Preparing for Post-2015 Development Agenda, General Assembly President Urges Resilience in Tackling Ebola, Rampant Extremism, Other Global Hazards
Secretary-General Calls Sixty-ninth Session ‘Most Consequential for a Generation’ as Multiple Crises Test United Nations Charter
Facing unparalleled global pressures, with a rising Ebola virus death toll, rampant extremism that was escalating “terror to a new era and a new level” and unwilling refugees fleeing elevated sea-levels, the international community must tackle those formidable challenges with a sense of resolve and resilience, General Assembly President Sam Kutesa (Uganda) said at the opening of the sixty-ninth session of the 193-nation organ.
“To say we are living in tumultuous times would seem an understatement,” Mr. Kutesa said. “The coming year will be a momentous time for the United Nations.” Rising to those challenges, the General Assembly adopted 213 resolutions and 26 decisions, while taking action on 172 agenda items that encompassed some of those pressing issues. The Assembly also weighed in on the world’s most urgent concerns, adopting new resolutions on Ebola and on eliminating violence against children.
Ever present in discussions was the theme for the session, “Delivering on and Implementing a Transformative Post-2015 Development Agenda”. High-level meetings saw Member States taking stock of progress made on reproductive health and rights goals set in Cairo in 1994, climate action and the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Assembly also convened the first World Conference on Indigenous Peoples.
Opening the Assembly’s general debate, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned that the world's “fasten seat belt” light was illuminated. “Diplomacy is on the defensive, undermined by those who believe in violence,” he said. “Diversity is under assault by extremists who insist that their way is the only way. Disarmament is viewed as a distant dream, sabotaged by profiteers of perpetual warfare.”
Citing security challenges in such places as the Central African Republic, Gaza, Ukraine, South Sudan, Mali and the Sahel, Somalia, Nigeria, Iraq and Syria, he said leadership was about finding the “seeds of hope” and nurturing them into something bigger. Crises caused by people could be stopped by people. With that, he urged Member States to work together to accelerate progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals, and establishing a set of sustainable development goals and an agenda to erase extreme poverty in the next 15 years. He also called for efforts aimed at creating a greener, cleaner planet, making human rights a top priority and promoting peace and security worldwide for all.
“I still have hope,” Mr. Ban said. “I draw it from the Charter, our enduring guide in times of dramatic challenge and change. The coming year must be a time for action, a time for results,” he emphasized, adding that the session could be the “most consequential in a generation and for a generation”.
Among the Assembly’s high-level and plenary meetings, several historical moments of consequence stood out. At the first-ever World Conference on Indigenous Peoples, Member States unanimously adopted an action-oriented outcome document containing commitments that aimed at bridging the gap between promises and results. A one-day Climate Summit saw a record number of world leaders, along with business and civil society groups, sharing plans focused at averting catastrophic climate disasters.
Looming throughout the general debate were grave concerns about rising tides of intolerance and extremism. Heads of State discussed what some called the “globalization of terrorism”, with many cautioning of a growing wave of hate, stemming from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant/Sham (ISIL/ISIS) that was crippling the Middle East. Leaders from countries in the region reported spiralling violence that was displacing millions of people and causing thousands of deaths and massive destruction. Addressing that unprecedented combination of threats that was taking “terror to a new era and a new level”, some leaders urged prompt action by the Security Council. As well, during consideration of the annual report of that 15-nation body, the Assembly also called for continued reforms to the Council’s working methods and greater transparency for the Organization’s wider membership as it tackled such complex international crises.
Responding to another deadly threat ravaging several West African countries, the Assembly adopted on 19 September a resolution on the Ebola outbreak. Approving the Secretary-General’s intention to set up the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER), the organ unanimously adopted a resolution to combat and contain the virus, which, since the first child died of Ebola in December 2013, had spread to more than 20,000 people and had caused almost 8,000 deaths.
As for the Assembly’s main subsidiary bodies, the humanitarian perspective on nuclear weapons use gained traction this year in the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security), as delegations weighed the costs and risks of deterrence during a record-breaking 265 statements made in the thematic debates. With the potential cataclysmic repercussions of deploying any weapon of mass destruction, their elimination remained the primary concern, with 21 of the Committee’s 63 drafts focused on nuclear weapons and 6 on other weapons of mass destruction. Still other texts addressed the illicit small arms trade, paralysis in the United Nations disarmament machinery and the need to stabilize and secure outer space for peaceful purposes.
