Plenary

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks at the General Assembly event marking the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, in New York today:

The scars of slavery are still visible around the world as disparities in wealth, income, health and education, speakers in the General Assembly emphasized, calling for transformative education that acknowledges this history, as well as concrete measures to address the resulting inequalities.

​​​​​​​Speakers urged greater action to end long-standing inequalities affecting many groups worldwide due to the legacy of colonialism and the transatlantic slave trade, as the General Assembly commemorated the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

The General Assembly today adopted by consensus two decisions, one on the 2024 session of the Economic and Social Council and its high-level political forum on sustainable development and the other on the upcoming 2023 United Nations Water Conference.

The General Assembly adopted three consensus resolutions today, one under peacebuilding and sustaining peace and two under global health and foreign policy. The latter — which included a resolution on the high-level meeting on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response — notably saw the inclusion of a draft amendment, the rejection of a separate one and a recorded vote on a preambular paragraph.

The General Assembly adjourned its emergency special session on Ukraine today on the eve of the first anniversary of the Russian Federation’s invasion of that country, adopting a resolution that underscored the need to urgently reach peace, demanded that the Russian Federation withdraw its military forces and emphasized the need to ensure accountability for crimes committed on Ukraine’s territory.

Resuming an emergency special session on Ukraine almost to the day of the first-year anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine, the General Assembly met today to consider a draft resolution introduced by that country’s delegation that, if approved, would underscore the need to reach a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine as soon as possible in line with the Charter of the United Nations.

The General Assembly adopted five consensus resolutions today on Africa’s development and durable peace across the continent, sustainable development, global health and chemical weapons, with the latter surviving a challenge by a competing resolution put forth by the Russian Federation, which also issued a litany of amendments to the text.

With the so-called “Doomsday Clock” at 90 seconds from midnight — or total global catastrophe — amid a host of multilevel global crises, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres laid out his critical priorities for 2023 to the General Assembly today, urging Member States to seize the moment and act before it is too late.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ briefing to the General Assembly meeting on the priorities of the Organization for 2023, in New York today: