Meetings Coverage

Even as peacekeeping mandates increased in complexity and number, resources allotted to them were becoming scarcer, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) was told today during its consideration of the whole question of United Nations peacekeeping operations in all their aspects, which also brought to light the variance between developed and developing country contributions to the missions and the issue of including civilian protection in their mandates.

Arbitrary detention and disproportionate use of military force, the expansion of settlements and the blockade of the Gaza Strip continued to constrain the functioning of the Palestinian Authority while contributing to the growing economic and social hardship faced by its citizens, Rima Khalaf, Executive Secretary for Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today.

As the Sixth Committee (Legal) today resumed its consideration of the report of the International Law Commission, delegations lauded the recently finalized Guide to Practice on reservations to treaties as a sound legal reference for international law practitioners.

The Presidents of the International Court of Justice and International Criminal Court today implored General Assembly delegates to honour the Courts’ jurisdictions, and respectively, rely on international law to resolve disputes between States, and “stand united” behind collective efforts to suppress the gravest crimes known to humanity.

After Libya’s “Declaration of Liberation” on 23 October, following the death of long-term ruler Muammar al-Qadhafi, the international community must remain “focused and measured” in its engagement with the transitional authorities there, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative told the Security Council this morning, as it met to consider the situation in that country.

Keeping biological, chemical and nuclear weapons from terrorists, bolstering regional and subregional arms control and speeding results from nuclear disarmament promises and processes were among the aims of the 17 draft texts approved today as the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) began taking action on the 53 draft texts before it.

United Nations peacekeeping, as the Organization’s pre-eminent instrument in maintaining international peace and security and complement to such crucial tools as mediation and peace accords, required a reliable partnership with the Security Council and the critical consent of the parties, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) heard today during its debate on peacekeeping.

Briefing the Security Council this afternoon on the situation in Darfur, the senior United Nations official for peacekeeping highlighted progress in the implementation of the provisions of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur, and agreement between the Sudanese Government and the Justice and Liberation Movement.

Farmers were not just farmers, they were also entrepreneurs and should be treated as such, the representative of the Netherlands told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today as it concluded its consideration of agriculture development and food security.

Drawing parallels to recent political uprisings in defence of freedom and self-determination, General Assembly delegates today again denounced the decades-old economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States on Cuba, voting overwhelmingly to adopt the world body’s twentieth consecutive resolution calling for an end to the measures.