Meeting concurrently with the Security Council, the General Assembly today was unable to elect five judges from an initial pool of eight candidates to the International Court of Justice for terms of nine years beginning 6 February 2021.
Endorsing the annual report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the General Assembly today adopted a draft resolution reaffirming its strong support for the Vienna-based organization, as its new Director-General outlined a major initiative to help Member States confront pandemics, even as it monitors ongoing non-proliferation concerns in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Iran.
As climate‑related hazards and natural phenomena continue to loom over many countries and the world continues to reel from the COVID‑19 pandemic, the debate on the protection of persons in the event of disasters took on an urgency that went beyond legal abstractions, as the Sixth Committee (Legal) today considered the Secretary‑General’s report on the matter (document A/75/214) and deliberated the merits of codifying related draft articles into an international agreement.
Despite long-held principles found in the Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic and Consular Relations, delegates spotlighted recent attacks against their missions and staff, as the Sixth Committee (Legal) took up the Secretary‑General’s report, “Consideration of effective measures to enhance the protection, security and safety of diplomatic and consular missions and representatives” (document A/75/168).
Sending a total of 72 draft resolutions and decisions to the General Assembly, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) concluded its seventy-fifth session today, approving 15 drafts and agreeing on its 2021 programme of work.
The First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today approved 15 draft resolutions and decisions on a range of disarmament measures, including two following different paths towards keeping cyberspace safe.
The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today sent the General Assembly 10 nominations to the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) — which plays a crucial role in helping the Fifth Committee examine the Organization’s budget and manage its employees — while delivering 27 additional recommendations to the Assembly for four other of its subsidiary bodies and the International Civil Service Commission.
As the Sixth Committee (Legal) took up the Secretary‑General’s report on the Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law (document A/75/389), delegates praised its unique contribution to promoting the rule of law by providing high quality, accessible training in international law education, even during an unprecedented pandemic.
The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) approved 22 draft resolutions and one draft decision concerning decolonization today, as it completed its work for the main part of the General Assembly’s seventy-fifth session.
The First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today approved 14 drafts, among them several aimed at stemming the spread of illicit weapons on Earth and at preventing a celestial arms race, and also defeated a motion questioning its competence to approve a text on reducing threats in outer space.
