Human rights offer effective solutions in a world increasingly “ready for war”, a top United Nations official told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, emphasizing the importance of monitoring for early warning, prevention, accountability and peace amid persistent violations of international law and widespread impunity.
Climate change, displacement, and restricted movement threaten the survival of Indigenous Peoples — particularly mobile groups such as pastoralists and hunter-gatherers, who face marginalization, misrecognition and exclusion by States — speakers told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, calling for measures to safeguard their cyclical land use and ensure access to resources “wherever they go”.
Nearly half a billion children are now living in conflict zones worldwide, exposed to severe human rights violations, delegates told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural) today, calling for safe and unimpeded humanitarian access.
Speakers urged accountability today for the staggering number of child casualties in armed conflicts across the Middle East, Africa, Ukraine, Myanmar and beyond, and other violations such as child marriage and labour, as the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural) began its discussion on children’s rights.
The international community must not look away from the trampling of women’s rights in Gaza, Lebanon and Afghanistan, delegates told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today during its continued discussion on the advancement of women, as they also highlighted initiatives to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in achieving gender equality.
The global backlash against women’s and girls’ rights has reached extreme proportions in certain countries, threatening to undo decades of progress, experts told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as delegates underlined the need to transform structures of inequality and discrimination.
Regional and global cooperation is essential to combating organized crime — from smuggling of firearms and narcotics in the Caribbean and wildlife trafficking in the Amazon to cyberscams in South-East Asia — delegates told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today.
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.
Amid “the perfect storm” of escalating geopolitical tensions, climate change and lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) opened its seventy-ninth session today, with delegates calling for stronger international cooperation to advance social development, bridge the digital divide and alleviate poverty.
The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) elected Zéphyrin Maniratanga (Burundi) as its Chair on 6 June.
