The international community must tackle colonialism, not only in its old forms, but also in its new manifestations, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) heard today as delegates drew attention to the yearning for freedom in the 17 Territories that await the United Nations’ decolonization efforts as well as in other regions around the world.
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General Assembly: Meetings Coverage
Taking up the report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) today, speakers in the Sixth Committee (Legal) welcomed the Commission’s efforts to develop, harmonize and modernize international trade law and to build States’ capacity to participate in an increasingly digitized global system of commerce comprised of increasingly interdependent national economies.
With only six years remaining to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the world is on track to achieve only 17 per cent of targets, requiring urgent action to correct that trajectory for developing countries, speakers warned the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today as it took up that crucial issue.
Multilateralism is “currently in decline and is unable to respond effectively to security crises or the pressing challenges facing humanity”, the representative of Senegal told the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today as its wide-ranging debate continues.
Nearly half a billion children are now living in conflict zones worldwide, exposed to severe human rights violations, delegates told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural) today, calling for safe and unimpeded humanitarian access.
Calling attention to the debt distress, food insecurity and violent conflict plaguing Africa, speakers in the General Assembly today called for heightened multilateral efforts to support the continent as it pursues a transformational agenda.
The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) today heard the last of more than 200 petitioners who had registered to speak during this session on the situations in the 17 Non-Self-Governing Territories.
Continuing their consideration of crimes against humanity, Sixth Committee (Legal) delegates today debated whether to commence negotiations towards a legally binding international instrument based on the International Law Commission’s draft articles on the prevention and punishment of such crimes, with many ready to do so even as some expressed reservations and noted a continuing divergence of views.
Faced with mounting debt, rising financial constraints, dwindling foreign investment and illicit financial flows, speakers in the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) urged international actors to address and reverse pernicious obstacles to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The First Committee is in a position to shoulder its mission and deliver on its words, the representative of Côte d’Ivoire asserted today, as the general debate continued with a wide-ranging focus on mitigating the crises underpinning a deteriorating security environment.