The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) today approved its work programme for the seventy-first session, which covers topics ranging from the decolonization of the remaining Non-Self-Governing Territories, to peaceful uses of outer space, to the plight of Palestinian refugees and Israel’s practices in Occupied Arab Territories.
Members of the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today urged each other to work together during the current session as they tackled a complex and ambitious agenda that included forming an outline for the Organization’s two-year multi-billion-dollar budget for 2018-2019 and financing of the new blueprint for global advancement known as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Holding its first meeting of the General Assembly, the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today introduced the Bureau and approved its organization of work.
Spotlighting examples of persistent inequality around the globe – from skewed banking practices to entrenched poverty to lingering systemic racism – world leaders participating in the final day of the General Assembly’s seventy-first annual debate nevertheless expressed optimism that efforts to promote equitable growth, peace and prosperity would prevail.
The only way to ensure the world was safe from nuclear weapons was to eliminate them entirely, speakers said at a high-level meeting of the General Assembly held to commemorate and promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.
While the United Nations had been founded on the belief that States could solve problems collectively, the time had come to move in a new direction, the General Assembly heard today, as speakers underlined the need to embrace a new era of engagement based on common needs, innovative ideas and mutual respect.
The third annual International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Tests will be observed on 26 September at United Nations Headquarters.
With 65 million people displaced and on the move, several European countries discussed myriad ways to deal with the unprecedented phenomenon by defeating terrorism, bringing human traffickers to justice, while others called on Member States to make the better choice between engagement and isolation as the General Assembly continued its annual debate today.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development had unprecedented potential to fulfil the aspirations that had motivated the Declaration on the Right to Development, which remained critical to the present day, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the General Assembly today, as it convened a high-level meeting to commemorate the Declaration’s thirtieth anniversary.
The General Assembly moved into day three of its general debate today with a push to elevate the Palestinian legal and political leadership in the world body so as to allow for their chairing of committees and international groups, the ability to sponsor resolutions, and to proclaim 2017 as the International Year to end the Israeli Occupation.
