In an unusual move, the General Assembly today voted on a draft resolution, annually adopted by consensus, on sport as an enabler for sustainable development, in a meeting during which most delegations displayed broad agreement that the Olympic and Paralympic Games can be a “game changer” by bringing people together and serving as a powerful engine for economic growth.
The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today approved 15 resolutions, voting on 3 of them, including a text by which the General Assembly would request the Secretary-General to further encourage the United Nations Coalition on Combating Sand and Dust Storms to conduct its priority activities as identified by the Coalition’s five working groups: knowledge-sharing, capacity-building, training, awareness-raising and support.
Delegates at the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today urged the Secretariat to bolster its budget and financial management activities after considering more than a dozen reports issued by the United Nations top auditing watchdog as part of its annual review of the Organization’s finances.
The General Assembly today filled vacancies in the Committee for Programme and Coordination, the main subsidiary body of the Assembly and the Economic and Social Council for such work, and in the Committee on Conferences, which advises the Assembly on matters pertaining to the organization of United Nations conferences.
The General Assembly today concluded its annual debate on Security Council reform, with several Member States stressing that the unfair and outdated rules and processes from the last century are not relevant in today’s world and paralyse the Council from taking meaningful action.
Concluding its seventy-eighth session today, the Sixth Committee (Legal) approved without a vote 16 draft resolutions, one draft decision and a draft letter, as speakers, welcoming the opening of the Trusteeship’s curtains, also expressed diverging views on the Committee’s tradition of consensus.
The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) concluded its work today, approving 11 draft resolutions on issues ranging from the rights of the child and protection of migrants to the elimination of racism and programmes involving youth.
With increased violent conflicts around the world and heightened scrutiny of the Security Council’s actions as a result, the General Assembly met today for its annual debate on how to reform the 15-nation organ, with speakers reiterating their calls to make it more representative, transparent and accountable in order to address the most serious threats to international peace and security.
The following statement was issued today by the Bureau of the General Assembly’s Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People:
With a unified sense of purpose, delegates in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today rallied around the Secretary-General’s proposal for measures against racism and racial discrimination in the United Nations Secretariat, calling for resource and personnel funding for establishing an anti-racism office and supporting the Special Adviser on Addressing Racism in the Workplace, as well as an immediate end to inequitable geographical representation of staff positions, particularly Professional and higher categories, in the Organization.
