The General Assembly today adopted four resolutions, including one on oceans and the law of the sea, with delegates from small island developing States emphasizing the importance of preserving the ocean and equipping future generations to live in harmony with this critical, life-sustaining resource.
The General Assembly today demanded an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, reiterated its demand for the immediate release of all hostages and demanded that Israel allow the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to proceed with its aid operations without restriction in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
The General Assembly today underscored the importance of the ocean in sustaining life on Earth for present and future generations, underlining the need to maintain and promote a healthy, sustainable and rules-based global marine life as it considered the Secretary-General’s related report (document A/79/340).
Concerned about worsening global humanitarian and economic crises, natural and man-made disasters, threats to international peace and security and the effects of climate change on forced migration and food production, the General Assembly today took action on several resolutions addressing these issues.
The General Assembly today adopted several resolutions on a variety of topics, including one stressing the need to return cultural property to countries of origin, with Member States emphasizing the importance of adhering to regulations safeguarding such artefacts, amid an unprecedented increase in trafficking and attacks against them during armed conflict.
While supporting the Secretariat’s request for $62.3 million to keep the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals running smoothly in 2025, some delegates at the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today voiced concerns with the uneven impact upcoming cutbacks would have on the Mechanism’s operations in Arusha.
Highlighting the dire humanitarian condition in the Gaza Strip, delegates underscored the urgent need to put an end to the conflict and for measures to contain the civilian population’s suffering, as the General Assembly today resumed its tenth emergency special session on illegal Israeli actions in Occupied Jerusalem and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory. (For background, see Press Release GA/12625.)
Acting today on the recommendations of its Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) and Sixth Committee (Legal), the General Assembly today adopted a total of 65 texts, including 49 resolutions and 16 decisions addressing a wide range of international concerns tackling, among others, the effects of atomic radiation and support for the Palestinian refugee agency, as well as the codification of two international binding treaties on crimes against humanity and the protection of persons in disasters.
The General Assembly today emphasized that a two-State solution remains the “only path to lasting peace” in the Middle East, adopting three resolutions to advance this goal, with speakers overwhelmingly urging a Gaza ceasefire and pressing Israel to permit food and aid deliveries into the enclave ahead of the cold winter months.
Delegates at the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today threw their support behind the Secretariat’s request for $4.98 million in additional funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in 2025 and called on Member States to step up their voluntary contributions.
