General Assembly Adopts Four Resolutions Aimed at Tackling, Alleviating Plight of Millions of People Suffering from Humanitarian, Economic Crises Worldwide

General Assembly Adopts Four Resolutions Aimed at Tackling, Alleviating Plight of Millions of People Suffering from Humanitarian, Economic Crises Worldwide

Concerned about worsening global humanitarian and economic crises, natural and man-made disasters, threats to international peace and security and the effects of climate change on forced migration and food production, the General Assembly today took action on several resolutions addressing these issues.

The representative of Sweden, introducing the draft resolution on "Strengthening of the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations" (document A/79/L.36), said that in 2025 a "staggering" 305 million people around the world will require urgent humanitarian assistance and protection, driven mainly by conflict and the global climate emergency. She urged the General Assembly to translate words into action and send a strong signal of united support to people affected by crises around the world.

This was a call the 193-member organ seemed to heed as it adopted the text by consensus, by which terms it recognized that inclusive economic growth and sustainable development are essential for the prevention of and preparedness for natural disasters and other emergencies.

Amendments to Draft on Safety and Security of Humanitarian Personnel and Protection of UN Staff Rejected

Introducing two amendments - documents A/79/L.34) and A/79/L.35 - to the resolution on "Safety and security of humanitarian personnel and Protection of United Nations personnel" (document A/79/L.32), the speaker for the Russian Federation said that the draft document still contains wording that is "unacceptable for us" relating to the International Criminal Court, or ICC, and its founding treaty, the Rome Statute. "The Rome Statute was undermined by the failings of the ICC itself, which, having received generous donations from its western sponsors, became an instrument for political pressure," he added. The biased and one-sided nature of "now generic ICC justice" can clearly be seen in its attitude towards the many war crimes committed by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and its member countries in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya.

Voting against both amendments, the Assembly rejected any alterations to "L.32" with 92 votes against "L.34", nine votes in favour (Belarus, China, Cuba, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Israel, Nicaragua, Russian Federation) and 33 abstentions. On "L.35", delegates voted 90 against, nine in favour (Belarus, China, Cuba, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Ethiopia, Israel, Nicaragua, Russian Federation, Zimbabwe) and 33 abstentions.

In explanations of vote before the vote, Canada's delegate, expressing strong support for the International Criminal Court and calling the mechanism an instrumental tool in the fight against impunity, encouraged all delegations to vote against these amendments. Argentina's representative, recalling her delegation's disassociation from the Pact for the Future, said the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is made up of legally non-binding aspirations that each State is free to interpret and adopt as it sees fit.

Switzerland's speaker said the Court is an essential component of the international judicial order and called on all States which have not yet done so to become parties to the Rome Statute. For the representative of the United Kingdom, because UN and humanitarian workers operate worldwide in extremely difficult and often dangerous conditions, "it is right we affirm the protections that they need and deserve". Therefore, his delegation will vote against the amendments.

Text As a Whole Adopted

The Assembly thereafter proceeded to act on "L.32" as a whole, adopting it without a vote. By terms of the resolution - one of the two texts introduced by Hungary's delegate, on behalf of the European Union in its observer capacity - the Assembly strongly condemned acts of murder and other forms of violence, rape and sexual assault, particularly against women and children. It also called upon all States and parties in complex humanitarian emergencies, particularly in armed conflict and post-conflict situations, to ensure the safe and unhindered access of humanitarian and medical personnel.

Assistance to Palestinian People

Also adopting without a vote the second text on "Assistance to the Palestinian people" (document A/79/L.41), the Assembly, by its terms, stressed the need for the UN's full engagement in the process of building Palestinian institutions and in providing broad assistance to the Palestinian people. It also called upon the international donor community to expedite the delivery of pledged assistance to those people to meet their urgent needs.

International Cooperation on Humanitarian Assistance in Field of Natural Disasters

Introducing, on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, a draft resolution on "International cooperation on humanitarian assistance in the field of natural disasters, from relief to development" (document A/79/L.33), Uganda's delegate reaffirmed the principle of national ownership in disaster risk reduction. By terms of the text, which was adopted by consensus, the Assembly emphasized the need to promote and strengthen disaster risk reduction and preparedness measures at all levels, particularly in hazard-prone areas, and urged Member States to develop, update and strengthen early warning systems and such measures at all levels, in accordance with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

The Assembly also considered several reports from the Secretary-General, namely: Safety and security of humanitarian personnel and protection of United Nations personnel (document A/79/149); Strengthening of the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations (document A/79/78); Assistance to the Palestinian people (document A/79/85); Central Emergency Response Fund (document A/79/327); and International cooperation on humanitarian assistance in the field of natural disasters, from relief to development (document A/79/369).

Humanitarian Action 'Stretched to the Limit' amid Unprecedented Need

In the ensuing debate, speakers highlighted the wide range of political, humanitarian and socioeconomic challenges bedeviling the human and international communities, including the conflict in Gaza.

