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P10_TA(2026)0182

DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RECOMMENDATION

Recommendation on the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly

to the Council, the Commission and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly

Committee on Foreign Affairs

(2025/2167(INI))

PE778.304

European Parliament recommendation of 20 May 2026 to the Council, the Commission and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (2025/2167(INI))

– having regard to the Charter of the United Nations,

(k) take note of and engage in the next steps of the UN80 Initiative Action Plan, to ensure that it does not become a mere budgetary reallocation exercise that imperils its good functioning in key areas such as human rights; actively participate in any discussions regarding the reform of the system of financial contributions and returns to the UN budget to ensure more timely collection and efficient resource allocation, in order to allay concerns as to whether contributions to the UN are being well spent;

(l) stress that, when other global actors, in particular our traditional allies, disengage, the EU must assume greater responsibility for supporting, financing and strengthening multilateral institutions, including the United Nations, notably by reforming the Security Council to better reflect today’s world and maintaining and increasing core support to the UN and its agencies; in this regard, engage with third countries such as China and the United States to ensure that their voluntary contributions to the UN system are commensurate with their economic development and their prominent role as UNSC members; recall the United States’ fundamental role in the construction of the UN system; express concern regarding our ally’s change of attitude towards the UN and the broader multilateral system; urge the United States, as a permanent Member of the UNSC, to fulfil its obligations and uphold a rules-based international order and adherence to international law, and to actively contribute to peace;

(m) reaffirm their commitment to the Pact for the Future as an important step towards reinvigorating the UN, achieving the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and maintaining international peace and security;

(p) commend the role of the UN and its agencies, particularly in conflict zones; double down on support for multilateralism by enhancing political and financial support to the work of the UN and its agencies while emphasising the need to address systemic inter- and intra-organisational fragmentation, duplication and misalignment of mandates and funding across UN structures and bodies; ensure that the next MFF provide dedicated, sufficient and predictable funding to the UN and its agencies;

(q) promote the view that Russia’s place as a permanent member of the UNSC is legally questionable, as Article 23 of the UN Charter names the Soviet Union, not Russia, as a permanent member; emphasise that the break-up of the Soviet Union was the complete dissolution of that state into 15 independent republics, of which Russia was only one, and no formal decision was made for Russia to inherit the seat of its predecessor; point out that the other Soviet republics applied for UN membership separately, while Russia bypassed this procedure and took over the Soviet Union’s seat by unilateral declaration; emphasise that Russia’s status as a permanent member of the UNSC is based on tacit acceptance and political practice, not on a clear legal decision;

(r) encourage the Member States to coordinate and synchronise their actions within UN bodies and agencies, and to work towards a reform of the UN special rapporteur system; reiterate the importance for all countries to recommit to granting full access to the UN special rapporteurs; adopt procedures to effectively address any potential biases, inefficiencies, obstructions or limitations which might jeopardise the mandate of UN agencies, including with regard to EU contributions and financing, ensuring adequate vetting and oversight of staff;

(z) actively promote stronger engagement in support of Georgia within the UN, recalling that approximately 20 % of its internationally recognised territory remains under illegal Russian occupation; build on the 2024 consensus resolution of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on cooperation with Georgia, which calls for immediate and unimpeded access for international human rights mechanisms to the occupied regions and highlights continuing violations, including against ethnic Georgians in Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region; work with UN partners to strengthen monitoring and accountability, uphold Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, address the human rights situation in the occupied territories and support the safe and dignified return of internally displaced persons in full compliance with international law and the UN Charter;

