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.
Mercenaries and private actors profit from operating cybercapabilities that could be used during hostilities ‑ or in non-conflict settings ‑ to violate human rights, an independent expert told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as delegates continued their dialogues with special procedure mandate holders.
Special Rapporteurs presented reports on internal displacement, human trafficking and modern slavery today, warning that the number of people forcibly displaced within their own countries due to conflict is the highest on record, at 48 million, as Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) delegates engaged in interactive dialogues on human rights matters.
The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) continued its interactive dialogues on human rights today with experts calling for stronger international and national laws to uproot the entrenched vestiges of colonialism and gender-based discrimination, tackle extrajudicial and arbitrary executions, and end bias in the housing market.
Special Rapporteurs presenting reports on the human rights situations in Belarus, Iran, Syria, Somalia, Eritrea, and the occupied Palestinian territories invited Governments to show political determination, as the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) continued its interactive dialogues on human rights today.
Delegates in the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today demanded freedom from unsustainable debt financing terms, as they tackled a range of areas in which human rights must be at the heart of efforts to create a more just world, from addressing discrimination against people with albinism to alleviating food shortages in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Laws that discriminate against minorities, people with disabilities and individuals affected by leprosy violate a range of human rights, at times relying on inaccurate and biased historical narratives, and promoting narrow visions of whom to include in future protections, Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) experts stressed today, as delegates drew attention to situations across the globe requiring action.
The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) continued its debate on human rights today, holding a series of dialogues with United Nations experts who called for a definitive break with exploitative systems that have left the world’s poorest without safe drinking water and healthy food, and struggling to avoid hazardous waste discharged by companies unconcerned by the planetary impact of their operations.
Scholars and human rights defenders warn that technology advances in neuroscience and cognitive psychology may enable access to the very content of human thought, affecting how people think, feel and behave, experts told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as delegates discussed freedom of thought and religion, and the right to privacy.
Impediments to freedom of expression for women, discrimination against migrants during the COVID-19 pandemic and an uptick in enforced disappearances were among the concerns addressed by human rights experts in the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as delegates raised questions about how better to protect vulnerable communities during interactive dialogues.
Labour leaders, lawyers, journalists and citizens peacefully advocating for democratic reform are often jailed in reprisal for their engagement with United Nations mechanisms, the Independent Expert charged with investigating their plight told the Third Committee today as delegates took part in a series of virtual dialogues on broad human rights questions.
Femicide, enforced disappearances and discrimination against vulnerable groups continue to flourish as the world grapples with the joint crises of COVID‑19 and climate change, the United Nations human rights chief told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as delegates raised questions about protections for children, older adults and those living in poverty in a series of interactive dialogues.
There is a persistent accountability gap for torture and ill treatment worldwide, caused in part by the systemic denial, deliberate obstruction and purposeful evasion of responsibility by public authorities, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the topic told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as delegates began their consideration of broad human rights questions.
