The Security Council today failed to adopt a resolution that would have demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza due to a veto cast by the United States, following a debate earlier in the day that was urgently called for by the UN Secretary-General.
Against a backdrop of climate change, devasting violence and acute humanitarian crises, the General Assembly today adopted three resolutions to strengthen its beleaguered relief system which struggles to aid millions of people in need. The Assembly also adopted a resolution titled “Assistance to the Palestinian People”, with many delegates noting the desperate humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Adopting a presidential statement today, the Security Council recognized the importance of enhancing international and regional cooperation to counter transnational organized crime during a day-long open debate on that subject, in which speakers detailed national experiences with the phenomenon and discussed how best to address it.
Acting on the recommendations of its Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) and Sixth Committee (Legal), the General Assembly today adopted a total of 50 resolutions and 13 decisions on items ranging from decolonization and the question of Palestine to the work of the International Legal Commission and restrictions on United Nations staff members from certain missions.
Delegates in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today considered the 2024 budget implications of six outputs of the First Committee’s (Disarmament and International Security) 2023 session that — if adopted by the General Assembly — would deliver just over $1 million to help verify nuclear disarmament, curb an arms race in outer space and meet the challenges created by lethal autonomous weapons systems. These five resolutions and one decision would also address the legacy of nuclear weapons and support the Open-ended Working Group on security of and in the use of information and communications technologies 2021–2025, which was set up through an Assembly resolution.
Delegates in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today voiced their concerns with the Secretariat’s proposal to decrease the 2024 budget of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals by 22 per cent to $63.9 million while cutting dozens of posts without following General Assembly resolutions on the nationalization of staff.
With the onset of winter and ongoing Russian Federation attacks on critical infrastructure, Ukrainians are facing a worsening humanitarian situation and limited access to basic services, the Security Council heard today in a meeting focusing on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine.
The Group of 77 and China today expressed concern in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) about cost overruns for Umoja, the UN’s enterprise resource planning system, and requested the Secretariat elaborate on its strategic outlook and the longer-term improvements and investments foreseen until 2030.
Member States today called for collective will to address cumulative pressures on oceans and their resources, which pose direct threats to people who depend on them, as the General Assembly adopted two draft resolutions in a joint debate on oceans and the law of the sea as well as sustainable fisheries.
The Economic and Social Council held elections today to fill vacancies in several of its subsidiary bodies.
