A/66/PV.59 General Assembly

The number of States nominated from among the African States, the Asia-Pacific States, the Eastern European States, the Latin American and Caribbean States and the Western European and Other States is equal to or less than the number of seats to be filled in each of those groups. May I therefore take it that the Assembly wishes to declare those States nominated by the Economic and Social Council — Argentina, Belarus, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Cuba, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Italy, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Republic of Moldova, Uruguay and Zimbabwe — elected members of the Committee for Programme and Coordination for a three-year term of office beginning on 1 January 2012?

I congratulate the States that have just been elected members of the Committee for Programme and Coordination. Members are reminded that, as indicated in document A/66/316/Rev.1, there remains one vacancy among the Asia-Pacific States for a member whose term of office would begin on the date of election and expire on 31 December 2013. Members are also reminded that the Economic and Social Council postponed the nomination of one member from the Asia-Pacific States and four members from the Western European and Other States for election for a three-year term beginning on 1 January 2012. The General Assembly will be in a position to act on these vacancies upon the nomination by the Economic and Social Council. We have thus concluded this stage of our consideration of sub-item (a) of agenda item 114. (c) Election of twenty-nine members of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme The President (spoke in Arabic): Pursuant to resolution 2997 (XXVII) of 15 December 1972 and decision 43/406 of 24 October 1988, the Assembly will proceed to the election of 29 members of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme, to replace those members whose term of office expires on 31 December. The 29 outgoing members are the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belarus, Benin, Colombia, the Congo, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Fiji, Finland, Guinea, India, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Mali, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, the Netherlands, Niger, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Somalia, Spain, Tunisia and Tuvalu. These States are eligible for immediate re-election. I should like to remind Members that, after 1 January 2012, the following States will still be members of the Governing Council: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, the Central African Republic, China, the Czech Republic, France, Gabon, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, Lesotho, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mozambique, Pakistan, the Republic of Korea, Romania, the Russian Federation, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Republic of Tanzania, the United States of America, Uruguay and Zambia. Those 29 States are therefore not eligible in this election. As members are aware, in accordance with rule 92 of the rules of procedure, all elections shall be held by secret ballot and there shall be no nominations. However, I should like to recall paragraph 16 of General Assembly decision 34/401, whereby the practice of dispensing with the secret ballot for elections to subsidiary organs when the number of candidates corresponds to the number of seats to be filled should become standard, unless a delegation specifically requests a vote on a given election. In the absence of such a request, may I take it that the Assembly decides to proceed to the election on that basis?

Regarding candidatures, I have been informed by the Chairs of the regional groups that, for the eight seats from the African States, the eight endorsed candidates are the Congo, Egypt, Liberia, Mauritius, Nigeria, Senegal, the Sudan and Togo. For the seven seats from the Asia- Pacific States, the five endorsed candidates are Bangladesh, India, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Saudi Arabia and Thailand. For the three seats from among the Eastern European States, the three endorsed candidates are: Albania, Georgia and Poland. For the five seats from among the Latin American and Caribbean States, the five endorsed candidates are: Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador and Mexico. For the six seats from the Western European and other States, there are six endorsed candidates, namely: Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Since the number of candidates endorsed by each of the five regional groups is equal to or less than the number of seats to be filled in each region, may I take it that the General Assembly decides to elect these candidates as members of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme for a four- year term of office beginning on 1 January 2012?

