Delegates exchanged divergent views on applying the concept of the responsibility to protect civilians in the escalating Israeli-Palestinian conflict and crises raging in strife-affected countries like Myanmar and Syria, as the General Assembly convened an open debate on the issue and heard the introduction of a related draft resolution.
The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization), acting without a vote today, approved a resolution endorsing the latest report of the 34-member Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations — including a raft of recommendations related to mandates, protection and peacekeeper conduct and safety — thereby forwarding them to the General Assembly for adoption.
The recent improvement in the United Nations cash position isn’t something to celebrate yet, as the world body continues to face difficulty carrying out its mandates without adequate financial resources, the Organization’s top budget official told the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today.
Following is a statement by the General Assembly Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, issued today:
Following the battlefield death of President Idriss Déby Itno on 20 April, senior United Nations officials and representatives of regional groups convened in the General Assembly today to pay tribute to the late Chad leader, many describing him as a valiant defender against the extremist violence spreading relentlessly across Africa’s Sahel region.
Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks at the General Assembly tribute to the memory of Idriss Déby Itno, late President of Chad and Head of State, today:
Speakers began discussing the Secretary-General’s proposed $6.47 billion budget to cover the cost of a dozen United Nations peacekeeping missions in 2021/22, while stressing the need to break a four-year deadlock over issues that cut across operations, notably sexual exploitation and abuse, as the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) opened the second part of its resumed seventy-fifth session today.
On 28 April, the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People urged the Security Council to intervene immediately to ensure that Israel ceases its interference in the preparation and holding of democratic Palestinian elections throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.
The General Assembly, adopting four resolutions and one decision this morning, pledged its support for all those affected by a series of devastating recent volcano eruptions on the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, designated two annual observance days — one to advocate for more women judges and another to spur global action to prevent drowning — while also holding a debate on the impact of rapid technological change on sustainable development.
The Committee on Information continued its annual session today, as delegates decried the epidemic of disinformation spreading around the world faster than the COVID-19 virus and tasked the United Nations with strengthening multilingual strategic communications to inoculate populations against this harmful trend.
