From being increasingly vocal on human rights to taking decisions on tackling non-communicable diseases, the General Assembly had taken great strides in its current session during an “eventful and demanding” year for the United Nations, the Assembly President told journalists today at Headquarters. Speaking at a year-end press conference, Nasser Abdulaziz al-Nasser outlined some […]
All Budgets are Tough, but This Year Especially Difficult Given Financial Austerity, Says Secretary-General, Lauding Approval of New Budget Lower than Last The General Assembly closed its main session midday Saturday with the adoption of a $5.15 billion United Nations budget for the 2012-2013 biennium and an unexpected intervention by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who commended Member […]
After protracted, all-night negotiations, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) wrapped up the main part of its sixty-sixth session Saturday morning by recommending a $5.152 billion budget for the Organization for 2012-2013. In October, when the Secretary-General initially presented his proposed $5.197 billion budget for the next biennium, which he noted was 3.2 per cent less than […]
Four Recorded Votes Requested as Delegates Adopt 46 Texts in Total The developing world?s vulnerability to the prevailing multiple global crises and preparations for the June 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development were prominent among the concerns of the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) as the 42 draft resolutions and 4 draft decisions it had recommended […]
Thirty-five United Nations personnel ? 25 civilians, nine peacekeepers and a military adviser ? were killed in 2011, according to the Staff Union Committee for the Security and Independence of the International Civil Service. Four security guards working for the Organization were also killed. In 2010, those killed in malicious attacks included five civilians and […]
Prosecutor Says Fugitives Control Government, Command Military Operations; Sudan Says Report ?Usual Lies and False Accusations?, Ignores Doha Document The individuals sought by the International Criminal Court for genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur were still allegedly committing similar acts, but the execution of the arrest warrants against them ?will end the crimes […]
Palestinian efforts for full membership of the United Nations and its agencies was not a provocation but rather the exercise of their legal right to sovereignty and independence, Riyad Mansour, head of the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine, assured the Palestinian Rights Committee today. Mr. Mansour said that, in a step towards that independence, Palestinians […]
Only by streamlining responses to the world?s complex humanitarian landscape would the needs of those affected by disasters and emergencies be met, speakers stressed today as the General Assembly adopted four resolutions relating to humanitarian assistance. Acting by consensus on the texts ? which ranged in focus from the response to the drought in […]
The following Security Council press statement was issued on 15 December by Council President Vitaly Churkin (Russian Federation): The members of the Security Council received a briefing from Ambassador Gennady Tarasov, the Secretary-General?s High-Level Coordinator, on the thirty-second report of the Secretary-General, in accordance with paragraph 14 of Security Council resolution 1284 (1999). The […]
Following is Secretary-General Ban Ki–moon’s message on International Human Solidarity Day, observed 20 December: This year’s observance of International Human Solidarity Day comes at a time when our world is confronting multiple challenges and opportunities. The old world is gradually but unmistakably changing, and the contours of a new one are just beginning to take […]
