Economic and Social Council

2006 Organizational Session

9^th & 10^th Meetings (AM & PM)

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL FILLS VACANCIES TO SUBSIDIARY BODIES

The Economic and Social Council today filled vacancies on a number of its subsidiary bodies -- voting by secret ballot to complete the membership of, respectively, the Commission on the Status of Women and the Executive Board of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)/United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) -- while holding three rounds of voting to fill seats on the International Narcotics Control Board.

The 54-member Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is the principal organ coordinating socio-economic and related work, of the 14 United Nations specialized agencies, 10 functional commissions and 5 regional commissions.  The Council also receives reports from 11 United Nations funds and programmes.  It serves as the central forum for discussing international economic and social issues, and for formulating policy recommendations addressed to Member States and the United Nations system.

In three rounds of voting, the Council elected seven members to the International Narcotics Control Board, all for five-year terms, beginning 2 March 2007: Sri Suryawati (Indonesia) and Hamid Ghodse (Iran), from among candidates nominated by the World Health Organization (WHO); and Maria Elena Medina-Mora Icaza (Mexico), Raymond Yans (Belgium), Melvyn Levitsky (United States), Xin Yu (China) and Carola Lander (Germany), from among candidates nominated by Governments.

The Council also filled 11 seats on the 45-member Commission on the Status of Women today, electing by acclamation, for four-year terms, beginning at the first meeting of the Commission’s fifty-second session in 2007:  Gabon, Namibia, Niger (African States); Armenia and Azerbaijan (Eastern European States); Paraguay (Latin American and Caribbean States); and Belgium, Spain and Turkey (Western European and Other States).  By secret ballot, the Council also elected Cambodia and Pakistan (Asian States).

As for the Executive Board of UNDP/UNFPA, the Council today filled 14 vacancies that would occur on 31 December 2006, electing: Angola, Central African Republic, Somalia, Malawi and Senegal (African States); Bhutan, China and India (Asian States); Serbia and Montenegro (Eastern European States); and Germany, Greece, Spain and Sweden (Western European and other States).  By secret ballot, it elected Antigua and Barbuda (Latin American States).  All were elected to three-year terms, beginning 1 January 2007.

President Ali Hachani of Tunisia added that, with Turkey resigning its seat on the Board as of 31 December 2006, Italy had been endorsed to complete the term (ending 31 December 2007), and, with New Zealand resigning its seat at the end of 2006, Belgium had been endorsed to complete the term, through the end of 2008.

Also today, the Council elected to serve four-year terms on the Commission on Population and Development: Benin and Equatorial Guinea (African States); Iran (Asian States); and Poland (Eastern European and other States).  Those terms would begin at the first meeting of the Commission’s forty-first session, in 2007, and expire at the close of its forty-fourth session, in 2001.  The Council postponed elections to fill four remaining vacancies on the 47-member Commission.

Turning to the Commission for Social Development, the Council elected, for four-year terms, beginning at the first meeting of the Commission’s forty-sixth session in 2007, and expiring at the close of its forty-ninth session in 2011: Benin, Cameroon, Egypt and Namibia (African States); India, Nepal, and United Arab Emirates (Asian States); Cuba, Jamaica and Mexico (Latin American and Caribbean States); and Spain (Western European and Other States).  With candidates proposed to fill only 11 of the 14 open seats, the Council decided to postpone the election of the three remaining members on the Commission.

The Council filled all 20 vacancies on the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, electing, for three-year terms beginning 1 January 2007: Cameroon, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and South Africa (African States); India, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (Asian States); Republic of Moldova and Ukraine (Eastern European States); Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala and Jamaica (Latin American and Caribbean States); and Canada, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States (Western European and Other States).  The Council also elected the United Republic of Tanzania to fill a vacancy on which action had been postponed from an earlier session.  That term would begin today and expire on 31 December 2008.

As for the 17 seats to be filled on the Commission on Sustainable Development, the Council elected, to three-year terms, beginning at the organizational meeting of the Commission’s sixteenth session in 2007, and expiring at the close of its eighteenth session in 2010: Cape Verde, Gambia, Guinea and South Africa (African States); Bahrain, Japan, India and Iran (Asian States); Poland and Croatia (Eastern European States); Costa Rica, Guatemala and Haiti (Latin America and Caribbean States); and France, the Netherlands and Switzerland (Western European and Other States).  The Committee postponed action on the remaining open seat.

