Plenary

Underscoring the substantive work of the Sixth Committee (Legal) this year on the advancement of international law, the General Assembly stressed, through the adoption of 21 resolutions, 3 decisions and 2 procedural items in 23 reports today, the crucial role of international law in maintaining peace and security.

Against a grim backdrop plagued by a rising frequency and severity of climate change impacts and continued bloodshed and violence in conflict-affected States, capacity-building efforts and enhanced cooperation must be priorities in shaping the world’s humanitarian response strategies, delegates heard today as the General Assembly unanimously adopted a package of five resolutions. Doing so, the Assembly concluded its joint debate on that subject and on assistance to Rwandan genocide survivors.

Recognizing the multitude of humanitarian crises that had occurred worldwide this year and the emergency responses they had sparked, the General Assembly considered a number of resolutions today, including one aimed at strengthening the coordination of United Nations assistance.

A mix of consensus and recorded votes characterized the General Assembly’s consideration today of Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) drafts, which culminated in the adoption of 29 resolutions and decisions, including a new one on special political missions and a range of texts on, among others, the Palestine refugee agency, effects of atomic radiation, and national legislation relevant to the peaceful exploration and use of outer space.

The 2013 United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights was awarded today to five individuals and one judicial body at the General Assembly’s commemorative meeting to mark the sixty-fifth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

It was urgent for the world to come together to sustainably safeguard the health of its oceans, which covered two thirds of the Earth’s surface, connected 90 per cent of the population, provided 350 million jobs, and had 1 billion people in developing countries dependent on the fish those waters yielded, delegates in the General Assembly heard today prior to adopting two related draft resolutions.

The General Assembly today elected Jordan as a non-permanent member of the Security Council and appointed Morocco as a member of the Economic and Social Council’s Committee for Programme and Coordination.

The General Assembly, acting on the recommendations of its First Committee (Disarmament and International Security), adopted 53 texts today, reflecting both the common and divergent positions that had emerged during the session on such critical issues as nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, mainstreaming humanitarian concerns in that process, implementing the Arms Trade Treaty, and broadening the scope of the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms.

Vanuatu and Equatorial Guinea were now poised to become middle-income countries, the General Assembly heard today as it unanimously adopted a draft resolution on graduation from the least developed category.

Appealing to the international community to confront a $65 million cash shortfall in its 2014 budget, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East today heard representatives of 17 countries pledge to provide voluntary contributions.