Economic and Social Council Nominates Experts, Fills Multiple Vacancies for 16 Subsidiary Bodies
The Economic and Social Council today filled vacancies and nominated experts for 16 subsidiary bodies, both by secret ballot and acclamation, with some delegates expressing reservations about certain newly-elected members.
Aslan Abashidze of the Russian Federation, Ludovic Hennebel of Belgium, Joo-Young Lee of the Republic of Korea, Santiago Manuel Fiorio Vaesken of Paraguay, Karla Vanessa Lemus de Vásquez of El Salvador, Julieta Rossi of Argentina and Preeti Saran of India were elected by acclamation to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights for a four-year term of office beginning on 1 January 2023.
However, the representative of the United Kingdom dissociated from the consensus acclamation of Mr. Abashidze of the Russian Federation to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Members in this Committee should have a recognized competence in human rights, he said, adding that the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine impacts the rights of its citizens.
Echoing those words, the representative of the United States, who also dissociated, noted that Mr. Abashidze has defended the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, which is inconsistent with the right to self-determination of all peoples.
The representatives of France and Canada, also speaking for New Zealand, expressed similar reservations, stressing that members of the Board must have a high moral standing. Japan’s delegate reminded delegates that all Board members are expected to act independently and serve in their personal capacity, rather than just as representatives of Governments.
Responding, the representative of the Russian Federation stressed that elections to the subsidiary bodies of the Economic and Social Council must be conducted in accordance with the standard rights and procedures. Any State entitled to take part in the meetings of the Council has the right to be elected, he added, rejecting all politicized attacks against his country.
The Council also elected Australia, Ethiopia, Iran, Mauritania, Spain and Panama to the Executive Board of the World Food Programme (WFP) for a three-year term of office beginning on 1 January 2022.
The representative of the United States expressed reservations about Ethiopia’s election to that Board, stating that its values are not in alignment with the Programme’s mandate. The representative of Canada, a member of that Board, reaffirmed his country’s commitment to provide aid rapidly and impartially and stressed that all fellow members of the Board must uphold international humanitarians law, including provision and facilitation of humanitarian assistance.
To the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations, the Council elected Algeria, Bahrain, Cameroon, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Cuba, Eritrea, India, Israel, Liberia, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States and Zimbabwe for a four-year term of office beginning on 1 January 2023.
The representative of the United States expressed concern that the Committee continues to include countries that are hostile to civil society, including China, Cuba, Eritrea, Nicaragua and Zimbabwe, which employ tactics to defer legitimate non-governmental organizations applications for accreditation.
Zimbabwe’s delegate said “this is a big surprise for us” and expressed his willingness to engage with any Member State on any issues, while the representative of China expressed regret that a certain country was criticizing the activities of the Committee.
The Council then elected the Gambia, Iran, Israel, Panama, Tajikistan and Uruguay to the Commission on Population and Development for a four-year term of office beginning at the first meeting of that body’s fifty-seventh session in 2023.
Argentina was elected to the Commission on Population and Development for a term of office beginning at the first meeting of the body’s fifty-sixth session in 2022 and expiring at the close of its fifty-ninth session in 2026.
Turning to the Commission for Social Development, the Council elected Austria, Bangladesh, Burundi, Colombia, Egypt, Ghana, Haiti, India, Peru, Portugal, Saudi Arabia and Ukraine for a four-year term of office beginning at the first meeting of the Commission’s sixty-second session in 2023. It also elected Luxembourg to the Commission for Social Development for a term of office beginning on the date of election and expiring at the close of the body’s sixty-third session in 2025.
Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liechtenstein, Mozambique, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Spain and Ukraine were elected to the Commission on the Status of Women for a four-year term of office beginning at the first meeting of the body’s sixty-eighth session in 2023 and expiring at the close of its seventy-first session in 2027.
As well, Algeria, Belize, Botswana, China, Colombia, Cuba, Djibouti, Ecuador, Egypt, India, Hungary, Latvia, Oman, Romania, Rwanda, Tajikistan, Turkey, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, United States and Uzbekistan were elected to the Commission on Science and Technology for Development for a four-year term of office beginning on 1 January 2023.
The Council then nominated Argentina, China, Liberia, Morocco, Republic of Korea and Tunisia for election to the Committee for Programme and Coordination for a three-year term beginning on 1 January 2023. Belgium was nominated for election to the Committee for Programme and Coordination for a term of office beginning on the date of election by the General Assembly and expiring on 31 December 2024.
Also elected today were Vital Bambanze of Burundi, Ali Hajilari of Iran, Keith M. Harper of the United States, Nan Li of China, Bornface Museke Mate of Namibia and Tove Søvndahl Gant of Denmark to the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues for a three-year term of office beginning on 1 January 2023.
The Council elected China, Cuba, Denmark, Ecuador, Japan, Mozambique, Norway, Tajikistan and Turkey to the Executive Board of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for a three-year term of office beginning on 1 January 2023. Further, Austria, Greece and Luxembourg were elected to fill the vacancies arising from the resignations of Belgium, France and Monaco from that Board.
China, Colombia, Ecuador, Japan, Norway, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of Moldova, Slovakia, Turkey and the United States were elected to the Executive Board of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)/United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)/United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) for a three-year term of office beginning on 1 January 2023. Further, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Iceland and Ireland were elected to that Board to fill the vacancies arising from the resignations of Finland, Greece, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Spain.
To the Executive Board of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), the Council elected for a three-year term of office beginning on 1 January 2023 Burkina Faso, China, Côte d’Ivoire, Eritrea, Japan, Qatar, Panama, Paraguay, Republic of Korea, Tajikistan, Trinidad and Tobago and Zimbabwe.
Brazil, Kenya, Libya and the United States were elected to the Programme Coordinating Board of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) for a three-year term of office beginning on 1 January 2023.
The Council then elected Peru to the Organizational Committee of the Peacebuilding Commission for a two-year term of office from 1 January 2023, or until Peru ceases to be a member of the Economic and Social Council.
Ecuador, Nigeria and Turkey were elected to the Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on International Standards of Accounting and Reporting for a term of office beginning on the date of election and expiring on 31 December 2023.
Kyrgyzstan was elected to the Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on International Standards of Accounting and Reporting and Portugal to the Committee for the United Nations Population Award, both for terms of office beginning on the date of election and expiring on 31 December 2024.
Also today, the Council filled a number of vacancies by secret ballot. Armenia and Georgia were elected from the Eastern European States in a secret ballot to the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations for a four-year term beginning on 1 January 2023
The Council then elected Nigeria and Mauritius from among the African States in a secret ballot to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights for a four-year term beginning on 1 January 2023.
Ukraine was elected from among the Eastern European States, and Chile from among the Latin American and Caribbean States in a secret ballot to the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues for a three-year term beginning on 1 January 2023.
The Council also elected Bulgaria and the Czech Republic from among the Eastern European States, in a secret ballot, to the Executive Board of UNICEF for a three-year term beginning on 1 January 2023.
To the Executive Board of UN-Women, the Council elected Bulgaria and Latvia from among the Eastern European States, in a secret ballot for a three-year term beginning on 1 January 2023.
At the top of the meeting, the Council adopted a decision extending the deadline for the submission of quadrennial reports by non-governmental organizations in general and special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council in 2022, until 1 July 2022 (document E/2022/L.5).