The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) approved its programme of work for the General Assembly’s seventy-ninth session today, with topics ranging from the decolonization of the 17 remaining Non-Self-Governing Territories to the work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
Amid “the perfect storm” of escalating geopolitical tensions, climate change and lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) opened its seventy-ninth session today, with delegates calling for stronger international cooperation to advance social development, bridge the digital divide and alleviate poverty.
Continuing its debate on measures to eliminate international terrorism, Sixth Committee (Legal) speakers expressed concerns over the threats posed by the scourge in the Sahel region and the evolution of new and emerging terrorist threats, while others stressed that terrorism should not be a pretext to interfere in domestic affairs of States.
The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) opened its seventy-ninth session today, approving a programme of work with topics ranging from international trade, debt and development financing to global partnerships, poverty eradication and food security.
The First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today approved its work programme for the seventy-ninth session and set out guidelines for its completion within the allotted time frame.
Despite persisting security challenges, Somalia continues to forge progress on national priorities, including in assuming full responsibility for its own security, senior officials told the Security Council today, as members underscored the need for counter-terrorism gains to be preserved through adequate funding and preparation ahead of the transition by the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) to a UN country team at the end of the month.
As the Sixth Committee (Legal) began its debate on measures to eliminate international terrorism at the first meeting of its seventy-ninth session today, speakers grappled with how to effectively marshal national and regional efforts and engage international law to address this phenomenon in a world that looks far different than the one they confronted one year ago.
The partnership between the United Nations and African Union has never been more critical, several senior officials told the Security Council today, as they laid out the myriad challenges facing the continent from the world’s largest forced displacement crisis and numerous instances of political instability to territorial disputes and climate-change-driven insecurity.
Amid growing fears of an all out war in the Middle East following recent days’ escalation and exchange of hostilities, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today reiterated his appeals for a ceasefire in Gaza, a cessation of hostilities in Lebanon and an end to the violence in the region during another Security Council emergency meeting.
The Security Council debated the legacy and the future of the European Union Naval Force military operation in the Mediterranean (Operation IRINI) today following the expiry of its authorization for Member States to intercept ships suspected of smuggling migrants on the high seas off Libya.
