The General Assembly today appointed 40 members recommended by the Secretary-General to the Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence (AI), following a request from the United States that the vote to do so be on the record.
As the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People began its work for 2026, humanitarian organizations in Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territory drew attention to dangerous restrictions on their work.
Ahead of the upcoming 2026 Olympic Winter Games, the General Assembly today took note of a Solemn Appeal by the President of its eightieth session, who urged all warring parties to agree to “true mutual ceasefires” during the Games in line with the ancient principle of the Olympic Truce.
“Do not be bystanders to injustice and impunity,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres implored delegates today, speaking candidly as he presented the Organization’s priorities for 2026 to the General Assembly.
Emerging from complex negotiations, delegates in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today approved the United Nations programme budget for 2026, totalling $3.45 billion, as they concluded the main part of their eightieth session. The budget largely reflects the Secretary-General’s proposed 15 per cent reduction in financial resources and a nearly 19 per cent cut in staffing.
Following complex negotiations in its Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary), the General Assembly today adopted the United Nations programme budget for 2026 — totalling $3.45 billion — as it concluded the main part of its eightieth session.
The General Assembly today appointed former Iraqi President Barham Ahmed Salih as the new head of the United Nations refugee agency and adopted 35 texts emerging from its Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural).
The General Assembly today adopted, without a vote, the outcome document of the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the overall review of the implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society.
Ministers from around the world today underscored the role of the UN in creating a people-centred, inclusive and development-oriented digital future as the General Assembly took stock of the implementation of commitments made at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).
The General Assembly took action on dozens of draft resolutions and decisions emerging from its Third (Social, Humanitarian, Cultural), Second (Economic, Financial) and Sixth (Legal) Committees today, defying slowdowns caused by protracted procedural wrangling that threatened to reshape the day’s proceedings.
