Fifteen years since the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, racism and xenophobia were on the rise worldwide, four independent experts told the Third Committee today as delegates opened discussions on ending prejudice and derogatory perceptions of superiority dating to the colonial era and the transatlantic slave trade.

Open debates on “water, peace and security” and asymmetrical threats to peacekeeping would be highlighted by the Security Council this month, along with a range of items of ongoing concern, Fodé Seck (Senegal), Council President for November, told correspondents at Headquarters this afternoon.

Speakers pointed to the legally complex and politically sensitive nature of the work of the International Law Commission (ILC) during its sixty‑eighth session, as the Sixth Committee (Legal) continued its review of the Commission’s annual report.

Israel’s expanding settlements constituted blatant symbols of its occupation and threatened the viability of a prospective two-State solution to the conflict with the Palestinians, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) heard today.

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message for the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, observed on 2 November:

The Security Council this afternoon welcomed the election of the new President of Lebanon, Michel Aoun, urging him and other leaders to swiftly form a new Government and take other steps to promote the country’s stability.

The humanitarian community repeats its call for the strict adherence to international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians in Iraq.  The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs said he was deeply concerned for the safety of civilians in Mosul as fighting reaches the city.

Delegates of the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today backed the Secretary-General’s $40.02 million project plan to retrofit the premises of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), as part of their discussion on upgrades of Commission buildings in Bangkok and Addis Ababa.

The First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today sent 25 draft resolutions and 1 draft decision to the General Assembly, among them one that would pave the way for the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced today the appointment of Izumi Nakamitsu of Japan as Special Adviser ad interim on Follow-up to the Summit on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants, which was held on 19 September.