General Assembly: Meetings Coverage

BAKU, Azerbaijan, 20 July — Against the backdrop of escalating tensions in the holy city of Jerusalem — sparked by the closure of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the imposition of restrictions on worshippers following a recent violent incident — the fourth International Conference on the Question of Jerusalem opened in Baku this morning, with speakers voicing concern that such actions could drive the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict into a religious confrontation with dangerous repercussions.

BAKU, Azerbaijan, 20 July — Warning that tensions between Israelis and Palestinians in Jerusalem had reached a breaking point, speakers outlined a range of challenges — from increasing discrimination against Palestinian women to a recent “weaponization of religion” at the Al-Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount — as the International Conference on the Question of Jerusalem held its first plenary session this afternoon.

Member States approved a decision on membership of and representation on the Security Council today, as the General Assembly adopted three other texts covering a range of issues and agenda items.

The General Assembly today reaffirmed its support for the Organization’s new approach to cholera in Haiti, including the establishment of the United Nations Haiti Cholera Response Multi-Partner Trust Fund, and invited Member States, donors, financial institutions, the private sector and others to extend financial support for the initiative.

The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) concluded its work for the seventy-first session of the General Assembly today, approving a draft resolution on peacekeeping (document A/C.4/71/L.18).

To cheers and sustained applause, the Conference to negotiate a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons completed its work today, adopting a Treaty that would ban such weapons of mass destruction with a view to their total elimination.

The General Assembly endorsed the declaration that was adopted in June at the United Nations Ocean Conference, recognizing an inextricable link between the well-being of present and future generations and the health and productivity of the world’s seas.

The draft treaty scheduled for adoption on 7 July would create a pathway for the elimination of the only weapon of mass destruction not yet subject to a global ban, members of civil society told the Conference to negotiate a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons today.

The Conference to negotiate a legally binding instrument to ban nuclear weapons decided to retain the entire revised draft treaty (document A/CONF.229/2017/L.3) today, ahead of the text’s scheduled adoption on 7 July.

The Conference to negotiate a legally binding instrument with a view to prohibiting nuclear weapons resumed today, considering a newly revised draft treaty due to be sent to capitals for final approval.