SAINT JOHN’S PARISH, Dominica, 26 August — The long-running question of Western Sahara, the sole Territory in Africa remaining on the United Nations decolonization list, took centre stage on day two of the Caribbean Regional Seminar today, with speakers also discussing Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands (Malvinas).
SAINT JOHN’S PARISH, Dominica, 25 August — The 2021 Caribbean Regional Seminar on Decolonization opened here today with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres asserting that no one — including the world’s 17 remaining Non-Self-Governing Territories — must be left behind in the struggle to overcome the global coronavirus pandemic.
The Special Committee on Decolonization will hold the 2021 Caribbean Regional Seminar in the Parish of Saint John, Dominica, from 25 to 27 August 2021, within the framework of the start of the Fourth International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism (2021-2030). The Seminar, initially scheduled for 19 to 21 May, was postponed due to the situation relating to the coronavirus pandemic.
The General Assembly adopted two resolutions today, one on the impact of rapid technological change on realizing the Sustainable Development Goals and another endorsing details for a forthcoming high-level meeting on universal health coverage, following an exchange of views among delegates over the screening process for civil society participation in the latter.
In a landmark decision, the General Assembly established today a 10‑member subsidiary organ that will serve as a standing forum to hear the voices of people of African descent and help eliminate all forms of discrimination against them.
The General Assembly, acting without a vote, adopted two resolutions and three decisions today after debating the annual report on the Peacebuilding Commission and Peacebuilding Fund. Meanwhile, consideration of a draft resolution to establish a Permanent Forum of People of African Descent was rolled back to a later date.
Africa needs more support on its path to growth, speakers said today, as the 193-member General Assembly examined efforts by the United Nations to help Africa fight malaria while pursuing durable peace and sustainable development.
The General Assembly adopted two draft resolutions today aimed at ensuring global access to eye care and combat illicit trafficking in wildlife, as delegates called for international solidarity to capitalize on the connection between proper eye care and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and to address the link between wildlife trafficking and financial crime that hinders realization of those development objectives.
The General Assembly adopted two resolutions today pertaining to an upcoming high-level meeting on global road safety and to countering hate speech through the promotion of interreligious and intercultural dialogue, respectively, as delegates debated a draft amendment to the former resolution and sparred over the appropriate way to determine which non-governmental organizations will be able to participate in the 2022 high-level meeting.
The General Assembly adopted a decision today on the organization of work for the general debate of its upcoming seventy-sixth session, while more broadly paying tribute to the late President of Haiti, Jovenel Moïse, who was assassinated on 7 July in a brutal attack that speakers roundly condemned in the strongest terms.
