The question of Western Sahara remained in the spotlight today as the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) resumed its general debate on decolonization and related issues today, after hearing the last of more 200 petitioners who had registered to speak during this session on the situations in the 17 Non-Self-Governing Territories.
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Meetings Coverage
Cyberbullying and sexual exploitation and abuse are among rising online threats to children, who are also killed in conflicts and forcibly recruited as combatants, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) heard today, as delegates continued their general discussion on promotion and protection of children’s rights.
A widening digital divide and severely lagging Internet-use in developing countries threaten to leave those States in the technological wake and preclude progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a senior United Nations official and Member States told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today as it took up information and communications technology (ICT) questions.
The recent deployment of the Russian Federation’s tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus amid the war in Ukraine raises the dangers of escalation, severely impacting regional and global security, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) heard today as it continued its general debate.
Children on and offline worldwide are increasingly vulnerable to grave human rights abuses due to global conflicts and the climate crisis, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) heard today, as it commenced its discussion on the rights of children.
The General Assembly today committed to tackle several major global health challenges, adopting three declarations that laid out measures to better prepare for and respond to pandemics, give everyone access to health coverage and care for people suffering from tuberculosis.
As the Sixth Committee (Legal) concluded today its debate on the protection of persons in the event of disasters, speakers emphasized that no nation can meet the challenges caused by natural hazards alone, underscoring the importance of external assistance in humanitarian relief and calling for a development of a new treaty based on the International Law Commission’s draft articles.
Multidimensional macroeconomic crises are stalling or even reversing gains in development and poverty reduction, requiring not only urgent, comprehensive reform of an inequitable global financial system, but also new, innovative international tax cooperation, United Nations experts warned today, as the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) took up that issue.
Petitioners on New Caledonia and Western Sahara addressed the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) today, putting forth contesting perspectives of how the people of those Non-Self-Governing Territories can best achieve self-determination.
Petitioners speaking today on the question of Western Sahara called for the adoption of the autonomy plan put forward by Morocco in 2006, while others voiced alarm over human rights reportedly committed in the Tindouf camps, as the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) continued its hearing of petitioners on decolonization matters.