A/65/PV.10 General Assembly

My country, Mr. President, wishes to recognize your efforts in putting together today’s talks. We have a question. Is it possible to modify the language of the summary you have just read out? We feel that the paragraph concerning the platform on technical services is not an exact reflection of today’s conversations and presentations. May I ask you clarify this so that I can then explain further?

We note the statement made by the representative of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. My summary does not mention the sixty-fifth session of the General Assembly, so I would be perfectly happy to listen to any additional comment she may wish to make now. I might add that the summary I read out is a summary of the debate prepared by those who organized it; it is not an official document of the General Assembly.

The question of biological diversity is a substantive and essential issue comprised of many, highly technical components. At this time, the issue of the platform is on the substantive agenda of the discussions to take place at the Nagoya Conference. The summary mentions that Member States stressed the importance of establishing a platform. That prejudges the results of the Nagoya Conference and does not reflect the fact that various States, including my country, pointed out that, first, the Committee concluded that the question had not been addressed and we believed that it should have been; and that, secondly, the text does not reflect our position that not all Member States have recognized the importance of establishing such a platform. My country in particular would like to know whether it would be possible to amend the language. We believe that it would be better to say that some States considered the importance of establishing a platform. In that way, the interactive debate we held today would not be prejudging the outcome of Nagoya.

The Assembly takes note of the statement made by the representative of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. As I said, the substantive discussion will take place in Nagoya. We have now come to the end of our deliberations. I thank all participants for their patience, and especially those who have stayed to the very end.