With the world still deep in the grip of COVID‑19, many countries find themselves no more than a crisis or two away from sliding into conflict, speakers warned today during a virtual joint meeting of the Economic and Social Council and the Peacebuilding Commission that focused on ways to forge solidarity and develop conflict-sensitive responses to the worst global pandemic in a century.
Concluding its seventy-fifth session today — after weeks of deliberations marked by socially distanced meetings and masked delegates — the Sixth Committee (Legal) upheld its tradition of consensus by approving without a vote 15 draft resolutions, 4 requests for observer status and 10 draft decisions, as delegates came to terms with the limitations placed on their work by the COVID‑19 pandemic and sought a way forward despite the uncertainty created by the virus.
The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) concluded its work today, approving 15 draft resolutions on issues ranging from freedom of religion and combating intolerance, to missing persons and displaced populations in Africa.
The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today approved 15 draft resolutions, voting on five of them, including one emphasizing the disruption COVID-19 has had on open‑market functioning, global supply chains and the flow of essential goods, as well as services.
The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) sent seven draft resolutions to the General Assembly today, five of which were focused on country-specific situations and subject to heated debate.
Speakers today urged the Secretariat to closely track the efficiency and cost benefits gained from the massive restructuring of the United Nations peace and security architecture into two main departments — the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and the Department of Peace Operations — as the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) reviewed progress in implementing the reform begun in January 2019.
The General Assembly concluded its debate on Security Council reform today, with delegates calling for limits on the use of the veto by its permanent members and improved geographical distribution, particularly for Africa, on the 15‑member organ tasked with upholding international peace and security.
In a full day of action, held in person, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) approved 12 draft resolutions, including 8 on human rights questions and 2 on crime prevention.
The realities of the twenty-first century world urgently require a reformed and expanded United Nations Security Council, particularly righting the historical injustice of Africa’s exclusion from permanent seats, delegates told the General Assembly today.
In a day of intense action, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) approved 11 draft resolutions, including 4 on the broad theme of the advancement of women, which touched on the special needs of women and girls living in conflict-affected areas, complex humanitarian emergencies and terrorism.
