Reinforcing the well-being of the world’s youth was not just a question of basic rights, but should be a key strategy in bolstering the vitality of the global village, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) was told today, as it concluded its discussion on social development.

Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), this afternoon called on Governments to counter the sinister nexus of drugs, crime and terrorism by promoting health, justice and security.

In promoting women’s empowerment it was critical that the international community systematically link women to the development agenda, speakers told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as it continued its discussion on the advancement of women.

Success in the global fight against trafficking in drugs and humans, as well as the associated problems of transnational organized crime and money-laundering, required interlocking national, regional and international strategies rooted in global cooperation, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) was told today, as it wrapped up its discussion on crime prevention, criminal justice and international drug control.

Violence against children, and ways to stem that violence, figured prominently in a discussion between Member States and United Nations officials from the field of child rights, at the start of a multi-day discussion on the promotion and protection of the rights of children convened by the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural).

Taking action for the first time during its current session, the Third Committee today approved a text recommending that the General Assembly decide to hold a commemorative meeting to mark the fifteenth anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action during the fifty-fourth session of the Commission on the Status of Women in March 2010.

Capping its three-day discussion on the promotion and protection of the rights of the child, members of the Third Committee (Social, Cultural and Humanitarian) discussed national programmes to nurture young citizens, saying the credibility of States “rested in their work for future generations”.

Implementing the two-year-old United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples would both bring historical justice to that too-often ignored segment of humanity and develop stronger democratic, multicultural societies, the Special Rapporteur on indigenous issues told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today.

In an exchange of views with three of the United Nations’ top watchdogs on torture, speakers in the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) expressed support for proactive measures taken by United Nations treaty bodies to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and said the Convention against Torture was a “new generation treaty” that placed value on prevention over a cure.