Meetings Coverage

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) approved nine draft resolutions today, including three related to the advancement of women.

Reiterating the importance of convening a constitutional committee as a first step towards a political solution to the crisis in Syria, the Secretary‑General’s Special Envoy for that country told the Security Council today that the United Nations is open to any suggestions on the list of disputed attendees that allows inclusive participation by civil society.

Against the backdrop of a tenuous calm, the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process today warned the Security Council that the Gaza Strip remains on the brink of an armed conflict that holds catastrophic consequences for some two million impoverished Palestinians living there.

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) expressed itself on human rights situations in Myanmar and Syria, as well as on human trafficking and inclusive development for persons with disabilities, approving 13 draft resolutions on those and other topics in an action‑filled day.

Delivering impassioned pleas on behalf of 14 million civilians teetering on the edge of famine in Yemen, senior United Nations and civil society leaders today briefed a largely unified Security Council on political and humanitarian steps forward, emphasizing that a new “window of hope” has now opened in that country’s devastating and overlooked war.

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today took up the renovation of the historic Palais des Nations campus, home of the United Nations Office at Geneva, with the Secretariat reporting that the CHF 836.5 million project — due for completion in 2023 — is making significant progress, but delegates expressing concern about potential construction delays and unresolved financing modalities.

Concluding its work for the main part of its seventy-third session today, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) approved 12 draft texts, of which 9 relate to Israeli practices in the occupied Arab territories and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

With a new roadmap for peace in South Sudan facing persistent challenges, the integral involvement of women is vital, along with international support to ensure that the country’s leaders fulfil their responsibilities, the head of United Nations peacekeeping told the Security Council today.

The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People recommended four draft resolutions for action by General Assembly today, with its Vice-Chair saying they will be presented on 29 November, during its general debate on the question of Palestine, and on 30 November, when voting is expected.

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) approved six draft resolutions today amid new divisions in long‑standing agreements on sexual and reproductive rights, and in the delicate balance between efforts to fight racism and those to protect free speech.