The seventy-first session of the General Assembly opened today, with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressing that over the next 12 months, Member States would be called on to address many threats and show solidarity with people facing injustice around the world.
The General Assembly concluded its seventieth session today, with the outgoing President encouraging the 193-member body to continue the progress initiated during his tenure towards greater effectiveness and relevance, as he formally handed over his gavel to the President-elect of the seventy-first session.
The General Assembly today adopted a consensus resolution outlining a number of “milestone” reforms to reinvigorate its work as it moved into its eighth decade, notably to improve the transparency and accountability of its President’s Office.
The General Assembly adopted a consensus resolution today deciding to transmit the “New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants” to its seventy-first session, paving the way for its adoption by Heads of State and Government at the 19 September United Nations Summit for Refugees and Migrants.
Trust, confidence and respect that United Nations peacekeepers had earned over decades must not be eroded by the actions of a few, the General Assembly heard today at the meeting on sexual exploitation and abuse, with speakers calling to address the issue in a decisive and sustained manner.
The Security Council amended the Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia this afternoon to enable the Secretary-General to appoint a former judge of either the Tribunal or its counterpart for Rwanda to serve on the Tribunal’s Appeals Chamber on an ad hoc and temporary basis.
PRETORIA, 2 September — The International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East concluded today, with a panel discussion that explored how virtual and augmented technologies could be used by journalists to help people around the world understand the Israeli-Palestinian story and take action to create change.
PRETORIA, 1 September — Amid news in the mainstream media of suicide attacks, continued violence, hate speech and besieged areas, political satire could be used to challenge commonly held beliefs about conflict, speakers at the International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East said today, stressing its inherent value in promoting peace between Palestinians and Israelis.
The inherent tension between the need for greater confidentiality and calls for wider transparency in the Security Council’s work was highlighted during the body’s “wrap-up” meeting for the month of August.
Unilateral actions by parties to the conflict in Yemen amid a dangerous escalation of armed forces activities would only complicate peace efforts and delay the end of military violence, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General to Yemen told the Security Council this morning.
