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 Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) concluded its work today, approving 15 draft resolutions on issues ranging from freedom of religion and combating intolerance, to missing persons and displaced populations in Africa.
The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) sent seven draft resolutions to the General Assembly today, five of which were focused on country-specific situations and subject to heated debate.
In a full day of action, held in person, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) approved 12 draft resolutions, including 8 on human rights questions and 2 on crime prevention.
In a day of intense action, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) approved 11 draft resolutions, including 4 on the broad theme of the advancement of women, which touched on the special needs of women and girls living in conflict-affected areas, complex humanitarian emergencies and terrorism.
In a half day of intense action, held in-person, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) approved six draft resolutions, including two on the advancement of women, which touched on the topical theme of the pandemic.
International collaboration and a sustained, adequately funded response are needed to ensure the world’s 80 million displaced persons are protected from the COVID‑19 pandemic and its lingering socioeconomic aftermath, Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as delegates discussed tackling ever-proliferating humanitarian crises amid an unprecedented emergency.
Politicians and public figures are fuelling racist hatred and violence against minorities, using xenophobic expressions to inflame prejudice, independent experts warned the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as delegates engaged them in interactive dialogues, held virtually, on the broad themes of racism and self‑determination.
As the COVID‑19 crisis unfolded into a human rights emergency, the Geneva-based Human Rights Council and its mandate holders quickly mobilized to carry out their work despite multiple challenges, its President told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as some delegates raised questions about bias and favouritism.
Personal data has become a tool for Governments, scientists and companies in the fight against COVID‑19, the Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, stressing that any increased technology use for surveillance or contact tracing must respect human rights and return to pre-pandemic norms once the virus risk has subsided.
The COVID‑19 pandemic and the subsequent disruptions it has caused have heightened the risk of trafficking in persons and modern forms of slavery, experts warned the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as delegates engaged them in interactive dialogues, held virtually, on the broad theme of human rights.
Mass graves form an “underground map of atrocity” that stretches across human history, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, stressing that while dozens of such burials were found in 2020 alone, no single, coherent human rights framework exists for the respectful management of these sites.
A lack of ventilators and hospital beds to address COVID-19 has pushed Gaza’s overstretched medical system to the brink, the expert tasked with monitoring human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, stressing that Israel’s 53‑year blockade of the area amounts to a collective punishment banned under the 1949 Geneva Conventions.
Stressing that “censorship kills scholarship”, the United Nations expert on free expression launched a passionate defence of academia as a bastion of ideas that all too often comes under siege by States seeking to control or supress the flow of information, as Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) delegates continued their interactive dialogues on broad questions of human rights today.
Governments must ensure that people facing discrimination are included in dialogues and decisions affecting their lives, experts told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as delegates discussed cultural rights, as well as the human rights of persons with disabilities and albinism.
Between 150 million and 175 million more people will fall into extreme poverty, due to the epic fallout from COVID‑19, the Special Rapporteur on the topic told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as delegates raised concerns about the plight of the world’s most vulnerable in a series of interactive dialogues.
The COVID‑19 pandemic is magnifying threats to the safety and fundamental rights of migrant workers and religious minorities, independent human rights experts told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as delegates engaged with them in animated virtual discussions, which spanned half a day.
Questions around the right to free assembly, creation of an equitable world order and efforts to stem enforced disappearances — a crime that is soon to reach 1,000 cases a day — took centre stage in the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as delegates evaluated the human rights norms underpinning State relations since the Second World War.
Multilateralism and international cooperation are needed to ensure less developed countries can adequately address the enormous challenges posed by the COVID‑19 pandemic, experts told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as delegates engaged with them in animated virtual discussions covering the right to development and the use of unilateral coercive measures.
The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) tackled broad questions of torture, counter‑terrorism and judicial independence today, as delegates engaged with United Nations experts in addressing eroded prison conditions, underfunding of the treaty body system, and at times, outright denial of international humanitarian law, frequently triggered by COVID‑19.
