In Final Meeting of Session, Second Committee Approves Draft Decision on Revitalizing Its Work

The Second Committee (Economic and Financial), during a brief meeting today, approved without a vote a draft decision (document A/C.2/77/L.78) regarding the revitalization of its work.

By the text, the General Assembly, noting the ongoing consultations of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the revitalization of the work of the General Assembly, took note of the updated informal paper prepared by the Second Committee Bureau on its working methods and requested that entity, at the Assembly’s seventy-eighth session, to further update the paper.  Such update will take into account the Committee’s work during the main part of that session, as well as any guidance to be provided by the Ad Hoc Working Group.

Speaking after the approval, the representative of the European Union, in its capacity as observer, said the informal paper contains many valuable recommendations that his bloc would commit to implementing immediately.  Voicing concern about the lack of appetite for discussing the Bureau’s proposals, he stressed that such discussions would make the Committee’s resolutions more fit for today’s challenges.  He expressed hope that the Committee will be able to engage on substance and agree on concrete actions during the seventy-eighth session.

In closing remarks, Lachezara Stoeva (Bulgaria), Chair of the Second Committee at its seventy-seventh session, noted that this is the Committee’s last meeting during that session.  She thanked the Bureau, co-facilitators of resolutions, delegates and all those who supported the Committee’s work.

“And remember,” she urged, “a win is not managing to put your comma or your word in a text or preventing others to do so; a win is if together we have managed to make a positive difference for the people on the ground.”