Meetings Coverage and Press Releases

#UNGA78

GA/12539

With Planet ‘Under Siege’, Member States Must Safeguard Earth’s Natural Resources, Preserve Biodiversity, Says President, as Assembly Concludes Its General Debate

While small island developing countries have contributed the least to climate change, they are at the front lines of its repercussions, speakers in the General Assembly said today, as they concluded the annual high-level general debate by calling for a just and equitable multilateral system and a seat at the table for small States.

GA/12540

As States Again Rattle Nuclear Sabres, Secretary-General Says World Too Long Under Shadow of Such Weapons While Speakers Urge Their Elimination on International Day

With the catastrophic potential inherent in nuclear weapons hanging over the fate of humankind, the only way to prevent the use of such arsenals — and the Armageddon such an act would unleash — is to completely eliminate them, speakers said today during the General Assembly’s annual high-level commemoration of the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.

GA/12538

Alarmed by Risk of Nuclear Escalation among Major Powers, Speakers in General Assembly Warn Growing Distrust, Divisions Are Driving Multilateral System towards Dysfunction

Powerful countries are pushing the world closer to the brink of nuclear conflict as mounting distrust and divisions corrode the bedrock of international cooperation, driving the multilateral system towards gridlock and dysfunction, world leaders warned today, as the General Assembly high-level debate concluded its fifth day of discussions.

GA/12536

Weighing Benefits, Risks of Digital Revolution, Speakers in General Assembly Urge Action, Regulation to Ensure Technology Facilitates Development, Not Inequality

On the precipice of a technological revolution — following widespread transition to digital solutions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and rapid advancements in artificial intelligence — speakers in the General Assembly today continued the annual high-level debate by contrasting the benefits and risks of this progress, along with its potential to either facilitate development or perpetuate inequality.

GA/12537

Approving Political Declaration, Member States at High-Level Summit Call For New, Effective Vaccine Against Tuberculosis with Chants of ‘End TB!’

Amid urgent calls for a new and more effective vaccine, Member States at the high-level meeting on the fight against tuberculosis (TB) approved today a political declaration reaffirming their collective commitment to end by 2030 the infectious disease which — although preventable and curable — claimed the lives of 1.6 million people in 2021.

GA/12535

Endorsing Political Declaration on Universal Coverage, Member States in High-Level Summit Stress Every Human Being Has Right to Good Health

Recommitting to universal health coverage, Member States today endorsed a political declaration proclaiming that every human being has the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.  The declaration, which has yet to be formally adopted by the General Assembly, comes four years after the adoption in 2019 of the first Declaration on the subject, in which Member States committed to implementing “high-impact” policies to protect people's health.