General Assembly Adopts Landmark Resolutions, Holds Several Emergency Special Meetings, as Delegates Focus on Crises in Gaza, Sudan during First Trimester of Annual Session
‘Our Future Is in Our Hands,’ Assembly President Says Upon Historic Pact’s Adoption, Secretary-General Urges Using Resources for Opportunity, Hope, Not Death, Destruction
During the first three months of its seventy-ninth session, the General Assembly plenary adopted landmark resolutions, including one demanding Israel end its presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory within 12 months and another outlining a blueprint for future generations, while also holding sessions deploring the Security Council’s failure to address the crises in Gaza and Sudan.
At the start of its annual session, the Assembly resumed its tenth Emergency Special Session on illegal Israeli actions in Occupied Jerusalem and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which it then held again closer to the end of the year. During that 18 September meeting, the 193-member body adopted in a vote of 124 in favour, to 14 against, with 43 abstentions, the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion on the legal consequences arising from Israel’s policies and practices in the Territory, including East Jerusalem, and from the illegality of Israel’s continued presence there (document A/ES-10/L.31/Rev.1).
By its terms, the Assembly demanded Israel cease all settlement activity, evacuate settlers from the Occupied Territory, return land seized since 1967 and allow displaced Palestinians to return to their homes.
“Delayed justice is denied justice,” said the Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine. Unchecked, undeterred Israeli impunity will only mean more Palestinians are killed, maimed and detained.
Rejecting the text, Israel’s representative said the first thing the Assembly should have done is adopt a unanimous, unequivocal condemnation of the terror that occurred on 7 October 2023. “Instead, we gather here to watch the Palestinians’ UN circus; a circus where evil is righteous, war is peace, murder is justified and terror is applauded,” he said.
Pact for the Future
On 22 September, the 193-member body during its Summit of the Future endorsed a landmark document in which Heads of State and Government made 56 pledges to protect the interests of present and future generations amid the current global climate change crisis and conflicts. By adopting “The Pact for the Future” (document A/79/L.2), the Assembly committed to bold actions to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and to place poverty eradication at the centre of efforts to do that.
“Our future is in our hands,” said Philémon Yang (Cameroon), General Assembly President, while United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned world leaders that “our world is heading off the rails” as “resources that could bring opportunities and hope are invested in death and destruction”.
The Assembly held its annual high-level debate from 24 September to 30 September, during which the Secretary-General echoed the above-mentioned sentiments expressing deep alarm at the rising global level of impunity, calling it “politically indefensible and morally intolerable”.
Political Declaration on Antimicrobial Resistance
On 7 October, the Assembly adopted the Political Declaration on antimicrobial resistance, recognizing it as a global health threat, and demanding immediate action to treat diseases, enhance food security and advance the 2030 Agenda. By adopting the text by consensus, (document A/79/L.5), the Assembly recalled commitments made to fight malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and other communicable diseases that disproportionately affect poorer countries.
On 14 October, ways to tackle rising debt, food insecurity and violent conflict across Africa took centre stage as the Assembly discussed the transformative agenda of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).
In a two-day debate on 29 and 30 October, the Assembly — echoing a stance it has held for the past 30 years — decried United States’ 62-year-old economic, commercial and financial sanctions against the Government and people of Cuba. Delegates stressed that unilateral measures are in violation of international norms and highlighted their devastating impacts on Cuban life.
Violations against Civilians in Conflict Now ‘Far Too Common’, Human Rights Council President Warns
The Assembly on 1 November heard from the Human Rights Council’s President Omar Zniber, who warned that human rights violations against civilians in conflict have become far too common. He called on all countries to protect civilian populations and respect human rights “be it in the Middle East, Europe or Africa”, he stressed. During the same meeting, Member States decried the humanitarian situation in Gaza as a “disgrace” to the entire international order.
Time for a Woman at the Helm of United Nations
The 193-member organ observed its annual consideration of the revitalization of its work on 4 November, when delegates stressed that it is time for the United Nations — the world’s largest multilateral body — to be headed by a woman for the first time since its founding nearly 80 years ago.
Outraged by Growing Security Council Deadlock, Delegates Urge End to Veto
Speakers on 11 November called for reforms to the Security Council’s constitution, representation and veto use. “We meet at a time when calls for the reform of the Security Council are growing louder and more frequent,” said Cherdchai Chaivaivid (Thailand), Assembly Vice-President, speaking for Assembly President Yang. The Council “is deadlocked on conflicts that stain our collective conscience”, he added.
As vetoes continued to be cast in the Council this fall including on the situations in Gaza and Sudan, the Assembly on 20 November stepped into the spotlight, stressing that the “veto initiative” is now “even more profound”. The measure allows the Assembly to convene a formal meeting within 10 working days of the casting of a veto by one or more permanent Council members.
“Inaction has often become the norm, not the exception,” damaging the United Nation’s credibility, said Assembly President Yang at that meeting. Speakers, meanwhile, expressed outrage at the Council’s increasing deadlock even in meetings that seek to address or prevent mass atrocities.
Following that meeting on 26 November, delegations expressed regret over the Russian Federation’s recent vetoing of a Council resolution concerning the situation in Sudan, where over 11 million have been displaced and 3 million are seeking refuge in neighbouring countries. “These atrocities demand our immediate and collective attention,” said Assembly President Yang.
Speaking in defence of the veto action, the Russian Federation’s representative said her country esteems the right to the veto with a full sense of responsibility and would not use it without “real justifications” which the Sudan situation presented on account of some “extremely dangerous” points in the text which threaten that country’s sovereignty.
Overwhelming Demand for Gaza Ceasefire and Realization of Two-State Solution
On 3 December, the Assembly emphasized that a two-State solution remains the “only path to lasting peace” in the Middle East, as speakers overwhelmingly called for a Gaza ceasefire and pressed Israel to permit food and aid deliveries into the enclave ahead of the cold winter months. Assembly President Yang said that the continued denial of Palestinian statehood “has only perpetuated cycles of violence and deepened despair”. “Bury the hatchet for once and for all,” he stressed.
At that meeting, the Assembly adopted a resolution titled “Peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine” (document A/79/L.23), stressing the need to urgently commit to a Middle East peace process.
“Every single day — from sunrise to sunset, from sunset to sunrise — has been a journey of struggle and survival, of pain and agony, of loss and death,” said the Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine.
Israel’s delegate said that, instead of condemning Hamas’ murder, rape and torture of 1,200 people, the Assembly fixates on resolutions sponsored by Cuba, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Venezuela and the Syrian regime. “The UN's entrenched anti-Israeli bias has been laid bare for all to see,” she added.
On 4 December, the Assembly resumed its tenth Emergency Special Session on illegal Israeli actions in Occupied Jerusalem and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Speaking for the Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations, Venezuela’s delegate said the United States veto in the Security Council on 20 November of a text demanding an immediate, unconditional ceasefire in Gaza demonstrates its complicity with Israel’s actions in Gaza, “severely undermining peace and security in the Middle East”.
A week later, the Assembly made those demands in its own text (document A/ES-10/L.33),also demanding the immediate release of all hostages and that Israel allow the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to proceed with its aid operations without restriction in Gaza and the West Bank, stressing that the Agency plays an indispensable role in alleviating the plight of over 6 million Palestine refugees.
The representative of the United States said that the draft “risks sending a dangerous message” to Hamas that there is no need to negotiate or release the hostages. He warned the Assembly not to “vindicate Hamas’ cynical strategy of stalling and obstruction”, and to instead adopt a resolution to increase pressure on Hamas to accept a deal without conditions or further delays rather than relieving it of same. “Israel’s fight is with Hamas, not UNRWA,” he added.