Youth delegates pushed for more inclusion in addressing crises affecting their future, as the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) concluded its debate on social development today, with delegates also voicing stark warnings about global conflict, increasing poverty, climate disasters and discrimination.
The Security Council today decided to renew, for a period of 12 months, its prior authorization allowing Member States to inspect vessels on the high seas off Libya’s coast, when there are reasonable grounds to believe they are participating in acts of migrant smuggling and human trafficking.
The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) opened its seventy-eighth session today, with delegates emphasizing that progress towards inclusive and sustained development has been stymied by a myriad of factors, including increasing inequalities, economic volatilities, global conflicts and climate change.
The Mediterranean remains a perilous route for a swelling number of migrants and asylum seekers trying to reach Europe, Security Council members said today, as they discussed the situation in the high seas off Libya ahead of a decision to renew resolution 2240 (2015), which authorizes States and regional groups to inspect and seize vessels in that area suspected of being used for migrant smuggling or human trafficking.
The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) of the United Nations General Assembly held the first meeting of its seventy-eighth session today, introducing its new Bureau and approving its organization of work.
Armed groups’ activities in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo continue to pose security challenges and exacerbate a humanitarian situation, with 6 million people displaced, the top United Nations official in the country told the Security Council today as she called on regional stakeholders to support the Nairobi and Luanda processes and ensure the protection of civilians.
The First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today approved its work programme f
The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization Committee) approved its programme of work for the General Assembly’s seventy-eighth session today, covering topics ranging from the decolonization of the 17 remaining Non-Self-Governing Territories and United Nations peacekeeping operations to the plight of Palestinian refugees and the peaceful uses of outer space, among other items.
An ever-deepening economic, humanitarian and security crisis in Syria is leading to widespread hopelessness and suffering, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the country informed the Council today, underscoring the urgent need for a political process to resume.
Pointing to ongoing expansion of Israeli settlements, demolition of Palestinian structures, daily violence and continued inflammatory rhetoric by their Government representatives, a senior United Nations official reiterated to the Security Council the Secretary-General’s appeal for an end to the occupation and a resolution of the conflict in pursuit of the two-State solution, as members echoed those calls and underlined a need to return to peace negotiations.