United Nations General Assembly Third Committee

The United Nations General Assembly Third Committee (also known as the Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee or SOCHUM or C3) is one of six main committees at the General Assembly of the United Nations. It deals with human rights, humanitarian affairs and social matters.

United Nations General Assembly Third Committee
AbbreviationSOCHUM, C3
Legal statusActive
HeadquartersNew York, United States
Head
Chairperson
Christian Braun
Parent organization
United Nations General Assembly
Websitewww.un.org/en/ga/third
icon Politics portal

The Third Committee meets every year in early October and aims to finish its work by the end of November. All 193 member states of the UN can attend. As in previous sessions, an important part of the work of the committee will focus on the examination of human rights questions, including reports of the special procedures of the Human Rights Council which was established in 2006.

Mandate

The work of the committee focuses on human rights, humanitarian affairs and social issues. In addition, it also considers issues relating to:[1]

  • The advancement of women
  • The protection of children
  • the protection of Indigenous populations, and related issues
  • The treatment of refugees, and related issues such as racism and discrimination
  • The promotion of fundamental freedoms
  • The right to self-determination
  • Youth, family, and aging
  • The rights of persons with disabilities
  • Crime prevention and criminal justice
  • The international drug trade, and related issues

Working methods

The work of the Third Committee begins in early October and is usually finished by the end of November.

Unlike most other bodies of the General Assembly, the work of the Third Committee does not begin with a general debate between its members. Instead, its agenda items are debated individually from the beginning of the session.[1]

The Third Committee hosts interactive dialogues with the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the High Commissioner for Refugees each year.[1]

Current state

In its 75th Session, the committee will focus on:[2]

  • Promotion of sustained economic growth and sustainable development in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and recent United Nations conferences
    • Social development
    • Advancement of women
  • Maintenance of international peace and security
    • Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, questions relating to refugees, returnees and displaced persons and humanitarian questions
  • Promotion of human rights
    • Report of the Human Rights Council
    • Promotion and protection of the rights of children
    • Rights of indigenous peoples
    • Elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance
    • Right of peoples to self-determination
    • Promotion and protection of human rights
  • Drug control, crime prevention and combating international terrorism in all its forms and manifestations
    • Crime prevention and criminal justice
    • Countering the use of information and communications technologies for criminal purposes
    • International drug control

Bureau

The following make up the bureau of the Third Committee for the 75th Session of the General Assembly:[3]

Name Country Position
H.E. Katalin Annamária Bogyay HungaryChairperson
Ahlem Sara Charikhi AlgeriaVice-Chair
Pilar Eugenio ArgentinaVice-Chair
Khaled Mohammed Al Manzlawiy Saudi ArabiaVice-Chair
Myriam Oehri LiechtensteinRapporteur

See also

References
  1. The GA Handbook: A Practical Guide to the United Nations General Assembly (PDF) (2nd ed.). New York: Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations. 2017. ISBN 978-0-615-49660-3.
  2. United Nations General Assembly Session 75 Annex 1. Allocation of agenda items to the Third Committee A/C.3/75/1 21 September 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  3. "Social, Humanitarian & Cultural Issues (Third Committee): Bureau of the 75th Session". General Assembly of the United Nations. United Nations. n.d. Retrieved 29 September 2020.


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