Delegates in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today emphasized the need for both timely payments by Member States and budgetary discipline by Secretariat officials if the Organization is to effectively carry out the mandates laid out by the General Assembly.
The existential dangers posed by nuclear weapons were back in the global spotlight, the United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affairs told the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security), urging everyone to step back from the brink.
As the Sixth Committee (Legal) met to approve its work programme for the seventy-seventh session and began its consideration of the Secretary-General report on measures to eliminate international terrorism, delegates called for a draft comprehensive convention to be concluded and the resolving of outstanding issues regarding the definition of terrorism.
As the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) continued its general debate today on social development, youth delegates, describing the issues they encountered in everyday life and the future they were facing, challenged the lack of robust political representation and called for young people’s right to participate fully and actively in decision-making processes, both at the national and international level.
The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) opened its seventy‑seventh session today, with the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, a resurgence of conflicts and the climate emergency driving its general discussion, as delegates emphasized that colliding crises have reversed progress, exacerbated inequalities and impacted social development.
The First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) met for a brief organizational meeting today, approving a work programme after electing Peter Mohan Maithri Pieris (Sri Lanka) as its Chair for the General Assembly’s seventy-seventh session, following the withdrawal of Magzhan Ilyassov (Kazakhstan) from that position.
The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization Committee) approved its work programme for the seventy-seventh session of the General Assembly today, covering topics ranging from the decolonization of the 17 remaining Non-Self-Governing Territories and United Nations peacekeeping operations, to the plight of Palestinian refugees and Israel’s practices in the occupied Palestinian and other Arab territories, among other agenda items.
The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) of the United Nations General Assembly held its first meeting of the seventy-seventh session today, introducing the Bureau and approving its organization of work.
“Nuclear weapons are the most destructive power ever created — they offer no security, just carnage and chaos,” said António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, opening the plenary meeting to mark the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.
It is critical to finally make United Nations reform a reality to represent the entire international community, said ministers and representatives from around the world today, demanding further action on the current compounding crises as the General Assembly concluded its annual general debate.