(aa) express deep concern about the ongoing military actions across the Middle East, including the destabilising role played by Iran and its regional terrorist organisation proxies; underline that the attacks by the United States and Israel are being conducted outside of the multilateral system, which is based on rules; express full solidarity with and support for the people of Iran, strongly condemn the Iranian regime for the violent repression of peaceful protests, mass killings, arbitrary detentions and executions and call for the establishment of and full cooperation with an independent UN fact-finding mission with a view to ensuring accountability for all serious violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law; welcome the adoption of UNSC Resolution 2817 (2026), which condemns in the strongest terms and demands the immediate cessation of Iran’s attacks against Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Iraq; condemn, too, Iran’s attacks against Israel; step up diplomatic efforts in multilateral forums and seek closer cooperation with the EU’s partners in the region to promote de-escalation, reconstruction, meaningful dialogue and sustainable regional stability in accordance with international law and UN principles; consider strengthening Lebanese state structures as key to stability;stability, through full implementation of UNSC Resolutions 1701, 1559 and 1680, the disarmament of armed non-state groups, including the dismantling of Hezbollah’s military infrastructure, full deployment of the Lebanese Armed Forces, including in the south, and, if requested by Lebanon, appropriate international support under UNSC Resolution 1701, while backing efforts towards a lasting settlement with Israel;

(ab) take note of UNSC Resolution 2803 of 17 November 2025 on the Comprehensive Plan to end the Gaza Conflict as a step towards enhanced dialogue and confidence-building among all relevant stakeholders and a credible pathway to a two-state solution; underline the importance of further exploring synergies and cooperation between any new mechanisms and existing international peace and security structures under the UN Charter; work actively with Member States to achieve a permanent ceasefire that is effectively implemented and respected and the full realisation of a two-state solution; condemn all violations of international humanitarian law, including war crimes;

(ab) urge the UN Security Council to refer the situation in Iran to the International Criminal Court, thereby granting the Court jurisdiction over crimes committed in the context of the international armed conflict and its wider regional dimension, with a view to ensuring accountability for war crimes, crimes against humanity and other serious violations of international criminal law committed by all parties, including state and non-state actors; underline the need to address the large-scale killings perpetrated by Iranian security forces against the civilian population in January 2026 as part of such international accountability efforts;

(ac) condemn unilateral action by Israel aimed at expanding its presence in the West Bank, the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared to be unlawful in its advisory opinion of 19 July 2024, the escalating violence by extremist settlers, and the forced displacement of Palestinians; urge all parties to fully comply with their obligations under international law to achieve a just, comprehensive and lasting peace based on a two-state solution; approve in the upcoming MFF an EU facility for the reconstruction of Gaza, providing sufficient and predictable financial support for reconstruction and democratic Palestinian governance, and contributing to the realisation of a two-state solution;

(ac) strongly condemn attacks against civilian objects, including schools and residential areas, which have led to the deaths of children and may constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law; recall that the prohibition on targeting civilian objects is one of the most fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, further recall that children are entitled to special protection under international law and call for full accountability for all violations committed against them;

(ad) reaffirm the role of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in delivering humanitarian aid and essential services, including health and education, to Palestinian refugees in Gaza and the wider region, noting that no viable alternative currently exists to replace its functions; continue to monitor the work and impartiality of UNRWA, ensuring credible security guarantees and full compliance with international law, including the implementation of the Colonna Report; welcome progress reports in this regard and urge the full and swift adoption of the report’s recommendations on strengthening neutrality safeguards and internal control systems within UNWRA; monitor the application of the action plan presented by UNRWA; call for UNRWA’s mandate and funding to be reinstated in full with strong oversight and accountability; stress that any form of cooperation with or tolerance of terrorism fundamentally undermines humanitarian principles, regional stability and prospects for peace;

(ad) take note of UNSC Resolution 2803 of 17 November 2025 on the Comprehensive Plan to end the Gaza Conflict; underline the importance of further exploring synergies and cooperation between any new mechanisms and existing international peace and security structures under the UN Charter; work actively with Member States to achieve a permanent ceasefire that is effectively implemented and respected and the full realisation of the two-state solution; stress that a sustainable future for Gaza requires the demilitarisation of Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza and that those groups should play no role in the governance and administration of the territory; condemn all violations of international humanitarian law, including war crimes;