Seeking to reinforce and support ongoing negotiations to define the post-2015 sustainable development agenda, the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) approved and sent to the General Assembly for adoption 38 draft resolutions and five decisions on such key areas as poverty eradication, external debt, environmental protection, disaster risk reduction, food security, technology transfer, countries in special situations, women in development, South-South cooperation and migration. During its 38 meetings, the Committee also heard from experts and held interactive sessions on rising inequality, the debt crisis and renewed partnership for global development.
Approving a bundle of texts on human rights in tune with changing and emerging realities, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) considered a variety of traditional and topical subjects ranging from cyberbullying to humanitarian atrocities in specific countries. Lively debates, many of them touching on the post-2015 development agenda, were punctuated by intensive rounds of briefings by special rapporteurs, independent experts and working groups of the Human Rights Council. The Committee recommended to the General Assembly a total of 62 draft resolutions and 7 draft decisions, including new texts on children and a ground-breaking draft resolution on the human rights situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Interspersed with interactive dialogues and hearings from petitioners, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) held 25 formal meetings to consider a broad assortment of subjects spanning decolonization, the Middle East, information, special political missions, peacekeeping operations, atomic radiation and outer space. The intensive session culminated in the approval of and recommendation to the General Assembly for adoption of 24 draft resolutions and 4 draft decisions.
After debating a range of contentious human resource and management reform issues, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) agreed on texts concerning staff pay and benefits, workplace conflict resolution and rules governing retirement and the pension system. The Committee also laid out the Organization’s revised programme budget requirements for the 2014-2015 period, including for its special political missions and peacekeeping operations, while agreeing to maintain the “recosting” methodology used to adjust the budget in the first year of its two-year cycle. Action on implementation of the Umoja enterprise resource planning system, conditions of service for judges at the international criminal tribunals, and other issues were deferred to future sessions.
Approving 17 draft resolutions and 2 draft decisions, the Sixth Committee (Legal) tackled a broad spectrum of issues, including ones new to the agenda, such as the protection of the atmosphere. That body also concluded work on several long-standing matters, notably the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) draft Convention on Transparency in Treaty-based Investor-State Arbitration. Although efforts to move forward the draft comprehensive convention on the elimination of international terrorism once again stalled, despite the urgency from emerging threats of foreign fighters and evolving trends in technology, the Committee still marked forward progress with the International Law Commission’s finalizing consideration of the obligation to prosecute or extradite (aut dedere aut judicare), a process that had spanned numerous sessions.
Plenary
With less than one year until the Millennium Development Goals deadline, the General Assembly’s theme “Delivering on and Implementing a Transformative Post-2015 Development Agenda” set out a blueprint leading up to agreement on an inclusive package of goals centred on inclusion, poverty eradication and human rights. Opening the body’s general debate, General Assembly President Sam Kutesa (Uganda) said while the world had changed since the founding of the United Nations in 1945, one thing had remained the same: the need to find global solutions to global challenges. Calling for accelerated progress in the implementation of the Millennium Goals, he urged negotiating parties to put poverty eradication and hunger at the core of the new post-2015 development agenda.
Some of those issues were the focus of high-level meetings leading up to the general debate. At the two-day World Conference on Indigenous Peoples, Heads of State and Government, ministers and other representatives unanimously adopted an Outcome Document and highlighted the importance of obtaining “free, prior and informed consent” from indigenous peoples on matters that affected them, including legislative measures and development projects. The text also underscored the United Nations role in promoting and protecting their rights, including in the development and implementation of national action plans, strategies or other measures that affect them, in order to achieve the objectives of the 2007 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
At a special session, “Follow-up to the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development beyond 2014”, senior Government officials from 90 countries reviewed progress in implementing the goals set forth during the landmark 1994 International Conference on Population and Development held in Cairo. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that despite progress, some 800 women still died each day from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth, and an estimated 8.7 million young women in developing countries resorted to unsafe abortions every year. Millions of people, particularly in the world’s poorest countries, suffered from poverty, hunger, unemployment, low life expectancy and scant access to health care and education.
Overall, delegates agreed that population concerns must be at the core of the post-2015 development agenda and cited the need for universal access to basic services such as health care and education. They shed light on their respective national trends in maternal and infant mortality, fertility, contraceptive use, ageing and HIV/AIDS prevalence, as well as programmes for family planning and sex education, among other areas. Several speakers voiced strong support for sexual and reproductive rights, and representatives from developing countries appealed for reliable financial and technical aid to implement their respective sustainable development agendas.
