The proliferation of small arms and light weapons deserves no less attention than the dangers posed by weapons of mass destruction, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) heard today as its thematic debate on conventional weapons continued.
Speakers in the Security Council today called for the swift deployment and integration of the Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti, the enforcement of renewed sanctions, and broad political dialogue, all as a means to provide the conditions for elections and to combat the situation of shocking and spiralling gang violence in the country.
The plight of internally displaced persons and human rights implications of foreign debt were among concerns addressed in briefings to the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as delegates also discussed the human rights situations in the Central African Republic, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Myanmar.
As the Sixth Committee (Legal) began its consideration of the International Law Commission report today, speakers took up the first of three clusters of topics, including the chapters on “General principles of law”, “Sea-level rise in relation to international law” and “Other decisions and conclusions of the Commission”, while also discussing the Commission’s approach and working methods.
Enhanced understanding of international law facilitates greater inclusion in global decision-making and fosters cooperation among those seeking such knowledge, speakers said today in the Sixth Committee (Legal), as they praised the United Nations Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law.
Positions hardened over two competing approaches to preventing an outer space arms race — one promoting responsible behaviours through voluntary commitments and the other calling for an early start of negotiations on a legally binding instrument — as the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) concluded its thematic debate on the subject today.
Special mandates holders called for domicide, starvation as a war tactic, and poverty wages to be classified as war crimes and rights violations, while delegates also sounded an alarm over terrorist threats to civilian populations in Israel and Palestine, as the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) continued its series of dialogues on human rights today.
Against the backdrop of a raging conflict between Israel and Hamas and a nearly two-year war waged by the Russian Federation against Ukraine, the United Nations and regional and subregional organizations must further strengthen their cooperation and promote among Member States full use of the diplomatic tools and mechanisms set forth in the UN Charter to peacefully resolve conflicts, and foremost prevent them, delegates told the Security Council today.
As the global environmental crisis inflicts despair on millions of people worldwide, States must implement and enforce stronger climate and environmental laws, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) heard today, as they also engaged in a series of interactive dialogues on equitable order, coercive unilateral measures and the right to safe drinking water.
Outer space is becoming a contest for supremacy, drawing on space-based communications and intelligence assets, and the early development of anti-satellite weaponry, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) heard today as its thematic debate opened on preventing an arms race in that realm.
