The United Nations top management official told the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today that the Organization was facing a “mixed” set of financial indicators for 2010, as an expected year-end positive cash position hinged on whether Member States paid their outstanding assessed contributions for the fourth quarter.

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro’s remarks on the rule of law at a meeting of the Sixth Committee (Legal) in New York, 12 October:

A growing asymmetry in military capabilities between major Powers and medium and small States had further increased insecurity among States, and in crucial regions, the pursuit of “great power politics” had destabilized tenuous regional balance, Pakistan’s representative told the Disarmament Committee today.

Delegations in the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) lined up today to welcome the establishment of UN Women and the appointment of Michelle Bachelet as its Executive Director and Under-Secretary-General, while underlining the many challenges that remain on the road to women’s empowerment, gender equality and the struggle against gender-based violence throughout the world.

Stating that the rule of law was linked to sovereignty and control over the use of force and resources, as well as similarly sensitive matters, the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General and the Chairperson of the Rule of Law Resource and Coordination Group, Asha-Rose Migiro, told the Sixth Committee (Legal) at a briefing today that a 2011 high-level event for a review of activities in the area of the rule of law would be welcome.

The Security Council this morning decided to extend the authorization of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan for one year, ending 13 October 2011, while stressing the importance of comprehensively building the Afghan security sector to ensure the rule of law throughout the country.

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message to mark World Food Day, to be observed on 16 October:

The Security Council today encouraged a more coordinated, coherent and integrated approach to peacebuilding, including stronger partnerships among the Peacebuilding Commission, regional organizations, the World Bank, civil society and other partners with a focus on greater impact on the ground.

Provision of a range of financial services to the poor - from loans and savings to payments and transfer services – played a significant role in the fight against poverty, and more efforts were needed to ensure that coverage reached the most marginalized, who often lived farthest from banks and markets, General Assembly delegates said today as they measured progress in the follow-up to the 2005 International Year of Microfinance.

Concerned that the recent increase in funding for United Nations development activities could taper off or even reverse course this year because of the global economic crisis, several delegates in the Second Committee called today for a steady incoming flow of cash, as well as greater balance between the funding of core and non-core activities.