Social issues

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for the International Day of Education, observed on 24 January:

The General Assembly adopted 47 draft resolutions and one decision recommended by its Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, covering a wide range of issues, from countering violence against children and combating the glorification of Nazism to protecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples and ensuring the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) sent nine draft resolutions to the General Assembly today, including texts on the elimination of violence against women and girls, the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and the report of the Human Rights Council.

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) approved 11 draft resolutions today, including texts on the right to food, the right to development, refugee protection and the impact of unilateral coercive measures on humanitarian assistance.

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message to nineteenth Climate Change Conference of Youth, in Baku today:

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.

Continued killings based on sexual orientation or gender identity are “inadmissible” and require urgent action from Member States, a human rights expert told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as it heard from other experts on issues ranging from counter-terrorism, unilateral coercive measures and foreign debt.

“The promise of artificial intelligence (AI) must not blind us to its limitations and potential risks,” an educational rights expert warned the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as it also heard reports on cultural rights, freedom of religion, extreme poverty and other topics.

Amid a climate of systemic impunity, aggressors and their accomplices must be held accountable for crimes against humanity and genocide, delegates told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today during a continued discussion on human rights.

Delegates in the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today spotlighted the numerous challenges facing developing countries — such as armed conflict, climate change, poverty and food insecurity — and shared national and global initiatives aimed at safeguarding the rights of the most vulnerable, as their discussion on social development continued.