General Assembly

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the General Assembly’s commemorative session on the International Day to Protect Education from Attack, in New York today:

Following the Russian Federation’s 30 August veto of a draft resolution that would have renewed certain Security Council measures against those obstructing peace in Mali, speakers in the General Assembly considered its implications amidst the demanded withdrawal of United Nations presence from a country still in crisis.

The General Assembly today adopted its work programme for the seventy-eighth session, deciding to include a range of new items on its agenda, including the “Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction” — a historic maritime biodiversity treaty adopted on 19 June by the Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction.

On 1 June 2023, the United Nations General Assembly elected Dennis Francis of Trinidad and Tobago as President of its seventy-eighth session, which runs from September 2023 until September 2024.

The General Assembly opened its seventy-eighth session today, with its newly elected President calling on Member States to come together and commit to advancing the causes of peace, prosperity and sustainability in the face of a world beset by a series of cascading challenges.

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s remarks, delivered on behalf of the Secretary-General, at the opening of the seventy-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly, in New York today:

The General Assembly concluded its seventy-seventh session today, with outgoing President Csaba Kőrösi (Hungary) urging Member States’ international cooperation, despite geopolitical conflicts, to forge future-proof integrated solutions to global challenges and uphold their promises to the world’s 8 billion people.

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s remarks, delivered on behalf of the Secretary-General, at the closing of the seventy-seventh session of the United Nations General Assembly, in New York today:

The General Assembly adopted today 5 resolutions and 3 decisions, including one that reaffirms the organ’s role in peace, security and the veto initiative, while also encouraging States to keep in mind that there has yet to be a woman Secretary-General.

Highlighting the international community’ paralysis and lack of progress to hold Israel accountable for its actions, the Permanent Observer reported on preparations for the case being brought before the International Court of Justice that exposes Israel’s prolonged illegal practices and policies that deny the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, as the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People approved its annual report today.