Addressing another crucial segment of the new agenda, some 100 Heads of State and Government gathered for the Climate Summit, sharing their vision and commitments for reaching a universal and meaningful climate agreement in 2015. During the day-long gathering convened by the Secretary-General, many leaders described extreme weather, rising sea levels, melting glaciers and other phenomena impacting their countries, with some announcing measures to reduce emissions, enhance resistance to climate change and mobilize financing for climate action. Those themes also threaded through the general debate, with Palau’s President calling climate change a “silent war”. Issuing a concise warning, the Foreign Affairs Minister of the Bahamas emphasized that “if we do not resolve climate-change issues, there will be no Bahamas.”
Throughout the session, delegates debated those and other critical issues. Many delegates voiced strong concerns about the violence stemming from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant/Sham (ISIL/ISIS) and called for action to combat what the President of Malta called the “globalization of terror”. Some Heads of State and Government shared their immediate concerns linked to that terrorist group. The President of Iraq told the Assembly that “ISIS” attacks on innocent civilians had established a “State” based on hatred. With its huge financial and military assets, the terrorist group had committed crimes against humanity, inflicted suffering on the Iraqi people and was attracting militants and extremists from around the world, including the United States and Europe. Many leaders, among them the Prime Ministers of Luxembourg and Malaysia, agreed that a united fight was needed against ISIL.
Bracing for another fight against a deadly threat that was ravaging several West African countries, the General Assembly adopted, on 19 September, a resolution on the Ebola outbreak. Approving the Secretary-General’s intention to set up the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER), the organ unanimously adopted a resolution to combat and contain the fatal virus, which, since the first child died of Ebola in December 2013, had affected more than 20,000 people and caused almost 8,000 deaths.
Representing a country at the epicentre of the Ebola crisis, the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Sierra Leone told the Assembly that his country was on the front lines of one of the “biggest life-and-death challenges” facing a global community that was “grossly ill-prepared” to tackle the spread. The outbreak had drawn attention to globally weak infrastructure, as well as to inadequate human capital and surveillance systems. While the United Nations response deserved praise, more resources were still needed, he said, stressing that it was the Organization’s duty to “confront human insecurity and not shun it”.
Looking ahead, and underlining the role of younger generations in the post-2015 agenda era, the Assembly held a high-level meeting on 20 November, marking the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Following the debate, Queen Sylvia of Sweden hosted a panel discussion. During both events, delegates heard from their younger counterparts, with Teyise Dlamini, a child delegate from Swaziland, asking Members States to “please protect us and invest in us” and to include young people in discussing decisions that would affect them.
The Assembly also took up long-standing items on its agenda. During its two-day annual debate on Palestine, Assembly President Kutesa lamented that the current International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People had seen the suspension of peace talks. Meanwhile, the Assembly adopted six texts by recorded vote on the question of Palestine and the situation in the Middle East overall, including one addressing current security concerns in East Jerusalem. In addition, the Assembly, for the twenty-third year in a row, adopted a resolution that called for an end to the United States economic, commercial and financial embargo on Cuba, with a vote of 188 in favour, 2 against (Israel, United States) and 3 abstentions (Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau).
First Committee
Despite divisions on how best to move forward on nuclear disarmament, there was broad consensus in the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) that a nuclear weapon-free world was the ultimate goal. At the same time, many delegations argued that until then, assurances needed to be provided to non-nuclear-armed States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons. Towards that end, 163 countries associated themselves with a draft urging the adoption of such a legally binding instrument. The approved text also called for further efforts to reduce and, ultimately, eliminate all types of those weapons.
Contemporary challenges, from cross-border terrorist threats to the weaponization of outer space, set the tone for the Committee’s work, which saw record-breaking participation from Member States during its session. The Committee heard 107 statements during the general debate and another 70 during thematic deliberations on nuclear weapons alone, a cluster that was given priority as delegates highlighted the economic, social and humanitarian consequences of the world’s deadliest weapons of mass destruction.
The flurry of activity during the Committee’s proceedings stood in stark contrast to the continued deadlock within the international disarmament machinery, as delegations expressed increased frustration at the Conference on Disarmament’s inability for nearly two decades to agree on an agenda. That culminated in separate provisions that reiterated the Assembly’s call for the multilateral disarmament forum to resume its substantive work, including beginning negotiations on a treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons.
