A/68/PV.73 General Assembly

In document A/68/176, the Secretary-General informs the President of the General Assembly that 18 Member States are in arrears in the payment of their financial contributions to the United Nations within the terms of Article 19 of the Charter. I would like to remind delegations that, under Article 19 of the Charter, “A Member of the United Nations which is in arrears in the payment of its financial contributions to the Organization shall have no vote in the General Assembly if the amount of its arrears equals or exceeds the amount of the contributions due from it for the preceding two full years”. May I therefore take it that the General Assembly takes note of the information contained in document A/68/716?

Members will recall that the Assembly held a debate on agenda item 9, jointly *1422023* 14-22023 (E) with agenda item 14, at its 50th plenary meeting, on 11 November 2013, and adopted resolution 68/18, at its 59th plenary meeting, on 4 December 2013. I now give the floor to the representative of Hungary to introduce the draft resolution A/68/L.36.

The history of the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics is closely related to the part of the world I come from, in particular to Hungary, and the time of democratic transition, when the production of appropriate and reliable data became apparent. In response to the demand, the Conference of European Statisticians developed and adopted the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics, in 1992. After the adoption of the very same set of Principles by the United Nations Statistical Commission, in 1994, they became known as the United Nations Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics. The Statistical Commission session in 2011 reviewed the Principles and agreed that no revision of the 10 principles was necessary; only the preambular part was slightly revised. On 24 July 2013, the Economic and Social Council endorsed the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics as they were first adopted by the Statistical Commission almost 20 years ago. The Economic and Social Council recommended them further to the General Assembly for endorsement. Why do we need the Principles to be reconfirmed in a General Assembly draft resolution? The post- 2015 agenda will require a data revolution to make sure that we can evaluate progress. Statisticians view such a revolution as a combination of the application of national circumstances and a reliance on data of good quality that are accessible, reliable, user-friendly and supportive of the implementation of sustainable development. Hungary, which currently chairs the Statistical Commission, took on the role of bringing the attention of the General Assembly to the Fundamental Principles. Consultations were held in December 2013 with Member States, which confirmed that the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics should be adopted by the General Assembly as agreed in prior years. Hungary thanks the numerous sponsors for their support of draft resolution A/68/L.36.

The Assembly will now take a decision on draft resolution A/68/L.36, entitled “Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics”. I give the floor to the representative of the Secretariat.

I would like to announce that, since the submission of the draft resolution, in addition to those representatives listed in the document, the following countries have also become sponsors of draft resolution A/68/L.36: Argentina, Montenegro, the Republic of Moldova and San Marino.

May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to adopt draft resolution A/68/L.36?

The General Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 9.

I shall now read out the President’s solemn appeal. “The ancient Greek tradition of ekecheiria, or Olympic Truce, born in the eighth century B.C., serves as a hallowed principle of the Olympic Games. In 1992, the International Olympic Committee renewed this tradition by calling upon all nations to observe the Truce. “Through its resolution 48/11 of 25 October 1993, the General Assembly urged Member States to observe the Olympic Truce from the seventh day before the opening to the seventh day following the closing of each Olympic Games. This appeal was renewed in the Millennium Declaration. “In the 2005 World Summit Outcome, our leaders emphasized that ‘sport can foster peace and development’ and encouraged the General Assembly to foster a dialogue and agreed proposals for a plan of action on sport and development. “On 3 November 2005, the General Assembly held a plenary debate on the agenda item entitled ‘Sport for peace and development’ and also adopted, with universal support, resolution 60/8, entitled ‘Building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal’, deciding to consider this item every two years in advance of each Summer and Winter Olympic Games. “To this end, on 6 November 2013, the General Assembly adopted resolution 68/9. In that resolution, the Assembly urged Member States to observe the Olympic Truce individually and collectively, within the framework of the Charter of the United Nations, during the period from the seventh day before the start of the XXII Olympic Winter Games, on 7 February 2014, until the seventh day following the end of the XI Paralympic Winter Games, on 16 March 2014. “The Olympic movement aspires to contribute to a peaceful future for all humankind through the educational value of sport, in particular youth. The Games will bring together athletes from all parts of the world in the greatest of international sports events as a means to promote peace, mutual understanding and goodwill among nations and peoples — goals that are also part of the founding values of the United Nations. “As an expression of these common objectives, the International Olympic Committee has decided to fly the United Nations flag at Olympic Park. The United Nations system and the International Olympic Committee have strengthened their mutual cooperation and support through joint endeavours in such fields as human development, poverty alleviation, humanitarian assistance, health promotion, HIV and AIDS prevention, child and youth education, gender equality, peacebuilding and sustainable development. “I welcome the leadership of Olympic and Paralympic athletes in promoting peace and human understanding through sport and the Olympic ideal, and the commitment made by various States Members of the United Nations to developing national and international programmes that promote peace and conflict resolution and the Olympic and Paralympic values through sport and through culture, education and sustainable development. “As President of the General Assembly at its sixty-eighth session, I solemnly appeal to all Member States to demonstrate their commitment to the Olympic Truce for the 2014 Sochi Olympic and Paralympic Games, and to undertake concrete actions at the local, national, regional and world levels to promote and strengthen a culture of peace and harmony based on the spirit of the Truce. Referring to the original tradition of the Olympic Truce practised in ancient times, as described in resolution 68/9, I also call upon all warring parties of current armed conflicts around the world to boldly agree to true mutual ceasefires for the duration of the Olympic Truce, thus providing an opportunity to settle disputes peacefully.” May I take it that the General Assembly wishes to take note of the solemn appeal in connection with the observance of the Olympic Truce?

The General Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 11.