General Assembly: Meetings Coverage

12 March 2020

GA/PK/239

Concluding Annual Session, Special Peacekeeping Operations Committee Approves Draft Report Outlining Proposals, Conclusions on Range of Substantive Items

Concluding its work today, the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations approved, as orally revised, the draft report of its 2020 substantive session (document A/AC.121/2020/L.3).

11 March 2020

GA/AB/4354

Speakers Seek More Details on Improving Staff Performance, Organizational Culture, as Fifth Committee Reviews Roll-Out of Accountability Framework across Secretariat

Speakers praised and called for more details about the roll-out of a new framework for assigning senior managers greater authority to make decisions and hold their staff accountable for results, as the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) met to review the efficiency of that system in the United Nations Secretariat.

11 March 2020

GA/12243

General Assembly Postpones Fourth Session of Intergovernmental Conference to Draft Marine Biodiversity Treaty in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction

The General Assembly today decided to postpone the fourth session of the intergovernmental conference to draft a new global instrument on biodiversity in ocean areas beyond national jurisdiction, citing concerns over the coronavirus disease, COVID-19.

9 March 2020

GA/AB/4353

Examining Audit, Oversight Committee Functions, Fifth Committee Considers Value of Cloud Computing amid Rapid Changes in United Nations Work Environment

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today examined how audit and oversight bodies are functioning across the United Nations organizations, while also weighing the benefits and risks of using cloud computing across these entities.

4 March 2020

GA/AB/4352

Speakers Push for More Women in Senior Posts, Younger Workforce, as Budget Committee Examines Human Resources Management

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary), continuing its first resumed session, put a spotlight on human resources management today, with delegates hailing progress towards gender parity among the Secretariat’s more than 37,000 staff members worldwide while also pressing for greater efforts to recruit personnel on as wide a geographical basis as possible.

3 March 2020

GA/12242

General Assembly Adopts Resolution Encouraging Strengthening of Kimberley Process, Recognizing Diamond Certification Scheme’s Key Role in Peacebuilding, Development

The General Assembly today encouraged further strengthening the global diamond certification scheme known as the Kimberley Process to make it more effective and to ensure that it remains relevant in the future while also contributing to international peace and security and the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

2 March 2020

GA/AB/4351

Debate Focuses on 2020 Work Programme, Information Technology Strategy, Capital Master Plan, as Fifth Committee Resumes Seventy-fourth Session

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) opened the first part of its resumed seventy‑fourth session today, approving its provisional work programme amid an outcry from some delegates over the General Assembly’s 14 January decision to expand membership of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) without consulting them.

2 March 2020

GA/PAL/1431

Keep Question of Palestine High on United Nations Agenda, Senior Malaysian Official Urges, as International Conference Concludes

KUALA LUMPUR, 29 February — Activism and regional support are vital to achieving the aspirations of the Palestinian people, speakers said today, at the conclusion of the International Conference on the Question of Palestine.

28 February 2020

GA/PAL/1430

Unilateral Peace Plan Is ‘Mockery’ of Global Efforts to End Israel-Palestine Conflict, Malaysia’s Prime Minister Tells International Conference

KUALA LUMPUR, 28 February — The unilateral announcement by the United States of its vision for ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict without any attempt at dialogue or negotiation is a mockery of international efforts to resolve the ongoing crisis, the host country’s Prime Minister told the International Conference on the Question of Palestine today.

28 February 2020

DC/3827

Disarmament Commission Postpones 2020 Organizational Session for Second Time in 2 Weeks, amid Deepening Impasse over Non-Issuance of Visas

The Disarmament Commission deferred the start of its 2020 organizational session today, for the second time in as many weeks, reflecting a deepening impasse over the Host Country’s non-issuance of visas to some delegates.