Third Committee

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.

Acting by consensus, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today approved a draft resolution that would have the Assembly condemn all forms of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including through intimidation. Tabling the resolution — one of five draft texts approved by the Committee — Denmark’s delegate said it represented the value the international community placed on human dignity.

Recognizing that young people in all countries are a major human resource for development and key agents for social change, economic development and technological innovation, the General Assembly would affirm, by a text approved today by the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural), that investment in youth development and education was crucial for sustainable, social and economic development.

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today approved a draft resolution on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and heard the introduction of 11 other draft texts, as the Chair urged delegates to conclude negotiations on some 60 outstanding drafts proposals.

Five years after its creation, the Human Rights Council had successfully completed a review of its working methods and, through its Universal Periodic Review mechanism, assessed the human rights situation of the entire United Nations membership, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) was told today.

The twenty-first century was “proving to be a century of people on the move”, and innovative approaches were needed to address new patterns of forced displacement, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian, Cultural) was told today by the head of the United Nations refugee agency.