General Assembly: Meetings Coverage

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today sent the General Assembly the names of three candidates to fill two vacancies on the Committee on Contributions and one vacancy on the Independent Audit Advisory Committee.

The General Assembly today adopted resolutions on a range of topics, from the role of diamonds in fuelling conflict to a high-level conference on Rohingyas in Myanmar, while also holding a special event to pay tribute to the 15 million men, women and children from Africa who were trafficked into slavery.

The poison of racism remains in the veins of global institutions, laws and everyday practices and must be fought in all its forms, speakers urged the General Assembly today, as the body commemorated the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in addition to taking action on three draft texts.

Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) delegates today began reviewing the revised financial implications of the Secretary-General’s plan to draw down 510 personnel from the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) over the course of 2025, with the bulk of reductions set for year-end.

The Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations met this afternoon to complete the work of its 2025 Session, failing to adopt a substantive report.

To ease the Organization’s chronic cash crisis, the United Nations senior management official today presented the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) with a set of targeted measures that go beyond reduced services, hiring freezes and other spending restrictions.

Noting the approach of the International Day to Combat Islamophobia on 15 March, Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) delegates today began reviewing the proposed 2025 budget of $870,000 to support the mandate of a Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia, including the creation of professional posts within the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) to assist its High Representative, who is recommended to double as the Special Envoy.

The Special Committee on Decolonization met today to approve the guidelines and rules of procedure for its 2025 Pacific Regional Seminar, which will be held in Dili, Timor-Leste, from 21 to 23 May.

The General Assembly today addressed what many delegations decried as “misuse” of the Security Council veto by the Russian Federation on 24 February — the third anniversary of its aggression against Ukraine.

Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) delegates today reviewed the United Nations’ ongoing efforts to strengthen its capability to deliver mandates during disruptive events, such as pandemics, terrorist attacks and severe weather events.