As the international community faces the most difficult challenges of the twenty-first century, Member States must collaborate and make use of the functions and mandates of the Economic and Social Council to tackle COVID‑19, its impacts and the climate crisis, the President of the Economic and Social Council told the General Assembly today.
Concluding the second cluster of topics from the International Law Commission report, the Sixth Committee (Legal) today took up the third and final cluster, with delegates welcoming the Special Rapporteur’s decision to replace “civilized nations” in the draft articles on “General Principles of Law”.
Delegates in the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) today weighed the actions and responsibilities of the world’s remaining administering Powers, with some calling for stepped up efforts to support Non‑Self‑Governing Territories on their quest to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as members continued their annual general debate.
The First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) approved five draft resolutions today aimed at preventing an arms race in outer space today, as it continued the action phase of its session.
Against the backdrop of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, speakers today in the Sixth Committee (Legal) continued their review of the International Law Commission report’s second cluster of topics, offering detailed accounts of both national and regional initiatives to address the urgent and life-threatening crisis posed by rising sea-levels.
While many Member States praised the Human Rights Council for its inclusivity and focus on human rights emergencies in Afghanistan, Myanmar and elsewhere, others accused it of being selective in its monitoring and condemnation, as the General Assembly took up the intergovernmental body’s annual report today.
Stressing the importance of reflection over reflexive judgement, the President of the International Court of Justice told the Sixth Committee (Legal) today that it is the genuine airing of a variety of perspectives which makes that institution truly a world court.
The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) punctuated its series of interactive dialogues today, with a briefing by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees who rallied Governments to draw inspiration from the world’s 82 million people forcibly displaced who refuse to give up on their quest to build a better life.
Mercenaries and private actors profit from operating cybercapabilities that could be used during hostilities ‑ or in non-conflict settings ‑ to violate human rights, an independent expert told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as delegates continued their dialogues with special procedure mandate holders.
The General Assembly today adopted a resolution emphasizing the need for adequate, predictable and sustainable funding of the United Nations resident coordinator system, following a day‑long debate on the work of the International Court of Justice, which marks its seventy-fifth anniversary in 2021.
