As the global environmental crisis inflicts despair on millions of people worldwide, States must implement and enforce stronger climate and environmental laws, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) heard today, as they also engaged in a series of interactive dialogues on equitable order, coercive unilateral measures and the right to safe drinking water.

The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization), acting without a vote, approved two draft resolutions today, focused on press freedom, access to information in developing States and the work of the Department of Global Communications, as it concluded its debate on questions related to information.

Outer space is becoming a contest for supremacy, drawing on space-based communications and intelligence assets, and the early development of anti-satellite weaponry, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) heard today as its thematic debate opened on preventing an arms race in that realm.

The Government of Somalia has made considerable progress on multiple priorities, including State-building and restoring security through the military offensive against Al-Shabaab, senior officials told the Security Council today, as members underlined the need for coordination and support for the Government as it prepared to shoulder the responsibility for its own security, amid the impending drawdown of international presence on the ground.

The Security Council today extended the authorization of measures to stop the illicit export of petroleum products from Libya and the mandate of the panel of experts helping to oversee this process.

The Security Council today authorized the renewal for one year of the sanctions regime on Haiti, continuing a targeted arms embargo, travel ban and asset freeze established in October 2022 to address the widespread violence, criminal activity and human rights abuses plaguing the country.

As the Sixth Committee (Legal) continued its consideration of the rule of law at the national and international levels, speakers underscored their countries’ sovereign right to decide on their national legal system, while others stressed the necessity to ensure full respect for international law through domestic legal frameworks.  (For background, see Press Release GA/L/3694.)

Information integrity is crucial for transforming a digitally divided world into a knowledge society, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) heard today as it continued its general debate on questions relating to information, while also approving — without a vote — a draft decision concerning the Non-Self-Governing Territory of Gibraltar.

Yesterday’s attack on the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza, which resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths, is a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, delegates told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as they also engaged in a series of interactive dialogues on the right to education, cultural rights and the impact of climate change on persons with albinism.

The international community must urgently come together to secure an immediate cessation of hostilities, the unconditional release of all hostages and safe and unhindered humanitarian access, delegates heard today, during a Security Council briefing on the situation in the Middle East, following the 7 October invasion of Israel by Hamas and a 17 October attack against the Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza.