The First Committee is in a position to shoulder its mission and deliver on its words, the representative of Côte d’Ivoire asserted today, as the general debate continued with a wide-ranging focus on mitigating the crises underpinning a deteriorating security environment.
Briefing the Security Council on the heels of the firing of Israeli forces on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon earlier in the day, senior UN officials warned of a dangerous uptick in violence in the Middle East, as delegates echoed their calls for a ceasefire, de-escalation and diplomacy.
Continuing their consideration of crimes against humanity, Sixth Committee (Legal) delegates today debated whether to commence negotiations towards a legally binding international instrument based on the International Law Commission’s draft articles on the prevention and punishment of such crimes, with many ready to do so even as some expressed reservations and noted a continuing divergence of views.
Speakers urged accountability today for the staggering number of child casualties in armed conflicts across the Middle East, Africa, Ukraine, Myanmar and beyond, and other violations such as child marriage and labour, as the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural) began its discussion on children’s rights.
The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) today heard the last of more than 200 petitioners who had registered to speak during this session on the situations in the 17 Non-Self-Governing Territories.
The international community must not look away from the trampling of women’s rights in Gaza, Lebanon and Afghanistan, delegates told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today during its continued discussion on the advancement of women, as they also highlighted initiatives to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in achieving gender equality.
With only 17 per cent of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets on track, the United Nations system and Member States must enhance and coordinate efforts to rescue them, speakers told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today as it took up the Secretary-General’s reports on the state of development.
Highlighting the recent solution to the Central Bank of Libya crisis and the resumption of oil production, the United Nations’ senior official in that country urged Libyan authorities’ and the Organization’s continued engagement to unite the still fragmented Government and to forge a path toward national reconciliation and unity.
Peace, human rights and development in the Maghreb and Africa are at stake, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) heard today as petitioners continued to testify about the historical and geopolitical issues critical to the question of Western Sahara.
The General Assembly today elected 18 members to the Human Rights Council for the 2025-2027 term, adopted a resolution on matters regarding the assessment scale for distributing the costs of the United Nations' expenses and concluded its debate on last month’s high-level meeting on antimicrobial resistance.
