The world is “on the brink of a third world war”, the Chairman of the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) said today upon conclusion of the body’s work for the session, reminding diplomats that they are, first and foremost, men and women of peace and pleading with them to “reignite the torch”.
Meeting concurrently with the Security Council, the General Assembly today elected one judge out of a pool of three candidates for the International Court of Justice in The Hague to serve a term beginning today, 4 November 2022, and ending 5 February 2027.
Acting without a vote, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) approved today a draft resolution on the United Nations’ special political missions as it held its general debate on that topic, with several speakers calling for them to be accorded their own budget.
In a half day of intense action, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) approved eight draft resolutions covering a range of human rights issues, from the right to literacy and protection of children from sexual exploitation to matters of crime prevention and criminal justice as well as efforts to combat the glorification of Nazism.
The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today sent the General Assembly six nominations — including Larbi Djacta (Algeria) as Chair — for the International Civil Service Commission, an independent body that regulates service conditions for thousands of staff throughout the United Nations common system, while delivering 22 additional recommendations for five other bodies, including the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ).
The General Assembly would encourage Member States to better understand the impact of armed violence, in particular the impact of the illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons on women and girls, according to one of the 14 draft resolutions and one draft decision approved today by the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security).
After taking action on requests for observer status in the General Assembly and considering the report “Diplomatic protection”, the Sixth Committee (Legal) took up the “Report of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization”, with speakers underlining the importance of that Committee and urging that discussions therein can proceed in a technical and legal fashion, free of politicization.
Delegates from countries where United Nations peacekeeping missions are deployed expressed divergent views today on their effectiveness in the midst of increasingly difficult conflict environments, as the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) continued its general debate on the Organization’s peacekeeping efforts.
The General Assembly today adopted its annual resolution calling for an end to the United States-led embargo on Cuba, with speakers emphasizing how urgent it is to end the restrictive economic policies in light of crippling COVID‑19 challenges and the mounting global food, fuel, and inflation crises.
States must maintain a spirit of constructive dialogue when implementing mandates stemming from resolutions adopted by the Human Rights Council, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) heard today, as it continued its general discussion on the report by that body and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
