A/57/PV.21 General Assembly

I should like to draw the attention of the General Assembly to document A/57/440/Add.1, which contains a letter from the Secretary-General addressed to the President of the General Assembly, in which he informs the General Assembly that, since the issuance of his communication contained in document A/57/440, Vanuatu has made the necessary payment to reduce its arrears below the amount specified in Article 19 of the Charter. May I take it that the General Assembly duly takes note of the information contained in this document?

As indicated in document A/57/107, the General Assembly is required, during the fifty-seventh session, to appoint a member to fill the vacancy on the Joint Inspection Unit that will arise from the expiration of the term of office on 31 December 2003 of Mr. Armando Duque González of Colombia. As also indicated in document A/57/107, in accordance with article 3, paragraph 1, of the statute of the Joint Inspection Unit, the President of the General Assembly shall consult with Member States to draw up a list of countries, in this case, one country, which would be requested to propose a candidate for appointment to the Joint Inspection Unit. After holding the necessary consultations, I should like to communicate to the Assembly the information received from the Chairman of the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States that the Group has endorsed Trinidad and Tobago to propose a vacancy from among the Latin American and Caribbean States. In accordance with article 3, paragraph 1, of the statute of the Joint Inspection Unit, Trinidad and Tobago will therefore be requested to submit the name of a candidate and the curriculum vitae highlighting the candidate’s relevant qualifications for the task ahead. After holding the appropriate consultations described in article 3, paragraph 2, of the statute of the Joint Inspection Unit, including consultations with the President of the Economic and Social Council and with the Secretary-General, in his capacity as Chairman of the Chief Executives Board for Coordination, I will propose a qualified candidate to the Assembly for appointment to the Joint Inspection Unit.

The General Assembly will now proceed to the election of 18 members of the Economic and Social Council to replace those members whose term of office expires on 31 December 2002. The 18 outgoing members are: Angola, Austria, Bahrain, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Fiji, France, Germany, Japan, Malta, Mexico, Spain, the Sudan and Suriname. As of 1 January 2003, the following States will continue to be represented on the Economic and Social Council: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Bhutan, Brazil, Burundi, Chile, China, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Finland, Georgia, Ghana, Guatemala, Hungary, India, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Italy, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Nepal, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Qatar, the Republic of Korea, Romania, the Russian Federation, South Africa, Sweden, Uganda, Ukraine, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States of America and Zimbabwe. The names of these 36 States should therefore not appear on the ballots. In accordance with paragraph 4 of General Assembly resolution 2847 (XXVI) of 20 December 1971, and taking into account the number of States that will remain members of the Council after 1 January 2003, the 18 members should be elected as follows: five from African States, three from Asian States, one from Eastern European States, four from Latin American and Caribbean States and five from Western European and other States. The ballot papers reflect this pattern. I should like to inform the Assembly that those candidates, their number not exceeding the number of seats to be filled, who receive the greatest number of votes and a two-thirds majority of members present and voting, will be declared elected. In the case of a tie vote for a remaining seat, there will be a restricted ballot limited to those candidates that have obtained an equal number of votes. May I take it that the General Assembly agrees to that procedure?