(ae) build on the Commission’s continued engagement with relevant education authorities, and emphasise the importance of promoting educational curricula that foster coexistence, tolerance and reconciliation, as well as respect for human rights, in line with UNESCO standards; welcome the Commission’s continued engagement with the Palestinian Authority on curriculum reform and the tangible progress reported in 2025, including the ongoing review and amendment of textbooks by the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education to ensure alignment with UNESCO standards; urge the Palestinian Authority to remove all educational materials and content that fail to adhere to UNESCO standards, in particular those that contain antisemitism and incitement to violence and terrorism, to which Palestinian children should not be exposed;

(ae) condemn unilateral action by Israel aimed at expanding its presence in the West Bank, the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared to be unlawful in its advisory opinion of 19 July 2024, the escalating violence by extremist settlers, the forced displacement of Palestinians and the Knesset-approved bill expanding the use of the death penalty in both military and civilian courts; work actively to adopt targeted UNSC restrictive measures against violent Israeli settlers responsible for attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, in line with the European Council conclusions of 11 May 2026 under the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime; urge all parties to fully comply with their obligations under international law to achieve a just, comprehensive and lasting peace based on a two-state solution; approve in the upcoming MFF an EU facility for the reconstruction of Gaza, providing sufficient and predictable financial support for reconstruction and democratic Palestinian governance, and contributing to the realisation of a two-state solution;

(af) reconfirm the EU’s full commitment to respecting the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all its Member States, in accordance with the UN Charter; underline that the continued illegal presence of Turkish troops in the territory of the Republic of Cyprus, an EU Member State, constitutes a violation of international law and an infringement of basic human rights and therefore call for the immediate and complete withdrawal of Turkish occupation forces, the right of all refugees to return to their home, and the ascertainment of the fate of all missing persons; continue to support the swift resumption of the Cyprus settlement talks within the UN-agreed framework on the basis of a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation with political equality in accordance with relevant UN resolutions, and warn against any unilateral actions that are inconsistent with a peaceful settlement; call for the status of the buffer zone and the mandate of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus to be respected; support the work of the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General on Cyprus and the EU’s Special Envoy for Cyprus;

(af) reaffirm the role of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in delivering humanitarian aid and essential services, including health and education, to Palestinian refugees in Gaza and the wider region, noting that no viable alternative currently exists to replace its functions; continue to monitor the work and impartiality of UNRWA, ensuring credible security guarantees and full compliance with international law, including the implementation of the Colonna Report; welcome progress reports in this regard and urge the full and swift adoption of the report’s recommendations on strengthening neutrality safeguards and internal control systems within UNWRA; monitor the application of the action plan presented by UNRWA; call for UNRWA’s mandate and funding to be reinstated in full with strong oversight and accountability; stress that any form of cooperation with or tolerance of terrorism fundamentally undermines humanitarian principles, regional stability and prospects for peace;

(ag) emphasise that the political and security transition in Syria remains fragile and continues to be marked by insecurity, serious violations of human rights, displacement, and attacks against religious and ethnic communities; stand with Syria’s diverse society, which has suffered for over a decade under the Iran- and Russia-bolstered Assad regime and terrorist groups; support a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned inclusive political process safeguarding territorial integrity and reconciliation; call on the Syrian authorities to include all components of Syrian society in decision-making and ensure swift, transparent and independent investigations into acts targeting religious and ethnic communities to combat sectarian violence and impunity; underline the need for coordinated engagement by the EU and the UN to support this process, including the 29 January 2026 integration agreement between the Syrian transitional government and the Kurdish-led administration;

