WITHOUT VOTE, SECOND COMMITTEE APPROVES FOUR DRAFT RESOLUTIONS

Fifty-sixth General Assembly

Second Committee

38^th Meeting (PM)

WITHOUT VOTE, SECOND COMMITTEE APPROVES FOUR DRAFT RESOLUTIONS

Texts Cover Biodiversity Convention, International Cooperation for

Development, Renewable Energy, Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries

By one of four draft resolutions approved without a vote this afternoon by the Second Committee (Economic and Financial), the General Assembly would call on parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity to settle urgently any arrears and to pay their contributions in full and in a timely manner, so as to ensure continuity in the cash flows required to finance the ongoing work of the Conference of the Parties (COP), the subsidiary bodies and the Convention secretariat.

The text on high-level dialogue on strengthening international economic cooperation for development through partnership, also approved without a vote, would have the Assembly request the Secretary-General, in close consultations with governments, all relevant parts of the United Nations system and other relevant stakeholders, to propose the modalities, the nature and the timing of such constructive dialogue and genuine partnership for the promotion of international economic cooperation for development, for consideration by the Assembly at its next session.

In that connection, the Committee also took note of the summary by the President of the General Assembly of the high-level dialogue on the theme “Responding to globalization:  facilitating the integration of developing countries into the world economy in the twenty-first century” (A/56/482).

Another draft resolution, on promotion of new and renewable sources of energy, including the implementation of the World Solar Programme 1996-2005, would have the Assembly reiterate its call on all relevant funding institutions and bilateral and multilateral donors, as well as regional funding institutions and non-governmental organizations, to support efforts for the development of the renewable energy sector in developing countries.

By the terms of the draft resolution on economic and technical cooperation among developing countries, the Assembly would call on all relevant United Nations organizations and multilateral institutions to consider increasing allocations of human, technical and financial resources for South-South cooperation.

Further, it would reiterate its request to the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to ensure that the separate identity of the Special Unit for Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries is maintained, and that the Unit is supported so that it may fully implement its mandate and responsibilities as a focal point of the United Nations system for South-South cooperation.

The texts were introduced by the Chairmen of the Committee -- Felix Mbayu (Cameroon), Dharmansjah Djumala (Indonesia) and Garfield Barnwell (Guyana).

Also this afternoon, the Committee heard the introduction of a draft resolution by the representative of Iran, on behalf of the Group of 77 developing countries and China, on the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries.

The Committee will meet again at 3 p.m. on Tuesday 11 December to continue its consideration of draft resolutions.