Sixty-sixth General Assembly

First Committee

2^nd Meeting (PM)

First Committee, in Preparation for Start of Annual General Debate Monday, Holds

Organizational Meeting to Adopt Agenda, Work Programme for Session

 

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

During the Committee’s session, the seven broad thematic debate clusters up for discussion would be nuclear weapons, other weapons of mass destruction, disarmament aspects of outer space, conventional weapons, other disarmament measures and international security, regional disarmament and security, and the disarmament machinery.  Examination of those broad themes would focus on, among many others, nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones, a fissile material ban, the illicit small arms trade, and the functioning of the disarmament machinery, in particular, the Conference on Disarmament. 

The Committee’s Bureau comprised Vice-Chairs Amr Aljowaily ( Egypt), from the Group of African States, Mohammad Almutairi ( Kuwait), from the Group of Asian States and Ayesha Borland ( Belize), from the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States.  Archil Gheghechkori (Georgia), from the Group of Western European and Other States would be the Rapporteur for the session.

Committee Chair Jarmo Viinanen ( Finland) said that the Committee, according to its work programme, would hold its general debate on all disarmament and international security-related agenda items from 3 to 11 October.

Ten meetings would then be devoted to thematic discussions on specific subjects, from 12 to 24 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 two exchanges.  The first would be on follow-up of resolutions and decisions adopted by the Committee at its previous session.  That would involve an exchange with the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs and other senior representatives of the Office for Disarmament Affairs, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) and the Conference on Disarmament on the current state of affairs in the field of arms control and disarmament and the role of international organizations with mandates in that field.  Panel discussions would also be held with independent experts.

Following the thematic debates, the Committee would take action on all draft resolutions and decisions during five meetings from 25 to 31 October.  If necessary, an additional meeting would be held on 1 November to conclude action on draft texts.  Upon completion of the Committee’s work, the package of resolutions and decisions would be forwarded to the General Assembly for its consideration before the end of the sixty-sixth session.

The First Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. on Monday, 3 October, to begin its general debate.

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For information media • not an official record