General Assembly

The General Assembly adopted the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants today, thereby mapping a route towards a collective, rights-based response to record displacement numbers around the world.

Acting on the recommendations of its General Committee, the General Assembly this morning adopted the work programme and agenda for its seventy-first session, which contained 173 items, and endorsed the recommendation that its general debate be held from 20 to 24 September 2016.

On 13 June 2016, the United Nations General Assembly elected Peter Thomson of Fiji to serve as President of its seventy-first session, which runs from September 2016 to September 2017.

The seventy-first session of the General Assembly opened today, with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressing that over the next 12 months, Member States would be called on to address many threats and show solidarity with people facing injustice around the world.

The General Assembly concluded its seventieth session today, with the outgoing President encouraging the 193-member body to continue the progress initiated during his tenure towards greater effectiveness and relevance, as he formally handed over his gavel to the President-elect of the seventy-first session.

The General Assembly today adopted a consensus resolution outlining a number of “milestone” reforms to reinvigorate its work as it moved into its eighth decade, notably to improve the transparency and accountability of its President’s Office.

The General Assembly adopted a consensus resolution today deciding to transmit the “New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants” to its seventy-first session, paving the way for its adoption by Heads of State and Government at the 19 September United Nations Summit for Refugees and Migrants.

Trust, confidence and respect that United Nations peacekeepers had earned over decades must not be eroded by the actions of a few, the General Assembly heard today at the meeting on sexual exploitation and abuse, with speakers calling to address the issue in a decisive and sustained manner.

A recent report by the Middle East Quartet that failed to characterize Israeli actions against Palestinians as terrorism was offensive, the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People heard today, amid strong calls for the General Assembly to declare 2017 as the International Year to End Israeli Occupation of Palestine.

The General Assembly decided today that the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development — mandated to coordinate the follow-up to and review of global sustainable development commitments — would spend the next three years focusing on a range of specific themes and targets, ranging from eradicating poverty to building resilience to empowering communities.