Meetings Coverage

With women caught in the crossfire in Mali, Syria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other conflict-affected countries, the world must ramp up support and efforts to ensure their vital voices were heard, heeded and included in peacekeeping and peacebuilding, and beyond, top United Nations officials told the Security Council today during a day-long debate on women and peace and security.

The General Assembly would stress the importance of efforts to strengthen the scientific base of activities to address desertification and drought, according to one of five draft resolutions that the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) approved by consensus today.

The United Nations should move away from managing the Middle East crisis through repeated resolutions toward forging a lasting comprehensive political solution, the General Assembly heard today as it adopted six related relevant resolutions, all by recorded vote.

Voting by an overwhelming majority — 138 in favour to 9 against (Canada, Czech Republic, Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Nauru, Panama, Palau, United States), with 41 abstentions — the General Assembly today accorded Palestine non-Member Observer State status in the United Nations.

The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq remained an important factor in helping that country to “stay the course” and complete its transition to an inclusive, stable and prosperous democracy in the face of a national political stalemate and regional turmoil that had left it vulnerable to extremist violence, the Mission chief Martin Kobler told the Security Council today.

Sharing the deep “global frustration” that the two-State solution seemed ever more distant, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People today that the cost of the continued stalemate rose with each passing day, serving as the “complex and wrenching backdrop” – historic and present-day – against which the Palestinians had decided to seek non-Member Observer State status in the General Assembly.

Concluding its current session, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian, Cultural) today approved 24 draft resolutions on a wide range of human rights and social issues, including texts aimed at assessing progress made since the social development summit, advancing the rights of women and children, and eliminating racism.

The General Assembly would stress the importance of continued substantive consideration of the follow-up to and implementation of the Mauritius Strategy on the sustainable development of small island developing States, according to one of five draft resolutions that the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) approved by consensus today.

Failure to resolve security, economic and political problems in South Sudan continued to have a direct impact on the country’s fragile stability and security, the United Nations’ top peacekeeping official told the Security Council this morning during a briefing on recent events.

Recognizing the potential of sport to contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, the General Assembly today adopted a resolution reaffirming that sport, among other things, contributed to an atmosphere of tolerance and understanding, and was a tool for education that could promote cooperation, solidarity, social inclusion and health.