Meetings Coverage

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) this morning approved a draft decision by which the new staff rules described in a report published by the Secretary-General in August should remain provisional, pending the General Assembly’s further consideration of the new contractual regime at its sixty-fifth session.

The Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families expanded from 10 to 14 members today, as 9 members were elected during the fourth meeting of the States Parties to the United Nations treaty on migrant workers.

As it concluded in Nairobi, Kenya, today, the High-Level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation encouraged developing countries –- with support from developed countries and international organizations –- to take concrete steps to make their cooperative efforts work better in tackling the serious challenges they faced in achieving socio-economic advancement.

Fresh from observing the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, the General Assembly this morning concluded two days of plenary debate on the question of Palestine and the broader situation in the Middle East with the adoption, by recorded vote, of six resolutions aimed at promoting the inalienable rights of Palestinians -– particularly to statehood –- and permanently ending Israel’s “illegal” actions in Jerusalem and Syrian Golan.

Describing the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) as a lifeline for millions of Palestinians affected by recurring regional violence, and expressing concern over its current funding shortfall, 19 donors this morning pledged roughly $91.4 million to UNRWA for 2010, with several more indicating their contributions would be forthcoming.

The General Assembly, acting on the recommendation of its First Committee (Disarmament and International Security), today adopted 54 texts, including one new resolution adopted by consensus in the nuclear weapons sphere -– naming 29 August as the international day against nuclear tests.

Officials from dynamic emerging economies asserted today that their Governments were ready to improve socio-economic conditions at home and help raise development prospects across the global South, proof that many developing countries were now capable of taking the lead in designing and implementing their own long-term development plans.

The many challenges now facing the international community called for stronger and more innovative cooperation between developing countries -– particularly neighbouring States -- as well as between them and developed countries, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro said today as she helped to open the most significant United Nations meeting on the subject in decades, in Nairobi, Kenya.

The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) this afternoon approved by consensus three draft resolutions, including texts concerning the Fourth United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries, science and technology for development, and the sustainable development of small island developing States.

As the General Assembly today wrapped up its annual debate on the question of Palestine and the situation in the Middle East, several delegations urged the international community to end six decades of “collective failure” to answer the Palestinian question through a peaceful settlement.