Third Committee

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) elected José A. Blanco Conde (Dominican Republic) Chair on 7 June.

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) opened its seventy‑seventh session today, with the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, a resurgence of conflicts and the climate emergency driving its general discussion, as delegates emphasized that colliding crises have reversed progress, exacerbated inequalities and impacted social development.

The General Assembly adopted 59 resolutions and one decision recommended by its Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, covering a range of issues, from the rights of refugees and others forced to flee their homes, to the provision of universal and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) sent 10 draft resolutions to the General Assembly as it concluded its work today, culminating in a heated discussion over language on diversity, sexual orientation and gender identity in a draft related to elections, after sparring on other texts that referenced sexual and reproductive health and rights.

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) approved six draft resolutions today, five of which focused on country-specific situations, while the last drew attention to the precarious conditions of refugees, returnees and displaced persons in Africa.

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian, Cultural) approved 13 draft resolutions today amid heated discussions on migrants and the elimination of racism in the context of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action.

In an intensive stretch of action, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian, Cultural) sent 10 draft resolutions to the General Assembly today, as delegates engaged in lengthy dialogue over the rights of migrants, indigenous peoples, internally displaced persons, ethnic minorities and efforts to combat the glorification of Nazism.

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) approved 11 draft resolutions today, covering issues that included the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights, the situation of women and girls in rural areas, and the imposition of unilateral coercive measures.

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) sent 13 draft resolutions to the General Assembly today covering a range of social development issues, from the right to self-determination for Palestinians and freedom of religion, to the report of the Geneva-based Human Rights Council and matters of crime prevention and criminal justice.

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) punctuated its series of interactive dialogues today, with a briefing by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees who rallied Governments to draw inspiration from the world’s 82 million people forcibly displaced who refuse to give up on their quest to build a better life.