High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Angela Kane said the crux of the lack of progress in disarmament could be found in the lack of harmony between domestic policies and international responsibilities. In that connection, the representative of Canada urged Member States to approach disarmament and security challenges with unwavering commitment and not stand idle in the face of non-compliance with relevant bodies and norms. Differences needed to be overcome to advance shared interests, she said, as the coming year would present crucial tests for the global non-proliferation and disarmament system.
However, disarmament did not happen in a vacuum, the representative of the Russian Federation pointed out, adding that the future of the process depended to a great extent on the general security environment. Without the elimination of negative factors, the hopes for advancements towards “nuclear zero” would remain wishful thinking. With similar pressure to reduce its arsenal, the representative of the United States reiterated her country’s firm commitment to achieving the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons. The United States was ready, she said, to discuss further nuclear reductions with the Russian Federation, but progress would require a willing partner and a good environment.
The upswing in non-State actors amid ongoing transnational conflicts also brought a renewed sense of urgency to the discourse, with the danger that such groups could potentially acquire weapons of mass destruction. The representative of the Philippines said disarmament efforts were already extremely difficult in “normal times” and even more so in times of crisis. Nonetheless, the international community must not shift its attention away from the immediate task at hand, namely, the total and complete elimination of all nuclear weapons.
In that context, the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons gained traction during the session, as Member States demanded greater attention to humanitarian and development considerations in the context of nuclear disarmament. In one of the more contentious resolutions, delegations expressed deep concern at the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and reaffirmed the need for all States to comply with applicable international and humanitarian laws. Several provisions in that text, which united action towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons, were intensely debated and required recorded votes.
The devastating impact of other weapons of mass destruction also took centre stage, especially in light of the mission to rid Syria of its chemical weapons programmes. Notwithstanding progress in that regard, many speakers highlighted reports of chlorine gas use against civilians. That, they said, underscored the importance of achieving universalization and full compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention. Met with unanimous approval, the draft resolution asked the General Assembly to urge all States parties to the Convention to meet their obligations without delay. On the Biological Weapons Convention, the view was expressed that compliance with that instrument remained difficult to verify and that, therefore, efforts must continue to strengthen the treaty.
Stressing the urgency of preventing an arms race in outer space, a draft resolution on no first placement of weapons in outer space was also approved. It called for an early start to substantive work on an updated draft treaty submitted by China and the Russian Federation on preventing the weaponization of that domain, as well as the threat or use of force against outer space objects. Issues related to conventional weapons also featured prominently, as did the impact of information and communication technologies on international security, and the complex relationship between women, development and disarmament.
The Committee approved 63 drafts — the largest number over the past decade. Fifty-one per cent were approved without a vote, including drafts on the Biological Weapons Convention and establishing a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East, while other texts, such as on the risk of nuclear proliferation in that region and decreasing the operational readiness of nuclear weapons systems, took recorded votes. In all, 47 separate votes were taken.
The Committee Chair was Courtney Rattray (Jamaica), with Saad Abdullah N. Al Saad (Saudi Arabia), Maria Victoria Gonzalez Roman (Spain) and Narcisa Daciana Vladulescu (Romania) serving as Vice-Chairs. Saada Dasser Hassan (Djibouti) was Rapporteur.
Second Committee
Reducing income inequality within and among countries, the proposed post-2015 sustainable development agenda, United Nations operational activities for development, and tackling external debt were among the subjects addressed by the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) during its sixty-ninth session.
The Committee adopted a total of 38 draft resolutions, seven of which required recorded votes, as well as five decisions. Several of the drafts addressed the issue of sustainable development, as international negotiations proceeded towards agreement of a post-2015 development agenda and a set of sustainable development goals. Committee Chair Sebastiano Cardi (Italy) told the Committee during its general debate that the session was being held on the cusp of “a new era for development”, with the Committee’s policy recommendations impacting long-term sustainability and potentially enriching debate on attaining sustainable development.
The general debate, which began on 7 October, welcomed for the first time a female keynote speaker, Janet C. Gornick, Director of the Luxembourg Income Study Cross-National Data Center, who underlined the importance of a focus on eradicating poverty and reducing inequality in the new agenda. She stressed the importance of quality, disaggregated data in efforts to improve income growth of the world’s poorest. To tackle poverty, the multidimensional challenge had to be central to the post-2015 agenda, said the representative of Bolivia, as he underscored the importance of a strengthened, scaled-up global partnership with time-bound targets.
