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”.

While the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) had broken new ground in many areas ‑‑ including clarifying the concept of sexual and reproductive health and setting a quantitative goal for universal delivery of such services ‑‑ substantial progress must be made to stop women from dying of preventable pregnancy-related causes, delegates in the General Assembly stressed today, as they concluded their two-day commemoration of the Conference.

In promoting women’s empowerment it was critical that the international community systematically link women to the development agenda, speakers told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as it continued its discussion on the advancement of women.

Efforts to stem the spread of violence and armed conflict had found intergovernmental allies from areas as diverse as agricultural development to global financing, greatly boosting the chances of eventually achieving disarmament goals, the United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Sergio Duarte, told the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today.

A debt moratorium for developing countries, policies to prevent excessive volatility in commodity markets, and a regulatory overhaul and stronger surveillance of international financial institutions, were urgently needed to restore global economic health and help developing nations overcome obstacles to achieving the Millennium Development Goals, several representatives told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today as it began its consideration of macroeconomic policy questions.