Social, Humanitarian & Cultural
Third Committee
The Social, Humanitarian Cultural Affairs Commitee (Third Committee) of the sixty-fifth session of the General Assembly, is chaired by H.E. Mr. Michel Tommo Monthe of Cameroon.
Year after year, the General Assembly allocates to its Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Affairs Committee, commonly referred to as the "Third Committee", agenda items relating to a range of social, humanitarian affairs and human rights issues that affect people all over the world.
As in previous sessions, an important part of the Committee's work this year will focus on the examination of human rights questions, including reports of the special procedures of the recently established Human Rights Council. In October 2010, the Committee will hear and interact with 36 such special rapporteurs, independent experts, and chairpersons of working groups of the Human Rights Council.
The Committee also discusses the advancement of women, the protection of children, indigenous issues, the treatment of refugees, the promotion of fundamental freedoms through the elimination of racism and racial discrimination, and the promotion of the right to self- determination. The Committee also addresses important social development questions such as issues related to youth, family, ageing, persons with disabilities, crime prevention, criminal justice, and drug control.
At the sixty-fourth session of the General Assembly, the Third Committee considered 64 draft resolutions, more than half of which were submitted under the human rights agenda item alone. These included a number of so-called country-specific resolutions on human rights situations.
Under the chairmanship of H.E. Mr. Michel Tommo Monthe, the Permanent Representative of Cameroon to the United Nations, the Third Committee is expected to consider a similar number of draft resolutions.
[23 September 2010 ]
