Amid “non-stop humanitarian emergencies” that have displaced 123 million people globally, States must include refugees in their societies instead of using illegal methods to prevent migration, a United Nations official told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today.
The Sixth Committee (Legal) completed its debate this morning on the status of the Protocols Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, with speakers underscoring the key role of these instruments in protecting victims of armed conflicts, while some pointed to an ‘international silence’ amidst the ongoing international humanitarian law violations and others urging greater compliance to the Protocol’s tenets. (For background, see Press Release GA/L/3735.)
The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) today approved two draft resolutions relating to the global media landscape as well as United Nations communications, as speakers concluded the debate on this topic while highlighting information wars that are intensifying many current crises.
Mindful of the possible international security implications of artificial intelligence in the military domain, including the risks of an arms race, miscalculation, lowering the threshold for conflict and escalation of conflict, and proliferation to non-State actors, States would be encouraged to pursue efforts at all levels to address related opportunities and challenges, including from humanitarian, legal, security, technological and ethical perspectives, by one of 14 drafts passed today in the First Committee.
The Security Council received an update today from the Committee monitoring implementation of sanctions targeting individuals and entities involved in actions that threaten Yemen’s peace and stability.
The United Nations’ anti-racism commitment must extend to the Palestinian people, an independent expert told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural) today, underscoring the need to combat deep-rooted racism against them within international policies, media narratives and institutional frameworks.
As the Sixth Committee (Legal) began its consideration of the Secretary-General’s report on the status of the Protocols Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 today (document A/79/174), speakers underscored those instruments’ continued relevance — and the need to respect their provisions — despite the reality that modern war looks different than it did 75 years ago.
The General Assembly today took up the Economic and Social Council’s report, with Member States emphasizing the need to boost efforts toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and concluded the Assembly’s debates on the Human Rights Council and revitalization of the work of the 193 member organ.
The General Assembly would reaffirm that the prevention of an outer space arms race would avert a grave danger for international peace and security and thus welcome deliberations by the open-ended working group on reducing space threats, which constitute an important contribution to outer space security and the prevention of such an arms race, according to one of 15 drafts approved today by the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security).
Backing the Organization’s efforts to retain and build a highly skilled workforce, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today reviewed the complex compensation package meant to fairly reward thousands of United Nations employees — including those working in dangerous locales around the world.
