The General Assembly is “at the heart” of the United Nations, according to the head of the UN Department which supports dialogue and cooperation among the 193 countries that make up the global organization.

The previous two weeks of intense activity at United Nations headquarters were an “historic” convergence of high-level events, said the spokesperson for the President of the UN General Assembly.

Burundi’s foreign minister denied that the country’s human rights record is deteriorating on Friday, following an upsurge in arrests and civil unrest.

The warring parties in Libya have been urged to form a government of national unity, at a high-level UN meeting on the future of their country on Friday.

Failure to do so, would only allow the extremist militants of ISIL to gain a stronger foothold in Libya, the meeting heard.