UPDATE: The draft resolution passed on 14 June 2019 by silent procedure, becoming A/RES/73/299 (link to UN's website). The document can be found along side its draft at the bottom of this page.
On 28 May 2019, the Co-facilitators leading planning process for the celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the UN Charter released the draft resolution on the modalities of the events. The drafting process began back in February when President of the General Assembly (PGA) Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces appointed Ambassadors Gafoor from Singapore and Ellertsdottir from Iceland as co-facilitators to lead the intergovernmental consolations on the date and modality of the celebrations. This resolution is the culmination of the months long plenary process, which included at least four closed meetings of the co-facilitators and MS to discuss the contents of the resolution. While, as of the publication of this article, the resolution has not been passed; it is unlikely to change at this time.
The resolution starts by stating the theme of the 75th anniversary: “The Future We Want, the UN We Need; Reaffirming Our Collective Commitment to Multilateralism.” The document says that the sentiment should guide not only the celebration, but also all activities planned by the UN throughout 2020.
The draft establishes a high level event on [Saturday] 21 September 2020, previously established by the UN to be International Day of Peace, at the UN Headquarters (UNHQ) in New York. The event will start at 9am, run till 9pm, with the PGA opening. Their speech will be followed by statements from the presidents and heads of other UN organs, youth representatives, a representative of the host country, then Member States (MS). Participation by Heads of State and Governments are encouraged. A sub-clause in the draft establishes that no other meetings or side events will be organized in parallel that day at the UNHQ.
Other events will be held to commemorate 26 June, the signing of the Charter by the first 50 states, and 24 October, the official ratification of the Charter by the permanent five and the majority of signatories. The document does not go into specifics, however, requesting that the PGA of the 74th Session of the GA determine the modalities of the ceremonies.
The resolution as a whole encourages the participation by civil society organizations (CSOs) in all activities to commemorate the 75th anniversary, but specifically invites the participation of youth. Item 6. calls for the convening of a Youth Plenary at the UNHQ during the 74th session of the GA, and in conjunction with the 2020 ECOSOC Youth Forum. The group is to engage in a youth driven global dialogue, although no modalities or specifics are outlined, and representatives of the group will address the 21 September high level meeting.
Lastly, the resolution welcomes the appointment of a “focal point” in the Executive Office of the Secretary General to coordinate activities and planning, referring Special Adviser on the Preparations for the Commemoration of the United Nations’ 75th Anniversary Mr. Fabrizio Hochschild Drummond who was appointed back in 18 April 2019. The resolution further requests that the Secretary-General create a mechanism to receive voluntary contributions from MS to fund the festivities.
The clause about CSOs made it into the draft with much advocacy by CURE partner UN2020, who for the past two years have built a coalition of stakeholder CSOs who wish to use the anniversary as a platform for UN reform and the advancement of their issues. UN2020 met with missions, delegations, and representatives of the co-facilitators, and petitioned for the inclusion of specific language which welcomed the involvement of civil society in celebration, so their voices could be heard.
The full draft resolution is available on the PGA’s website, or attached at the bottom of this page.
