Amid the annual commemoration of the International Day against Nuclear Tests today, the President of the General Assembly warned that the world is closer than any other time in this century to global catastrophe and stressed the urgent need to enter into force the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.
The General Assembly adopted today one decision and a series of resolutions without a vote, including one in which it urged Member States to reinforce their efforts and adopt effective measures to prevent and counter crimes that impact the environment, conservation and biodiversity, and to take decisive steps at the national level to prevent, combat and eradicate the illegal trade in wildlife.
The General Assembly today adopted two resolutions — including one on entry into force of a previously adopted agreement on the oceans and conservation of biodiversity — while rejecting an amendment proposed by the Russian Federation that would have deleted three critical paragraphs of the text.
The General Assembly today adopted three consensus decisions on global health and foreign policy and three consensus resolutions on strengthening of the United Nations system, the impact of rapid technological change on the Sustainable Development Goals, and culture of peace — with the latter surviving an attempt to alter its language and sparking a heated debate on whether acts against religious symbols or books constitute a violation of international law.
Debating the Russian Federation’s 11 July veto of a Security Council draft resolution that would have authorized a nine-month renewal of cross-border aid‑delivery to northern Syria, speakers took stock of its consequences for millions of Syrians in increasingly desperate need of humanitarian aid.
Nine years after the Russian Federation’s illegal annexation of Crimea and 500 days after its invasion of Ukraine, the General Assembly met today to intensify its call for a peaceful end to a conflict that has killed and injured tens of thousands of people while scattering 6 million refugees across Europe and displacing millions more within Ukraine.
Prior to adopting 18 Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) draft texts, the General Assembly today took up the 2022 Security Council report, with some delegations appealing for a more substantive and analytical account of the 15-nation organ’s work, while others spotlighted the Council’s limitations due to the veto, which was preventing a timely response to threats to international peace and security.
Prior to adopting two draft texts by consensus, the General Assembly voted on a contentious resolution that created a new mechanism to respond to the missing persons crisis in Syria, with some speakers arguing it could contribute to national reconciliation and sustainable peace and others stressing that, not only was Damascus not consulted, but the mechanism interferes with Syria’s internal affairs.
Following its annual debate on the responsibility to protect and the prevention of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, the General Assembly adopted two resolutions today, one on the residual functions of the Cambodia courts that prosecuted former leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime, and the other on the importance of supporting mental health concerns.
Wrapping up their eighth annual review of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, several delegates in the General Assembly today outlined the specific measures their countries are taking to curb the spread of terrorism while recognizing the victims of this global menace.
