Economic and Social Council

2012 Substantive Session

53^rd Meeting (PM)

Economic and Social Council Fills Vacancies on Subsidiary Bodies

 

Resuming its substantive session today, the Economic and Social Council filled vacancies on five of its subsidiary bodies, with all new members elected by acclamation.

Outstanding vacancies were filled in the Organizational Committee of the Peacebuilding Commission, Commission for Social Development, Commission on Science and Technology for Development, Executive Board of the World Food Programme (WFP), Committee for the United Nations Population Award, and the Governing Council of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).

Five members were elected by acclamation to the Organizational Committee of the Peacebuilding Commission, in accordance with the terms of a resolution adopted earlier, also without a vote (document E/2012/L.39).  The text decided the regional distribution of the seats for Economic and Social Council members, giving one seat each to the five regional groups and allocating the two remaining seats to African Sates and Asia-Pacific States.

By acclamation, the Council elected five members to the Organizational Committee of the Peacebuilding Commission for two-year terms, beginning on 1 January 2013.  Elected from the Group of African States was Tunisia.  Indonesia and Nepal were elected from the Group of Asian States, Bulgaria from the Group of Eastern European States, and Denmark from the Group of Western European and other States.

The remaining two positions on the Organizational Committee would be filled once groups concerned were in a position to present their endorsed candidates.  As the tenure of both Denmark and Bulgaria on the Economic and Social Council was due to end in 2013, the Vice-President noted that another election would be held then.

In other action, Austria was elected by acclamation to fill a vacancy on the Commission for Social Development for a term beginning on the date of election and running until the close of the Commission’s fifty-third session in 2015.  The Council postponed election of a member from the Eastern European States for what would have been a one-year term, and a member from the Western European and other States for a four-year term.  It also postponed election of a member of the Asia-Pacific States, a member of the Eastern European States and three members of the Western European and other States for what was to have been four-year terms beginning at the first meeting of the Commission’s fifty-second session in 2013 and ending at the close of the fifty-fifth session in 2017.

Germany was elected to the Commission on Science and Technology for Development by acclamation, its term beginning on 1 January 2013 and expiring 31 December 2016.  The Council further postponed the election of a member from Asia-Pacific and a member from the Eastern European States for what would have been four-year terms.

Continuing its action, the Council elected India to the Executive Board of the WFP for a three-year term beginning on 1 January 2013 and the Council.  That election completed the Executive Board.

Acting again by acclamation, Côte d’Ivoire was elected to fill one of the outstanding vacancies on the Committee for the United Nations Population Award for a two-year term starting on 1 January 2013.  The election of two African States and two States from the Asia-Pacific group for two-year terms starting on 1 January 2013 was postponed.

Next, Colombia, El Salvador and Spain were elected by acclamation to the Governing Council of UN-Habitat for four-year terms beginning on 1 January 2013.

The Council further postponed the election to UN-Habitat of two members from Western European and other States, for a term that would begin on the date of election and expiring on 31 December 2012; two members of the Eastern European States and one member of the Western European and other States for terms that would begin on the date of election and expiring on 31 December 2015; and two members from Eastern European States and four members from the Western European and other States for four-year terms that would begin on 1 January 2013.

Resuming consideration of its agenda item on “Economic and environmental questions:  Cartography, the Council took note of the report of the Tenth United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names (document E/CONF.101/144).

On the issue of system-wide coherence and the Council’s work to establish appropriate and concrete linkages between the Commission on the Status of Women and the Executive Board of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), the representative of Spain said negotiations had started but had not been completed satisfactorily and asked that the matter remain pending.  The Committee then deferred its consideration of the item.

The 54-member Council is the principal organ for the socio-economic and related work of the United Nations.  Its subsidiary bodies include 14 specialized agencies, nine functional commissions, five regional commissions, standing committees, expert and related bodies.  The Council also receives reports from 11 of the Organization’s funds and programmes, serving as the central forum for economic and social issues and as a policy adviser to States and to 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 regional groups representing African, Asian, Eastern European, Latin American and Caribbean, and Western European and other States.

The Economic and Social Council will next meet on 25 January 2013 in order to elect the President and other members of its Bureau for 2013.

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For information media • not an official record