The fifty‑eighth meeting of the Panel of External Auditors, chaired by Mussa Juma Assad, Controller and Auditor General of the United Republic of Tanzania, was held on 30 November and 1 December at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome.  The Panel consists of Auditors General of 11 Supreme Audit Institutions who are either elected or selected to conduct the external audit of the United Nations Secretariat, funds and programmes and specialized agencies.  This also includes two observers who remain on the Panel, for a period of three years after they rotate off the Panel.  The meeting was attended by Auditors General or their representatives from the United Republic of Tanzania, France, India, Germany, Italy, Ghana, Philippines, Switzerland, Indonesia, Canada and United Kingdom.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Sebastiano Cardi (Italy):

Concluding its annual debate on the question of Palestine and the situation in the Middle East, the General Assembly adopted six resolutions today — including two declaring Israel’s actions in the Syrian Golan and East Jerusalem “null and void” — as several delegates voiced concern that those texts perpetuated a one-sided view that isolated and targeted a single Member State.

With the obvious goal of undermining national identity and international law, terrorists — particularly in armed conflict situations — were not only destroying lives and property, but also historical sites and objects, the head of the United Nations Office of Counter‑Terrorism told the Security Council today.

The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today concluded its work for the main part of the General Assembly’s seventy‑second session, approving 14 draft resolutions including texts on macroeconomic policy questions.

The renovation of the historic Palais des Nations campus, home of the United Nations Office in Geneva, came under scrutiny before the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today, with delegates commenting on financing modalities, transparency and the “smart working” flexible workplace concept as the CHF 836.5 million project — due for completion in 2023 ‑ moved forward.

UNICEF released a report today that calls on world leaders to include specific commitments to protect uprooted children when drafting global migration policies.  The call precedes the preparatory meeting on the Global Compact for Migration, to be held in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, from 4 to 6 December.  The report is available online.

The preparatory (stocktaking) meeting of the Intergovernmental Conference to adopt the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration will take place in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, from 4 to 6 December.

Speakers in the Security Council called today for urgent measures to head off the threat posed by the escalation of tensions following the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile by Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Noting that today marked 70 years since the adoption of a United Nations resolution to partition Palestine, speakers stressed the need to capture momentum, redouble efforts and through dialogue and diplomacy achieve a two‑State solution, as the General Assembly began its annual debate on the Palestinian question.