The First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today approved eight draft texts, including one calling for the universalization of the Arms Trade Treaty and the implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
After approving four draft resolutions concerning the work of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) today, the Sixth Committee (Legal) critiqued its own working methods, with delegates emphasizing the need to make better use of time and calling for an improved relationship with the International Law Commission.
Urging the parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina to speedily form a new Government following recent elections, the Security Council today renewed its authorization of the European-led multinational stabilization force (EUFOR Althea) for one further year, amid a briefing and debate on the situation in the country.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said more than 2,000 people have lost their lives trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea this year — a sharp increase over 2014 death toll — in large part due to reduced search and rescue capacity in the area. The agency called for action to address this situation.
The Security Council, acting by consensus today, decided to renew for 12 months authorizations allowing international naval forces to join in the fight against piracy in the waters off the coast of Somalia.
Senior United Nations officials today addressed improvements in gender diversity and upcoming reforms in relation to special political missions, as the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) began its consideration of that matter.
Some 19 countries pledged a total of $425.69 million at today’s 2018 United Nations Pledging Conference for Development Activities, reflecting an increase from the 2017 amount of $398.98 million.
The First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today approved eight draft texts, including one that would have the Assembly re-emphasize its support for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to continue to establish the facts surrounding allegations of chemical weapon use in Syria and identify, where possible, the perpetrators of such crimes.
The senior United Nations disarmament affairs official warned today that the Security Council must remain united against the use of chemical weapons, a crime that must always be viewed as a violation of a “deeply held taboo”.
The World Food Programme (WFP) entered into a partnership with global e‑commerce company Alibaba to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 2 (zero hunger). Alibaba Cloud will support the creation of a digital World Hunger Map to monitor global hunger and enhance the efficiency of WFP operations.