(ag) build on the Commission’s continued engagement with relevant education authorities, and emphasise the importance of promoting educational curricula that foster coexistence, tolerance and reconciliation, as well as respect for human rights, in both Israel and Palestine, in line with UNESCO standards; welcome the Commission’s continued engagement with the Palestinian Authority on curriculum reform and the tangible progress reported in 2025, including the ongoing review and amendment of textbooks by the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education to ensure alignment with UNESCO standards; urge the Palestinian Authority to remove any educational materials and content that fail to adhere to UNESCO standards, in particular those that contain antisemitism and incitement to violence and terrorism, to which children should not be exposed; emphasise the importance of condemning and eliminating all forms of hate speech and violent behaviour on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides, regardless of the context; stress the importance of education in building prospects for a two-state solution; reiterate the EU’s position that all schoolbooks and school materials on both sides must adhere to UNESCO standards of peace, tolerance, coexistence and non-violence;

(ah) maintain a firm stance against the de facto authorities in Afghanistan and the deteriorating humanitarian situation; continue and increase EU support for the Afghan people, especially women and girls whose rights are persistently violated by the Taliban; call on the Taliban to abolish restrictions limiting the equal access of women and girls to education and participation in public life; insist on maintaining strictly conditional engagement with the de facto authorities, in line with the benchmarks set by the EU and the recommendations of the UN Special Rapporteur; hold the de facto authorities in Afghanistan accountable through investigations conducted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the UN Independent Investigative Mechanism;

(ah) reconfirm the EU’s full commitment to respecting the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all its Member States, in accordance with the UN Charter; underline that the continued illegal presence of Turkish troops in the territory of the Republic of Cyprus, an EU Member State, constitutes a violation of international law and an infringement of basic human rights and therefore call for the immediate and complete withdrawal of Turkish occupation forces, the right of all refugees to return to their home, and the ascertainment of the fate of all missing persons; continue to support the swift resumption of the Cyprus settlement talks within the UN-agreed framework on the basis of a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation with political equality in accordance with relevant UN resolutions, and warn against any unilateral actions that are inconsistent with a peaceful settlement; call for the status of the buffer zone and the mandate of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus to be respected; support the work of the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General on Cyprus and the EU’s Special Envoy for Cyprus;

(ai) engage in diplomatic efforts to prevent further escalation in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea and oppose any unilateral change to the status quo by coercion or by force; work with like-minded partners to reinforce stability and security in the region and strengthen deterrence against coercive or military actions; keep defending the principle of the prohibition of the use of force codified in the UN Charter; underline that UN Resolution 2758 does not determine the sovereignty of Taiwan, nor does it mention Taiwan, and cannot be used to exclude Taiwan from the international system; step up EU support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organisations whose membership or activities are not limited to states, including those where observer status is possible, for the benefit of the international community; call on the UN to grant access to UN events to activists, civil society representatives, and journalists holding a Taiwanese passport;

(ai) strongly condemn the appointment of representatives of states showing systemic discrimination against women to seats or leadership roles in UN women’s and human rights bodies;

(aj) step up the Union’s role as a security partner of choice for Africa by strengthening cooperation among the EU, the African Union and the UN on conflict prevention, mediation and crisis response, including through predictable and sustainable financing for African-led peace operations, notably through the African Peace and Security Architecture and, where appropriate, UN-assessed contributions; address acute and interlinked security and humanitarian crises across the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including the spread of jihadist terrorism, violent extremism, military coups and state fragility; denounce explicitly the continuing violence and insecurity in eastern DRC, play an active and coordinated role in the peace process and call for renewed international efforts to promote justice, combat impunity and ensure full follow-up of the UN mapping report, including sanctions; call to expand the arms embargo regime that currently applies to Darfur to the rest of Sudan, with a view to achieving a lasting ceasefire in Sudan; respond to security vacuums exacerbated by the withdrawal of international missions and the growing presence of destabilising external actors, including Russian mercenary networks and hybrid interference; ensure that all EU security engagement is anchored in local ownership, democratic accountability, gender inclusion and the humanitarian-development-peace nexus, in line with UN peacebuilding and Women, Peace and Security frameworks;