Modernizing partnerships for development was an issue central to debates held on several topics under the Committee’s agenda, as was the importance of establishing adequate means for the implementation of the proposed post-2015 agenda. Delegates stressed that technology would be a key means of implementing the new agenda, with many concerned about the continuing digital divide between developed and developing countries. A draft was approved that recognized the urgent need to harness the potential of knowledge and technology and encouraged the United Nations development system to continue promoting the use of information and communications technologies as a critical enabler of development and a catalyst for achievement of internationally agreed development goals.
Adequate financing was another vital means for implementation of the new agenda and new and additional financial resources would be needed in that regard. Delegates looked ahead to the third International Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa and stressed that official development assistance (ODA) would remain central. Financing for development was an essential element of the Committee’s annual dialogue with regional commissions, with the importance of domestic resource mobilization emphasized and expectations for the results of the upcoming financing for development conference outlined.
A draft of considerable importance that required extensive negotiation, and which was eventually passed by a recorded vote dealt with the operational activities for development of the United Nations system. The United Nations was faced with a “unique opportunity” to retool itself to ensure it was fit to play a key role in fulfilment of the post-2015 development agenda, the representative of the United States told delegates, with the quadrennial comprehensive policy review allowing United Nations bodies to address several areas of their business operations to ensure delivery of the best service possible. Further strengthening of system-wide coherence was essential for effective implementation of the proposed new sustainable development goals. One key area of debate ahead of adoption of the text was the issue of core and non-core resources.
Another draft of great significance was the Committee’s recommendation that that General Assembly decide to establish an ad hoc committee to elaborate a multilateral legal framework for sovereign debt restructuring processes. The Assembly would also invite relevant stakeholders to make contributions to the ad hoc committee’s work. The representative of Argentina stressed the need to establish such a framework, adding that if sovereign debt crises were not addressed, others would follow. However, that stance was not shared by other delegations, with the representative of the United States pointing out that such a technically complex issue would be addressed more appropriately in such bodies as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), where work was already under way. Under the terms of another draft dealing with external debt sustainability and development, the Assembly emphasized the importance of a timely, effective, comprehensive and durable solution to the debt problems of developing countries.
The Committee once again took up and approved by a recorded vote a text requiring Israel to compensate Lebanon and Syria for the costs of repairing environmental damage caused by the Israeli Air Force’s destruction of oil storage tanks near Lebanon’s El-Jiyeh electric power plant. Reiterating its request for prompt, adequate compensation from Israel to Lebanon, the text this year included an estimate of the damage caused at $856 million. The representative of Lebanon said the slick continued to threaten life, economic growth and efforts to achieve sustainable development, with continued support needed for clean-up, waste management and rehabilitation efforts.
The Second Committee Bureau included Chair Sebastiano Cardi (Italy), with Tishka Francis (Bahamas), Tarik Izararen (Morocco) and Alexsandra Stepowka (Poland) serving as Vice-Chairs. Borg Tsien Tham (Singapore) was its Rapporteur.
Third Committee
Against a backdrop of intense international crises, ranging from ongoing violence in Syria to the Ebola outbreak, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) received briefing of reports on some of those situations directly by a range of experts, from child delegates to top United Nations officials, as it worked towards approving more than 60 draft texts.
“When human rights go wrong, the cost in bloodshed, in wrecked economies and humanitarian aid is titanic,” newly appointed United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein told the Committee. All too aware of the social, humanitarian and cultural repercussions of those crises, delegations approved a number of draft resolutions that sought to address persistent and new challenges in human rights, social development and crime prevention.
Several draft resolutions approved by the Committee focused on the needs of the new generations, including texts on protecting children from bullying, the rights of migrant children and designating 15 July as World Youth Skills Day. The Committee also approved its traditional text on children in the criminal justice system as well as its omnibus resolution on the rights of the child.
A heated debate on the latter resolution on the eve of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child saw delegates discussing references to “comprehensive evidence-based education for human sexuality” and “modifying the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women of all ages” in order to eliminate prejudice. While many speakers emphasized that the politicization of children’s rights should be avoided and that national sovereignty and values should be respected, others pointed out that Member States were interpreting comprehensive evidence-based education in different ways.
Human rights issues continued to be at the heart of the Third Committee’s deliberations. By the terms of the resolution on the human rights situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Committee would have the Assembly encourage the Security Council to take appropriate action to ensure accountability, including through consideration of referral of the situation in that country to the International Criminal Court. That resolution, which was widely scrutinized in the international media, added fuel to a fiery debate about country-specific resolutions, such as those on Iran, Myanmar and Syria. Many delegates criticized the “targeting” of States as running counter to the clear principles of impartiality and non‑selectivity. Speakers stressed that, instead, all human rights situations should be considered through the Human Rights Council’s universal periodic review mechanism.
The Committee also approved several draft resolutions on a wide range of topics including protection of migrants, the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, globalization and its impact on the full enjoyment of all human rights, a moratorium on the use of the death penalty, and the right to privacy in the digital age. For the first time in its history, the Committee had a debate on International Albinism Awareness Day, which brought forth a strong consensus on the promotion and protection of the human rights of people with a congenital absence of pigment in the skin and hair. The Committee approved that draft text, which would have the Assembly invite the international community to observe International Albinism Awareness Day on 13 June.
Ending gender inequality and violence against women was also high on the Committee’s agenda, with the General Assembly President saying that “the scourge of gender violence, inequality and discrimination continues to hamper women’s full potential to contribute to and benefit from sustainable development”. The Committee’s resolutions adopted by the Assembly to promote the advancement of women include texts on trafficking in women and girls, and on intensifying efforts to end obstetric fistula and to eliminate female genital mutilation, as well as all forms of violence against women and girls.
The Committee continued to be well-informed by human rights experts who brought their working knowledge to bear on the discussions. Special rapporteurs, chairs of working groups of the Human Rights Council and independent experts presented reports on a variety of subjects, including women’s advancement, child protection, indigenous issues, torture, human rights defenders, the treatment of refugees, migrants and the right to education.
Sofia Mesquita Borges (Timor-Leste) chaired the Committee, with Kurt Davis (Jamaica), Pierre Faye (Senegal) and Johanna Nilsson (Sweden) serving as Vice-Chairs, and Ervin Nina (Albania) as Rapporteur.
Fourth Committee
Against a tense backdrop from the 50-day war in Gaza in July and August, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) sent nine resolutions to the General Assembly on boosting humanitarian support for Palestinian refugees and reforming Israeli practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, while considering other items on decolonization, outer space, atomic radiation, information, peacekeeping and special political missions.
On the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), consensus emerged during the debate on the imperative of funding the Agency sufficiently to fulfil its mandate, while simultaneously renewing international efforts to reach a just and lasting political settlement based on the two-State model. Pierre Krähenbühl, UNRWA Commissioner General, said that by sustaining the Agency in its mission to provide health, education, social services, protection and emergency assistance, and by offering the necessary diplomatic and financial support, the international community could address the vulnerability of the Palestine refugees and protect their rights. The four draft texts on UNRWA and five on the Special Committee all required a recorded vote.
Upon taking up the report of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories, its Chair said he was appalled by the level of violence and unprecedented scale of destruction unleashed by Israel upon the people of Gaza. The majority of delegates welcomed the work of the Committee pending a fair and lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Countering those remarks, the representative of Israel noted that the Special Committee’s report did not “seek to advance human rights or promote Palestinian development”, nor did it bring the international community a single step closer to lasting peace.
In a marked departure from tradition, a paragraph of the text on information — relating to parity among the six official languages in the dissemination of the Organization’s work — required a recorded vote, with Member States disagreeing with the Secretariat’s proposal for nearly $14 million in additional funding for the 2016-2017 biennium. That provision was retained by a recorded vote of 116 in favour to none against, with 48 abstentions.
Following the Committee’s decision to retain paragraph 22, it approved Draft resolution B, addressing United Nations public information policies and activities as a whole, without a vote. The related Draft A resolution, on information in the service of humanity, and the related draft decision, on increasing membership of the Committee on Information, were also both sent to the General Assembly without a vote.
During the three-day session on information, delegations discussed the Department of Public Information’s services to the media and civil society, the work of the United Nations Information Centres, radio and television, development of web content, the use of social media, meeting coverage and press releases. Maher Nasser, Acting Head of the Department, noted, “Instead of resting on our laurels, we remain committed to further sharpening our tools and better coordinating our activities.” However, regarding multilingualism, he said that budgetary constraints resulted in the availability of archival material only in the floor language.
