Trusteeship Council Elects President, Vice-President of Seventy-Third Session, Adopts Provisional Agenda

Opening its seventy-third session today, the Trusteeship Council elected Nathalie Broadhurst Estival of France as its President and James Kariuki of the United Kingdom as its Vice-President.

Both were elected by acclamation after being nominated on the basis of consultations among Council members.  The Council also adopted its provisional agenda by acclamation at the brief organizational meeting.

The Trusteeship Council is a principal organ of the United Nations, created to administer 11 Trust Territories placed under the Organization’s care at its founding in 1945.  The organ suspended operations when the last United Nations Trust Territory, Palau, attained independence in 1994.  By a resolution adopted on 25 May 1994, the Council amended its rules of procedure to drop the obligation to meet annually and agreed to meet as occasion required — by its decision or the decision of its President, or at the request of a majority of its members or the General Assembly or the Security Council.  The organ last met on 22 November 2019.

Membership of the Council now comprises the five permanent members of the Security Council — China, France, Russian Federation, United Kingdom and the United States.  The organ’s future role is under consideration as part of the broader reform of the United Nations and the Security Council.

The Trusteeship Council will meet again in December 2023 at a date and time to be determined at least 30 days in advance.