(aj) emphasise that the political and security transition in Syria remains fragile and continues to be marked by insecurity, serious violations of human rights, displacement, and attacks against religious and ethnic communities; stand with Syria’s diverse society, which has suffered for over a decade under the Iran- and Russia-bolstered Assad regime and terrorist groups; support a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned inclusive political process safeguarding territorial integrity and reconciliation; call on the Syrian authorities to include all components of Syrian society in decision-making and ensure swift, transparent and independent investigations into acts targeting religious and ethnic communities to combat sectarian violence and impunity; underline the need for coordinated engagement by the EU and the UN to support this process, including the 29 January 2026 integration agreement between the Syrian transitional government and the Kurdish-led administration;

(ak) continue engaging with the UN to address global security challenges through conflict prevention, mediation, peacebuilding, crisis management, and counter-terrorism, in accordance with the EU-UN Strategic Partnership on Peace and Security; recognise the essential role of UN peace operations and leverage the review on the future of these operations to ensure that they are adapted in accordance with today’s security landscape; call for the creation of the necessary legal instruments defining the scope and the applicability of the principle of self-defence in order to adequately address the threats emanating from non-state actors in an era of growing asymmetric warfare and hybrid measures; highlight the interrelation between democracy support and security in the international arena; increase support to democracy promotion in line with Treaty obligations, including electoral observation;

(ak) reiterate that international human rights mechanisms must not be instrumentalised to create de facto migration rights or to undermine the sovereign right of states to control their borders and migration policies;

(al) reiterate the crucial role that women play in conflict mediation and peacekeeping missions; recall their underrepresentation at all levels within the UN and EU missions, and the crucial importance of protecting women and girls in conflict and post-conflict situations; stress the fundamental importance of ensuring full access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) for women and girls in conflict and post-conflict settings;

(al) maintain a firm stance against the de facto authorities in Afghanistan and the deteriorating humanitarian situation; continue and increase EU support for the Afghan people, especially women and girls whose rights are persistently violated by the Taliban; call on the Taliban to abolish restrictions limiting the equal access of women and girls to education and participation in public life; insist on maintaining strictly conditional engagement with the de facto authorities, in line with the benchmarks set by the EU and the recommendations of the UN Special Rapporteur; hold the de facto authorities in Afghanistan accountable through investigations conducted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the UN Independent Investigative Mechanism;

(am) acknowledge the severe risks arising from a new arms race and the weakening of global disarmament efforts, largely driven by Russia’s, China’s and North Korea’s nuclear build-up following Russia’s unilateral suspension of compliance with the New START Treaty in 2023; call on all nuclear-armed states to halt quantitative and qualitative expansions of their nuclear arsenals and to engage in risk-reduction, transparency and arms-control processes; continue to safeguard and reinforce the multilateral frameworks governing non-proliferation and arms control, as well as those regulating the export of arms and dual-use goods and technologies; promote and strengthen multilateral instruments against the production, stockpiling and use of chemical and biological weapons;

(am) engage in diplomatic efforts to prevent further escalation in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea and oppose any unilateral change to the status quo by coercion or by force; work with like-minded partners to reinforce stability and security in the region and strengthen deterrence against coercive or military actions; keep defending the principle of the prohibition of the use of force codified in the UN Charter; underline that UN Resolution 2758 does not determine the sovereignty of Taiwan, nor does it mention Taiwan, and cannot be used to exclude Taiwan from the international system; step up EU support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organisations whose membership or activities are not limited to states, including those where observer status is possible, for the benefit of the international community; call on the UN to grant access to UN events to activists, civil society representatives, and journalists holding a Taiwanese passport;

(an) step up efforts to end impunity and ensure accountability for violations of international law, including by supporting the swift adoption of the convention on the prevention and punishment of crimes against humanity, strengthening independent investigations into international crimes, and fully supporting the ICC and the ICJ as essential, independent and impartial judicial institutions, including by upholding the Rome Statute and recognising the binding nature of the ICJ’s orders and judgments; deplore the unprecedented threats, among others by the United States, faced by the ICC, and call for the activation, effective application and strengthening of the EU Blocking Statute to protect the independence and functioning of international judicial bodies, in particular the ICC and the ICJ and bodies cooperating with and supporting these courts;