On decolonization, speakers emphasized that it was one of the “most defining issues” of the latter part of the twentieth century and beyond, owing to the United Nations untiring efforts. However, calls intensified for completion of the decolonization process for the 17 Non-Self-Governing Territories still on the United Nations list. Committee Chair Durga Prasad Bhattarai (Nepal), appealing for a sustained joint effort, emphasized that body’s role in ensuring the emergence of dozens of sovereign and independent States over past decades. Despite those gains, he said, the task was far from complete. The debate drew the participation of administering Powers, as well as petitioners, with many underscoring the need to complete that task despite persistent divisions in certain disputes. The Committee adopted 11 draft resolutions — five by recorded vote — and one draft decision stressing the need for greater progress.
Spotlighting the number, complexity and significance of special political missions, representatives drew the Committee’s attention to several areas of priority such as the establishment of a separate fund for that endeavour and adherence to traditional peacekeeping guidelines, setting clear and achievable mandates and bolstering missions’ ability to respond to realities on the ground. A consensus text on the matter was then approved. The humanitarian component emerged as a dominant aspect during the annual review of peacekeeping operations. While some delegations favoured robust mandates that allowed the “Blue Helmets” to fight armed and terrorist groups, others took a more cautious approach. The representative of the Russian Federation, for one, insisted that the protection of civilians should be left to States and specialized humanitarian agencies.
As the Committee took up the effects of atomic radiation, Carl-Magnus Larsson, Chair of the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, insisted that the Scientific Committee was not interested in politics and that its work was respected for its objectivity and independence. During the debate on international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space, delegates highlighted the importance of space technology for sustainable development, with many urging collective work to ensure that space benefits did not increase economic and social inequality. The Committee approved the related text without a vote.
Along with Committee Chair Bhattarai, the Bureau was comprised of Vice-Chairs Inese Freimane-Deksne (Latvia), Mordehai Amihai Bivas (Israel) and George Patten (Liberia). Gabriel Orellana Zabalza (Guatemala) served as Rapporteur.
Fifth Committee
In a session devoted to administrative and management reform, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) approved 25 texts on a range of contentious human resource management issues, such as staff pay and benefits, workplace conflict resolution, accountability, and rules governing retirement and the pension system.
The Committee also asked the General Assembly to approve $480.26 million to maintain the United Nations 35 special political missions and $104.58 million for the recently created health mission and Special Envoy’s Office to combat the deadly Ebola virus, as well as financial outlays for peacekeeping operations in Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Central African Republic, South Sudan and Darfur.
During its three-month session, from 3 October to 29 December, delegates had argued over the merits of the “recosting” exercise — modifying the budget in the first year of the biennial cycle to account for inflation, currency exchange fluctuations and unforeseen costs. Several delegates had expressed concern that, coupled with increased costs for some special political missions, the adjustments could push the 2014-2015 budget to a record $6 billion. Finally, they agreed on language to maintain the methodology and asked the Assembly to increase outlays for the current biennium to $5.65 billion.
The Committee also asked the Assembly to approve funds to implement activities of the International Decade for People of African Descent and outcomes of last September’s World Conference on Indigenous Peoples, and renovate the United Nations historic Geneva headquarters and the offices in Addis Ababa of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), as well as to maintain operations of the international tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.
However, delegates failed to reach agreement on the conditions of service for judges of those tribunals and the International Court of Justice, as well as on the review of arrangements for funding and backstopping special political missions, implementation of the capital master plan and the Umoja enterprise resource planning system, and staff performance management and other human resource management issues. Those items, among others, were deferred to future sessions.
Nonetheless, in other numerous texts approved without a vote, the Committee sent the Assembly recommendations on programme planning, the contingency fund, resolutions and decisions adopted by the Human Rights Council, revised estimates resulting from the work of the Economic and Social Council, and financial reports and audited financial statements of the Board of Auditors.
The Fifth Committee Bureau included Committee Chair Frantisek Ruzicka (Slovakia) and Vice-Chairs Paula Coto-Ramirez (Costa Rica), Aline Mukashyaka (Rwanda) and Chamithri Jayanika Rambukwella (Sri Lanka). Matthias Dettling (Switzerland) served as Rapporteur.
