General Assembly

As the Sixth Committee (Legal) began its consideration of the International Law Commission’s draft articles on crimes against humanity, speakers debated on whether or not a convention, based on those texts, should be elaborated.

Already impacted from economic slowdowns in recent years, efforts by States to eradicate poverty have been hindered by the devastating consequences of COVID‑19, delegates of the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) stressed today as they discussed tourism and eradication of poverty.

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) turned its attention to the broad promotion and protection of human rights today, with United Nations experts addressing nuanced questions around child marriage, persons with disabilities trapped in conflict zones and conditions in countries that have raised concerns for years.

The General Assembly today elected 15 States to the Human Rights Council, the United Nations body responsible for promoting and protecting all human rights around the globe.  It also paid tribute to the late Amir of Kuwait, with speakers remembering him as a champion of peace, diplomacy and humanitarian action.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the sixteenth plenary meeting of the seventy-fifth session of the General Assembly: Tribute to the Memory of His Highness Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, Amir of the State of Kuwait, in New York today:

Delegates in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today reacted to the Secretary-General’s proposed programme budget of $2.99 billion for 2021, a net reduction of 2.8 per cent over 2020.

As the Sixth Committee (Legal) began consideration of the annual reports on criminal accountability for United Nations officials and experts on mission today, some speakers called on Member States whose nationals were alleged to have committed a crime to provide previously requested information on those cases, while other stressed that primary jurisdictional responsibility laid with the alleged perpetrators’ State of nationality.

The ravaging effects of climate change, exacerbated by lingering repercussions of the COVID‑19 pandemic, threaten achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals according to reports of the Secretary‑General presented by a number of speakers to the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today.

The First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) continued its general debate today, with delegates calling for action to end gun trafficking, address the grave humanitarian impact of such conventional weapons as cluster munitions and anti‑personnel mines, and to avoid a regional arms race in the Middle East.

Growing numbers of indigenous peoples are succumbing to extreme poverty, amid a spike in land evictions and loss of traditional livelihoods brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the United Nations expert charged with assessing their wellbeing told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as delegates raised questions and concerns about their plight.