Plenary

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ briefing to the General Assembly on the situation in Syria, today:

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

Delegates urged a reckoning today with how the past injustices of the transatlantic slave trade perpetuate present racial discrimination and inequality around the world, as the General Assembly held a meeting to commemorate the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres remarks to the General Assembly’s observance of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, today:

Noting with concern the situation regarding the coronavirus disease (COVID‑19) pandemic, the General Assembly adopted a decision today outlining protocols for delivering statements and presenting reports during plenary meetings in the remainder of its seventy-fifth session.

The General Assembly adopted six draft resolutions today, including one — by a recorded vote — that underscored cooperation between the United Nations and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

The General Assembly decided today to convene a high-level meeting from 8 to 10 June to take stock of global efforts to end the HIV/AIDS crisis by 2030, adopting a draft resolution to that effect after a lengthy debate on the situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

Acting unanimously today, the General Assembly decided on an exceptional basis to provide Angola — which had stood poised to graduate from the United Nations list of least developed countries — with an additional preparatory period of three years, in light of socioeconomic vulnerabilities exacerbated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The General Assembly concluded its discussion of the Secretary-General’s report on the work of the United Nations today, taking note of his report (document A/75/1), as delegates resoundingly called for a renewed multilateralism that prioritizes the needs of countries in varying degrees of distress as they struggle to emerge stronger than ever from the onslaught of COVID-19.

Following a year of devastating economic, social and development setbacks, Secretary-General António Guterres briefed the General Assembly today on his urgent priorities for 2021, calling upon nations to embrace bold, green and equitable shifts “or risk locking the world into harmful practices for decades to come”.