The General Assembly today appointed Gérard Biraud (France), István Posta (Hungary), Papa Louis Fall (Senegal) and Cihan Terzi (Turkey) as members of the Joint Inspection Unit for a five-year term of office beginning on 1 January 2011 and expiring on 31 December 2015.

Taking two weeks longer than planned, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today concluded its second resumed session by recommending to the General Assembly a peacekeeping budget of $7.2 billion for the period from 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2011 — slightly less than that approved in the previous financial year. It also produced a consensus draft resolution on cross-cutting issues, which had eluded the Committee for three years.

To confront growing threats and pressures from a wide range of issues facing the world’s oceans, countries will discuss ways to build up their capacities to address ocean affairs and the law of the sea, including marine science, at a meeting to be held at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 21 to 25 June.

The Fourth Biennial Meeting of States to consider the implementation of the 2001 Programme of Action aimed at eradicating the illicit small arms trade today adopted by consensus its outcome document, as it concluded its week-long session. Sergio Duarte, United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, praised all delegates and organizers for a successful session and for reaching a consensus on the important outcome.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced the appointment of Joan Elise Dubinsky, a national of the United States, as Director of the Ethics Office. She succeeds Robert Benson of Canada, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his dedicated service to the Organization and his experience and advice on ethics matters.

Representatives of international organizations, Member States and law-enforcement authorities convened today at the United Nations General Assembly for a special meeting to spur more effective use of an international legal weapon designed to fight burgeoning cross-border organized crime.

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

The following statement was issued today by the Middle East Quartet (United Nations, Russian Federation, United States, European Union):

As the General Assembly today concluded its special high-level meeting on transnational organized crime, speakers agreed that the best way to stamp out organized crime and mark the tenth anniversary this year of the landmark United Nations Convention on Transnational Organized Crime and its additional Protocols was through stronger global follow-up and coordination.

The Special Committee on Decolonization today approved a draft resolution calling on the Government of the United States to expedite a process that would allow the Puerto Rican people to exercise fully their right to self-determination and independence, and for the General Assembly formally to consider the situation concerning Puerto Rico, which the world body had not formally taken up since the Territory’s removal from the list of Non-Self-Governing Territories in 1953.