“Democracy might have its flaws, but it is by far the best system that enables key values of the United Nations, necessary for sustained inclusive development,” Hage Geingob, the President of Namibia told the General Assembly annual general debate. The Namibian leader outlined emerging and existing challenges, which continue to...
An overwhelming majority of the UN’s 193 Member States once again urged Washington to lift the measures – despite a noticeable shift in countries choosing to either abstain or side with the US. The resolution – titled Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United...
Although the subject of mental health has been raised in previous years, it will get top billing at the event, which will also cover the prevention and control of other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), such as cardiovascular illnesses, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases. NCDs remain the leading causes of death...
Masoud Pezeshkian began his remarks by upholding the importance of equality and mutual respect among all peoples. “The bedrock of all divine religions and of the human conscience is this golden maxim: that which you would not approve for yourself, do not approve for others,” he said. He noted, however,...
“Multilateralism is at a new crossroads” and the world is “witnessing the consolidation of an international order marked by repeated concessions to power play, attacks on sovereignty, arbitrary sanctions and unilateral interventions are becoming the rule.” He said that “throughout the world, anti-democratic forces are trying to subjugate institutions and...
The anniversary should have been a moment of celebration, she noted, but this is not an ordinary year, with conflict and crises in Gaza, Ukraine, Haiti and beyond. “Faced with these realities, now is not the time to celebrate but to ask ourselves: Where is the United Nations? Clearly, we...
Speaking at a press conference at the UN Headquarters on Tuesday in New York, he warned that global divisions, conflicts and crises have taken the very principle of international cooperation to its most fragile inflection point in decades. “Some call it the World Cup of diplomacy,” Mr. Guterres said. “But...
The New York Declaration is the outcome of an international conference held in July at UN Headquarters, organized by France and Saudi Arabia, which resumes later this month. The General Assembly comprises all 193 UN Member States and 142 countries voted in favour of a resolution backing the document. Israel...
This will be “no ordinary session,” she pledged, with the multilateral system beset by overlapping crises and heightened disunity. A former foreign minister of Germany, Ms. Baerbock becomes only the fifth woman in history to preside over the General Assembly. In a symbolic gesture linking past to present, she swore...
On Tuesday, Germany’s Annalena Baerbock will become the first European woman to hold the post and only the fifth female President in the Assembly’s history. On the eve of Baerbock’s inauguration, UN News spoke with one of her predecessors. María Fernanda Espinosa, a former Minister of Defence and Foreign Affairs...
The text, introduced by Russia and adopted without a vote, “welcomes the efforts of the Secretary‑General to strengthen the United Nations in order to keep pace with a changing world” and calls on UN entities and specialised agencies to align their reform efforts “as appropriate”. In the resolution, the 193-member...
The move followed the Security Council’s failure to pass a similar resolution last week owing to a lone veto by permanent member the United States. The resolution was backed by 149 Member States, with 12 voting against and 19 abstaining. Among those opposing the resolution were the United States and...
