United Nations General Assembly

UN General Assembly asks court to say what Israel needs to provide in Gaza

The UN General Assembly approved a resolution on Thursday asking the UN's highest court to state what Israel's obligations are in Gaza and the West Bank to provide humanitarian assistance essential for the survival of Palestinian civilians. The vote on the Norwegian-sponsored resolution seeking an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice was 137-12, with 22 abstentions. The United States, Israel's closest ally, voted against the resolution. Resolutions in the 193-member General Assembly are not legally binding, though they do reflect world opinion. It follows the ICJ's condemnation of Israel's rule over lands it captured 57 years ago. In a non-binding opinion in July, the court said Israel's presence in the occupied Palestinian territories is unlawful and called on Israel to end its occupation and halt settlement construction immediately. Thursday's resolution also follows Israeli laws passed in late October, which take effect in 90 days, that effectively ban the UN

India votes in favour of UN resolution for immediate ceasefire in Gaza

India voted in favour of a UN General Assembly resolution that demanded an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and reiterated the demand for immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. The UN General Assembly has overwhelmingly approved resolutions demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and backing the UN agency for Palestinian refugees that Israel has moved to ban. The 193-member General Assembly voted Wednesday at the 10th emergency special session to adopt the draft resolution Demand for ceasefire in Gaza', introduced by Indonesia. India was among the 158 nations that voted in favour of the resolution while nine member states, including Israel and the US, voted against it. Among the 13 nations that abstained were Albania and Ukraine. The resolution demanded an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire, to be respected by all parties, and further reiterates its demand for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. It demanded

UNGA seeks ceasefire in Gaza, backs UN agency helping Palestinian refugees

The UN General Assembly has overwhelmingly approved resolutions demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and backing the UN agency for Palestinian refugees that Israel has moved to ban. The votes in the 193-nation world body were 158-9, with 13 abstentions to demand a ceasefire now and 159-9 with 11 abstentions in support of the agency known as UNRWA. The votes culminated two days of speeches overwhelmingly calling for an end to the 14-month war between Israel and the militant Hamas group. Israel and its close ally, the United States, were in a tiny minority speaking and voting against the resolutions. While Security Council resolutions are legally binding, General Assembly resolutions are not, though they do reflect world opinion. There are no vetoes in the assembly. The Palestinians and their supporters went to the General Assembly after the US vetoed a Security Council resolution on November 20 demanding an immediate Gaza ceasefire. It was supported by the council's 14 other ...

UNGA boosts global fight against illegal trade in cultural artefacts

It also acknowledged the devastating impact of illicit trafficking on cultural heritage in general, particularly in regions affected by conflicts

UN resolutions ignoring terrorism, not in India's interest: EAM on Gaza war

Addressing the Rajya Sabha, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar condemned terrorism and hostage-taking while explaining India's stance on the Israel-Gaza war

India votes on resolution calling for withdrawal of Israel from Palestine

India voted in favour of a UN General Assembly resolution that called for the withdrawal of Israel from the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, and reiterated the call for achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in West Asia. The draft resolution Peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine' tabled by Senegal was overwhelmingly adopted in the 193-member General Assembly on Tuesday. India was among the 157 nations that voted in favour, while eight Member States - Argentina, Hungary, Israel, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea and the United States voted against it. Cameroon, Czechia, Ecuador, Georgia, Paraguay, Ukraine and Uruguay abstained. The resolution, adopted as orally revised, reiterated its call for the achievement, without delay, of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East (West Asia) on the basis of the relevant United Nations resolutions and an end to the Israeli occupation that began in 1967, includi

Eager to deepen cooperation with Caribbean nations across sectors: PM Modi

PM Modi, who arrived in Guyana on Wednesday, is the first visit by an Indian head of the state in more than 50 years

Pact of the Future lacks clarity on majority's UNSC expansion views: India

India has said that the 'Pact of the Future', adopted by consensus by world leaders here last month, falls short in capturing views expressed by a majority of UN member states calling for Security Council expansion and beginning text-based negotiations on reform within a fixed time frame. The UN hosted the landmark Summit of the Future during the high-level General Assembly session in September where world leaders had adopted by consensus the Pact of the Future'. India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador P. Harish, addressing the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly on Strengthening of the United Nations system', said that India would have liked to see a more ambitious Chapter Five, referring to the Pact's chapter on transforming global governance that includes language on reform of the UN Security Council. Harish said that Delhi continues to believe that the Inter-Governmental Negotiations input for the Summit of the Future did not go far enough in addressing the ...

