— He inherits a post that has been branded the "toughest job in international civil service" — and that has seen its two previous incumbents step down early. Already, he has faced pointed questions over his relative lack of humanitarian experience, and frustration that the UN system has chosen a sixth straight Briton to take the role — many had hoped the appointment would break from the long-criticised convention of global powers dominating choice UN positions.
— The administration had made U.S. membership on the Geneva-based council a priority when it took office in 2021 after former President Donald Trump had withdrawn from the body, citing anti-Israel bias. Since returning to the council, the administration has frequently taken issue with its votes on the Middle East and other issues. "We decided not to seek another (term) on the Human Rights Council at this time because we are engaged with our allies about the best way to move forward," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.
— "At least 32 individuals, including 22 women and young people — concerning six Member States — could not be included in this report, at the request of victims who feared that they could still be identifiable, even if their allegations were reported anonymously; and due also to the severity of the reprisals they feared. Four Member States in respect of which allegations have been verified could not be included in the report for this reason. [...] 75 per cent of the cases had to be anonymized due to protection concerns for those concerned, including women and young people."
— "Of particular concern, allegations of reprisals against young people — leaders and policy makers of the future — were documented for the first time in this report, affecting at least 20 young men and women."
— "Once again, incidents of intimidation and reprisals were reported in connection to Indigenous Peoples' participation in United Nations spaces devoted to furthering Indigenous Peoples' issues and rights, notably the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples."
— "Another global trend and matter of continued concern is the online and offline surveillance of those who cooperate or seek to cooperate with the United Nations, which was reported in one-third of the Member States included in the present report."
— Listed countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, Andorra, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, China, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, France, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Israel, Libya, Nicaragua, Philippines, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), Viet Nam, Yemen, State of Palestine.
— The U.N. General Assembly adopted a 42-page "Pact for the Future" to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Now comes the hard part: uniting the world's divided nations to move quickly to implement its 56 actions.
— U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres thanked the 193-member world body for approving the pact and unlocking the door for nations to join forces to tackle challenges ranging from climate change and artificial intelligence to escalating conflicts and increasing inequality and poverty — and improve the lives of the world's more than 8 billion people.
— "We are here to bring multilateralism back from the brink," he said. "Now it is our common destiny to walk through it. That demands not just agreement, but action."
— Russia proposed an amendment that would have significantly watered down the pact. "No one is happy with this pact," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin said.
— But Africa's 54 nations opposed Russia's amendments and speaking on their behalf, the Republic of Congo countered with a motion not to vote on the amendments. Mexico supported the Africans, and in a vote on their motion, the Africans got support from 143 countries, with only six countries supporting Russia — Iran, Belarus, North Korea, Nicaragua, Sudan and Syria. 15 countries abstained.
— In a rare move at a high-level U.N. meeting where leaders often exceed the announced time limit, Yang announced at the start of their speeches that they would be muted after five minutes. Among those who kept talking after their mics were silenced: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Kuwait's Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al Sabah and Irish President Michael Higgins.
— Guterres singled out a number of key provisions in the pact and its two accompanying annexes, a Global Digital Compact and Declaration on Future Generations. The pact commits world leaders to reform the 15-member Security Council, to make it more reflective of today's world and "redress the historical injustice against Africa," which has no permanent seat, and to address the under-representation of the Asia-Pacific region and Latin America. It also "represents the first agreed multilateral support for nuclear disarmament in more than a decade," Guterres said, and it commits "to steps to prevent an arms race in outer space and to govern the use of lethal autonomous weapons."
— This is in addition to Washington's long-held support for India, Japan and Germany to get permanent seats on the council. The U.S. also supports permanent council representation for countries from Latin America and the Caribbean but has not specified details.
— US delegate Hekmat Aboukhater:
The first message the youth delegates sent out was about Gaza. The delegates called on their leaders to implement an "immediate ceasefire in Gaza with the release of all hostages and all prisoners subjected to arbitrary detainment" and the immediate "withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza." Delegates also demanded the "lifting of aid-blockades" that the Israeli Defense Forces enact through a starvation campaign against the besieged enclave.
— In the global governance reform track, delegates pushed a proposal demanding the reinforcement of the principle of "equal state sovereignty, territorial integrity, and an adherence to the principle of non-interference" as established by international law. Within the same track, a strong statement was made against the weaponization of artificial intelligence, calling for a "global moratorium" to be proposed through the United Nations General Assembly.
— These proposals, ratified by the US, Russian and Chinese delegates, again highlighted the clear divergence in policy priorities between the youth and their leaders in the G20 nations. This cohesion was underlined again in a proposal calling for "leaders to collaborate towards the global reduction of the investment in nuclear armaments," which was incredibly timely as the US is investing in a $2 trillion nuclear armament overhaul and other great powers are gradually following suit.
— Another proposal pushed by the delegates regarded the illegal use of unilateral coercive measures, or sanctions. The proposal advocated for their restriction in a way that "both protects civilian populations and the future system of global cooperation." The proposal also called for a future where these coercive measures are only "imposed by the multilateral system." Considering the US currently sanctions a third of the global population and the dangers borne out of the unrestrained use of secondary sanctions as a weapon of economic war, this proposal is an urgent and much-needed warning.
— Abiodun Williams provides an inventory of Annan's accomplishments during the key moments of his term. They range from averting conflict between Cameroon and Nigeria, to enabling East Timor's progression to independence, to shining a global spotlight on the HIV/AIDS crisis, to creating the Millennium Development Goals, to helping redefine sovereignty as responsibility and to lasting institutional reforms, such as the creation of the Human Rights Council and Peacebuilding Commission. For his efforts, Annan, jointly with the UN, was awarded the centenary Nobel Peace Prize in 2001.