General Assembly: Meetings Coverage

While the world is not yet on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, there is still time for a course correction, the former President of the Economic and Social Council told the General Assembly today.

Amid waning trust in multilateral institutions, the International Court of Justice remains a vital force for guarding and enhancing the rule of law at the international level, the General Assembly heard today, as speakers called on all States to accept the Court’s compulsory jurisdiction and ensure it is adequately funded.

Delegates today set out their countries’ positions on a Middle East zone free of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, the subject an upcoming conference at Headquarters, as the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) concluded its thematic discussion on regional disarmament and security.

Some 71 million people are now displaced globally owing to conflict, violence and persecution, and the number continues to rise, Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as delegates discussed challenges and roadblocks to building a more inclusive, equitable, and non‑discriminatory world.

Continuing its debate today on Cluster I from the report of the International Law Commission, Sixth Committee (Legal) delegates dissented on the Commission’s inclusion of dispute-settlement mechanisms and a non-exhaustive list in its draft conclusions on “Peremptory norms of general international law (jus cogens)”.  (For background, see Press Releases GA/L/3605 and GA/L/3606.)

Emphasizing that the benefits of outer space must be accessible to all countries, regardless of their development level, delegates said today that they should not be restricted to those with space programmes, as the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) began its general debate on international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space.

After approving without a vote a request for observer status, the Sixth Committee (Legal) continued its consideration of Cluster I of the International Law Commission’s report, with delegates debating if a convention based on the draft articles on “Crimes against humanity” was appropriate and, if so, whether the time was right for such an instrument.

While delegates largely agreed that new universal legally binding regulations must tackle new and emerging security threats online and in outer space, they exchanged divergent views on how best to do so amid an environment of eroding international trust in both domains, as the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) continued its thematic debates on these and other issues.

United Nations mandate holders tackled a range of issues today, from the privacy rights implications of collecting sensitive health‑related data to the updated legal frameworks needed to punish modern forms of racism and xenophobia, as Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) delegates continued their interactive dialogues with human rights specialists.

Member States in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today supported the Secretariat’s ongoing efforts to complete a $40.2 million construction project by 2023 that will make the headquarters of the Organization’s regional commission in Bangkok a safer and more efficient working space for more than 600 employees.