Economic and Social Council

2009 Organizational Session

7^th Meeting (AM)

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL FILLS VACANCIES ON 21 SUBSIDIARY BODIES

Also Adds Item on Rehabilitation of Marshes

In Southern Iraq to Agenda of 2009 Substantive Session

In a resumed organizational session today, the Economic and Social Council adopted one draft decision and filled vacancies in 21 of its subsidiary bodies, with only two requiring votes.

The Council decided to include in the provisional agenda of its 2009 substantive session a supplementary sub-item on “Rehabilitation of the marshes in the southern regions of Iraq” under its agenda item on “Economic and environmental questions:  sustainable development”.

Before the decision, the representative of the Czech Republic, speaking on behalf of the European Union, underlined the progress made in rehabilitating the Iraqi marshlands and noted the efforts of some European states in this effort.  He stressed, however, that the ongoing rehabilitation was a country–specific issue that would be more appropriately taken up by such bodies as the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme.  He thus requested that any inclusion of this item on the Council’s agenda would be a “one-time” occurrence.

Responding, Iraq’s representative said that, since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime, many countries had helped restore the marshes.  But, with the drought of the last three years, the situation has worsened and many families had been forced to leave the area.  Two to three years, rather than one, would likely be required for the marshes’ rehabilitation.  Accordingly, he requested the European Union to review its position.

The 21 subsidiary bodies for which there were elections, nominations, confirmations or appointments were the International Narcotics Control Board (6 members); Statistical Commission (8); Commission on Population and Development (15); Commission on the Status of Women (13); Commission on Narcotic Drugs (20); Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (20); Commission on Sustainable Development (14); Committee for Programme and Coordination (5); and the Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods and on the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (2).

Also, the Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on International Standards of Accounting and Reporting (6); Committee of Experts on Public Administration (24); Executive Board of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)(17); Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (2); Executive Board of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)/United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) (18); Executive Board of the World Food Programme (4); Executive Board of the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (2); Committee for the United Nations Population Award (3); Programme Coordination Board of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) (9); Commission for Social Development (3); Commission on Science and Technology for Development (1); and Governing Council of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) (2).

Action on appointees to the Committee of Experts on Public Administration in Tax Matters was postponed until the Council’s substantive session in July.

The 54-member Council is the principal coordinating organ for the socio-economic and related work of the United Nations.  The Council’s subsidiary bodies include 14 United Nations specialized agencies, 9 functional commissions, 5 regional commissions, and other standing committees and expert and related bodies.  The Council also receives reports from 11 United Nations funds and programmes, serving as the central forum for economic and social issues and as a policy adviser to States and the United Nations system.

Candidates in today’s proceedings were elected on the basis of equitable geographical distribution and were mostly endorsed by the five geographical groups representing African States, Asian States, Eastern European States, Latin American and Caribbean States, and Western European and Other States.  Background documentation on candidates and positions can be found in documents E/2009/9 and Adds. 1-9, 11-16 and 18.

The Council will meet again at a time to be announced.

Election of Members to the International Narcotics Control Board

In the action to fill vacancies, two votes by secret ballot took place in the election of six members of the International Narcotics Control Board for five-year terms beginning on 2 March 2010.  The first was for one member from among candidates nominated by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Results for the candidates from WHO –- First round
Number of ballots	51
Number of invalid ballots	0
Number of valid votes	51
Number of abstentions	0
Number of members voting	51
Majority required	26
Number of votes obtained –- first round
Rajat Ray ( India)	25
Olaitan Alice Soyannwo ( Nigeria)	18
Alfredo Pemjean Gallardo ( Chile)	8
Results for the candidates from WHO -- Second round
Number of ballots	51
Number of invalid ballots	0
Number of valid votes	51
Number of abstentions	0
Number of members voting	51
Majority required	26
Number of votes obtained –- second round
Rajat Ray ( India)	30
Olaitan Alice Soyannwo ( Nigeria)	21

Having obtained the required majority and largest numbers of votes after two rounds of balloting, Rajat Ray ( India) was elected to the Board.

The Council’s second vote by secret ballot was for the remaining five members of the International Narcotics Control Board from among candidates nominated by Governments.  

Before voting, it was announced that the Government of India had withdrawn the candidacy of Krishna Chandra Verma.

Results for the candidates nominated by Governments
Number of ballots	51
Number of invalid ballots	1
Number of valid votes	50
Number of abstentions	0
Number of members voting	50
Majority required	26
Number of votes obtained –- First round
Marc Moinard ( France)	43
Viroj Sumyai ( Thailand)	32
Tatyana Borisovna Dmitrieva ( Russian Federation)	27
Camilo Uribe Granja ( Colombia)	26
Lochan Naidoo ( South Africa)	23
Janusz Sieroslawski ( Poland)	18
Bertie Pompey ( Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)	15
Mustafa Sarsilmaz ( Turkey)	15
Jørg Mørland ( Norway)	12
Bilé Aka Gilles Egnakou ( Côte d’Ivoire)	10
Kamil Kalina ( Czech Republic)	8
Eduardo Kalina ( Argentina)	4
Patricia Llerena ( Argentina)	4
Rabi Raj Thapa ( Nepal)	4
Nahim Le Gollee ( Chad)	3
Pham Ilco Zahariev (The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia)	1
Tatjana Petrusevska (The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia)	0

Having obtained the required majority and largest numbers of votes after the first round of balloting, Marc Moinard ( France), Viroj Sumyai ( Thailand), Tatyana Borisovna Dmitrieva ( Russian Federation) and Camilo Uribe Granja ( Colombia) were elected.

Results for the candidates nominated by Governments -- Second Round
Number of ballots	52
Number of invalid ballots	1
Number of valid votes	51
Number of abstentions	0
Number of members voting	52
Majority required	26
Number of votes obtained – Second round
Lochan Naidoo ( South Africa)	32
Janusz Sieroslawski ( Poland)	19

In a second round of balloting, Lochan Naidoo ( South Africa) was also elected, bringing the total new members nominated by Governments to five.

Other Elections, Appointments and Nominations

All other candidates were elected by acclamation.  The Council elected eight members of the Statistical Commission to fill an equal number of vacancies.  Botswana, Cameroon, Morocco, Russian Federation, Colombia, Australia, Italy and Norway would begin serving four-year terms on 1 January 2010.

Fourteen members were then elected to the Commission on Population and Development for four-year terms beginning at the Commission’s first meeting in 2010 and expiring at the close of its 2014 session.  Those elected today were Angola, Ghana, Malawi, Senegal, China, India, Malaysia, Philippines, Hungary, Russian Federation, Guatemala, Saint Lucia, and Luxembourg and the United Kingdom, which were not endorsed.

The Council also filled one outstanding vacancy from previous elections for the Commission, electing Indonesia to serve starting today through the Commission’s 2013 session.  In the absence of any other candidates, the Council decided to postpone the election for two seats to be filled by one candidate each from the Latin American and Caribbean States and the Western European and other States.

Next, the Council elected 13 members to the Commission on the Status of Women for four-year terms beginning at the Commission’s first meeting in 2010 and expiring at the close of the 2014 session:  Central African Republic, Comoros, Gambia, Libya, Swaziland, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Mongolia, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Argentina, El Salvador and Uruguay.

The Council then elected 20 members to the Commission on Narcotic Drugs for four-year terms beginning on 1 January 2010:  Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, India, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia, Belarus, Romania, Russian Federation, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France and the United Kingdom.

When the Council turned to the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, the representative of the Republic of Korea informed the Council that the fifth candidate from the Asian Group of states was the Philippines.  Taking this into account, the Council elected 20 new members to serve three-year terms beginning 1 January 2010:  Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Nigeria, India, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Philippines, Belarus, Ukraine, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Canada, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States. 

To fill vacancies on the Commission on Sustainable Development, the Council elected 17 new members to three-year terms beginning at the organizational meeting in 2010 and expiring at the close of the Commission’s 2013 session:  Algeria, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Thailand, Belarus, Latvia, Bahamas, Panama, Peru, Denmark, France, Netherlands and Norway.

In addition, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom were elected to fill two outstanding vacancies from the group of Western European and Other States starting today and expiring at the close of the Commission’s 2012 session.    

Endorsed for election by the General Assembly to three-year terms beginning 1 January 2010 on the Committee for Programme and Coordination were 4 members:  the Comoros, Namibia, Russian Federation and Israel, which was not endorsed.   Israel was also endorsed to fill one outstanding vacancy from the Western European and Other States group, for a term starting upon election by the General Assembly and expiring 31 December 2009.

The Council postponed the nomination of two members from Latin American and Caribbean States and one member from Western European and other States for three-year terms beginning 1 January 2010.  The Council President reminded members that three additional outstanding vacancies remained on the Committee for Programme and Coordination.

Next, the Council endorsed two decisions by the Secretary-General (documents E/2009/9/Add.14 and E/2009/9/Add.15) to approve an application by Kenya for memberships in the Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods and on the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals, including its two Sub-Committees, and by the Republic of Korea for membership in the Sub-Committee on the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals.

Turning to vacancies on the Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on International Standards of Accounting and Reporting, the Council elected five new members to serve three-year terms beginning 1 January 2010:   Benin, Cameroon, Egypt, United Republic of Tanzania and Brazil.   Namibia was also elected to fill one of the 16 outstanding vacancies from previous elections.  Its term will begin today and expire 31 December 2011.

The election of eight candidacies for the term beginning 1 January 2010 -- four members from Asian states and two members each from Eastern European, Latin American, and Caribbean States -- was postponed, as was the outstanding 15 candidacies, five of which expire at the end of 2009 and 10 at the end of 2011.  The regional groups were asked to submit their nominees for these unfilled seats at the earliest opportunity.

The Council then approved the nomination of the 24 experts nominated by the Secretary-General to the Committee of Experts on Public Administration for a four-year term beginning 1 January 2010.  More information on those experts is contained in documents E/2009/9/Add.11 and E/2009/9/Add.16.

The Council postponed action on the Secretary-General’s list of appointees to the Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters until its substantive session in July.

Next, 14 new members were elected to the Executive Board of UNICEF to serve three-year terms beginning 1 January 2010:  Cape Verde, Congo, Malawi, Somalia, Tunisia, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Qatar, Belarus, El Salvador, Denmark, France, Ireland and Luxembourg.  With Japan and the Netherlands resigning their seats effective 1 January 2010, New Zealand and the United Kingdom were elected, upon endorsement, to complete those terms of office, which expire 31 December 2010.  Similarly, Iceland was elected, on endorsement, to complete Finland’s term of office, which expires on 31 December 2011, after that country’s resignation takes effect on 1 January 2010.

Djibouti and the Republic of Moldova were then elected to the Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees so as to increase that body’s membership from 76 to 78 as requested by the General Assembly. 

When the Council turned to the vacancies on the Executive Board of the United Nations Development Programme/United Nations Population Fund, the representative of Lithuania, speaking as chair of the Eastern European States, said the group had endorsed Slovenia.  The Council then elected 14 new members to three-year terms beginning 1 January 2010:  Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Qatar, Slovenia, Antigua and Barbuda, France, Japan, Netherlands and Spain.

In addition, since New Zealand and Turkey were resigning their seats as of 1 January 2010, the Council elected Canada and Switzerland to complete their terms of offices, which expire 31 December 2010, in line with their regional endorsements.   Belgium and Sweden were similarly elected, upon endorsement, to fill the seats being vacated by the resignations of Germany and Norway, which would take effect 1 January 2010 for terms expiring 31 December 2011.

Four new members were next elected to the Executive Board of World Food Programme to serve three-year terms beginning 1 January 2010:  Burkina Faso, Russian Federation, and India and Iran, which were not endorsed.  Action on the election of two members from List D was postponed.

To fill vacancies in the Executive Board of the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women, the Council elected Honduras and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines for three-year terms beginning 1 January 2010.  Since no candidates were proposed to fill the remaining eight seats –- two from each unrepresented regional group –- the Council postponed action on those seats.

Three members were next elected to three-year terms starting 1 January 2010 to the Committee for the United Nations Population Award:  the United Republic of Tanzania, which was not endorsed, and Guatemala and Jamaica.  Further action on the outstanding seven seats was postponed.

Before the Council took up the election of members to the Programme Coordination Board of UNAIDS, Latvia’s representative announced that Poland’s candidatures had been endorsed by the Eastern European States.  Subsequently, Botswana, Japan, Poland, El Salvador, Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom were elected to three-year terms beginning 1 January 2010.

Sweden was also elected to fill the seat expiring 31 December 2009 that Switzerland was scheduled to resign, effective 1 July 2009.  Similarly, Finland was elected to fill the seat that would expire 31 January 2011, which Denmark would resign effective 1 January 2010.  Further action on the outstanding three seats, the terms of which begin 1 January 2010, was postponed.

Taking up outstanding vacancies from previous sessions, the Council turned its attention to the three outstanding seats on the Commission for Social Development.   Brazil and Venezuela were elected to a term starting today and expiring at the close of its 2013 session.   Sweden was elected to fill the seat being vacated by Denmark’s resignation, which was effective 13 February 2009.  Its term will begin today and expire at the end of the Commission’s 2013 session.  The election of one member from the Eastern European States, which will expire at the close of the Commission’s 2013 session, was postponed.

Portugal was next elected to the Commission on Science and Technology for Development for a term beginning today and expiring 31 December 2012.  The Eastern European States were requested to provide a candidacy for the one remaining vacancy.

Next, Côte d’Ivoire and Cuba were elected to terms beginning today and expiring 31 December 2012 on the Governing Council of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).  Two unfilled vacancies from the Western European and Other States for terms expiring 31 December 2011 remained.  Similarly, two unfulfilled vacancies each from Asian States and from the Western European and other States remained, for a total of four seats set to expire on 31 December 2012.

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For information media • not an official record