The crucial, interlinked and deeply dependent themes of migration and sustainable development took centre stage during a special high-level meeting of the General Assembly today, as participants called for urgent, evidence-based and inclusive policies aimed at making migration less risky for all.
The General Assembly and Economic and Social Council must find synergies in their response to common issues — human rights, peace and security, and development — and weed out overlap, the organs’ presidents emphasized today in the first-ever joint discussion on alignment of work.
Amid the backdrop of rising unilateralism and large-scale migration, world leaders attending the General Assembly united under the theme of making the United Nations relevant to all people, stressing that only through a multilateral rules-based order can the international community meet emerging challenges.
World leaders today challenged models of development shaped by wealthy States as the General Assembly held a high-level meeting on gaps and impediments faced by middle-income countries in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Some 19 countries pledged a total of $425.69 million at today’s 2018 United Nations Pledging Conference for Development Activities, reflecting an increase from the 2017 amount of $398.98 million.
World leaders in the General Assembly today vowed to scale up efforts to prevent and control non‑communicable diseases, approving a draft political declaration during a high‑level meeting that commits them to providing greater policy coherence through a whole‑of‑Government approach.
World leaders in the General Assembly today reaffirmed their commitment to end the global tuberculosis epidemic by 2030, unanimously adopting a political declaration committing them to accelerate national and collective actions, investments and innovations in fighting the preventable disease.
With the global security environment deteriorating, nuclear weapons remain a clear threat to international peace and security, and urgent steps must be taken to resume progress on the long road to total disarmament, speakers said today at the General Assembly’s high-level plenary meeting to commemorate and promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.
A total of 20 donors today announced contributions, or their intention to contribute, to the 2018 budget of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), as officials called for stable financing for the Agency amid devastating conflicts and violence in the Middle East.
The battle against corruption was vital to the success of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, General Assembly President Miroslav Lajčák (Slovakia), told delegates today, noting that corruption stifled growth and development.
