Development and threats of use of nuclear weapons are reaching a high point that must be reversed for the good of future generations, speakers said today during the General Assembly’s annual high-level commemoration of the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.
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General Assembly: Meetings Coverage
World leaders addressed multiple flashpoints and volatile crises in the Middle East and elsewhere during the third day of the General Assembly’s annual high-level general debate, with Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine, urging the international community to hold Israel to account for carrying out a “full-scale war of genocide” and stressing that the Palestinian people “will not allow a single centimetre of Gaza to be taken”.
Acknowledging the complex global problems facing beleaguered multilateral institutions, African leaders called today for not just a permanent seat at the Security Council table, but for an elevated presence in international affairs that reflects the continent’s potential, power and resources.
The representatives of small island developing States and low-lying countries today urged immediate international action to combat sea-level rise — a global crisis threatening the lives and livelihoods of 1 billion people worldwide — during the General Assembly’s inaugural high-level meeting on the issue.
The rising level of impunity in the world is “politically indefensible and morally intolerable”, with many Governments and actors feeling entitled to a “get out of jail free” card, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned in his address to the General Assembly today as its annual high-level debate began, with world leaders raising alarm about the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.
Government leaders emphasized the need to rethink global governance and create a fairer, more inclusive multilateral system that will “benefit all countries” rather than “increase the power of a few”, as the Summit of the Future concluded its second and final day.
Current decisions must be made with the participation of youth and women to account for the long-term impact on future generations, speakers emphasized during an interactive dialogue at the Summit of the Future today.
The commitments of the recently inked Global Digital Compact must be carried out through collaborative actions fulfilling the promise of a digital world for all — eliminating digital divides and providing a prosperous, safe and inclusive future — speakers emphasized during an interactive dialogue at the Summit of the Future today.
Today the General Assembly adopted the Pact for the Future, in which Heads of State and Government — representing the peoples of the world — made 56 pledges to action seeking to protect the needs and interests of present and future generations amid the climate change, crisis and conflict currently gripping the globe.
Reform of international institutions, particularly the Security Council, rebuilding of trust and enhanced regional partnerships are critical to making multilateralism work for the peace and security of future generations, speakers underlined during an interactive dialogue at the Summit of the Future today.