Meetings Coverage

Emphasizing that the future of the United Nations depended on a joint vision and shared responsibilities, the Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, Kiyo Akasaka, told the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) today that the Department of Public Information “stands ready” to contribute to the achievement of the Organization’s goals by building understanding and support for the Organization among the peoples of the world.

A regulatory overhaul to strengthen regional development banks, a scaling up of international aid tailored to Africa’s special needs, and debt relief were urgently needed to help buoy African economies weakened by the global financial and economic crisis, several speakers told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) this afternoon, as it continued its consideration of macroeconomic policy questions.

Member States praised the work of the Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC) this morning, as they took up issues related to programme planning in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary).

As the Sixth Committee (Legal) this morning addressed the issue of criminal accountability of United Nations officials and experts on missions, the debate centred on impunity, language regarding scope of accountability and the need for an international convention.

The Security Council this morning extended the mandate of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti through 15 October 2010 and adjusted its force configuration to better meet current requirements on the ground.

Countries must step up efforts to address essential, but unresolved issues in advance of the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Robert Orr, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Strategic Planning, today told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) during a panel discussion on “Climate Change Negotiations: Road to Copenhagen”.

At a General Assembly session commemorating today the fifteenth anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development, United Nations Secretary‑General Ban Ki-Moon lauded that landmark meeting for sparking a shift in the international mindset on population issues and prodding Governments everywhere to recognize each individual’s right to reproductive health.

The national defence budgets of the major Powers had ballooned, regional disputes had festered, particularly in South Asia and the Middle East, new conflicts had emerged and a new kind of arms race threatened the progressive disarmament and non-proliferation landscape, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) heard today as it concluded its general debate.

The international community must act now to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) or risk having the world becomes a more dangerous place, Jeffrey Sachs, Director of The Earth Institute and Professor of Health Policy and Management, Columbia University, told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) during a panel discussion on “Achieving the MDGs by 2015: Preparing for the 2010 MDG Summit.”

The Fourth Committee would have the General Assembly reaffirm the right of peoples of Non-Self-Governing Territories to self-determination, while also calling once again on all Governments that had not yet done so to take legislative, administrative or other measures to put an end to enterprises in the Territories that were detrimental to the interests of the inhabitants, by one of 10 draft resolutions approved today.