General Assembly: Meetings Coverage

The General Assembly, acting on the recommendation of its First Committee (Disarmament and International Security), adopted 57 draft resolutions and three decisions today, including many aimed at reinvigorating multilateral efforts to curb the proliferation of nuclear, chemical, biological and conventional weapons in all corners of the world.

The General Assembly today adopted three resolutions on the culture of peace, highlighting the need to foster interreligious and cultural dialogue, temper social media and bolster education in efforts to prevent future clashes between and within societies.

While the General Assembly today adopted, without a vote, a draft resolution on global health and foreign policy that aims at strengthening health‑care systems, some delegations rejected language referring to reproductive rights, contending that abortion should not be recognized as a right, and called for a vote on two paragraphs.

The United Nations Controller and the Chairman of the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) urged delegates today to accelerate their efforts to agree on a 2020 budget in order to prevent a shutdown of most global operations and avoid exacerbating the Organization’s ongoing liquidity crisis.

The General Assembly today adopted two resolutions on the oceans and seas linked to implementation of the landmark 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, with speakers asserting during their annual debate that threats to the world’s marine ecosystem require firm political commitment and action.

The General Assembly today adopted a resolution urging the Russian Federation to withdraw its military forces from Crimea and end its temporary occupation of Ukraine’s territory without delay, as it also adopted a text on sport for development and peace.

Landlocked developing countries still face significant hurdles in trade, infrastructure and financing, and risk falling short of development targets, delegates heard today as they concluded the Midterm Review of the Vienna Programme of Action aimed at helping the world’s 32 inland countries surmount their geographic constraints.

Delegates in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today expressed concern about delays in renovating the historic Africa Hall at the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in Addis Ababa and questioned the need for an independent evaluation of the ongoing flexible workplace renovation at New York Headquarters, as they debated construction and property management matters.

World leaders today adopted the Political Declaration of the High‑level Midterm Review on the Implementation of the Vienna Programme of Action for Landlocked Developing Countries for the Decade 2014‑2024, at the outset of a two‑day General Assembly gathering to address these nations’ special needs and challenges.