The General Assembly moved into day three of its general debate today with a push to elevate the Palestinian legal and political leadership in the world body so as to allow for their chairing of committees and international groups, the ability to sponsor resolutions, and to proclaim 2017 as the International Year to end the Israeli Occupation.
Focusing on international peace and security, world leaders stressed the need to curb terrorist attacks, end ongoing conflict, resolve the refugee crisis and reform the Security Council, as the General Assembly continued its annual debate today.
World leaders gathered at a high-level meeting on antimicrobial resistance today committed to concerted action to address the phenomenon, which many warned could lead to significant development backslides and up to 10 million deaths annually by 2050 if left unchecked.
The final peace agreement in Colombia offered the prospect of lasting peace rooted in inclusive democracy after generations of conflict, Secretary-General Ban Ki‑moon said today as the President of the South American nation presented the pact to the Security Council.
The international community’s collective failure to end the conflict in Syria should haunt the entire Security Council, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, as he provided a grim snapshot of the situation on the ground.
Amid “gulfs of mistrust” that had divided citizens from Governments, slowed the delivery of life-saving aid to millions in need and fomented divisions of “us” and “them”, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opened the seventy-first annual debate of the General Assembly today, pressing world leaders to commit to new heights of solidarity in forging a better future.
The General Assembly adopted the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants today, thereby mapping a route towards a collective, rights-based response to record displacement numbers around the world.
Acting on the recommendations of its General Committee, the General Assembly this morning adopted the work programme and agenda for its seventy-first session, which contained 173 items, and endorsed the recommendation that its general debate be held from 20 to 24 September 2016.
The two-State solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was at risk of being replaced by a one-State reality of perpetual violence and occupation, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the Security Council today, encouraging both sides to take the difficult steps needed to change that destructive trajectory.
Reaffirming its support to Afghanistan ahead of next month’s major donor conference, the Security Council today adopted a presidential statement calling on Member States to continue their assistance to the conflict-affected country.
