Adopting Agenda of 2024 Session, Economic and Social Council Also Elects Vice-Presidents, Takes Action on Draft Decisions, Fills Commission Vacancy

The Economic and Social Council today elected two Vice-Presidents, adopted its agenda and assigned responsibilities for its 2024 session, also taking action on decisions related to a special meeting in Chile and geospatial information, while further welcoming the donation of new chairs for its Chamber by the delegation of Sweden.

Paula Narváez (Chile), President of the Council for its 2024 cycle, announced that Tarek Ladeb (Tunisia) had been elected to fill a vacancy as a Vice-President of the Council for the 2024 session, as representative of the African States.  Mr. Ladeb thanked the African Group for endorsing his candidature, welcoming the opportunity to advance the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union Agenda 2063, looking towards activities under Financing for Development, and preparations for the Summit of the Future.

She also noted that she will be responsible for the high-level segment of the Council, the high-level political forum on sustainable development, the forum on financing for development follow-up, the special meeting on international cooperation in tax matters, as well as any forums, joint meetings and other special meetings that may be convened.

The coordination segment will be the responsibility of Vice-President Akan Rakhmetullin (Kazakhstan); operational activities for development segment under Vice-President Tarek Ladeb (Tunisia); humanitarian affairs segment under Vice-President Ivan Šimonović (Croatia), who will also be responsible for the meeting on transition from relief to development, jointly with Vice-President Ladeb; and management segment, including meetings to conduct elections to fill vacancies in the Council’s subsidiary and related bodies, under Vice-President Robert Keith Rae (Canada).

Turning then to the draft decision titled “Special meeting of the Council in Santiago, 23-24 January 2024” (document E/2024/L.2), the Council adopted it without a vote.  By its terms, the Council decides to convene a special meeting on the theme “The future of work:  towards a productive inclusive and sustainable global society” in Santiago, Chile on 23 and 24 January 2024, expressing its appreciation to that Government for assuming additional costs of the meeting.

Next, the Council took action on an outstanding vacancy on the Commission on Population and Development from the Eastern European States, electing a representative of Serbia for a term beginning on the date of election, and expiring at the close of the Commission’s sixtieth session in 2027.

The Council then took action on a draft decision recommended by the Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management, as contained in the report of its thirteenth session, titled “Report of the Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management on its thirteenth session and provisional agenda and dates of the fourteenth session of the Committee” (document E/2024/46-E/C.20/2023/19), adopting it without a vote.

Ms. Narváez then thanked the Government of Sweden for the tangible support it offers to the Council’s work through the replacement of the chairs in the Chamber, acknowledging the financial expenditure and dedication that went into their design, manufacture and installation.

Andreas von Uexküll (Sweden) noted that the new chairs, called “ZEN NY”, were replacements of the original gift from that Government to the United Nations in 1952.  He recalled that the chairs were sustainably designed and produced with natural materials and a keen eye for detail, embodying “the spirit of responsible production and consumption that is integral to the Sustainable Development Goals we all champion”. They were conceived by design legend Åke Axelsson and produced by the company Gärsnäs in southern Sweden — only 15 miles from late Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld’s summer home in Backåkra.

The Council will meet again at a time and date to be determined.