Meetings Coverage

Delegates at the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today considered the persistent cost overruns gripping the Strategic Heritage Plan renovation project at the United Nations Office at Geneva.

From addressing transnational challenges to supporting national peacebuilding priorities, special political missions play a key role in the Organization’s peacebuilding architecture, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) heard today, as it approved a draft resolution encouraging those missions to continue fostering inclusive partnerships with regional and subregional organizations as well as work closely with host Governments.

The unremitting violence in Sudan, raging for 18 months, is poised to intensify, worsening already alarming levels of human rights violations, food insecurity and displacement, the Security Council heard at a high-level briefing on the situation in the country, as senior United Nations officials renewed their calls for an immediate ceasefire, humanitarian access and renewed efforts towards a negotiated settlement.

Sport serves as the ultimate unifier, bridging diverse cultures and generations, promoting sustainable development and offering young people a constructive alternative to crime and delinquency, Member States told the General Assembly today.

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) sent eight draft resolutions to the General Assembly today, including texts on establishing a United Nations cybercrime convention, promoting the rights of Indigenous Peoples and combating the glorification of Nazism.

Speakers at the General Assembly today called for reforms to the Security Council’s constitution, representation and veto use, urging a renewed commitment to the adopted Pact for the Future, which itself should serve as a springboard to achieve these aims.

As the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) continued its debate today on peacekeeping, speakers stressed the need to revise the current model, seeking stronger engagement between peacekeepers and communities, deeper understanding of local contexts and cultures, and a greater focus on addressing conflicts’ root causes, with some calling on the Security Council to adapt non-military approaches and increase cooperation with regional organizations.

Delegates at the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today commended the Secretariat’s ongoing efforts to elevate the quality of United Nations conferences held around the globe while emphasizing the need to deliver these services in all six official languages.

From the deserts of the Middle East to the forests of Africa, blue helmets are protecting civilians and stabilizing the most dangerous zones of the world, speakers from some of the largest troop-contributing countries told the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) today as it continued its debate on peacekeeping.

Ransomware attacks on hospitals and healthcare systems can be “issues of life and death” and pose a serious threat to international security, the head of the UN health agency told the Security Council today, as several delegates echoed his calls for international cooperation to address one of today’s most damaging cyberthreats, while others questioned whether the 15 nation organ was the appropriate forum for the meeting.