General Assembly

Domestic job creation, education and social protection were crucial in strengthening national economic situations, the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) heard today as it concluded its debate on the eradication of poverty.

Delegates voiced both support for reform efforts and concerns about their potential implications today, as the General Assembly considered that issue alongside other agenda items, including follow-up to the outcomes of major United Nations conferences and summits.

New technology would be central to achieving development goals, with artificial intelligence (AI) leveraged to process data on health, commerce, communications and transportation, entrepreneur Stephen Ibaraki told a joint session of the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) and the Economic and Social Council today.

Game-changing, largely ungoverned technological innovations were transforming how wars were being fought and added to the already immense load borne by the disarmament and non-proliferation machinery, posing challenges to arms control regimes, experts told the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today during a thematic discussion and debate.

Speakers highlighted two milestone anniversaries today — the launch of Sputnik I and the entry into force of the Outer Space Treaty — as the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) began its general debate on international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space.

Governments around the world were focused on improving access to quality education and health care for children and adolescents to ensure they reached their full potential, speakers told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) as they concluded discussion on children’s rights.

Offering differing opinions on the scope and application of the principle of universal jurisdiction, speakers debated whether the appropriate venue for such consideration should be the Sixth Committee (Legal) or the International Law Commission, as that Committee began its debate on the matter today.

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today heard United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres formally present an initial budget proposal of just over $5.4 billion, before recosting, for the 2018‑2019 budget cycle beginning on 1 January 2018.

Concluding its consideration of decolonization questions today, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) approved 19 draft resolutions for adoption by the General Assembly, 5 of them by recorded vote.

States had an obligation to ensure that vulnerable children received the rights they were due, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) heard today as it continued its deliberations on children’s rights.