(an) encourage the Kingdom of Thailand and the Kingdom of Cambodia to resolve any disputes peacefully and through diplomatic dialogue, making full use of established bilateral, regional and international mechanisms in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and relevant treaties and agreements;

(ao) call for a comprehensive revision of international sanctions regimes to ensure greater effectiveness, coherence and accountability, while preventing their politicisation and minimising their potentially negative impact on civilian populations, in line with international law;

(ao) step up the Union’s role as a security partner of choice for Africa by strengthening cooperation among the EU, the African Union and the UN on conflict prevention, mediation and crisis response, including through predictable and sustainable financing for African-led peace operations, notably through the African Peace and Security Architecture and, where appropriate, UN-assessed contributions; address acute and interlinked security and humanitarian crises across the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including the spread of jihadist terrorism, violent extremism, military coups and state fragility; denounce explicitly the continuing violence and insecurity in eastern DRC, play an active and coordinated role in the peace process and call for renewed international efforts to promote justice, combat impunity and ensure full follow-up of the UN mapping report, including sanctions; call to expand the arms embargo regime that currently applies to Darfur to the rest of Sudan, with a view to achieving a lasting ceasefire in Sudan; respond to security vacuums exacerbated by the withdrawal of international missions and the growing presence of destabilising external actors, including Russian mercenary networks and hybrid interference; ensure that all EU security engagement is anchored in local ownership, democratic accountability, gender inclusion and the humanitarian-development-peace nexus, in line with UN peacebuilding and Women, Peace and Security frameworks;

(ap) condemn all attacks, threats, and acts of violence against UN personnel, peacekeepers, and UN facilities, and call on all parties in conflict to respect the safety, security, and neutrality of UN staff and infrastructure, in full accordance with international law, including the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel;

(ap) continue engaging with the UN to address global security challenges through conflict prevention, mediation, peacebuilding, crisis management, and counter-terrorism, in accordance with the EU-UN Strategic Partnership on Peace and Security; recognise the essential role of UN peace operations and leverage the review on the future of these operations to ensure that they are adapted in accordance with today’s security landscape; call for the creation of the necessary legal instruments defining the scope and the applicability of the principle of self-defence in order to adequately address the threats emanating from non-state actors in an era of growing asymmetric warfare and hybrid measures; highlight the interrelation between democracy support and security in the international arena; increase support to democracy promotion in line with Treaty obligations, including electoral observation;

(aq) reiterate the crucial role that women play in conflict mediation and peacekeeping missions; recall their underrepresentation at all levels within the UN and EU missions, and the crucial importance of protecting women and girls in conflict and post-conflict situations; stress the fundamental importance of ensuring full access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) for women and girls in conflict and post-conflict settings;

(ar) acknowledge the severe risks arising from a new arms race and the weakening of global disarmament efforts, largely driven by Russia’s, China’s and North Korea’s nuclear build-up following Russia’s unilateral suspension of compliance with the New START Treaty in 2023; call on all nuclear-armed states to halt quantitative and qualitative expansions of their nuclear arsenals and to engage in risk-reduction, transparency and arms-control processes; continue to safeguard and reinforce the multilateral frameworks governing non-proliferation and arms control, as well as those regulating the export of arms and dual-use goods and technologies; promote and strengthen multilateral instruments against the production, stockpiling and use of chemical and biological weapons;

(as) step up efforts to end impunity and ensure accountability for violations of international law, including by supporting the swift adoption of the convention on the prevention and punishment of crimes against humanity, strengthening independent investigations into international crimes, and fully supporting the ICC and the ICJ as essential, independent and impartial judicial institutions, including by upholding the Rome Statute and recognising the binding nature of the ICJ’s orders and judgments; deplore the unprecedented threats, among others by the United States, faced by the ICC, and call for the activation, effective application and strengthening of the EU Blocking Statute to protect the independence and functioning of international judicial bodies, in particular the ICC and the ICJ and bodies cooperating with and supporting these courts;