The following 27 States have thus been elected members of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme for a four-year term of office beginning on 1 January 2012: Albania, Bangladesh, Chile, Colombia, the Congo, Cuba, Ecuador, Egypt, Georgia, India, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Israel, Italy, Liberia, Mauritius, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Spain, the Sudan, Thailand, Togo and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. I congratulate the States which have been elected members of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme. The Assembly will hold elections for the two remaining vacancies from among the Asia-Pacific States upon notification by interested members of that region. The General Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of sub-item (c) of agenda item 114. (b) Election of the members of the International Law Commission Notes by the Secretary-General concerning the candidates (A/66/88 and Add.1-3) Note by the Secretary-General concerning the consolidated list of candidates (A/66/514) Curriculum vitae (A/66/90 and Add.1 and 2) The President (spoke in Arabic): The Assembly will proceed to the election of the members of the International Law Commission. In accordance with the provisions of chapter I of the Statute of the Commission, the 34 members of the Commission are to be elected by the General Assembly for a five-year term of office beginning on 1 January 2012 from a list of candidates nominated by the Governments of States Members of the United Nations. The members of the Commission are eligible for re-election. The present membership of the Commission is set out in the annex to document A/66/88. The notes by the Secretary-General concerning the candidates are contained in documents A/66/88 and addenda 1 to 3. Members will recall that the Assembly, at its 35th plenary meeting, on 17 October 2011, decided to request the Secretary-General to issue a consolidated list incorporating new candidates and additional information on candidates received subsequent to the deadline for the submission of nominations. In this connection, the Assembly now has before it the note by the Secretary-General circulated as document A/66/514, which consolidates, in alphabetical order, the candidates nominated by Governments of States Members of the United Nations for election to the International Law Commission. I should like to inform the Assembly that the Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations has indicated, by a letter dated 16 November 2011, that it has withdrawn the candidature of Professor Surya Prasad Subedi to the International Law Commission. A total of 49 candidates are therefore eligible in this election. The notes by the Secretary-General concerning the statements of qualifications of candidates are contained in documents A/66/90 and addenda 1 and 2. I should like to recall for members that, in accordance with the statute of the International Law Commission, the Commission should consist of persons of recognized competence in international law; the persons to be elected to the Commission should individually possess the qualifications required; and in the Commission as a whole, representation of the main forms of civilization and of the principal legal systems of the world should be ensured. Pursuant to paragraph 3 of General Assembly resolution 36/39 of 18 November 1981, the 34 members should be elected as follows: nine nationals from African States; eight nationals from Asia-Pacific States; three nationals from Eastern European States; six nationals from Latin American and Caribbean States; and eight nationals from Western European and other States. The ballot papers reflect this pattern. As provided for in the statute of the International Law Commission, those candidates, up to the maximum number prescribed for each regional group, receiving the greatest number of votes and not less than a majority of the votes of the Member States present and voting, shall be declared elected. If the number of candidates obtaining a simple majority is less than the number of members to be elected, there shall be additional ballots to fill the remaining places, the voting being restricted to the candidates obtaining the greatest number of votes in the previous ballot to a number not more than twice the places remaining to be filled. Also, consistent with past practice, if, in the case of a tie vote, it becomes necessary to determine the candidate to be elected or to proceed to the next round of restricted balloting, there will be a special restricted ballot limited to those candidates that have obtained an equal number of votes. May I take it that the General Assembly agrees to these procedures?

In accordance with rule 92 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly, the election shall be held 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. In addition, ballot papers will be given only to the representative seated directly behind the country’s nameplate. We shall now begin the voting process. Members are requested to remain seated until all ballots have been collected. Ballot papers marked “A”, “B”, “C”, “D” and “E” will now be distributed. Representatives are requested to use only those ballot papers that have been distributed. Each ballot paper contains the names of the candidates eligible in this round of balloting. Representatives are requested to place a cross to the left of the names of the candidates for whom they wish to vote. Representatives may vote only for those candidates whose names appear on the ballot papers, but for no more than the number of seats allocated to each region. A ballot paper containing more votes than the number of seats allocated to the relevant region will be declared invalid. Accordingly, members should ensure that the ballot papers marked “A” for African States do not contain votes for more than nine candidates; that the ballot papers marked “B” for Asia-Pacific States do not contain votes for more than eight candidates; that the ballot papers marked “C” for Eastern European States do not contain votes for more than three candidates; that the ballot papers marked “D” for Latin American and Caribbean States do not contain votes for more than six candidates; and that the ballot papers marked “E” for Western European and Other States do not contain votes for more than eight candidates.

