Second Committee

The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) of the United Nations General Assembly held its first meeting of the seventy‑sixth session today, introducing the Bureau and approving its organization of work.

The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) elected Vanessa Frazier (Malta) as Chair on 7  June 2021.  (See Press Release GA/12332.)

The Second Committee (Economic and Financial), during a brief meeting today, approved without a vote a draft decision (document A/C.2/75/L.63) regarding the revitalization of its work.

As the COVID‑19 pandemic ravages economies and threatens to reverse hard-won development gains, the General Assembly today adopted 36 resolutions and two decisions of its Second Committee (Economic and Financial), urging the global community to “build back better” in tackling the biggest challenge it has faced since the Second World War.

In a contentious debate, the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) rejected two amendments to its draft resolution on the quadrennial comprehensive policy review by recorded vote, later approving that text as a whole by another vote.

The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today approved three draft resolutions, including one urging Member States and other stakeholders to bolster collective action in tackling negative impacts of the COVID‑19 pandemic on agriculture development, food security and nutrition.

The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today approved 17 draft resolutions, voting on 5 of them, including one calling upon Member States to take steps to support the full inclusion of migrants in the COVID‑19 pandemic response and recovery efforts.

The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today approved 15 draft resolutions, voting on five of them, including one emphasizing the disruption COVID-19 has had on open‑market functioning, global supply chains and the flow of essential goods, as well as services.

As the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to batter the economies of developing countries, the five regional commissions of the United Nations system are crucial to fostering the multilateralism required to recover and pursue the Sustainable Development Goals, those speakers told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) as it met with those bodies today.

The ongoing occupation of Palestinian territories and the Syrian Golan violates international law and human rights, a situation worsening as the COVID‑19 pandemic puts health infrastructure “on the verge of collapse”, the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) heard today as it took up a report on the issue.