By Mie Hansen
30 March 2012
On 27 March 2012 the ad hoc working group on revitalization of the work of the General Assembly held its first meeting of the 66th General Assembly session. The working group, established pursuant to resolution 65/315, is during the current session Co-Chaired by Ambassador Alexander Lomaia of Georgia and Ambassador Susan Waffa-Ogoo of the Gambia. The meeting was dedicated to a general exchange of views among the Member States on all of the issues included in the revitalization of the work of the General Assembly. This article provides a summary of the meeting and the statements made.
The meeting was opened by Co-Chair Ambassador Alexander Lomaia of Georgia who welcomed the Member States and encouraged them to use the meeting to further develop their views and to present concrete proposals on the revitalization of the work of the General Assembly (GA).
After this introduction, the President of the General Assembly (PGA), Ambassador Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, delivered a statement, reiterating the importance of reforming the UN in order for it to remain strong, efficient and effective. The President said that reforming the UN, in large part, relies on enhancing the role and authority of the Assembly, letting it attain the political power it deserves and the prestige necessary to reflect its role in global decision-making. The President stated that while some success has been achieved in the revitalization process, much more is still to be done. One of the most fundamental issues in strengthening the Assembly is the implementation of its own resolutions, and the President reminded Member States of their responsibility in this regard. Further, the President said that the 66th GA session offers an opportunity to reiterate the Assembly’s role in matters related to peace and security. Such a role should not be perceived as a substitute for the mandate of other principal UN organs, the President said, but instead be seen as a complimentary, viable alternative for the international community to act in moments of deadlock. The President concluded his statement by inviting Member States to engage actively in the discussion, providing innovative and concrete proposal.
Following the statement of the PGA, all in all 17 Member States took the floor. Several Member States thanked the President for putting the revitalization of the work of the GA on the agenda during its 66th session and this way emphasizing the importance of the issue. A general concern among the Member States seemed to be the lack of implementation of resolutions and many suggested that this issue should be a focus area for the working group. Member States also addressed a range of other issues, including: The role and authority of the GA; the role of the Assembly in selecting and appointing Secretary-Generals; strengthening the Office of the PGA; and improving the working methods of the Assembly.
The first Member State to deliver a statement was Algeria, speaking on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). The NAM reiterated that revitalization of the work of the GA is a critical component of the wider reform of the UN. As one of the main issues of revitalization, the NAM mentioned implementation of resolutions, saying that there is a need for a thorough evaluation of the status of implementation of GA resolutions and a clear identification of the underlying causes behind any lack of implementation. Further, the NAM reaffirmed the role and authority of the GA, including in questions related to international peace and security. The NAM also called for strict respect by Member States of the Charter based prerogatives of the UN’s principal organs, in particular the GA, and objected to the encroachment of the Security Council on the powers and prerogatives of the Assembly. Continuing, the NAM stressed the importance of ensuring the effectiveness of the Office of the PGA, including through increasing its budget and strengthening its institutional memory. Concerning the selection and appointment of Secretary-Generals, the NAM stressed the importance of making the process transparent and inclusive as well as implementing already existing resolutions on the issue. Finally, the NAM pointed out that it was important to devote separate meetings for each of the five issues on the agenda of the ad hoc working group, in order to get a better interactive discussion.
A range of states aligned themselves with the statement made by Algeria on behalf of the NAM but also added some comments in their national capacity. These were Egypt, India, Cuba, Malaysia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Indonesia and Iran.
Several of these Member States reiterated the importance of the revitalization of the work of the GA, saying that it must be considered on equal terms with the other UN reform issues. Several of the NAM members expressed concern over the encroachment of the Security Council on the powers and prerogatives of the Assembly and some suggested that the working group should focus on identifying the areas of encroachment. Iran said that although several resolutions had been adopted on the issue, the encroachment had only increased in recent years. Venezuela said that when the Security Council interference on issues like environments and development obstructed developing countries in finding solutions to problems. Several of the NAM members stressed that the issue of revitalization is a political matter that demands political will in order to move forward. Revitalization is not a procedural question, and focusing merely on improving technical aspects in the work of the GA would to lead to real reform, some NAM members said.
