The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) sent the General Assembly 10 nominations for the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions today, also delivering the names of 15 additional candidates for three other bodies and recommending that the Chair of the Federal Court of Accounts of Brazil fill an upcoming vacancy in the Board of Auditors.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported today that international food commodity prices declined moderately in October. However, persistent conflicts are aggravating food insecurity, and moderating food prices are being countered by weak currencies in many low-income countries.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message on World Toilet Day, observed on 19 November.

Today, Secretary-General António Guterres met with the Chairpersons and mandate holders of the eight United Nations anti-racism mechanisms*and discussed the current state of the world with regards to racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.

In a half day of intense action, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today approved 10 draft resolutions on a range of topics, including homelessness, equal access to justice and combating glorification of Nazism and other practices contributing to contemporary forms of racism and xenophobia, which sparked debate about politicization of human rights issues and effective multilateralism.

The Chair of the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today asked delegations to imagine a world without the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the Chemical Weapons Convention, the Biological Weapons Convention or the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, and said the picture would be gloomy.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks on the occasion of the United Kingdom AI [artificial intelligence] Safety Summit, in London today:

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) today released its annual Adaptation Gap Report, which finds that progress on climate adaptation is slowing on all fronts. The adaptation finance needs of developing countries are 10 to 18 times as big as international public finance flows.

The First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today forwarded 21 draft resolutions and 1 draft decision to the General Assembly, including a traditional text related to regional disarmament and security in the Mediterranean region, which, despite its approval, provoked debate among some Member States.

As the General Assembly concluded its emergency session on the situation in the Middle East, many Member States, condemning Israel’s bombardments of Gaza, demanded a humanitarian ceasefire to deliver aid to Palestinians in need, while others continued to express regret that the 193-member body was unable to condemn Hamas’ terrorist attacks on Israel and echoed calls for the release of hostages.