in the West African country told the Security Council today, stressing that the onus was now on the transitional Government to ensure the timely holding of presidential and legislative elections next year.

Sending a strong message of support for the Middle East peace process, albeit with the traditionally divergent views on how to achieve its aims, the General Assembly today adopted six draft resolutions on the question of Palestine and the situation in the Middle East overall.

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) approved 18 draft resolutions today, including one on “The right to privacy in the digital age”.

Meeting in observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, speakers said today that with new direct negotiations under way, the time had come to end the suffering of the Palestinians and create an independent State for them.

The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) until 31 May 2014, underscoring that the Force’s mandate included taking the necessary actions to protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence, irrespective of the source.

Opening a two-day debate on the question of Palestine and the situation in the Middle East, General Assembly delegates heard today the introduction of four draft resolutions that ranged from the declaration of 2014 as the Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People to efforts on moving forward towards a two‑State solution in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.