Third GA (Social, Humanitarian & Cultural)

About the committee

The Third Committee of the General Assembly engages a range of social, humanitarian and cultural questions. The committee takes a human rights approach to many issues: receiving special reports from the Human Rights Council, in addition to discussing concerns relating to women, children, Indigenous peoples, refugees and self-determination. It also addresses social development areas including youth, aging, persons with disabilities, crime prevention, justice and drug control.

Topics

Topic A: The question of integrating disability in approaches to human development

In 2006 the UN adopted the Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities in order to uphold the equal rights, freedoms and inherent dignity of all persons with disabilities. Yet persons with disabilities still often remain overlooked at a national and international level. This is particularly the case when it comes to conceptions and objectives of, and programs for, development. While disability is associated with 20 percent of global poverty, it is generally a neglected factor of development monitoring and evaluation. The Millennium Development Goals, specifically designed to address the needs of the world’s poorest and most marginalised citizens, fail to mention disability. UN-ENABLE notes that unless development begins to take disability into account, the MDGs will fail to be achieved. Addressing the issue requires a delicate balancing act: to create more inclusive approaches to development without jeopardising the ability and capacity of states to reach other development targets.

Topic B: The question of self-determination and the collective rights of "peoples"

Throughout the history of decolonisation and separatism, various legal and political claims have revolved around the question of what constitutes “peoples”. Today, the issue is especially relevant. It is echoed from Kosovo to Tibet; Palestine to Sri Lanka. And it finds voice in Indigenous and ethnic minorities around the world. Yet the international reaction to these calls remains uneven, more often dictated by politics rather than principle. Currently, there is no recognised legal definition of "peoples". The status of group rights and self-determination are similarly contentious. Yet this debate is as necessary now as the debate of decolonization was in the post World War II period, directly challenging established concepts of territorial integrity, majority rule, the legitimacy of the state, and individual universal rights. In light of this, member states need to work towards establishing a more comprehensive and consistent understanding of "peoples", the rights and responsibilities they hold, as well as the limits of their claims.