With the New Urban Agenda crucial to sustainable human development, Member States were urged to strengthen the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN‑Habitat), as the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today addressed the role of cities and other issues faced by developing countries.
The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today considered the Secretary-General’s request for $767.1 million to fund 38 special political missions in 2023, with several delegations renewing calls for a separate budget to be established to address their requirements. Delegates also raised the issue of equitable geographic representation and highlighted the disconnect between decision-making and funding of the missions.
Delegates alternately urged action and caution as they took up the International Law Commission’s draft articles on State responsibility for internationally wrongful acts in the Sixth Committee (Legal) today, highlighting the ongoing stalemate in the Committee’s consideration of a product that has shaped international jurisprudence over the last 20 years.
The First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) took up the issue of revitalization of the General Assembly and programme planning today during a session devoted to its working methods, hearing from several delegations on the relevance of disarmament programmes.
The decolonization agenda of the United Nations remains an urgent priority today, amidst new challenges affecting Non-Self-Governing Territories, speakers told the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) heard as it continued its general debate on decolonization.
Outlining a brighter financial picture for the Organization than in recent years, the United Nations top management official told delegates of the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today that structural changes approved in June at their second resumed session have eased the need for spending restrictions.
Growing disparity between international standards and reality on the ground is generating mistrust between peoples and communities, experts told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as delegates expressed grave concern over the human rights situations in Ukraine, China, Afghanistan, Belarus, Myanmar, Ethiopia, Iran, Syria and Yemen.
Continuing its emergency special session, the General Assembly today condemned the Russian Federation’s attempted illegal annexation of the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine, and demanded it immediately withdraw all its military forces from Ukraine territory.
Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) of the General Assembly, in New York today:
