It is about time for the United Nations – the world’s largest multilateral body - to be headed by a woman for the first time since its founding nearly 80 years ago. This was the overwhelming position of delegates today at the General Assembly as the 193-member organ observed its annual consideration of the revitalization of the body’s work. They also addressed concerning aspects of the Assembly’s functioning and relationship with other organs.
The General Assembly would condemn in the strongest possible terms the use of chemical weapons by anyone under any circumstances as unacceptable and an international law violation, and express its strong conviction that those responsible for their use must and should be held accountable, according to one of six drafts on mass destruction weapons approved today by the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security).
Delegates of the Sixth Committee (Legal), concluding their consideration on diplomatic protection, today discussed a wide variety of issues ranging from challenges arising from their relations with the host country, along with its related report, to deliberating the use of sanctions as a tool for maintaining international peace and security under the Charter of the United Nations, following the Special Committee on the Charter’s presentation of its report.
Meeting on the heels of the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on 31 October, Security Council members today renewed their calls for de-escalation, dialogue and a return to unity within the 15 nation organ, as speakers sparred over the imposition of sanctions and the real source of security threats in the Korean Peninsula.
Protection of civilians in conflicts where violations run rampant has been a top priority for the Human Rights Council, the body’s chief told the General Assembly today, as Member States called the humanitarian situation in Gaza a “disgrace” to the entire international human rights order.
Reflecting an escalating security crisis, described by many delegations in the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) as more volatile than during the cold war, and a retrenchment of narrow political interests, a week of action began on 80 proposals today, with 24 texts on nuclear weapons requiring 79 separate recorded votes for passage.
The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) concluded its general debate on international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space today with the approval of two resolutions and two decisions, appointing Latvia and Djibouti to the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.
Amid the catastrophic conflict engulfing the Middle East, hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees in Lebanon face an agonizing choice: remain under the threat of Israeli bombardment or return to their homeland, risking persecution, a human rights expert told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today.
The thirtieth United Nations International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East this afternoon resumed and concluded its activities, holding a session on the topic of Behind the Headlines of Gaza: Media Challenges and Perspectives.
The United Nations’ efforts to train individuals the world over in international law — the shared foundation on which Member States address global issues — is indispensable, speakers stressed, as the Sixth Committee (Legal) today discussed the Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law, before taking up the Secretary-General’s report on the protection of diplomatic and consular missions and representatives.