Nicaragua underlined that the first step to revitalizing the GA was to implement already existing resolutions. Cuba pointed to the fact that the failure to implement resolutions was unacceptable when the resolutions had been agreed to by consensus, and Egypt said that implementation of already existing resolutions should be a priority for the working group during the 66th GA session.
Concerning the strengthening the Office of the PGA, several of the NAM members stressed that it was important to provide the office with adequate resources. This issue was highlighted by among others Nicaragua who said that it was important making sure that also countries with limited resources could reside in the Office.
Among others, India and Egypt stressed the need for enhancing the role of the GA in the process of selecting and appointing the Secretary-General. In this regard, India said that the Assembly had been the one limiting its own role in the process and that it therefore needed to claw back its rightful position.
Other issues that were raised by the members of the NAM included the annual report of the Security Council to the General Assembly, which Cuba said should be more analytical instead of a mere summary of events. Indonesia also touched upon the relationship of the Assembly with civil society, commending the efforts done to improve this relationship.
Next statement was delivered by the European Union (EU), also speaking on behalf of a list of aligned States. The EU reiterated its priorities for UN reform as strengthening the UN based on effective and sustainable funding – in line with real capacity to pay, and increasing the efficiency of its functioning. As the NAM, the EU also mentioned implementation of resolutions as an important issue to focus on in the working group during the current session. Further, the EU said that for the union and its aligned states, revitalization means a more streamlined, more accountable and more effective GA at dealing with the issues currently on its agenda. In regard to the working methods of the Assembly the EU stressed the importance of further rationalizing and streamlining the agendas of the Assembly and its Main Committees. It would be appropriate to examine further the biennialization, triennialization of items, as well as their clustering and elimination. Continuing, the EU said that technical matters such as electronic voting systems, document management and timely translations merited further attention by the working group. The EU also said that the relationship between the Assembly and the other organs of the UN should benefit from information about meetings between the President of the GA, the President of the Security Council and that of the ECOSOC. Further, the EU said that it was important to improve the public and media awareness of the work of the Assembly.
Norway aligned itself with the statement made by the EU but also added some reflections in its national capacity. The objective of the revitalization process, Norway said, should be to maximize the ability of the GA to make a positive contribution to addressing global issues by reducing the time and resources spent on repetitive discussion that do little to further the cause in question and that damage the credibility of the GA itself. Norway therefore said that focus in the revitalization process should be put on streamlining the agenda of the GA; reducing the number of repetitive resolutions; strengthening the cooperation with other parts of the UN; and finally continuing to build to the recent initiative to stage thematic debates on important global issues, with an even more active outreach program.
Among the other Member States delivering statements was The United States, who listed the three main issues of revitalization: 1) Streamlining the GA agenda. 2) Improving the working methods of the Assembly and increasing the visibility of the work of the Assembly. 3) Improving the coordination and cooperation between the organs of the UN.
China reiterated the need to implement existing resolutions and said that the working methods of the Assembly need to be improved.
Japan pointed out three key parts in process of revitalizing the GA: 1) Strengthening the relationship between the GA and the other UN organs. 2) Strengthening public awareness of the work of the GA. 3) Strengthening the institutional memory of the Office of the PGA.
Argentina stressed the importance of close coordination and cooperation between the GA and other UN organs. Argentina also highlighted the need for focus on improving the process of selecting and appointing Secretary-Generals. Finally, Argentina said that in order for the Office of the PGA to be effective and efficient the necessary resources should be ensured.
The Republic of Korea said the further process of revitalization should be built on previous resolution and a review of the status of implementation of resolutions. According to Korea, more focus should be put on strengthening the agenda of the GA; enhancing the cooperation and coordination between the GA and the other UN bodies; and strengthening the institutional memory of the Office of the PGA.
Some Member States as well as the President of the GA had, during the meeting, referred to the current situation in Syria in regard to the revitalization of the work of the GA. Syria delivered a statement expressing its opposition to this.
The meeting was concluded by Co-Chair Ambassador Susan Waffa-Ogoo of the Gambia who summed up some of the most important points raised by the Member States during the meeting. She thanked the Member States for their contributions and ensured that each of the issues of revitalization would get proper attention in order for the Member States to engage in fruitful discussions. The Co-Chairs are expected to come out with a work plan soon, detailing the meetings of the working group planned for the spring.