The result of the voting is as follows: Group A — African States Number of ballot papers: 192 Number of invalid ballots: 1 Number of valid ballots: 191 Abstentions: 0 Number of members voting: 191 Required simple majority: 96 Number of votes obtained: Mr. Hussein Hassouna (Egypt) 156 Mr. Dire Tladi (South Africa) 150 Mr. Ahmed Laraba (Algeria) 144 Mr. Maurice Kamto (Cameroon) 141 Mr. Amos Wako (Kenya) 138 Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke (Nigeria) 135 Mr. Chris Peter (United Republic of Tanzania) 124 Mr. Pedro Comissário Afonso (Mozambique) 114 Mr. Abdelrazeg El-Murtadi Suleiman Gouider (Libya) 113 Mr. Tiyanjana Maluwa (Malawi) 108 Mr. Salifou Fomba (Mali) 104 Mr. Yacouba Cissé (Côte d’Ivoire) 103 Mr. Muaz Ahmed Mohamed Tungo (Sudan) 92 Group B — Asia-Pacific States Number of ballot papers: 192 Number of invalid ballots: 1 Number of valid ballots: 191 Abstentions: 1 Number of members voting: 190 Required simple majority: 96 Number of votes obtained: Mr. Shinya Murase (Japan) 152 Mr. Huikang Huang (China) 139 Mr. Mahmoud D. Hmoud (Jordan) 136 Mr. Ki Gab Park (Republic of Korea) 135 Mr. Narinder Singh (India) 134 Mr. Nugroho Wisnumurti (Indonesia) 131 Mr. Ali Mohsen Fetais Al-Marri (Qatar) 128 Mr. Kriangsak Kittichaisaree (Thailand) 128 Mr. A. Rohan Perera (Sri Lanka) 117 Ms. Noor Farida Ariffin (Malaysia) 111 Mr. James C. Droushiotis (Cyprus) 102 Mr. Riad Daoudi (Syrian Arab Republic) 49 Group C — Eastern European States Number of ballot papers: 192 Number of invalid ballots: 0 Number of valid ballots: 192 Abstentions: 1 Number of members voting: 191 Required simple majority: 96 Number of votes obtained: Mr. Ernest Petrič (Slovenia) 169 Mr. Kirill Gevorgian (Russian Federation) 147 Mr. Pavel Šturma (Czech Republic) 145 Mr. Zdzislaw Galicki (Poland) 90 Group D — Latin American and Caribbean States Number of ballot papers: 192 Number of invalid ballots: 1 Number of valid ballots: 191 Abstentions: 1 Number of members voting: 190 Required simple majority: 96 Number of votes obtained: Mr. Gilberto Vergne Saboia (Brazil) 159 Mr. Stephen Vasciannie (Jamaica) 126 Mr. Juan Manuel Gómez-Robledo (Mexico) 123 Mr. Enrique Candioti (Argentina) 108 Mr. Eduardo Valencia-Ospina (Colombia) 102 Mr. Bernd Niehaus (Costa Rica) 95 Mr. Eduardo Ferrero Costa (Peru) 95 Mr. Carlos Arguello Gómez (Nicaragua) 90 Mr. Ewald Limon (Suriname) 88 Mrs. María del Luján Flores (Uruguay) 73 Mr. Carlos Oswaldo Salgado Espinoza (Ecuador) 57 Group E — Western European and other States Number of ballot papers: 192 Number of invalid ballots: 0 Number of valid ballots: 192 Abstentions: 2 Number of members voting: 190 Required simple majority: 96 Number of votes obtained: Mr. Georg Nolte (Germany) 175 Ms. Marie Jacobsson (Sweden) 166 Ms. Concepción Escobar Hernández (Spain) 163 Mr. Mathias Forteau (France) 161 Mr. Donald McRae (Canada) 158 Mr. Sean Murphy (United States of America) 158 Mr. Michael Wood (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) 154 Mr. Lucius Caflisch (Switzerland) 149 Mr. Jan Wouters (Belgium) 134

There remains one seat from among the Latin American and Caribbean States to be filled. We shall therefore proceed to the first restricted ballot. In accordance with rule 94 of the rules of procedure, this second round of balloting will be restricted to the candidates having obtained the greatest number of votes in the previous ballot, to a number not more than twice the number of seats remaining to be filled. Consequently, only the candidates of Costa Rica and Peru from the Latin American and Caribbean States are eligible at this time. 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. We shall now begin the voting process. Members are requested to remain seated until all ballots have been collected. Ballot papers marked “D” will now be distributed. I request representatives to use only those ballot papers that have been distributed. Each ballot paper contains the names of the candidates eligible in this round of balloting. Representatives are requested to place a cross to the left of the names of the candidates for whom they wish to vote. Representatives may vote only for those candidates whose names appear on the ballot papers, but for no more than the number of seats allocated to each region. A ballot paper containing more votes than the number of seats allocated to the relevant region will be declared invalid. Accordingly, members should ensure that the ballot papers marked “D” for Latin American and Caribbean States do not contain votes for more than one candidate.

The result of the voting is as follows: Group D — Latin American and Caribbean States Number of ballot papers: 193 Number of invalid ballots: 0 Number of valid ballots: 193 Abstentions: 6 Number of members voting: 193 Required simple majority: 94 Number of votes obtained: Mr. Bernd Niehaus (Costa Rica) 98 Mr. Eduardo Ferrero Costa (Peru) 89

I congratulate all 34 persons who have been elected to the International Law Commission and I thank the tellers for their assistance in this election. This concludes our consideration of sub-item (b) of agenda item 114. Programme of work The President (spoke in Arabic): I should like to make the following announcements concerning the work of the plenary scheduled for Friday, 18 November, and Tuesday, 22 November. The specific meeting focusing on development, to be held under agenda item 117, “Follow-up to the outcome of the Millennium Summit”, pursuant to resolution 60/265, has been postponed from Friday, 18 November, to a date in the resumed part of the session to be announced. Also, consideration of the following items scheduled for Tuesday, 22 November, has been postponed to Friday, 2 December: agenda item 14, “Integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields”; agenda item 117, “Follow-up to the outcome of the Millennium Summit”; sub-items (a) and (b) of agenda item 113, “Strengthening of the United Nations system”; and agenda item 124, “United Nations reform: measures and proposals”. In addition, agenda item 120, “Implementation of the resolutions of the United Nations”, and agenda item 121, “Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly”, originally scheduled for Tuesday, 22 November, will now be considered on Thursday, 1 December. Finally, the Assembly will resume its consideration of sub-item (c) of agenda item 113, “Election of five members of the International Court of Justice”, on Tuesday, 22 November, at 3 p.m., to fill the remaining one vacancy on the Court.