Special Committee on

Peacekeeping Operations

232^nd Meeting (PM)

Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations Temporarily Adjourns Session;

Will Meet in Plenary Again Not Later Than 26 April

 

Chair Says Time Needed to Allow Consultations on New Proposals

Aimed at Achieving ‘Positive Conclusion to Our Current Session’

The Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations today agreed to reconvene in about a month to conclude its 2013 session, based on the recommendation of the body’s Chairperson, who sought more time for delegations to thoroughly consider fresh proposals aimed at breaking a weeks-long deadlock.

Recalling that the stalemate had kept the Special Committee from wrapping up its work on 15 March, Chairperson Chair U. Joy Ogwu ( Nigeria) said that with two recently submitted proposals on the table, further negotiations could open the way forward.  Seeking more time to consult with delegations, specifically the Non-Aligned Movement, she proposed that the Committee — known informally as the “C-34” — adjourn its session and agree to meet in plenary “in no later than one month’s time”, by Friday, 26 April.

Meanwhile, she thanked, respectively, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Mexico, as well as the Non-Aligned Movement, for putting forward the two new proposals and reported that the Bureau had met this morning to take stock of the current situation.  Bureau members were of the view that more time was needed in order to identify a common way forward.  She said that today’s meeting and the proposal of a second postponement of the session’s closure were her attempts to “keep the promise” made two weeks ago to ensure that broad agreement was reached among all delegations on the outstanding issues.  (Please see Press Release GA/PK/214.)

“While proposing an adjournment of one month, it would, of course, be preferable if agreement could be reached within a shorter timeframe,” she said, adding however that extra time could help delegations “in achieving a positive conclusion to our current session”.  She said she believed progress, including adopting a consensus report on the Special Committee’s work, was possible, with determination and political will.  “The problems of the ‘C-34’ are on the lips of every delegate in the United Nations, and we cannot afford any notoriety,” she declared.

When the floor was opened for comments, Egypt’s representative said the Non-Aligned Movement believed that it “had to go the extra mile” and propose a compromise text, which he hoped would satisfy all groups.  The goal was to agree on the way forward and, ultimately, resume negotiations to produce a report for the end of the session.  His delegation supported the idea to adjourn the meeting for a month, fully ready to negotiate in “good faith and a very positive spirit” towards that end.

The representative of the delegation of the European Union also supported the Chair’s proposal, saying that the next month would be “quite important”.  Yet, if consultations did not produce a solution, it would be time to focus on how to conclude the session.  “Let’s hope these consultations next month will be productive and constructive,” she said, noting that time was of the essence.  The European Union fully supported continued consultations.

The Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations will meet again at a date and time to be announced.

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For information media • not an official record