The Sixth Committee (Legal) took up the annual report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) today, as speakers spotlighted how the Commission’s work over its past session — both in methodology and substance — has benefitted developing countries while aiming to harmonize and modernize international trade law.
Speakers in the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today expressed grave concern about the Russian Federation’s announced intention to withdraw from the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), as they continued their thematic debate on nuclear weapons.
Today’s world is one of “nuclear giants and ethical infants” that know more about war than peace and killing than living, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) heard today as it began its thematic debate on nuclear weapons.
The conclusion of a legally binding instrument on the right to development is a huge step towards its eventual realization, a United Nations expert told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as delegates also discussed the widening development gap between the Global South and the Global North, the use of technology in facilitating and preventing contemporary forms of slavery and the right to privacy.
As the Sixth Committee (Legal) commenced its consideration of the scope and application of the principle of universal jurisdiction today, the debate revealed a rift in speakers’ understanding of its interaction with national legal frameworks and the possible risk that the perpetrators of the most heinous crimes might escape justice.
The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization), acting without a vote, approved today a draft resolution focusing on the work of the United Nations specialist body tasked since 1955 with examining the impact of atomic radiation on human health and the environment.
As the Sixth Committee (Legal) concluded today its deliberations of crimes against humanity, speakers spotlighted the need for a universal instrument on preventing and punishing those crimes in the midst of geopolitical confrontations, including the recent violence between Hamas and Israel, while also welcoming further constructive discussions during the second resumed session in April 2024.
Delegates expressed outrage over and also denied allegations of torture worldwide as well as concern that gendered disinformation imperils public life for women, gender non-conforming persons and human rights defenders, as UN officials and special mandate holders briefed the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, continuing its work on human rights.
South-South and triangular cooperation not only enabled developing countries to obtain vaccines during the height of the COVID‑19 pandemic, but also enhanced resilience through the establishment of vaccine production facilities in countries like Brazil, Egypt and Indonesia, a United Nations official told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today as it also discussed operational activities for development of the United Nations system.
The growing number and repetitive nature of draft resolutions in the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) is stressing the capacity of smaller delegations to participate in negotiations on the texts, speakers cautioned today as the body took up revitalization of its work.
