Meetings Coverage

Discussing a variety of questions involving the United Nations common system this morning, the Fifth Committee considered, among other things: proposed introduction of end-of-service severance pay for staff on fixed-term contracts; possible changes to the mandatory retirement age; salary adjustments in New York and other duty stations; job evaluation standards for General Service and related categories; base/floor salary scale and evolution of the margin; and gender balance in staffing.

As international partners helped the struggling African economies sustain a growth cycle curbed by the current global economic crisis, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) was slowly, but surely, carving out its role as the African continent’s primary blueprint for development, said delegates gathered today for the General Assembly’s annual debate.

The international community must bolster technical and financial aid to least developed countries to prevent the current global crises from erasing the benefits of their record economic growth rates in recent years, Under-Secretary-General Cheick Sidi Diarra said today, as the Second Committee began its general debate on groups of countries in special situations.

Rounding up its thematic debate on the disarmament aspects of outer space today, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) heard the introduction of two draft resolutions, on transparency and confidence-building measures in outer space, and on the prevention of an outer space arms race.

As the Sixth Committee (Legal) today began its deliberations on the report of the Special Committee on the Charter and the impact of sanctions against Member States, concerns were expressed about the effect on civilians and on third countries, which were not the intended target of the sanctions.

Another half billion people face food insecurity because of climate change, Margareta Wahlström, Assistant Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today during a panel discussion on “Climate change: Impacts and threats".

Recalling the ancient Greek tradition of the Olympic Truce -- which provided a peaceful environment for athletes and spectators during the Olympic Games -- General Assembly delegates today invoked that spirit, with their adoption of a consensus resolution urging national committees and sports organizations to promote and strengthen a culture of peace during next year’s Games.

Implementing the two-year-old United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples would both bring historical justice to that too-often ignored segment of humanity and develop stronger democratic, multicultural societies, the Special Rapporteur on indigenous issues told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today.

The strides made to ban chemical weapons was a “living example” of success when global efforts joined forces with clear goals, constructive dialogue, good will and a spirit of consensus, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) heard today during its thematic debate on weapons of mass destruction.

Poor borrowers in India and Bolivia committed suicide in despair over heavy debt burdens accumulated because the regulatory framework for microfinance loans was not fully developed, Thomas McInerney, Director of the Research, Policy and Strategic Initiatives for the International Development Law Organization, told the Second Committee today during a panel discussion on “Legal Empowerment of the Poor and Eradication of Poverty”.