Plenary

The General Assembly met today to debate the use of the veto, pursuant to resolution A/RES/76/262.

As speakers discussed the importance of collective efforts to promote a culture of peace in a world torn by conflict and crisis, the General Assembly today adopted a draft resolution in pursuit of that goal, in addition to draft texts on a variety of other topics.

The Security Council has once again failed to act in the face of the crisis that has escalated for six months in Gaza, imperiling peace and security and causing unchecked suffering and devastation, speakers told the General Assembly today, in a meeting sparked by a veto cast by the United States, blocking a draft resolution on 18 April that would have granted the State of Palestine full membership in the United Nations

More than seven years after it created a mechanism to analyse evidence of human rights abuses in Syria, the General Assembly today considered the work of this body and heard from its Head that additional funding is needed in order to continue assisting national investigations of these crimes, before adopting several draft texts recommended by the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary).

Amidst ongoing paralysis in the Security Council due to the proliferating use — and misuse — of the veto despite escalating global crises, speakers in the General Assembly today called for action to ensure that casting one is not the end of United Nations action when the eyes of the world are looking to the Organization to deliver an effective response.

In a meeting triggered by a veto cast by the Russian Federation on 28 March to reject the adoption of a Council resolution that would have extended the mandate of the sanctions panel monitoring the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s nuclear weapon and missile programmes, speakers warned the General Assembly that the veto sets a dangerous precedent and could have a cascading effect on other Council sanctions.

The Security Council failed to speak on a matter of grave importance as it remained paralyzed for months as the crisis in Gaza continued and vetoes proliferated, speakers told the General Assembly today, in a meeting triggered by vetoes cast by the Russian Federation and China on 22 March to reject the adoption of a Council resolution submitted by the United States on the conflict in Gaza.

The General Assembly today adopted a resolution on the role of diamonds in fuelling conflict, amid concerns over certain States’ efforts to block updates to the text.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the informal plenary meeting of the General Assembly on human security, in New York today:

The scourge of slavery has left a painful legacy through persisting inequities, as well as marginalization, dehumanization and brutality, speakers in the General Assembly emphasized today, underscoring the need for education about its causes and consequences, as well as for meaningful collective action to end its modern-day forms and build a more just world.