Third Committee

Trafficking in persons and illicit drugs were two of the most heinous forms of transnational organized crime and they would continue to ravage the world’s economies without holistic and coordinated action by source, transit and destination countries alike, delegates in the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) said today, as they wrapped up their two-day discussion on crime prevention and international drug control.

The world continues to face a series of complex and interconnected threats that, taken together, “form a web of drugs, crime and sometimes terrorism”, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) was told today, as it began its general discussion on crime prevention, criminal justice and international drug control.

The creation of decent work opportunities — especially for the world’s 74.8 million unemployed young people — was vital to reducing inequality, eradicating poverty and promoting sustained, equitable economic growth, speakers said today, as the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) wrapped up its two-day discussion of social development.

As the target date for the Millennium Development Goals approaches, no challenge was more daunting than the continuing rise in inequality and its impact on vulnerable groups, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Wu Hongbo told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today as it opened its annual session with a debate on social development.

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) of the General Assembly today elected, by acclamation, Henry L. Mac-Donald (Suriname) as Chair of its sixty-seventh session.

Strongly condemning the continued grave and systematic human rights violations by the Syrian authorities, the General Assembly would call for Syria to immediately put an end to all human rights violations, to protect their population and to fully comply with their obligations under international human rights law by a text approved by the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, at the conclusion of its current session.

The Third Committee today approved three resolutions that would have the General Assembly address human rights situations in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Myanmar and Iran, even as delegations debated the legitimacy of country‑specific resolutions.

Stressing the critical importance of women’s political participation in all contexts, including in times of peace, conflict and in all stages of political transition, the General Assembly would call upon all States to eliminate laws, regulations and practices that prevent or restrict women’s participation in the political process by a draft text approved by the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today without a vote.

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today approved by consensus a draft resolution that would have the General Assembly adopt the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Education and Training.

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today approved a draft resolution that would have the General Assembly adopt a new, third Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child establishing a communications procedure, which would allow the Committee overseeing the Convention’s implementation to receive and examine individual complaints from children and to organize country visits to investigate cases of grave and systematic violations of children’s rights.