With the assets of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund totalling a record $62 billion at the end of October, delegates today expressed concern over the quality of service it provided to its more than 200,000 participants, as well as its failure in 2016 to meet its return‑on‑investment target, as the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) took up the Fund’s proposed budget for the biennium 2018‑2019.

The Economic and Social Council met today to fill regular and outstanding vacancies in eight of its subsidiary bodies.

The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Yemen briefed the Security Council, warning of alarming levels of violence affecting civilians and emphasizing an acute need for a negotiated settlement and inclusive peace process at a time of sharply shifting political dynamics following the killing of the former President.

Tackling issues related to marine areas beyond the limits of countries’ jurisdiction would mark a “giant leap forward” in advancing the fair and sustainable management of the world’s ocean, the General Assembly heard today, as it adopted two resolutions linked to the implementation of the landmark 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

United Nations Secretary‑General António Guterres left New York on Monday, 27 November to attend the fifth African Union‑European Union Summit in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.  He arrived in Abidjan late on Tuesday, 28 November.

NEW YORK, 5 December (Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea) — The Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf held its forty‑fifth session at United Nations Headquarters from 16 October to 1 December.

The three‑day preparatory stocktaking meeting of the intergovernmental conference to adopt a Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration began today.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Koro Bessho (Japan):

Welcoming the Secretary-General’s proposals aimed at reforming the United Nations programme planning and budget process, as well as increasing transparency and accountability, delegates in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today stressed that management reform must employ lessons learned from past efforts, and could not be an isolated endeavour.

Heeding the recommendation of its First Committee (Disarmament and International Security), the General Assembly adopted 53 draft resolutions and 4 draft decisions today, including one that would, with renewed determination, seek concerted action towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons.