Heeding the recommendation of its First Committee (Disarmament and International Security), the General Assembly adopted 53 draft resolutions and 4 draft decisions today, including one that would, with renewed determination, seek concerted action towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons.
Welcoming the Secretary-General’s proposals aimed at reforming the United Nations programme planning and budget process, as well as increasing transparency and accountability, delegates in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today stressed that management reform must employ lessons learned from past efforts, and could not be an isolated endeavour.
The General Assembly today adopted a resolution condemning all forms of terrorism directed against religious sites — as well as any “advocacy of religious hatred” that constituted an incitement to violence — as well as two texts submitted by its Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary), relating to internal oversight and to United Nations conferences.
With the obvious goal of undermining national identity and international law, terrorists — particularly in armed conflict situations — were not only destroying lives and property, but also historical sites and objects, the head of the United Nations Office of Counter‑Terrorism told the Security Council today.
The renovation of the historic Palais des Nations campus, home of the United Nations Office in Geneva, came under scrutiny before the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today, with delegates commenting on financing modalities, transparency and the “smart working” flexible workplace concept as the CHF 836.5 million project — due for completion in 2023 ‑ moved forward.
Concluding its annual debate on the question of Palestine and the situation in the Middle East, the General Assembly adopted six resolutions today — including two declaring Israel’s actions in the Syrian Golan and East Jerusalem “null and void” — as several delegates voiced concern that those texts perpetuated a one-sided view that isolated and targeted a single Member State.
The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today concluded its work for the main part of the General Assembly’s seventy‑second session, approving 14 draft resolutions including texts on macroeconomic policy questions.
Although the United Nations and its partners were continuing to deliver life‑saving aid despite constant challenges, some 13.1 million people in Syria were still in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, the Under‑Secretary‑General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator told the Security Council today.
Seventy years had passed since the unjust partition of Palestine and Israel’s subsequent illegal acquisition of its territory, the Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine said today, during a meeting to commemorate the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
Noting that today marked 70 years since the adoption of a United Nations resolution to partition Palestine, speakers stressed the need to capture momentum, redouble efforts and through dialogue and diplomacy achieve a two‑State solution, as the General Assembly began its annual debate on the Palestinian question.
