Heeding the recommendation of its First Committee (Disarmament and International Security), the General Assembly adopted 53 draft resolutions and 4 draft decisions today, including one that would, with renewed determination, seek concerted action towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons.
The General Assembly today adopted a resolution condemning all forms of terrorism directed against religious sites — as well as any “advocacy of religious hatred” that constituted an incitement to violence — as well as two texts submitted by its Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary), relating to internal oversight and to United Nations conferences.
The renovation of the historic Palais des Nations campus, home of the United Nations Office in Geneva, came under scrutiny before the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today, with delegates commenting on financing modalities, transparency and the “smart working” flexible workplace concept as the CHF 836.5 million project — due for completion in 2023 ‑ moved forward.
Concluding its annual debate on the question of Palestine and the situation in the Middle East, the General Assembly adopted six resolutions today — including two declaring Israel’s actions in the Syrian Golan and East Jerusalem “null and void” — as several delegates voiced concern that those texts perpetuated a one-sided view that isolated and targeted a single Member State.
The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today concluded its work for the main part of the General Assembly’s seventy‑second session, approving 14 draft resolutions including texts on macroeconomic policy questions.
Seventy years had passed since the unjust partition of Palestine and Israel’s subsequent illegal acquisition of its territory, the Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine said today, during a meeting to commemorate the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
Noting that today marked 70 years since the adoption of a United Nations resolution to partition Palestine, speakers stressed the need to capture momentum, redouble efforts and through dialogue and diplomacy achieve a two‑State solution, as the General Assembly began its annual debate on the Palestinian question.
Further clarification was needed on resource cuts and staffing changes proposed for special political missions, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) heard today, as it took up the 2018 budget proposals for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the Panel of Experts on Mali.
The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today approved 21 draft resolutions, including one stressing creditor and debtor nation responsibilities in avoiding the build-up of unsustainable debt to diminish the risk of crisis.
As the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today examined the recommended 2018 budgets for special political missions and the assistance mission in Iraq, one delegate objected to aspects of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide’s activities, while another was concerned by sharp increases in the number of staff at the Office of the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria.
