Meetings Coverage

The United Nations must step up its efforts to avoid further bloodshed following an escalation of violence and increased civilian casualties in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, a senior Palestine diplomat said today.

In addressing the world’s enormous challenges — serving waves of refugees in the Mediterranean, brokering necessary peace in the Middle East and managing the “existential” threat of climate change — speakers in the General Assembly today called on the United Nations to invoke the spirit that had underpinned its historic founding 70 years ago:  one of compassion and dignity.

From the mountains to the seas, from the Caribbean to the Arctic, global warming was a global problem, and small countries were especially at risk, the General Assembly heard today as it continued its annual general debate on the fifth day.

Keeping pace with the evolving security landscape was a collective responsibility that required a staunch commitment to conflict prevention — through building capacities, investing resources, and above all, heeding the call of the United Nations Charter to “unite in strength”, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, opening a high-level thematic debate in the General Assembly.

Continuing to address the broad range of challenges facing the global community, Heads of State and Government along with other high-level representatives hailed recent diplomatic successes, while decrying the plight of refugees and the crises leading to their flight, during day four of the General Assembly’s annual debate.

Rampant instability and terrorism in the Middle East and North Africa could only be stemmed through a united, comprehensive approach that addressed root causes, speakers stressed to the Security Council today in an all-day high-level open debate presided over by the Russian Foreign Minister with a briefing by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

As the Palestinian flag was raised outside United Nations Headquarters in New York for the first time, President Mahmoud Abbas appealed to the General Assembly for support to see an independent State of Palestine take its rightful place among the community of nations.

United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, addressing the Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) today, said he was determined to live up to his name — “Ban” — and ban nuclear tests as an essential component of ridding the world of those weapons.

The United Nations, notwithstanding its inadequacies and failures, was an indispensable “family of nations” that had nurtured countries in search of equality, peace and prosperity, the General Assembly heard today as it continued its annual debate.

With the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the international community was poised to reach higher, broader, and deeper, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the General Assembly today as he opened the seventieth session’s general debate.