General Assembly Completes Substantive Work, Adopting Several Texts, Including on Multilingualism, Indigenous Peoples’ Enhanced Participation at United Nations
Taking up the remaining business before the closure of its current session, the General Assembly adopted several resolutions and decisions today, including drafts on multilingualism and indigenous peoples’ participation in United Nations meetings.
By the terms of the draft resolution titled “Multilingualism” (document A/78/L.108), the Assembly supported the Secretary-General’s approach to integrate multilingualism, as a core value of the Organization, into the Secretariat’s activities on an equitable basis and emphasized the paramount importance of the equality of the six official UN languages. However, it expressed concern over the impact of measures taken by the Secretary-General in response to the current liquidity situation on the provision of language services and the management of meetings.
A wide-ranging text divided into seven operative sections, the draft resolution welcomed progress made and detailed additional efforts to be taken in support of multilingualism: by the Secretariat in general; by the Department of Global Communications; through UN websites, social media and other web-based communication tools; through documentation and conference services; through human-resources management and staff training; by language-services staff; and across the three pillars of the UN.
Outlining the programme budget implications of that text, the Assembly Secretary informed delegates that the request contained in operative paragraph 8, reflecting further updates of the Procurement Manual in all six official languages, would require additional resources in the range of $50,000 to $60,000 for 2025 and in subsequent years when the Manual will be further updated. Further, it is estimated that strengthening the human-resources capacity of the Office of the Coordinator for Multilingualism would require additional resources for 2025 and beyond in the range of $130,000 to $210,000. He added that the programme budget implications of other requests would be reflected in the context of future proposed programme budgets, after a review or feasibility study of those requests.
While the text was adopted without a vote, two operative paragraphs courted contention — those pertaining to the need to strengthen the human-resources capacity of the Office of the Coordinator for Multilingualism and to the Department’s role in both addressing the spread of misinformation, disinformation and information manipulation and supporting UN efforts to eradicate hate speech. This was exemplified by a motion to divide the resolution — essentially removing these two paragraphs — but such motion was not adopted by a recorded vote of 5 in favour (China, Israel, Liberia, United Kingdom, United States) to 63 against, with 55 abstentions. In explanations of position after adoption, delegates expressed reservations about the budget implications, and said legitimate concerns and compromise proposals were not taken into account in the negotiations of the text.
The Assembly also adopted the draft resolution titled “World Rural Development Day” (document A/78/L.84/Rev.2), as amended, without a vote. By its terms, the Assembly decided to declare 6 July as ‘World Rural Development Day’ to highlight the critical importance of rural development and transformation for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Further, it invited all relevant stakeholders to contribute to and support the Day, and requested the Secretary-General to spread awareness of the Day for appropriate observance.
Prior to the adoption of the text as a whole, the Assembly adopted an amendment thereto (document A/78/L.92/Rev.1) by a recorded vote of 60 in favour to 3 against (Israel, Palau, United States), with 81 abstentions. The amendment added a reference to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas to the resolution’s preambular language, but some delegations took issue with the procedural means through which the amendment was proposed.
The draft resolution titled “Enhancing the participation of Indigenous Peoples’ representatives and institutions in meetings of relevant United Nations bodies on issues affecting them” (document A/78/L.106) was also adopted without a vote.
By the terms of that text, the Assembly requested the President of the General Assembly to appoint, at the beginning of the eightieth session, two co-facilitators from Member States and two advisers from Indigenous peoples to include consultations with Indigenous peoples’ representatives and institutions from all regions of the world as an input to the intergovernmental process. It also urged Governments and non-governmental organizations to continue to contribute to the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples in order to assist Indigenous peoples’ representatives and institutions to participate in the consultation process.
Speaking after the adoption, several delegations expressed their views, including that knowledge and contributions of Indigenous peoples are vital to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and that Indigenous peoples should have a distinguished category for participation at the United Nations different from civil society and other groups.