(at) call for a comprehensive revision of international sanctions regimes to ensure greater effectiveness, coherence and accountability, while preventing their politicisation and minimising their potentially negative impact on civilian populations, in line with international law;

(au) condemn all attacks, threats, and acts of violence against UN personnel, peacekeepers, and UN facilities, and call on all parties in conflict to respect the safety, security, and neutrality of UN staff and infrastructure, in full accordance with international law, including the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel; highlight, in this regard, the courageous action of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, which includes several European contingents operating in difficult conditions, and pay tribute to the memory of the two soldiers from the French contingent killed in southern Lebanon in an ambush carried out by Hezbollah on 18 April 2026; express particular concern at the repeated attacks against Italian military personnel deployed in Lebanon as part of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon mission, which have resulted in injuries and threatened the peacekeeping force’s stability, and recommend stepping up coordinated UN protection measures, including independent investigations and sanctions against those responsible for the attacks, in order to ensure the mission’s effective operability and compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 1701;

Sustainable development and human rights

(aq)(av) continue integrating a human rights-based approach into sustainable development, acknowledging that the full realisation of human rights is a cornerstone of the 2030 Agenda; emphasise the EU’s leading role as the world’s largest provider of official development assistance; deepen multilateral cooperation to strengthen preparedness and build resilience against crises and challenges that threaten progress on the SDGs; stress that EU development cooperation and bilateral assistance must be made conditional upon respect for fundamental human rights, democratic principles and the values enshrined in the EU Treaties;

(ar)(aw) further leverage the Global Gateway as a sustainable, transparent, democratic and values-based alternative to competing infrastructure initiatives, particularly those of Russia and China, as a strategic instrument to strengthen the Union’s geopolitical presence, visibility and resilience worldwide, and as an initiative which contributes to delivering on the SDGs by fostering mutual growth, economic activity and job creation in partner countries, while strengthening the EU’s strategic autonomy, geopolitical position and global credibility; nonetheless improve the compliance monitoring and performance assessment of projects funded through the Global Gateway strategy;

(as)(ax) welcome the outcomes of recent UN summits calling for strengthening and modernising international financial institutions, including the IMF and the World Bank; call for making the international financial architecture more effective and inclusive, scaling up concessional and development finance, addressing unsustainable debt through improved debt relief and restructuring mechanisms, and aligning financial flows with the SDGs and climate commitments;

(at)(ay) warn against the use of financial leverage, extraterritorial measures and economic coercion as tools of foreign policy, which undermine trust in the international financial system and contribute to global instability and inequality;

(au)(az) reaffirm and assert unequivocally that all human rights, especially those enshrined in UN conventions are universal and must be fully upheld; call on the UN to condemn global trends undermining these rights, including the increasing marginalisation of human rights and the shrinking space for civil society, including in long-standing democracies;

(av)(ba) promote a human-centric, rights-based transformation by supporting an inclusive, open, safe, and secure digital future and ensuring the effective implementation of the Global Digital Compact;

(aw)(bb) continue promoting women’s rights as enshrined in the UN Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action; deploy all tools at its disposal to combat violence against women and girls in the EU and worldwide; give particular attention to vulnerable and marginalised communities in states where women’s rights are repeatedly being undermined by the national governments; step up EU funding to UN Women, the United Nations Population Fund and other UN programmes working to promote women’s rights, gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls;

(ax)(bc) pursue further consistent dialogue across UN fora on the need to combat persistent discrimination against the LGBTIQ+ community and ensure equal access to social protection, healthcare, education and access to goods and services; support the UN Free & Equal campaign by increasing public awareness and promoting stronger legal protections, particularly in states where discriminatory practices remain widespread;

