Economic and Social Council Adopts Decision Recommending General Assembly Enlarge United Nations Refugee Agency Executive Committee Membership

The Economic and Social Council today adopted a decision (document E/2017/L.4), by which it recommended that the General Assembly decide on enlarging the membership of the Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) from 98 to 101 States at its seventy-first session.

Delivering a statement before the adoption, the representative of Lithuania said that UNHCR was fulfilling a noble and much-needed mission in the context of the current global refugee crisis.  Having long followed the organization’s work as an observer State and having supported it financially, Lithuania was ready to further contribute as a member of the Executive Committee.

Also today, the organ elected Nabeel Munir (Pakistan) as Vice-President of the Council for 2017.

Action was postponed on three draft proposals dealing with the dates of the 2017 forum on financing for development follow-up: the arrangements for the twelfth and thirteenth session of the Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters, the special meeting of the Council on International Cooperation in Tax Matters and the Committee’s future sessions.

Turning to the Bureau’s division of responsibilities for the 2017 session, the President informed the Council that the high-level segment, high-level political forum on sustainable development, multi-stakeholder forum on science, technology and innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals and the forum on financing for development follow-up would be under his responsibility.

Operational activities for the development segment would be the responsibility of Vice-President Cristián Barros Melet (Chile).  The integration segment would be handled by Mr. Munir while the humanitarian segment would be under the responsibility of Vice-President Heiko Thoms (Germany).  Finally, the coordination and management meetings would be the responsibility of Vice-President Marie Chatardova (Czech Republic).