In accordance with rule 92 of the rules of procedure, the election shall be held by secret ballot, and there shall be no nominations. Regarding candidatures, I have been informed by the Chairman of the respective regional groups that for the five vacant seats from among the African States, there are five endorsed candidates, namely Benin, the Congo, Kenya, Mozambique and Senegal. For the three vacant seats from among the Asian States, there are five candidates, namely Japan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mongolia and Saudi Arabia. For the one vacant seat from among the Eastern European States, there is one endorsed candidate, namely Azerbaijan. For the four vacant seats from among the Latin American and Caribbean States, there are four endorsed candidates, namely Cuba, Ecuador, Jamaica and Nicaragua. For the five vacant seats from among the Western European and other States, there are five endorsed candidates, namely France, Germany, Greece, Ireland and Portugal. In accordance with rule 92 of the rules of procedure, we shall now proceed to the election by secret ballot. Before we begin the voting process, I should like to remind members that, pursuant to rule 88 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly, no representative shall interrupt the voting except on a point of order on the actual conduct of the voting. I should like to seek the usual cooperation of representatives during the time of the conduct of the election. Please be reminded that, during the voting process, all campaigning should cease in the General Assembly Hall. This means in particular that, once the voting has begun, no more campaign material can be distributed inside the Hall. All representatives are also requested to remain at their seats so that the voting process can proceed in an orderly manner. We shall now begin the voting process. Ballot papers marked “A”, “B”, “C”, “D” and “E” will now be distributed. I request representatives to use only those ballot papers and to write on them the names of States for which they wish to vote. May I ask representatives to write on the ballot papers marked “A” for the African States the names of the five States for which they wish to vote, on the ballot papers marked “B” for the Asian States the names of the three States for which they vote, on the ballot papers marked “C” for the Eastern European States the name of the one State for which they wish to vote, on the ballot papers marked “D” for the Latin American and Caribbean States the names of the four States for which they wish to vote and on the ballot papers marked “E” for the Western European and other States the names of the five States for which they wish to vote. A ballot paper containing more names from the relevant region than the number of seats assigned to it will be declared invalid. Names of Member States on a b0allot paper that do not belong to that region will not be counted at all.

The result of the voting is as follows: Group A — African States Number of ballot papers: 182 Number of invalid ballots: 1 Number of valid ballots: 181 Abstentions: 3 Number of members voting: 178 Required two-thirds majority: 119 Number of votes obtained: Senegal 176 Mozambique 171 Benin 169 Congo 163 Kenya 160 Angola 4 Democratic Republic of the Congo 3 Burkina Faso 1 Cameroon 1 Sudan 1 Tunisia 1 Group B — Asian States Number of ballot papers 182 Number of invalid ballots: 0 Number of valid ballots: 182 Abstentions: 1 Number of members voting: 181 Required two-thirds majority: 121 Number of votes obtained: Saudi Arabia 140 Japan 133 Malaysia 123 Mongolia 64 Lebanon 61 Bahrain 1 Fiji 1 Jordan 1 Turkmenistan 1 United Arab Emirates 1 Group C — Eastern European States Number of ballot papers: 182 Number of invalid ballots: 3 Number of valid ballots: 179 Abstentions: 2 Number of members voting: 177 Required two-thirds majority: 118 Number of votes obtained: Azerbaijan 177 Group D — Latin American and Caribbean States Number of ballot papers: 182 Number of invalid ballots: 1 Number of valid ballots: 181 Abstentions: 0 Number of members voting: 181 Required two-thirds majority: 121 Number of votes obtained: Jamaica 178 Ecuador 174 Cuba 170 Nicaragua 159 Suriname 2 Costa Rica 1 Mexico 1 Venezuela 1 Group E — Western European and other States Number of ballot papers 182 Number of invalid ballots: 1 Number of valid ballots: 181 Abstentions: 1 Number of members voting: 180 Required two-thirds majority: 120 Number of votes obtained: Germany 179 Greece 177 France 173 Ireland 164 Portugal 163 Spain 1

I congratulate those States that have been elected members of the Economic and Social Council. I would also like to thank the tellers for their assistance in this election. This concludes our consideration of sub-item (b) of agenda item 15. Programme of work

I should like to make an announcement concerning agenda item 21, entitled “Strengthening of the coordination of humanitarian and disaster relief of the United Nations, including special economic assistance”. I have requested Mr. Hubert Wurth, Permanent Representative of Luxembourg to the United Nations, who during previous sessions so ably coordinated the informal consultations on draft resolutions under the same agenda item, to assist once again in the same capacity at this session, and Ambassador Wurth has graciously accepted. May I request those delegations intending to submit draft resolutions under agenda item 21 to do so as early as possible in order to allow time, if need be, for negotiations with a view to reaching consensus on the draft resolutions. Representatives are requested to consult the Journal for the announcement of the time, date and venue for the first meeting of the informal consultations. I should also like to remind members that agenda item 21 and its sub-items (a) to (c) will be considered on Monday, 25 November.