Turning next to fill 17 vacancies on the Commission for Science and Technology, the Council elected, to four-year terms, beginning 1 January 2007: Eritrea, Lesotho, Tunisia and Uganda (African States); China, India, Iran and Malaysia (Asian States); Belarus and Latvia (Eastern European States); Cuba, El Salvador and Dominican Republic (Latin American and Caribbean States); and France and Germany (Western European and Other States).  With no candidates proposed, the Council postponed action on electing the final two members.

Next, taking up the Committee for Programme and Coordination, the Council nominated, for election by the General Assembly, to three-year terms, beginning 1 January 2007: Comoros and Zimbabwe (African States); Russian Federation (Eastern European States); and Haiti (Latin American and Caribbean States).  It postponed election of members to fill the three remaining open seats.  The President also reminded the Council that there was one leftover vacancy from last year on the Committee, in the Western European and Other States Group.  To date, no nominee had been proposed to fill that seat.

The Council filled all 19 of the vacancies on the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations, electing, to four-year terms, beginning on 1 January 2007: Angola, Burundi, Egypt, Guinea and the Sudan (African States); China, India, Qatar and Pakistan (Asian States); Russian Federation and Romania (Eastern European States); Colombia, Cuba, Dominica and Peru (Latin American and Caribbean States); and Israel, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States (Western European and Other States).

It also filled 7 of 13 vacancies on the Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on International Standards of Accounting and Reporting, by electing, for three-year terms, beginning 1 January 2007: Benin, Burundi, Nigeria and Tunisia (African States); Cyprus (Asian States); and Poland and Slovakia (Eastern European States).  It postponed the election of the six remaining vacancies.  It also elected Sri Lanka, for a term expiring on 31 December 2008, to fill one of six outstanding vacancies from previous elections.

In other action, the Council appointed Tizhong Liao ( China) to fill a vacancy on the Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters.  The Council also postponed the appointment of experts to the Committee for Development Policy.

The Council appointed nine experts to fill vacancies on the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Clement Atangana ( Cameroon), Azzouz Kerdoun ( Algeria), Virginia Bonoan-Dandan ( Philippines), Chandrashekhar Dasgupta ( India), Yuri Kolosov ( Russian Federation), Jaime Marchan Romero ( Ecuador), Alvaro Tirado Mejia ( Colombia), Maria Virginian Bras Gomes ( Portugal) and Eibe Riedel ( Germany).  The four-year terms of those experts would begin on 1 January 2007 and their curricula vitae can be found in document E/2006/9/Add.16 and 17.

Next, taking up vacancies on the Executive Board of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Council elected, to three-year terms, beginning 1 January 2007:  Cameroon, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Mali and Mauritania (African States); India, Malaysia and Myanmar (Asian States); Croatia (Eastern European States); Bahamas (Latin American and Caribbean States); and Ireland, Portugal, Sweden and the United Kingdom (Western European and Other States).  It also decided that Turkey would finish out Canada’s term on the Board (through 31 December 2008), that Belgium would complete Germany’s term (through 31 December 2007), and that Switzerland would finish out Spain’s term (through 31 December 2008).

The Council then elected Jordan and Portugal to enlarge the Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 60/127 (2005).  The Council also decided to take up, at its substantive session in July, Costa Rica’s request to expand the Executive Committee to 71 seats.

It then filled all six vacancies on the Executive Board of the World Food Programme (WFP), electing, for three-year terms, beginning on 1 January 2007: Cape Verde (African States); India and Iran (Asian States); New Zealand and Sweden (Western European and Other States); and the Russian Federation (Eastern European States).

As for the Executive Board of the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), the Council elected Spain, for a three-year term, beginning 1 January 2007.  There are nine remaining vacancies on the Board, and the Council President urged regional groups to submit their nominees, as soon as possible.  The Council also postponed electing a member to fill the vacancy on the Board, which will arise in 31 December 2006, with the resignation of the Czech Republic.

With no candidates proposed to fill 5 of the 10 vacancies on the Committee for the United Nations Population Award, the Council, nevertheless, elected, for a three-year term, beginning 1 January 2007: Bangladesh and Iran (Asian States); Haiti and Peru (Latin American and Caribbean States); and Sweden (Western European and Other States).