The international community is now in a "time when humanitarian action has been stretched to the limit", observed the representative of the Dominican Republic as she called for investment in early action, full respect for international humanitarian law and an increase in political will to use "tools available to us" to make right decisions at the right time.

Türkiye's speaker pointed to the chronic underfunding of such action, noting the gap between humanitarian needs and available resources continues to grow each year and that as of November, only 43 per cent of the $50 billion appeal has been met, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Noting that conflicts, climate change disasters and a global economic slowdown has contributed to the "highest in a decade" humanitarian crisis, India's delegate, also speaking on behalf of Sweden, urged Member States to increase their humanitarian aid contributions.

The representative of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, on behalf of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said the region - itself experiencing a rise in complex humanitarian situations from human-induced disasters - is accelerating disaster resilience building and will continue to prioritize skill building to deal with them.

Speakers Denounce Israel's Ban of United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)

For Venezuela's delegate, speaking on behalf of the Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations, who condemned as "horrific" and a possible war crime Israel's ban of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), at the root of global humanitarian emergencies lie foreign interventionism and unilateral coercive measures. These acts must be immediately and unconditionally stopped and lifted, she said.

On this, the Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine, lamenting that "no recent conflict in history has seen such a staggering toll on women and children, nor the deliberate killing of humanitarians, medical personnel and journalists", regretted that Gaza now hosts history's largest number of child amputees, a generation of orphans unlike any in recent memory, and a threefold increase in miscarriages and childbirth-related deaths. This, he noted, is not merely a deepening humanitarian crisis but "the manifestation of a deliberate genocidal campaign".

He pointed out that 80,000 tons of bombs have been dropped "on our people", a quantity exceeding the bombings of entire cities during the Second World War, adding that the invasive expansion of Israeli settlements prove that "the only peace Israel seeks is another piece of Palestine." While today's meeting should ordinarily translate to the upholding of international humanitarian law, not only in word but in deeds, also preventing the collective punishment of civilians and averting humanitarian catastrophe, "this is not the case in Palestine, where Israeli soldiers are livestreaming their atrocities in UNRWA schools, turning places of learning into scenes of terror," he said.

Further, he condemned the killing of UNRWA staff members and humanitarians as well as Israel's constant attacks on the UN Agency, also urging the international community to compel that country - the occupying Power - to end its repeated practice of withholding taxes and customs revenues due to the Palestinian people. "The time for words has passed. The implementation of United Nations resolutions on the question of Palestine is long overdue. The time for action is now," he said.

Calls for Increased Financing, More Balanced Funding Structures to Fulfil Humanitarian Needs

Spotlighting the need for increased and supplemented financial contribution as response strategies to humanitarian challenges, some delegates urged action in this regard.

The representative of the European Union, in its capacity as observer, said the combined interactions of climate change, forced displacement and compromised peace and security "severely undermine the capacity to anticipate, prepare for and respond to climate risks and hazards". There must therefore be a more balanced funding structure that draws on the resources of Member States philanthropic foundations, the private sector and financial institutions to cater for "growing and unmet" humanitarian needs.

Building on that, Norway's delegate said that funding is not enough; upholding international law and supporting emergency assistance is critical as well. "We will continue to be outspoken and call out violations of international law wherever they happen," she stressed.

Saudi Arabia's speaker, noting that his country "spares no effort to strengthen the coordination of humanitarian assistance" regretted failure to respect international law has made it "impossible" to deliver aid - a position Israel's delegate advanced as he observed that the bottlenecks in humanitarian distribution "lies with challenges resulting from looting and attacks on the convoys", which Hamas and other organizations have demonstrated by so doing. He noted that, despite providing substantial evidence of Hamas' infiltration into UNRWA, "UN leadership has refused to acknowledge the full extent of the problem or take corrective action". The UN must therefore place the needs of the Gaza population ahead of its political agenda, he said.

Humanitarian Access Must Take Priority Over Political Settlements

On this, an observer of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) expressed deep concern that new conflicts are arising while political settlements for existing conflicts remain elusive. "Let's be clear: humanitarian access should not be blocked until a political agreement is reached or cessation of hostilities are agreed upon," she stressed. It takes only a few hours to destroy an entire city but decades to rebuild it.

Noting that the coordination of humanitarian assistance is closely linked to food security, the representative of Ukraine said that "emergency food assistance remains the largest component of humanitarian appeals" and called on the international community to continue to address the basic needs of millions of people suffering from hunger and malnutrition.

Filling Vacancy in Economic and Social Council

In other business, following the Assembly's prior inability to reach a decision due to none of the candidates obtaining the required two-thirds voting majority at its 1 July meeting (see Press Release GA/12612), the Assembly progressed into a twenty-seventh voting round and fourteenth restricted ballot to fill the only remaining vacant seat for the Eastern European States in the Economic and Social Council for a term of office beginning on the date of election and expiring on 31 December 2025.

With North Macedonia and the Russian Federation as the candidates, the 193-nation organ voted 77 for the former and 106 for the latter. As neither State, yet again, met the 122 votes majority requirement, further balloting was scheduled for a later date.