Calling for greater efforts to promote a culture of tolerance and peace at all levels, the General Assembly adopted a resolution today inviting the Secretary‑General to convene a global conference aimed at advancing the United Nations Plan of Action to Safeguard Religious Sites, involving Governments, political figures, religious leaders, civil society and the media, among other stakeholders.
Citing concerns over COVID-19, the General Assembly decided today to postpone, until 10-12 May 2021, the organizational session of the Ad Hoc Committee to Elaborate a Comprehensive International Convention on Countering the Use of Information and Communications Technologies for Criminal Purposes.
Concluding the main part of its seventy-fifth session, the General Assembly approved $3.21 billion for 2021 and adopted 22 resolutions and 3 decisions recommended by its Main Committees.
The General Assembly, acting without a vote, adopted three resolutions and one decision today, including one calling for a further comprehensive review of United Nations peacebuilding in 2025 and another proclaiming 4 February as the International Day of Human Fraternity.
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.
The General Assembly proclaimed 31 August as the International Day for People of African Descent today, seeking to promote greater recognition and respect for the diverse heritage, culture and contribution of people of African descent to the development of societies, as it adopted 48 resolutions and one decision recommended by the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural).
The General Assembly today reaffirmed the vital role of the Sixth Committee (Legal) as its primary forum for considering legal questions, adopting without a vote 19 draft resolutions and 10 draft decisions recommended by the Committee, including four new requests for observer status.
Against the backdrop of the COVID‑19 pandemic, the General Assembly adopted two health‑related resolutions this morning — one, by recorded vote, underscoring the importance of affordable health care for all and of monitoring the unfolding impact of the novel coronavirus, and another, by consensus, declaring 2021 to 2030 as the United Nations Decade of Healthy Ageing.
The General Assembly adopted four humanitarian-focused resolutions today, with delegates warning of ever-growing challenges in 2021 as the broader effects of the COVID‑19 pandemic — including prolonged economic hardship and threat of major famine — begin to take hold.
Citing the threat posed by chronic terrorist violence in Afghanistan, delegates commended fresh progress in peace talks and exchanged views on the best way to help the nation move into a new era of stability and prosperity, as the General Assembly adopted, by a recorded vote, its annual resolution on the situation in the country.
Upon the recommendation of its Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization), the General Assembly adopted 34 draft resolutions and 3 draft decisions today, on questions ranging from the Israeli‑Palestinian conflict and decolonization to the effects of atomic radiation and the peaceful uses of outer space.
The General Assembly adopted a draft resolution today on sustainable fisheries, and postponed action on a second text on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, as delegates reflected on how the COVID‑19 pandemic derailed what should have been a watershed year for international action on the world’s oceans.
The General Assembly, acting on the recommendation of its First Committee (Disarmament and International Security), adopted 66 resolutions and decisions today, including several addressing the need for multilateral action‑oriented solutions to spur denuclearization efforts, prevent an arms race in outer space and keep cyberspace safe.
The General Assembly this morning adopted three resolutions dealing with prevention of armed conflict and global health and foreign policy, including one urging the Russian Federation to withdraw from Crimea and another that declared 27 December as an International Day of Epidemic Preparedness.
Expert panellists addressed the General Assembly in the second day of an unprecedented special session dedicated to the COVID-19 pandemic that has so far infected 65 million people and continues to claim 70,000 lives every week, citing possibly catastrophic global famine in the coming months, while also pointing hopefully towards imminent vaccines and their deployment.
Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks, as delivered, to the General Assembly special session in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, held today:
World leaders came together virtually in a special session of the General Assembly today dedicated to the COVID-19 pandemic that has so far claimed more than 1.5 million lives and sent the global economy into a tailspin, with speakers demanding urgent multilateral action to guarantee equitable distribution of life-saving vaccines and to trigger an economic recovery that can put the world back on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
The General Assembly today adopted seven resolutions, including five on the question of Palestine and the Middle East, one of which cited the illegality of annexing any part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and two on the importance of fostering a culture of peace.
Following are UN Secretary‑General António Guterres’ remarks to the General Assembly Solemn Meeting in Commemoration of all Victims of the Second World War, held today:
The General Assembly adopted 10 resolutions today promoting cooperation between the United Nations and a host of regional and international organizations, and re‑elected Filippo Grandi (Italy) as High Commissioner for Refugees until 30 June 2023.