The Council then filled seven of the nine vacant seats on the Programme Coordination Board of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), by electing, to three-year terms, beginning on 1 January 2007: Senegal and Zambia (African States); Japan and Myanmar (Asian States); Slovakia (Eastern European States); El Salvador (Latin American and Caribbean States); and Belgium (Western European and other States).  It agreed to postpone election of the remaining two members, and that Norway would finish out Finland’s term (through 31 December 2008).

Turning to the 20 vacancies on the Governing Council of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), the Council elected, to four-year terms, beginning 1 January 2007: Burundi, Equatorial Guinea, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Zimbabwe (African States); Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan and Japan (Asian States); Poland and the Russian Federation (Eastern European States); and the United States (Western European and Other States).  The Council postponed its vote on the remaining seven vacancies. The President also reminded the Council that, to date, no candidates had been proposed by the Asian States to fill a vacancy postponed from previous elections.

Voting Results

Vote on to fill two seats on Commission on the Status of Women

Asian States

Number of ballot papers	52
Number of invalid ballots	0
Number of valid ballots	52
Abstentions	0
Number of members voting	52
Required majority	27
Number of votes obtained:
Cambodia	37
Pakistan	35
Iraq	26

Vote to fill one seat on the UNDP/UNFPA Executive Board

Latin American and Caribbean States

Number of ballot papers	53
Number of invalid ballots	0
Number of valid ballots	53
Abstentions	1
Number of members voting	53
Required majority	27
Number of votes obtained:
Antigua and Barbuda	33
Panama	19

Vote on International Narcotics Control Board

First stage: two candidates nominated by the World Health Organization

First Round

Number of ballot papers	53
Number of invalid ballots	0
Number of valid ballots	53
Abstentions	0
Number of members voting	53
Required majority	27
Number of votes obtained:
Elisaldo Luiz de Carlini ( Brazil)	21
Godofreda Dalmacion ( Philippines)	9
Hamid Ghodse ( Iran)	30
Geroges Lagier ( France)	22
Sri Suryawati ( Indonesia)	21

With only one candidate receiving the required majority –- Mr. Ghodse -- the Council held a run-off, since two candidates had received the same number of votes.  Following the Council’s rules of procedure, the candidates on the next ballot would be Elisaldo Luiz de Carlini ( Brazil) and Sri Suryawati ( Indonesia).

Number of ballot papers	54
Number of invalid ballots	0
Number of valid ballots	54
Abstentions	0
Number of members voting	54
Required majority	27
Number of votes obtained:
Elisaldo Luiz de Carlini ( Brazil)	27
Sri Suryawati ( Indonesia)	27

With that tie vote, the President, according the Council’s Rules of Procedure, then drew lots, and Ms. Suryawati was picked to go on to the next round of voting, with Mr. Lagier, who had received the next highest number of votes in the first round.

Second Round

Number of ballot papers	54
Number of invalid ballots	0
Number of valid ballots	54
Abstentions	1
Number of members voting	53
Required majority	27
Number of votes obtained:
Georges Lagier ( France)	26
Sri Suryawati ( Indonesia)	27

Mrs. Suryawati and Mr. Ghodse were elected to the International Narcotics Control Board.

Second stage: selection of 5 candidates nominated by Governments

[Prior to this ballot, the representatives of Italy and Chile withdrew the candidature of their Governments’ respective nominees]

Number of ballot papers	54
Number of invalid ballots	0
Number of valid ballots	54
Abstentions	0
Number of members voting	54
Required majority	28
Number of votes obtained:
Elisaldo Luiz de Calini ( Brazil)	13
Ximena Augusta Chiriboga Pazmino ( Ecuador)	1
Miguel G. Coronel ( Philippines)	2
Mohammed Nizar Hemedan ( Syria)	6
Carola Lander ( Germany)	31
Miklos Levay ( Hungary)	6
Melvyn Levitsky ( United States)	38
Robert Lousberg ( Netherlands)
29
Maria Elena Medina-Mora Icaza ( Mexico)	42
Sabah Sadik ( Iraq)	1
Tayseer Shubat ( Syria)	5
Rama Kant Tewari ( India)	21
Raymond Yans ( Belgium)	39
Xin Yu ( China)	32

Having received the required majority, Maria Elena Medina-Mora Icaza ( Mexico), Raymond Yans ( Belgium), Melvyn Levitsky ( United States), Xin Yu ( China) and Carola Lander ( Germany), were elected to fill vacancies on the International Narcotics Control Board.

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For information media • not an official record