As the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) concluded its general debate today on decolonization and related items, speakers paid homage to the resilience and determination of those who continue to strive for freedom.
Concluding their discussion on the scope and application of the principle of universal jurisdiction today, speakers in the Sixth Committee (Legal) — ever in search of consensus — debated the appropriate way to eliminate impunity for perpetrators of serious international crimes while not treading on the sovereignty of the States in which those crimes occur.
Guaranteeing the world’s future justice framework and capabilities for preventing and addressing a recurrence of atrocious crimes is critical and should be supported in all ways possible, submitted Graciela Gatti Santana, President of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, as she made a strong case for the continued functioning of the Mechanism, albeit in its residual phase.
Urgent action is needed to address the abject conditions and intolerable suffering in Gaza, a senior humanitarian UN official told the Security Council today, as delegates expressed horror at the recent strike on a hospital that killed displaced persons sheltering there, amidst Israel’s intensifying operations in northern Gaza.
There has not been a single moment in the past year when the Palestinians have not felt a “terrible pain that rips our heart because of the massacres and the destruction by the Israeli war machine,” said the representative of the State of Palestine, as the general debate in the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) continued.
Human rights offer effective solutions in a world increasingly “ready for war”, a top United Nations official told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, emphasizing the importance of monitoring for early warning, prevention, accountability and peace amid persistent violations of international law and widespread impunity.
The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today began its line-by-line consideration of a proposed $3.6 billion regular budget for 2025 that reflects priorities laid down in landmark agreements such as the Pact for the Future, the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration on Future Generations.
In a world of rapid change and volatility, partnerships and networking between United Nations entities and the private sector are increasingly important and prevalent, a senior official informed the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today as it examined the role of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).
Climate change, displacement, and restricted movement threaten the survival of Indigenous Peoples — particularly mobile groups such as pastoralists and hunter-gatherers, who face marginalization, misrecognition and exclusion by States — speakers told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, calling for measures to safeguard their cyclical land use and ensure access to resources “wherever they go”.
Spotlighting current and past grievances of colonialism, speakers in the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) underscored the urgent need for redress and resolution of unresolved colonial issues, as the debate on decolonization and related items continued.
