Meetings Coverage and Press Releases

In progress at UNHQ

Plenary

GA/11229

General Assembly, Recognizing Burden Resulting from Road Traffic Crashes, Welcomes Launches in More Than 100 Countries of Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020

Recognizing the global public health and development burden resulting from road traffic crashes, the General Assembly today adopted a consensus resolution welcoming the national and local launches of the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 in over 100 countries, the regional launches, and other global events designed to stem the “staggering” number of preventable casualties on the roads.
GA/11228

Sustainable Development Must Be Grounded in Science, New Paradigm Should Reflect Human Impacts on Earth’s System, General Assembly Told in Interactive Debate

Specialization made a major contribution to economic success, but precluded holistic thinking, a mindset vital to sustainable development, senior United Nations officials said today, underscoring the important role of science in crafting a new paradigm that reflected the impacts of human activity on the Earth’s system and sought to devise ways to minimize or reverse them.
GA/11225

As General Assembly Holds Thematic Debate, Secretary-General Urges Governments to Integrate Disaster Risk Reduction into Development Agendas

Faced with socio-economic fallout from increasingly frequent and severe disasters, Governments must invest in disaster risk reduction and weave it into their development agendas in order to save more lives and build a sustainable world, a top aide to the United Nations Secretary-General told a gathering on disaster risk reduction today.
GA/11223

Experts Stress Need for Political Will to End Excessive Speculation in Commodity Markets as General Assembly Holds Thematic Debate on Price Volatility

With more than a billion hungry people around the world now facing increasingly unstable food prices, collective will was needed to end excessive market speculation in food and other commodities, experts emphasized today as the General Assembly took stock of the “human tragedy” disproportionately affecting the world’s poorest and most vulnerable.
GA/11222

Taking Steps to Improve Performance of UN Secretariat, General Assembly Adopts Resolution on Culture of Accountability, Change Management by Recorded Vote

Acting on the recommendations of its Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary), the General Assembly this afternoon adopted a resolution advocating for a culture of accountability throughout the United Nations system, while affirming the need for the Assembly’s prior approval for any changes to the Secretariat’s overall departmental structure and programme budget.
GA/11217

Speakers Urge Vigilance against Lingering Racism as General Assembly Observes International Day to Remember Transatlantic Slave Trade’s Victims

Decrying the “hideous mechanics” of a trade that once spanned the Atlantic Ocean, senior United Nations and Government officials today marked the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade by urging vigilance against lingering racism and calling for action to combat modern-day forms of slavery and exploitation.
GA/11216

Cultural Diversity, Mutual Understanding Formed Bedrock of United Nations; Return to Such Principles Vital for World Torn by Extremism, Fear, General Assembly Told

Cultural diversity, freedom of thought and mutual understanding formed the bedrock on which the United Nations had been built, and returning to those principles was vital in a world increasingly characterized by extremism and an entrenched fear of the “other”, the General Assembly was told today, as senior Government officials gathered for a thematic debate on fostering cross-cultural understanding.

GA/11215

Peacebuilding Commission Must Maximize Position as ‘Unique Platform’ for Sharing Knowledge, Expertise in Post-Conflict Situations, General Assembly Told

The United Nations Peacebuilding Commission must tap into its potential as a unique platform for sharing knowledge and experiences among post-conflict States, delegates said today as the General Assembly convened to review the latest annual reports of the Commission and its principal financing mechanism, the Peacebuilding Fund.