The General Assembly today took an important step towards correcting distortions in commonly used world maps, particularly the Mercator projection, which are seen misrepresenting the relative size of continents and contribute to a diminished perception of Africa and other equatorial regions.
Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the General Assembly on the UN80 Initiative, in New York today:
Despite concerns from several delegations that the process was rushed, the General Assembly decided this morning to merge the United Nations System Staff College (UNSSC) with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR).
The General Assembly took stock of the activities of the United Nations Youth Office today, including the implementation of its 2025–2028 strategic plan, with delegates using the opportunity to discuss youth participation in multilateral processes, their economic inclusion and their access to education and skills.
Desperate conditions prevail throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People heard today, as humanitarian actors detailed inadequate funding to address dire need as another winter threatens to make things even worse.
There is “no safe space left” in Ukraine as every part of the country “has been a target”, the General Assembly heard today, as Member States expressed alarm over reports that Kyiv had come under attack for the sixth consecutive day.
Meeting to commemorate the International Day against Nuclear Tests 35 years after the closure of the Semipalatinsk test site, speakers in the General Assembly today used the occasion to reflect on why testing moratoria must be upheld, as they also adopted resolutions related to greening the planet, missing persons, safe artificial intelligence (AI) and the participation of Indigenous Peoples in the work of the United Nations.
