Expert panellists addressed the General Assembly in the second day of an unprecedented special session dedicated to the COVID-19 pandemic that has so far infected 65 million people and continues to claim 70,000 lives every week, citing possibly catastrophic global famine in the coming months, while also pointing hopefully towards imminent vaccines and their deployment.
World leaders came together virtually in a special session of the General Assembly today dedicated to the COVID-19 pandemic that has so far claimed more than 1.5 million lives and sent the global economy into a tailspin, with speakers demanding urgent multilateral action to guarantee equitable distribution of life-saving vaccines and to trigger an economic recovery that can put the world back on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
The General Assembly today adopted seven resolutions, including five on the question of Palestine and the Middle East, one of which cited the illegality of annexing any part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and two on the importance of fostering a culture of peace.
The General Assembly adopted three resolutions today, all without a vote, including one urging Member States to designate the world’s two million seafarers and other maritime personnel as key workers in the context of the COVID‑19 pandemic, as delegates also commemorated the 75 million people, most of them civilians, who lost their lives during the Second World War.
The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today approved three draft resolutions, including one urging Member States and other stakeholders to bolster collective action in tackling negative impacts of the COVID‑19 pandemic on agriculture development, food security and nutrition.
The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today approved 17 draft resolutions, voting on 5 of them, including one calling upon Member States to take steps to support the full inclusion of migrants in the COVID‑19 pandemic response and recovery efforts.
The General Assembly adopted 10 resolutions today promoting cooperation between the United Nations and a host of regional and international organizations, and re‑elected Filippo Grandi (Italy) as High Commissioner for Refugees until 30 June 2023.
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.
