General Assembly: No name

The First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) elected Mouayed Saleh, Permanent Representative of Iraq to the United Nations Office at Geneva, as Chair on 31 May 2017.

The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) of the United Nations General Assembly held its first meeting of the seventy-second session this afternoon to introduce the Bureau and approve the organization of its work.

Following a week of clarion calls for diplomacy, promises to build a more equitable world order and impassioned accounts of such crises as war and climate change, General Assembly President Miroslav Lajčák (Slovakia) closed the seventy-second annual general debate today with a vow to “do even more” to resolve those myriad challenges.

Security, human rights and international law took centre stage at the General Assembly today, with States diverging over how best to preserve their stability in the face of existential threats, as the 193-member body entered the fifth day of its annual high-level debate.

The interdependence of States and the benefits of joint action must be recognized and reaffirmed, the General Assembly heard today, as speakers debated the value of multilateralism in addressing pressing global challenges, ranging from inequality to climate change.

Spotlighting terrorism as one of today’s greatest challenges, Heads of State and other Government officials outlined their vision for combating that phenomenon — including through stronger international cooperation and efforts to address its root causes — as the General Assembly entered the third day of its annual high-level debate.

Rising nuclear tensions, the unfolding humanitarian situation in Myanmar and the impending threats posed by the effects of climate change were among pressing issues that world leaders emphasized today as they took the podium for the second day of the General Assembly’s annual general debate.

In a world of increasingly fragmented societies and deepening political divides, a greater focus on people — and bolstered trust between them — was critical to tackling the threats posed by nuclear weapons, forced migration and other urgent challenges, stressed Secretary-General António Guterres as he opened the General Assembly’s seventy-second high-level debate today.

Acting on the recommendation of its General Committee, the General Assembly adopted the work programme and agenda for its seventy-second session today, deciding for the first time in 12 years to include the item “The Responsibility to Protect and the prevention of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity”.

On 31 May 2017, the United Nations General Assembly elected Miroslav Lajčák of Slovakia President of its seventy-second session, which runs from September 2017 to September 2018 (Press Release GA/11915).