Meetings Coverage

Africa needs more support on its path to growth, speakers said today, as the 193-member General Assembly examined efforts by the United Nations to help Africa fight malaria while pursuing durable peace and sustainable development.

The African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) completed the withdrawal of all uniformed and civilian personnel by its deadline of 30 June 2021, Under-Secretary-General for Operational Support Atul Khare told the Security Council today, achieving a milestone set by the 15-member organ for the Mission’s exit and empowering Sudan’s Government to take charge of maintaining peace in the region.

The second session of the intergovernmental Preparatory Committee for the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries opened at Headquarters today with delegates — mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 on the world’s poorest nations as they struggle to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals — aiming to finalize a draft programme of action for when the Conference takes place in Doha, Qatar, on 23 to 27 January 2022.

The Economic and Social Council opened its 2022 session today with its incoming President emphasizing the critical role that it must play in guiding the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic and mobilizing international solidarity to achieve the promise of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The General Assembly adopted two draft resolutions today aimed at ensuring global access to eye care and combat illicit trafficking in wildlife, as delegates called for international solidarity to capitalize on the connection between proper eye care and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and to address the link between wildlife trafficking and financial crime that hinders realization of those development objectives.

The Security Council condemned today the 20 July announcement by Turkish and Turkish Cypriot leaders on the further reopening of a part of the fenced-off Varosha area in Cyprus, calling for the immediate reversal of that course of action and for the reversal of all steps taken on Varosha since October 2020.

The Security Council today rejected a draft resolution that would end the powers and close the Office of the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, effective 31 July 2022, as progress had been achieved.

The Economic and Social Council continued its 2021 Management Segment today, adopting 12 resolutions, nine decisions and three recommendations — as well as several texts to be forwarded to the General Assembly — recommended by subsidiary bodies working on issues ranging from the global HIV/AIDS response to crime prevention to science and technology for development, much of which was heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The General Assembly adopted two resolutions today pertaining to an upcoming high-level meeting on global road safety and to countering hate speech through the promotion of interreligious and intercultural dialogue, respectively, as delegates debated a draft amendment to the former resolution and sparred over the appropriate way to determine which non-governmental organizations will be able to participate in the 2022 high-level meeting.

The Economic and Social Council opened its 2021 Management Segment today with the adoption of four draft resolutions and six draft decisions, all but two of them without a vote, including a draft resolution that cast a spotlight on the complex challenges facing Haiti in the wake of the 7 July assassination of its President Jovenel Moïse, as well as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.