Meetings Coverage

Passionate revolutionary, apostle of peace, champion of human rights, nation builder and beacon of freedom were among the terms of endearment bestowed on former South African President Nelson Mandela during a special meeting of the General Assembly today to pay tribute to his life and memory.

The Security Council today extended terms of office for 17 permanent and ad litem judges of the Trial and Appeals Chambers at the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia until 31 December 2014, or completion of the cases assigned to them, if sooner.

Spotlighting global cooperation to combat violent extremism, the scourge of “conflict diamonds” and assistance to Rwandan genocide survivors, the General Assembly adopted five resolutions today that focused, among other things, on building a culture of peace to reduce tensions around the world. It also elected two members to the Peacebuilding Commission’s Organizational Committee.

The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) for six months, until 30 June 2014, as ongoing military activities in the area of separation could jeopardize the ceasefire between Israel and Syria, posing risk to civilians and peacekeeping personnel alike.

The General Assembly today adopted 68 draft resolutions recommended by its Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) on a range of issues relating mainly to human rights, social development and crime prevention, while deferring action on three texts until the issuance of their budgetary implications.

The Security Council today expressed growing concern about the serious threats posed by drug trafficking and related transnational organized crime to international peace and stability in West Africa and the Sahel region.

The United Nations must provide predictable and sufficient funds to its intergovernmental bodies, Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) delegates said today as they scrutinized the costs during the next biennium of new and existing activities of entities focused on human rights and sustainable development.

In spite of the praiseworthy efforts made by the leaders of West Africa, the region remained fragile and would require the ongoing support of the international community, the United Nations envoy for the region said in a briefing to the Security Council today.

Despite temporary setbacks, Afghanistan’s political and security transition was on track as the Central Asian country sought to emerge from conflict and complete such work by the end of 2014, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative told the Security Council this morning, stressing that predictability would be essential to building confidence in the future.

The Security Council decided today that the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) would continue to operate as a special political mission until 31 December 2017, under the policy guidance of the Counter-Terrorism Committee.