China, at UN, warns world against 'expansion of battlefield' in Ukraine war

Three days before his communist government turns 75, China's foreign minister warned fellow leaders Saturday against an expansion of the battlefield in Russia's war with Ukraine and said the Beijing government remains committed to shuttle diplomacy and efforts to push the conflict toward its end. The top priority is to commit to no expansion of the battlefield. ... China is committed to playing a constructive role," Wang Yi said. He warned against other nations throwing oil on the fire or exploiting the situation for selfish gains, a likely reference to the United States. Wang's speech appeared to break no new ground, as is generally China's recent practice at the UN General Assembly's annual meeting of leaders. In fact, his boss, Chinese President Xi Jinping, has not participated in the leaders' meeting since 2021 and then only virtually, during the pandemic. Xi has not attended in person for several years. On Friday, on the assembly sidelines, China and Brazil sought to build ...

UN chief calls global situation 'unsustainable' as annual meeting opens

UN Secretary-General Antnio Guterres warned world leaders Tuesday that impunity, inequality and uncertainty are creating an unsustainable world" where a growing number of countries believe they should have a get out of jail free card. We can't go on like this, he said as the General Assembly's annual debate among presidents, prime ministers, monarchs and other leaders began. Citing deepening geopolitical divisions, wars with no end in sight, climate change and nuclear and emerging weapons, he said humanity is edging towards the unimaginable a powder keg that risks engulfing the world. But, he said, the challenges we face are solvable if the international community confronts the uncertainty of unmanaged risks, the inequality that underlies injustices and grievances and the impunity that undermines international law and the UN's founding principles. Today, a growing number of governments and others feel entitled to a "get out of jail free' card, he said in a reference to the classic

Unversed in UNGA? Stumped by SDGs? Here's glossary of UNGA meeting lingo

The UN General Assembly's yearly meeting of world leaders is here and with it, an array of acronyms, abbreviations, titles and terms that can be confounding to observers. Here is some key vocabulary, decoded. For starters ... UNGA: Acronym (yes, people do pronounce it UN'-gah) for the UN General Assembly's High-level Week". It's the international organization's biggest annual event, inviting presidents, prime ministers, monarchs and other top leaders of all 193 UN member countries to speak to the world and each other. Although New Yorkers sometimes just use General Assembly to describe what many experience mainly as a week of street closures and whizzing motorcades, the assembly actually isn't just this meeting. It's a body that convenes countries' ambassadors throughout the year to discuss a wide range of global issues and vote on resolutions. GENERAL DEBATE: The centrepiece of the week, it gives each country's leader (or a designee) the mic for a state-of-the-world speech from i

UNGA: World leaders discuss 'path for future' but outlook seems gloomy

Facing a swirl of conflicts and crises across a fragmented world, leaders attending this week's annual UN gathering are being challenged: Work together not only on front-burner issues but on modernising the international institutions born after World War II so they can tackle the threats and problems of the future. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued the challenge a year ago after sounding a global alarm about the survival of humanity and the planet: Come to a Summit of the Future and make a new commitment to multilateralism the foundation of the United Nations and many other global bodies and start fixing the aging global architecture to meet the rapidly changing world. The UN chief told reporters last week that the summit was born out of a cold, hard fact: international challenges are moving faster than our ability to solve them. He pointed to out-of-control geopolitical divisions and runaway conflicts, climate change, inequalities, debt and new technologies like ...

