The present era is witnessing an unprecedented threat to peace, accompanied by a weakening and, in some instances, a loss of the very concept of peace itself, the Holy See’s delegate told the First Committee, which concluded its general debate today.
Along with visits from the President of the General Assembly and the Deputy Secretary-General, Sixth Committee delegates took up the Secretary-General’s report, “Strengthening and Coordinating Rule of Law Activities” today, as speakers discussed the rule of law at the national and international levels, with some underscoring the importance of equal participation and access to justice and others offering national best practices in tackling corruption and ensuring transparency.
As myriad global crises spark alarming levels of poverty, hunger and malnutrition, unprecedented investments are needed to reverse this trend so as to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), speakers told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) as it took up poverty eradication, agriculture development, food security and nutrition.
Special Rapporteurs — United Nations-appointed independent experts — presented their reports on internal displacement, human trafficking, modern slavery, the promotion of the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and the protection of human rights defenders, as the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) continued its interactive dialogues today.
The following solidarity message by UN Secretary-General António Guterres to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon was issued today:
Concluding its general debate on decolonization, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) today approved 22 draft resolutions, one decision and an amendment, with many delegates voicing concern over the procedural aspects and language of one of the resolutions.
Delegates in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today welcomed the imminent inauguration of the newly renovated historic Africa Hall at the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in Addis Ababa as well as progress on renovations at the North Building at the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), expected to be the first net-zero emissions building in the United Nations system.
The UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative today released the 2024 Multidimensional Poverty Index, which finds that 1.1 billion people across 112 countries live in multidimensional poverty. Over half of the 1.1 billion poor (584 million) are children under the age of 18.
In a world of rapid change and volatility, partnerships and networking between United Nations entities and the private sector are increasingly important and prevalent, a senior official informed the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today as it examined the role of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).
There has not been a single moment in the past year when the Palestinians have not felt a “terrible pain that rips our heart because of the massacres and the destruction by the Israeli war machine,” said the representative of the State of Palestine, as the general debate in the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) continued.