Some delegations were disappointed at the removal of language on Indigenous participation in interactive dialogues and in an expert workshop on accreditation criteria and mechanisms, at the absence of an operative paragraph that requests the President of the General Assembly to convene a workshop that would facilitate the discussion on enhancing Indigenous peoples’ participation at the United Nations, and at “a low level of ambition” with which the resolution was adopted.
The text on “Modalities of the 2026 United Nations Water Conference to Accelerate the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all” (document A/78/L.110) was also adopted without a vote. By its terms, the Assembly decided that the 2026 United Nations Water Conference to Accelerate the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all, co-hosted by Senegal and the United Arab Emirates, will be held in the United Arab Emirates from 2 to 4 December 2026. It also decided that all costs relating to the Conference and its preparation shall be financed through extrabudgetary resources.
After its adoption, some delegates expressed reservations, including about the lack of transparency in the negotiations, the last-minute introduction of some paragraphs as well as about the text’s lack of reference to the need for adequate civil society representation. It was also pointed out that the United Nations System-wide Strategy for Water and Sanitation, referenced in the text, was not agreed upon by Member States.
Also adopted without a vote was a draft resolution titled “United Nations Games” (document A/78/L.107). By that text, the Assembly called for the convening of the United Nations Games annually, in venues accessible to representatives of all Member States of the United Nations as well as members of the specialized agencies and observers of the General Assembly, and of the Second United Nations Games in New York in April 2025. It also invited relevant stakeholders to make voluntary contributions to a trust fund dedicated to the Games and stressed that the costs of all the activities that may arise from the implementation of the present resolution should be met through voluntary contributions to the trust fund, including from the private sector.
The draft decision titled “Participation of non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, academic institutions and the private sector in the high-level plenary meeting on addressing the existential threats posed by sea level rise” (document A/78/L.112) was also adopted without a vote. By the terms of that text, the Assembly decided to approve the participation of the non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, academic institutions and the private sector in the high-level plenary meeting under the theme “Addressing the threats posed by sea level rise”.
The Assembly further adopted, without a vote, the draft decision titled “Participation of non-governmental organizations, civil-society organizations, academic institutions and the private sector in the third United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries” (document A/78/L.111). Through the text, the Assembly decided to approve the participation of certain listed entities in that Conference. While all delegations joined consensus, one objected to the participation of two specific organizations.
Adopting, without a vote, the resolution concerning “Biennialization of the agenda item entitled “Elimination of unilateral extraterritorial coercive economic measures as a means of political and economic compulsion” (document A/78/L.105), the Assembly decided to include that agenda item in the provisional agenda of its seventy-ninth session and to biennialize its consideration in the plenary as of that session. The Assembly also decided, orally, that the opening segment of the Summit of the Future shall also feature statements by the President of Namibia and the Chancellor of Germany in lieu of their national statements from the plenary list of speakers.
By the terms of the text titled “United Nations action on sexual exploitation and abuse” (document A/78/L.109), adopted without a vote, the Assembly stressed the importance of Member States holding accountable those responsible for sexual exploitation and abuse. By its terms, the Assembly underscored that pre-deployment and in-mission training on the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse plays an effective role in raising awareness about the United Nations zero-tolerance policy on such acts. By other terms, the Assembly urged all non-United Nations forces authorized under a Security Council mandate to take adequate measures to prevent, and combat impunity for, sexual exploitation and abuse by their personnel.
The Assembly also heard explanations of vote after the vote on the draft resolution entitled “Consideration of decision 14/1 of the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing, entitled ‘Recommendations regarding the identification of possible gaps in the protection of the human rights of older persons and how best to address them’”, which was adopted on 13 August.
The Assembly also decided to include a number of items in the draft agenda of its seventy-ninth session. These include strengthening the role of mediation in the peaceful settlement of disputes, conflict prevention and resolution; question of the Comorian island of Mayotte; zone of peace, trust and cooperation of Central Asia; request for an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965; implementation of the resolutions of the United Nations; and financing of the United Nations Mission in East Timor. A number of other agenda items that remain open were also included in the draft agenda of the seventy-ninth session or mandated for the inclusion in the provisional agenda of a future session.