Lauding Pandemic Response, Sixth Committee Speakers Urge Programme of Assistance to Have More Diverse Educational Materials, Resume In-Person Courses

GA/L/3641

While commending the flexibility with which the Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law responded to the COVID‑19 pandemic, speakers in the Sixth Committee (Legal) urged the Programme to incorporate more diversity — including different regions and legal systems — into its educational offerings, and called for the return of the in‑person trainings that foster deep bonds among the international legal community.

Laws Disenfranchising Minorities, People with Disabilities Rely on Inaccurate Historical Narratives to Justify Exclusion, Experts Tell Third Committee

GA/SHC/4328

Laws that discriminate against minorities, people with disabilities and individuals affected by leprosy violate a range of human rights, at times relying on inaccurate and biased historical narratives, and promoting narrow visions of whom to include in future protections, Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) experts stressed today, as delegates drew attention to situations across the globe requiring action.

Illicit Arms Trafficking, Mainstreaming Gender Perspectives, Reviving Stalled Disarmament Machinery Top First Committee’s Final Interactive Debate

GA/DIS/3674

High-ranking United Nations officials outlined progress today on a range of issues, including the illicit trade in small arms, integrating gender perspectives into the mainstream, and the need to revive the stalled disarmament machinery, as the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) held its final virtual informal interactive dialogue.

Uptick in Military Coups, Armaments Race Rapidly Setting Back Clock on Women’s Rights, Secretary-General Warns Security Council, at Start of Day-Long Debate

SC/14672

Warning that an “avalanche of crises”, including an uptick in military coups and armament races, is rapidly setting back the clock on women’s rights, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, made a fervent call today to the Security Council to put women front and centre in peacebuilding efforts worldwide.

Secretary-General Notes Key Public Role in Decision-Making, Hails Tools to Protect Environmental Activists, at Meeting of Aarhus Convention Parties

SG/SM/20981

Following is the text of Secretary-General António Guterres’ message to the joint high-level segment of the meetings of the Parties to the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters and its Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers, in Geneva today: