Sixty-third General Assembly

Plenary

86^th & 87^th Meeting (AM)

by acclamation, General Assembly elects veteran libyan diplomat

to preside over its sixty-fourth session

 

Membership also Picks 21 Vice-Presidents, Chairs of 6 Main Committees

The General Assembly this morning elected Ali Abdussalam Treki, a three-time Permanent Representative of Libya to the United Nations and former Foreign Minister, as President of its sixty-fourth session.

Elected in separate meetings were the chairs and other bureau members of the Assembly’s six Main Committees, in addition to the 21 vice-presidents of the Assembly plenary, selected from regional groups.

Following his election by acclamation, the incoming President thanked Member States and the previous Bureau, saying he would depend on the assistance of every Member of the Assembly, and would not align himself with any party or group.  “My only alignment will be for justice, security, peace and the common interests of the entire international community.”  Declaring that all wars constituted wrongdoing, he said the only ones worth fighting relentlessly were those against fatal disease, poverty, hunger and illiteracy.

He also listed among his priorities United Nations reform, especially that of the Security Council, and revitalization of the General Assembly, saying that according the victors of the Second World War the “lion’s share” of power in the United Nations had turned out to be a defect.  The gap between rich and poor continued to widen and the major Powers had failed to provide a good example for demilitarization by taking the initiative to dismantle their weapons of mass destruction.

Climate change must continue to be addressed firmly and effectively through cooperation among Member States, he said, adding that the world economic crisis must be met with measures to mitigate its impact, taking into account the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals, especially in Africa.  It was imperative that all stand up firmly for the full realization of human rights through the provision of the basic necessities for a dignified life.

Congratulating Mr. Treki, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said his wide-ranging diplomatic experience would be invaluable in forging new levels of international cooperation to solve the world’s common problems, from climate change to hunger, from the economic crisis to the urgent need to meet the Millennium Development Goals through unified action.  “We must also keep adapting and improving our Organization to better live up to the ideals of the Charter and the demands of the times.”

Also congratulating the new President, Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann ( Nicaragua), President of the sixty-third session, said he was sure Mr. Treki assumed the honour with the same passion and determination that had inspired his own presidency.  Noting that tenure in the presidency was short, the outgoing President assured his successor that he would be available to assist his team in any way as he prepared for this coming September.

Also taking the floor to congratulate the President-elect on behalf of their respective regional groups were the representatives of Swaziland, United Arab Emirates, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, El Salvador, Norway and Bahrain.

Also this morning, the Secretary-General drew lots, in accordance with tradition, to determine which Member State would occupy the first seat in the General Assembly Hall during the next session.  Cambodia was picked to occupy that seat and will be followed in English alphabetical order by all other countries, with the same order being observed in the Main Committees.

The Assembly also decided to declare Israel elected to its subsidiary Committee for Programme and Coordination for a term of office beginning on 10 June 2009 and expiring on 31 December 2009.

Election of Vice-Presidents

The Vice-Presidents for the sixty-fourth session will be:  Cameroon, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, South Africa and the Sudan from the African States; India, Kazakhstan, Maldives, Nepal and Turkmenistan from the Asian States; Slovenia from the Eastern European States; Barbados, El Salvador and Venezuela from the Latin American and Caribbean States; and Belgium and Finland from the Western European and other States.  The five permanent members of the Security Council ( China, France, Russian Federation, United Kingdom and the United States) also serve as Vice-Presidents.

Election of Committee Officers

The Assembly elected José Luis Cancela (Uruguay) as Chair of its First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) with Hossam Aly (Egypt), Hilario Davide (Philippines), Florian Laudi (Germany) and Tetyana Pokhval’ona (Ukraine) making up the remainder of the Bureau and the distribution of the Vice-Chair and Rapporteur posts to be decided at a later date.

Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser (Qatar) was elected Chair of the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization), while Ridas Petkus (Lithuania) and Reniery Valladares (Honduras) were elected Vice-Chairs and Khalid Mohammed Osman (Sudan) Rapporteur.

The Assembly elected Park In-kook (Republic of Korea) as Chair of its Second Committee (Economic and Financial), and Mohamed Cherif Diallo (Guinea), Carlos Enrique García González (El Salvador), Denise McQuade (Ireland) and Dragan Mićić (Serbia) as the remainder of the Bureau, with the Rapporteur’s position to be decided at a later date.

Normans Penke (Latvia) was elected Chair of the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural), with Nicola Hill (New Zealand), Fiola Hoosen (South Africa), Edgard Pérez (Peru) and Zahid Rastam (Malaysia) as the remainder of the Bureau, with specific tasks to be decided at a later date.

The Assembly elected Peter Maurer (Switzerland) as Chair of its Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary), and Danilo Rosales Díaz (Nicaragua), Babou Sene (Senegal) and Sirithon Wairatpanij (Thailand) as Vice-Chairs, and Yuliana Georgieva (Bulgaria) as Rapporteur.

Mourad Benmedhidi ( Algeria) was elected Chair of the Sixth Committee (Legal) with Esmaeil Baghaei Hamaneh ( Iran) and Andris Stastoli ( Albania) as Vice-Chairs, and Pierra Cartuyvels ( Belgium) as Rapporteur.

The General Assembly will meet again at a date and time to be announced.

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For information media • not an official record