Developing nations urge world's richest to do more on climate at UNGA

Leaders of small island states most at risk from rising sea levels said it was time for those countries that burn most of the fossil fuels blamed for rising temperatures to stop paying lip service

Biden to address UN General Assembly and meet world leaders in New York

During this event, Biden will address the assembly on September 24, outlining his administration's priorities and vision. His speech will focus on fostering international cooperation

India an avid, committed advocate of multilateralism: UNGA Prez Francis

Describing India as a leader at the United Nations, General Assembly President Dennis Francis has said the country has been an avid and committed advocate of multilateralism and as a democracy of 1.4 billion people, it has a bright future in making a continued strong contribution to global affairs. The remarks by Francis, the President of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, came ahead of the end of his year-long tenure on Monday as head of the 193-member UN body. There's no doubt about it - India is definitely a leader at the United Nations. India has been an avid and committed advocate of multilateralism, which is very much valued by the United Nations, Francis told PTI in an exclusive interview here. Former Prime Minister of Cameroon Philemon Yang will take over as President of the 79th Session of the General Assembly on September 10. Francis underlined that he expects India's role to continue and be strengthened. "We know of course that India has an ambition to become

Here's how smartphones became India's superhero in fight against poverty

'India has been able to lift 800 million people out of poverty over the past five to six years simply by the use of smartphones,' said UNGA President Dennis Francis

Terrorism rising, Islamic State extremist's attacks set to double: UN envoy

The top UN envoy for Syria told the Security Council on Monday that the threat of terrorism is resurging with attacks by Islamic State extremists set to double this year, endangering civilians already facing a protracted state of displacement and dire humanitarian conditions. UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen said Syria is riddled with armed actors, listed terrorist groups, foreign armies and front-lines 13 years after President Bashar Assad's crackdown on peaceful protests against his government turned to civil war. Nearly a half million people have died in the conflict and half the country's pre-war population of 23 million has been displaced. The Islamic State group declared a self-styled caliphate in a large swath of territory in Syria and Iraq that it seized in 2014. It was declared defeated in Iraq in 2017 following a three-year battle that killed tens of thousands of people and left cities in ruins, but its sleeper cells remain in both countries. Pedersen warned the Security ...

Russia holds UN meeting on global cooperation; US terms it 'hypocrisy'

Russia's foreign minister accused the United States on Tuesday of holding the entire West at gunpoint and impeding international cooperation, a claim the US ambassador to the United Nations denounced as hypocrisy by a country that invaded neighbouring Ukraine. The finger-pointing came at Russia 's showcase event during its presidency of the UN Security Council this month, and it chose the topic Multilateral cooperation for a more just, democratic and sustainable world order. Russia's top diplomat, Sergey Lavrov, flew in from Moscow to preside. Just before the meeting, Ukraine's UN Ambassador, Sergiy Kyslytsya, read a statement on behalf of about 50 countries, including the United States, whose ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield was among the several dozen UN envoys surrounding him. The joint statement said the international community must not be distracted from Russia's flagrant violations of Ukraine's territorial integrity and from Moscow cynically attempting to present itself as

TTP largest terror group in Afghanistan, could turn extra regional: UN

The Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) remained the largest terrorist group in Afghanistan and greater collaboration between al-Qaeda and the terror group could transform it into an extraregional threat, according to a UN report. The 15th report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities said that the TTP remained the largest terrorist group in Afghanistan, with an estimated strength of 6,0006,500 fighters. The report said that one member state expressed concern that greater collaboration between TTP and al-Qaeda could transform TTP into an 'extraregional threat'. It said that al-Qaeda's support of TTP includes the sharing of Afghan fighters for its "tashkils - in this context, military staffing or a formation and training camps in Afghanistan. Training provided by al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) has resulted in TTP shifting tactics and high-profile attacks against hard targets. One interlocut

Caribbean seeks help after Hurricane Beryl devastates small islands

Caribbean officials on Friday demanded more access to funding and help in fighting climate change, weeks after Hurricane Beryl devastated the region. The urgent request was made at an OAS meeting in Washington, DC, where officials noted that the historic storm exposed the vulnerability of small islands. Beryl killed at least seven people in the Caribbean and razed nearly all infrastructure on some of the islands that make up Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. (We) are on the front line, said Virginia Albert-Poyotte, the delegate for St. Lucia, who asked that climate financing be made more available and that financial institutions include special disaster clauses. She and others noted that small Caribbean islands often have rickety infrastructure and fragile economies dependent on tourism and fishing. A resolution approved Friday by the OAS stated that previous hurricanes have led to higher insurance premiums, unemployment and poverty. It called for the immediate operation