Sixty-fifth General Assembly

First Committee

1^st Meeting (PM)

First Committee Completes Bureau, Prepares Ground for Upcoming General Debate

on All Disarmament, International Security Items, in Organizational Meeting

 

The First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) approved its agenda and work programme for the sixty-fifth General Assembly session at a brief organizational meeting today.

Up for discussion during the session under seven thematic debate clusters would be nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, conventional weapons, other disarmament measures and international security, regional disarmament and security, disarmament aspects of outer space, and the United Nations disarmament machinery.  Discussion under those broad themes would focus on, among many others, conclusion of effective international arrangements to assure non-nuclear weapon States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons, a treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons, establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones, and the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons.

Delegates elected to the Committee’s Bureau today were Hossam Eldeen Aly (Egypt), Herman Schaper (Netherlands) and Carlos Sorreta (Philippines), as Vice-Chairpersons; and Enrique Ochoa (Mexico), as Rapporteur.

Committee Chair Miloš Koterec ( Slovakia) said that the Committee, according to its work programme, would begin its general debate on all disarmament and international security-related agenda items, from 4 to 12 October.

Ten meetings would then be devoted to thematic discussions on specific subjects, from 13 to 25 October.  At those meetings, delegates would introduce and consider all draft resolutions submitted under the agenda items.  During that period, delegates would also take part in exchanges with the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Sergio Duarte, on follow-up of resolutions and decisions adopted by the Committee at its past session, and an exchange with Mr. Duarte and other high-level representatives of disarmament entities on the “Current state of affairs in the field of arms control and disarmament and the role of international organizations with mandates in this field”.

Panel discussions and exchanges with independent experts would also be held during this time, with the Committee welcoming wide civil society participation.

After the thematic debates, the Committee would take action on all draft resolutions and decisions submitted under all agenda items, during six meetings, on 26 October to 1 November.  Upon completion of the Committee’s work, expected on 1 November, the package of resolutions and decisions would be forwarded to the General Assembly for its consideration before the end of the sixty-fifth session.

The First Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. on Monday, 4 October, to begin its general debate.

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For information media • not an official record