Meetings Coverage

With the global economy beginning a slow and uneven recovery from a period of immense turmoil, the United Nations had an important role to play in ensuring a robust and inclusive intergovernmental process to realize commitments on financing for development, especially with the 2015 deadline for attaining the Millennium Development Goals rapidly approaching, the President of the General Assembly said in a message wrapping up two days of high-level talks in New York.

High-level officials representing international organizations and Member States called today for a reinvigoration of development partnerships to reverse the effects of the world economic crisis and meet the impending deadlines for attaining internationally-agreed development goals.

The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) until 23 March 2011, realigning it to assist the Government in the transition to national leadership of the country’s recovery efforts, including by supporting the preparations for the conference to be held in Kabul later this year.

Foreseeing new challenges in the equitable and peaceful management of shared water resources, officials today at a high-level interactive dialogue held to observe World Water Day urged that “bold” and “holistic” solutions be discussed to forestall pollution and water depletion, when the General Assembly meets for talks on the Millennium Development Goals in September.

While improvements in Sierra Leone’s political climate were seen as inching the country towards eventual sustainable development, senior United Nations officials warned the Security Council today that the magnitude and political significance of youth unemployment posed a latent risk of instability in the West African nation struggling to consolidate peace and stimulate development.

Continuing a read-through of its draft “general comment” on article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which deals with the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the Human Rights Committee today set language for six more paragraphs in the “first reading” draft of the 54-paragraph text.

Concluding the first part of its resumed session this afternoon, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today approved six draft texts, including a multipart draft resolution urging movementtowards an accountability system in the United Nations Secretariat and a draft resolution that would fund a new Emergency Preparedness and Support Team.

Condemning the continued flow of weapons that it said violated its arms embargoes on Somalia and Eritrea, the Security Council this afternoon extended for 12 months the mandate of the group monitoring those measures, expanding its mandate and giving it three additional experts.

The President of the Economic and Social Council today welcomed the “open and constructive” discussions held during the 54-member body’s special high-level meeting with the Bretton Woods institutions, and expressed hope that the spirit of engagement over the past two days marked the beginning of closer relations between the United Nations and the major international financial institutions.

Expressing grave concern over trafficking in small arms and light weapons, particularly in Central Africa, the Security Council today encouraged States in that subregion to join forces in order fully to implement measures to curb the illicit trade and to create mechanisms and regional networks for sharing information on the circulation and trafficking of weapons.