PRESS CONFERENCE BY GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT

Development, institutional reform and peace and security were the priorities moved for the General Assembly during its fifty-eighth session addressed in the context of the Millennium Development Goals, the Assembly’s President, Julian R. Hunte, told correspondents this morning at a Headquarters press conference.

Mr. Hunte, Saint Lucia’s Minister for External Affairs, International Trade and Civil Aviation, said with the help of his cabinet and within the Assembly’s committee system, he would do whatever he could to facilitate progress on those issues.

Asked about prospects for institutional reforms, he said that in the “post-Iraq war environment” he had detected a new sense of commitment and urgency to see some reform in the Assembly and the Security Council.  The issue of geographical representation had come to the fore again.  Nearly all 189 speakers during the general debate, including 77 heads of State or government, had touched on the subject.  Institutional reform encompassed two issues:  revitalization of the General Assembly; and reform of the Security Council.  As for Council reform, he intended to come up with some bold ideas, after thorough research of ideas proposed since the Council’s inception.

Mr. Hunte said he would work in parallel with the Secretary-General, who had proposed “radical reforms” and was in the process of establishing a group of eminent persons to report on the issue by the end of the fifty-eighth session.  As the terms of reference for that group was not known, however, he had to move forward with his own work.  He would have to wait for consultations to determine exactly what was meant by “radical”.  Regarding Assembly revitalization, he intended to put forward recommendations by 16 October, and solicit views from the United Nations membership.  He intended to do the same for Council reform by 15 November.

Revitalization could be brought somewhat to a head, given the new willingness to move forward, he said.  The General Assembly consisted of 191 Member States, all of whom had their own issues.  Focusing on one item, as, according to a correspondent, the United States had proposed, was therefore not possible.  The agenda contained 173 items, and streamlining the agenda was one of the things being examined.  Other areas for reform in the near future included prioritization of agenda items and moving away from traditional Assembly debate towards more round tables and interactive discussions.

The work of the Assembly was not broken, he responded to a correspondent’s question.  It needed updating.  The Assembly could not remain static, as the world was changing.  Issues such as the decision-making process and relevance of discussion topics had to be addressed.  Decisions were often taken by resolutions for which consensus was sought.  However, by the time consensus was achieved, a resolution was often so “watered down” it no longer made sense.  He had told Committee chairmen to hold regular press conferences to avoid the perception of a “closed-shop” organization and to ensure public awareness.  He also wanted to use the General Committee more creatively, as a resource for Assembly management.

He said Council reform was a bigger issue, involving such matters as the veto and permanent membership.  The issue of geographic representation had come to the fore again as well.  Since 1945, the world had changed, and now that Europe had become more or less one country, the need for three permanent representatives from that continent was being questioned.  The issue was also a bone of contention for many developing countries.  In that regard, a permanent seat for a country from Latin America was certainly called for.  Geographical representation was required by the Charter.  Moreover, he had detected a consensus that opening up the system to a broader representation might have a positive impact on the Council’s work.

Council reform had been an issue since the beginning of the United Nations, he said, and many ideas had been put forward.  Now, there was a need to look afresh at the issue and arrive at a decision.  He hoped for flexibility and political will to make the necessary changes.  He intended to come up with some bold ideas and assessments.

To another question, he said other items that had come up during the general debate were development issues and the Millennium Development Goals.  Development was a key priority and included issues such as debt, aid, trade -- Cancun had been mentioned frequently -- and corporate accountability.  Another important issue was the environment, including global warming and rising sea levels.

Speaking in his national capacity, Mr. Hunte said the 10-year review for the Barbados Plan of Action, planned for August next year in Mauritius, would be extremely important, among other things to address the vulnerabilities of small islands.  If nothing was done about global warming and rising sea levels, some islands in the Pacific Ocean would just disappear.  Asked about a free trade zone in the Caribbean, he said such a zone would not change the political status of the islands.

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