Meetings Coverage

The global South was leading the post-crisis economic recovery, several heads of the United Nations Regional Commissions told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today during their annual dialogue.

Taking up a range of texts spanning clusters on nuclear weapons, other weapons of mass destruction and the disarmament aspects of outer space, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today approved a draft decision that would have the General Assembly include in the provisional agenda of its next session a sub-item on a treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other explosive devices.

Seven years after they gave the go-ahead for the massive, multi-billion-dollar renovation of the United Nations historic Headquarters building, delegates at the Fifth Committee (Budgetary and Administrative) today urged the Secretariat and managers of the Capital Master Plan to rein in cost overruns and add-ons that tallied nearly $400 million.

Hailing the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court as leading examples of ending impunity, delegates in the General Assembly today examined reports on recent achievements and elaborated on challenges ahead during a day-long debate.

As peacekeeping was one of the most “visible flags” of the United Nations, it was important to conserve its legitimacy and ensure that the missions — often operating in unfamiliar and unforgiving environments — were in strict compliance with the foundational principles of its work, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) heard today as it concluded its comprehensive review of peacekeeping operations in all its aspects.

Light weapons were “only light in name” and contributed to problems ranging from exploitation of natural resources, to child soldiers, piracy, terrorism and trans-border organized crime, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) heard today in nearly 70 interventions, as thematic debates concluded on conventional weapons, other disarmament measures, and regional disarmament and security.

After almost two decades, the Guide to Practice on “reservations to treaties” finally came before the Sixth Committee (Legal), as the debate began on the “second cluster” of topics from the International Law Commission’s 2011 report.

The General Assembly today elected 18 members of the Economic and Social Council to serve three-year terms beginning 1 January 2014.

Israel’s practices were not random but systematic, in line with a deliberate policy to force the displacement of Palestinians from their towns and villages and take control of their land, the Observer of the State of Palestine said today to the Second Committee (Economic and Financial).

The promise of a new Somalia emerging from decades of violence and instability remained fragile, the Security Council heard today, amid calls for stepped-up measures by the United Nations to bolster the Government’s capacity to protect international operations over the long term.