Meetings Coverage

Although universal jurisdiction served to fight impunity, it should only be used in exceptional circumstances when other means of justice had been exhausted, delegates told the Sixth Committee (Legal) today as it concluded its debate on the scope and application of the principle of universal jurisdiction.

While encouraged by the United Nations overall financial health, delegates gathered at the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today voiced their concerns about the Organization’s outstanding payments to Member States, the likelihood of a cash flow crunch at the end of 2012, and the possibility of additional assessments for the Capital Master Plan next year.

While the international community had been “extremely generous” in addressing the many humanitarian crises with consequences for migrants in recent years, more could be done to improve its responses, the representative of the United States said today, as the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) took up its agenda item on globalization and interdependence.

Asserting that the Sixth Committee (Legal) was the frontline guardian of the Organization’s Charter, Vuk Jeremić, President of the General Assembly, told its delegates today that international law was the backbone of effective multilateral relations.

The First Committee today opened its thematic debate segment, starting with nuclear weapons, during which national positions converged on the principles of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation while the classic differences over their practical enforcement persisted.

Despite working far beyond its mandate, the office charged with responsibility for countries in special situations was not receiving resources commensurate with its expanded role, its new High Representative told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today.

Around the world, too many children were being left behind, due to poverty, malnutrition and “unpardonable” discrimination, the head of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, urging States to reform their laws, improve health and education outcomes, and show the strong political commitment required to fully implement the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Delegates gathered today in the General Assembly to assess progress on the implementation of New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) — the African-owned strategy adopted in 2001 to drive the continent’s political and socio-economic transformation — acknowledged significant achievements and looked to a future that would incorporate the Partnership’s priorities in the United Nations post-2015 agenda and in formulating sustainable development goals.

At a time when the world was becoming “more confined and dangerous than ever before”, the work of the University for Peace in bringing humanity closer to a peaceful planet had become even more relevant, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) heard today before it approved by consensus a draft resolution on the University.

Amid the “new age of accountability” and growing demands for justice, the International Criminal Court and the Security Council must work together “in this new world”, where those contemplating horrific acts could no longer be confident that their heinous crimes would go unpunished, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, opening the Council’s day-long debate on the rule of law and the intertwined roles both entities played in the pursuit of peace and justice.