Sixth Committee
As they had in past sessions, Sixth Committee (Legal) delegations continued to stress that the rule of law was fundamental to every item under consideration. In that context, the United Nations Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law was of critical importance, providing professional development materials to lawyers and judges living in countries lacking such resources. However, Virginia Morris, Secretary of the Programme’s Advisory Committee, pointed out that, having lost funding in 2008 from the regular budget, voluntary funds continued to prove insufficient to carry out that mandate. Two regional courses had to be cancelled and the Audiovisual Library was in danger of being shut down by the end of the year.
Despite several General Assembly resolutions requesting regular budget resources, funding had not been provided and the Committee underscored by draft texts on the matter that the situation must change if those programmes, whose value was universally recognized, were to continue. Specific recommendations were made by the Advisory Committee regarding more reliable funding for all Programme activities and revisiting the matter of funding the regional courses and the Audiovisual Library for 2015. It also recommended including a specific request for additional resources in the proposed 2016-2017 programme budget for the Regional Courses in International Law for Africa, for Asia-Pacific, and for Latin America and the Caribbean each year, as well as for the Audiovisual Library’s further development.
Delegations welcomed the completion of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) draft convention on Transparency in Treaty-based investor-State Arbitration. Hahn Choong-hee, UNCITRAL’s Chair, told Committee members that the convention would be “a powerful instrument to enhance transparency in investor-State dispute settlement” and that private commerce and trade formed “a locomotive for economic growth” that would make the post-2015 agenda feasible and possible. The Transparency Convention, if adopted, would allow States to apply it to arbitrations arising under almost three thousand investment treaties concluded before 1 April 2014.
During the Committee’s almost two-week review of the annual International Law Commission report in which over a dozen topics were addressed, many speakers expressed support for the 31 draft articles on the expulsion of aliens, which the Commission had approved, as having found a balance between the right of States to expel aliens from their territory and the human rights of aliens. However, others voiced concern that the Commission had undertaken the progressive development of law through codification of a set of rules in an area in which States already had well developed regulations. Kirill Gevorgian, Chair of the Commission, pointed out that States’ exercise of that right was regulated by the draft articles without prejudice to other applicable rules of international law, in particular those relating to human rights.
Also praising the Commission’s newly approved 21 draft articles on the protection of persons in the event of disasters, Sixth Committee delegates particularly underlined the inclusion of a specific article on the duty to protect relief personnel, equipment and goods, although some suggested the final outcome should be guidelines rather than draft articles. They also agreed that the time had come to conclude deliberations on the obligation to prosecute or extradite (aut dedere aut judicare). The Commission’s final report on the matter, placing the topic within the broader framework of efforts to respect the rule of law, could serve as a guide for States.
In the debate on the newest topic in the Commission’s report, the protection of the atmosphere, delegations sought agreement on a definition of “atmosphere” with regard to its protection. Many viewed it as a single entity flowing around the globe and the common responsibility of mankind. However, the question arose as to the distinction between “atmosphere” and “air space”, which was seen as static and related to the territory underlying it. There was discussion on whether the topic should be taken any further lest it interfere with delicate political negotiations. However, Shinya Murase, Special Rapporteur, told the Committee that the project was being undertaken so as not to do so, stressing that it did not make sense to say “this is my air space, so this is my atmosphere”. Also taken up during review of the Commission’s report were the newly introduced topics “crimes against humanity” and jus cogens, which drew debate as well on whether to include them in the Commission’s work.
During its session, the Sixth Committee also took up long-standing matters, including, among others, universal jurisdiction, the Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, and criminal accountability of United Nations officials and experts on mission. However, finalization of a draft comprehensive convention on the elimination of international terrorism remained stalled over disagreement on the definition of terrorism. Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel Miguel De Serpa Soares urged that in light of the “numerous shocking atrocities” currently taking place all delegations meet the challenge of completing a draft convention.
While some representatives held that no cause, including self-determination, could legitimize terrorist acts, others underscored the need to distinguish between acts of terrorism and the legitimate struggle of peoples under foreign occupation and colonial or alien domination in the exercise of that right. It was recalled that the principles of distinction and proportionality underpinned international humanitarian law. There was also broad discussion of the threats presented by communications technologies and the emergence of foreign fighters. Given such menacing trends in terrorism, many delegations stressed the urgency of concluding a comprehensive convention.
The Sixth Committee Bureau included Tuvako N. Manongi (United Republic of Tanzania) serving as Chair, and Fernanda Millicay (Argentina), Mirza Pašić (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Hossein Gharibi (Iran) serving as Vice-Chairs. The Rapporteur for the Committee was Salvatore Zappalà (Italy).