(ay)(bd) prioritise the fight against disinformation and fake news spread through algorithmic amplification by large online platforms, the growing use of large language models without adequate safeguards and their exploitation by malicious foreign actors, and the failure of big technology companies to meet their obligations under existing legislation on this topic, undermining democracy and electoral processes; call on the UNGA to adopt stronger frameworks for addressing hybrid threats, including disinformation campaigns and other non-kinetic influence operations that undermine democratic processes and social cohesion globally; work towards implementing a global framework to protect minors online, including requirements for identity verification on social media platforms with the objective of ensuring that each user account corresponds to a natural person using their legal name and identity while ensuring that such measures are implemented in full compliance with applicable standards on personal data protection; provide the strategic communication and foresight divisions of the European External Action Service with sufficient resources to effectively combat anti-EU disinformation campaigns and narratives deployed strategically by authoritarian and illiberal regimes that seek to undermine both EU relations with Latin America, Africa and Asia and EU external action in multilateral fora;

(az)(be) emphasise the importance of ensuring a safe environment, editorial independence and financial support for the media; fight against the escalating threats against journalists worldwide, particularly women journalists, who are disproportionately targeted; strengthen collaboration with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on promoting the implementation of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity;

(ba)(bf) strengthen the promotion of freedom of religion, thought, conscience and belief, which is a universal human right, and call for more robust measures to protect all religious, ethnic and other minorities, including Christian, Muslim and Jewish communities; strongly condemn the persecution of all religious communities, particularly Christians, who are subject to widespread persecution worldwide, and all forms of violence or discrimination against other faith communities; urge all UN Member States to guarantee full freedom of religion and worship for all individuals in line with their international human rights commitments;

(bb)(bg) reiterate the need to review the process for the election of the UNHRC, in particular to prevent countries that violate human rights from sitting in the Council; underline the obligation of the UNGA to consider candidates’ commitment to promoting and protecting human rights when electing members of the UNHRC; call on EU Member States to adopt a coordinated position in relation to UNHRC membership and to vote against all UNHRC candidates that fail to uphold human rights;

(bc)(bh) reinforce the EU’s commitment to promoting global health together with partners by supporting vaccination campaigns, implementing the Pandemic Agreement, tackling non-communicable diseases, and strengthening multilateral mechanisms for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response;

(bd)(bi) strengthen the promotion of artistic freedom, and the protection of cultural heritage and cultural rights by supporting the work of UNESCO and moving towards the establishment of an EU standing rapporteur or permanent EU interlocutor to the UNESCO;

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2. Instructs its President to forward this recommendation to the Council, the Commission and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and, for information, the United Nations General Assembly and the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

In view of growing global instability, multiple conflicts and crises, and growing threats to the multilateral system, it is of critical importance to uphold and strengthen the rules-based international order and to ensure the efficient functioning of intergovernmental organisations. The report underlines the need to support an effective rules-based multilateral order with the UN at its core, promote and defend international law, and uphold the rules and principles of the UN Charter, while working towards a more effective, efficient, transparent, financially sustainable and responsive UN that is capable of meeting current and emerging global challenges.

The report recalls the EU’s commitment to human rights, sustainable development and multilateral cooperation, emphasising the EU’s leading role in development assistance, its support for the Sustainable Development Goals, and the need to counter disinformation, protect fundamental freedoms, and to uphold freedom of religion or belief. It also underlines the importance of modernising UN mandates and practices to ensure effectiveness, impartiality and credibility across the system.

It advocates for leveraging multilateral cooperation to better address current challenges such as maintaining international peace and security, combating the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, fostering sustainable development, and promoting human rights worldwide.

ANNEX: DECLARATION OF INPUT

The rapporteur declares under his exclusive responsibility that he did not include in his report input from interest representatives falling within the scope of the Interinstitutional Agreement on a mandatory transparency register, or from representatives of public authorities of third countries, including their diplomatic missions and embassies, to be listed in this Annex pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure.

INFORMATION ON ADOPTION BY THE COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE

Date adopted

15.4.2026

Result of final vote

+:

–:

0:

52

18

2

Key to symbols: