Economic and Social Council Elects Vice-President, Adopts Working Arrangements for 2019 Session
The Economic and Social Council today elected, by acclamation, Valentin Rybakov (Belarus) from the Eastern European States as Vice‑President for the 2019 session, completing its Bureau.
It also adopted the working arrangements for its 2019 session (document E/2019/L.1), as orally revised. That text sets out the dates for the various meetings, forums and segments to take place under the Council’s auspices.
The representative of Mexico, speaking after adoption, noted that the multi‑stakeholder forum on science, technology and innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals on 14 and 15 May 2019 will clash with the next session of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development in Geneva on 13 to 17 May 2019. He said he understood the reasons for the scheduling conflict, but asked that it not be repeated in the future. He also urged the Secretariat and Member States to ensure greater synergy between the two bodies.
The representative of the European Union expressed strong concern about the overlapping meetings, emphasizing that the two mechanisms deal with similar if not identical issues. A decision had clearly been taken that ran counter to the principles that emerged from lengthy discussions on Council reform, he said. The European Union regrets the decision and hopes that a similar situation can be avoided going forward.
Inga Rhonda King (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Council President, said the Bureau shares the delegates’ concerns. It will work so that such an overlap does not happen again while seeking to ensure effective participation, she added.
The 54‑member Council — the principal organ for the socioeconomic and related work of the United Nations — opened its 2019 session on 26 July, electing its President and three other Vice—Presidents, by acclamation, and adopting its provisional agenda. For more information, see Press Release ECOSOC/6947.
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* The 2nd and 3rd Meetings were covered in Press Releases GA/EF/3492-ECOSOC/6948 and GA/EF/3497‑ECOSOC/6949, respectively.