General Assembly: No name

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the virtual commemoration of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the first meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, in New York today:

The COVID-19 pandemic cast a long shadow over what should have been a celebratory seventy-fifth session of the United Nations General Assembly, forcing Member States to adopt unprecedented working methods as world leaders grappled with the far-reaching consequences of the worst global health crisis in a century on top of long-standing issues ranging from climate change and poverty eradication to human rights and arms control.

Concluding the main part of its seventy-fifth session, the General Assembly approved $3.21 billion for 2021 and adopted 22 resolutions and 3 decisions recommended by its Main Committees.

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) wrapped up the main part of its seventy-fifth session on Wednesday by approving resources of $3.21 billion for the 2021 regular budget, the Organization’s second annual budget in nearly 50 years.  After the United States’ representative’s request for a recorded vote, the budget was approved with 151 delegates voting in favour, the United States and Israel voting against, and one abstention by Sudan.

Welcoming wide participation in the 2020 review of the United Nations peacebuilding architecture, the Security Council today called on the Peacebuilding Commission to continue strengthening its advisory and liaison roles in support of the national priorities of countries emerging from conflict.

As the COVID‑19 pandemic ravages economies and threatens to reverse hard-won development gains, the General Assembly today adopted 36 resolutions and two decisions of its Second Committee (Economic and Financial), urging the global community to “build back better” in tackling the biggest challenge it has faced since the Second World War.

The General Assembly, acting without a vote, adopted three resolutions and one decision today, including one calling for a further comprehensive review of United Nations peacebuilding in 2025 and another proclaiming 4 February as the International Day of Human Fraternity.

The General Assembly proclaimed 31 August as the International Day for People of African Descent today, seeking to promote greater recognition and respect for the diverse heritage, culture and contribution of people of African descent to the development of societies, as it adopted 48 resolutions and one decision recommended by the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural).

The General Assembly today reaffirmed the vital role of the Sixth Committee (Legal) as its primary forum for considering legal questions, adopting without a vote 19 draft resolutions and 10 draft decisions recommended by the Committee, including four new requests for observer status.

Delegates struck a cautiously hopeful note as the General Assembly completed its special session dedicated to the COVID‑19 pandemic, while stressing the need for multilateral approaches to distributing vaccines and mitigating the pandemic’s wide-ranging fallout.