General Assembly

Unable to adopt the agenda of its substantive session, the Disarmament Commission decided to suspend the remainder of its opening meeting until tomorrow afternoon.

The General Assembly today adopted a much-anticipated resolution formally launching a process to review the backlog of thousands of existing UN mandates, while setting out guidelines for the more streamlined, concise and data-driven creation of new ones in the future.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks on the occasion of the adoption of the mandates resolution, in New York today:

Despite weeks of negotiations, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) concluded its five-week session without agreement on urgent measures to confront a deepening liquidity crisis that now threatens the United Nations ability to function.

The General Assembly today declared the trafficking of enslaved Africans and racialized chattel enslavement of Africans as the gravest crime against humanity as Member States debated the legal ramifications of such a declaration.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks at the General Assembly event marking the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, in New York today:

Racism — from its deadly historical manifestations to its growing normalization on digital platforms and in political discourse — continues to divide societies and dehumanize communities worldwide, senior United Nations officials told the General Assembly today, underscoring the need for urgent, collective action to uphold equality, justice and human rights for all.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks at the General Assembly event marking the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, in New York today:

Palestinian women’s rights cannot be separated from their struggle for liberation from Israeli occupation, the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People heard today in a conversation that ranged from tackling laws designed to discriminate to ensuring reparations for war crimes.

After hearing an address by the President of the Philippines, the General Assembly today adopted three draft resolutions concerning an upcoming high-level meeting on global road safety, as well as two international observances — all of which were opposed by the United States.