A/69/PV.78 General Assembly

In document A/69/722, the Secretary-General informs the President of the General Assembly that 13 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/69/722?

I now invite the attention of the General Assembly to sub-item (a) of agenda item 74, “Oceans and the law of the sea”. Members will recall *1501479* 15-01479 (E) that the Assembly decided to conclude its consideration of sub-item (a) of agenda item 74 and of agenda item 74 as a whole at its 77th plenary meeting, held on 29 December 2014. I understand that it would be desirable for the Assembly to reopen consideration of sub-item (a) of agenda item 74 in order for it to consider proposals that may be submitted before it during the resumed part of the session. May I therefore take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to reopen consideration of sub-item (a) of agenda item 74?

Members will recall that the General Assembly heard a debate on agenda item 13 and its sub-item (a) jointly with agenda item 115, and adopted resolution 69/15, entitled “SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway”, at its 51st meeting, on 14 November 2014. Members will also recall that, under sub-item (a) of agenda item 13 and agenda item 115, the Assembly adopted resolution 69/108, entitled “Report of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing established pursuant to General Assembly resolution 66/288”, at its 65th meeting, on 8 December 2014. Members will further recall that, under the same items, the General Assembly adopted resolution 69/244, entitled “Organization of the United Nations summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda”, and decision 69/550, entitled “Dates for the meetings of the process of intergovernmental negotiations on the post- 2015 development agenda”, at its 77th plenary meeting, held on 29 December 2014. We shall now proceed to consider draft decision A/69/L.46. I should now like to give the floor to the representative of the Secretariat.

In connection with draft decision A/69/L.46, entitled “Modalities for the process of intergovernmental negotiations on the post- 2015 development agenda”, I wish to put on record the following statement of financial implications on behalf of the Secretary-General, in accordance with rule 153 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly. By paragraph 2 (c) of the draft decision, the Assembly would decide that the outcome document to be prepared for adoption at the summit in September 2015 may include the following main components: declarations, sustainable development goals and targets; means of implementation and global partnership for sustainable development; and follow-up and review. Additionally, by paragraph 2 (f) of the draft decision, the Assembly would decide that the initial draft of the outcome document on the post-2015 development agenda shall be prepared by the co-facilitators on the basis of views provided by Member States and taking into account substantive discussions in the process of the intergovernmental negotiations, and shall be presented to Member States by May 2015 for the intergovernmental negotiations. Pursuant to paragraph 2 (c) and (f) of the draft decision, the request for the outcome document would constitute an addition to the documentation workload of the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management (DGACM), and consequently additional resources would be required. However, at this time, the specific parameters of the outcome document are yet to be decided by the Assembly. Therefore, in the absence of the specific parameters for the outcome document, it is not possible at the present time to estimate the resource implications of the requirement for documentation. Upon decision by the General Assembly on the specific parameters for the outcome document, the Secretary-General will submit the detailed costs of such a requirement in accordance with rule 153 of the rules of procedure of the Assembly. Accordingly, the adoption of draft decision A/69/L.46 would not give not rise to any financial implications under the programme budget for the biennium 2014-2015.

The Assembly will now take a decision on draft decision A/69/L.46, entitled “Modalities for the process of intergovernmental negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda”. May I take it that the Assembly decides to adopt draft decision A/69/L.46?

Before giving the floor to speakers in explanation of vote, may I remind the delegations that explanations of vote are limited to 10 minutes and should be made by delegations from their seats. I now give the floor to the representative of Japan.

Japan welcomes the adoption of the decision entitled “Modalities for the process of intergovernmental negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda”. I thank the co-facilitators and their staff for their tireless efforts and commend the constructive engagement of all Member States involved. I would like to express our position regarding the statement made by the Secretariat on the possibility of budgetary implications concerning the outcome document. My delegation finds it extremely disappointing that the adoption of the decision has been postponed until today, not because of any substantial differences among the Member States, but because the possibility of additional programme budget implications has been raised by the Secretariat days after the deadline for submission to the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions and the Fifth Committee had passed in December. In this regard, I would recall the extraordinary efforts of the co-facilitators who prepared decision 69/550, especially for the purpose of processing the programme budget implications in accordance with the rules of procedure of the General Assembly. That decision was adopted on 29 December 2014. All budgetary issues could have been resolved through the said decision had there been timely information. The Secretariat is requested to ensure that such an incident does not happen again. My delegation considers it important that when the details of the outcome document become clear and the calculations are made, utmost efforts should be made to absorb the resources required for the outcome document in the existing budget. Should there nonetheless be any programme budget implications, this should be properly discussed by the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions and the Fifth Committee. Let me assure the Assembly that my delegation will continue to be constructively engaged in the discussion to adopt a truly meaningful outcome in September.

My delegation would like to thank the co-Chairs for their leadership during this process and our colleagues for their flexibility and constructive spirit, which enabled us all to reach a consensus on the important decision 69/555. The United States notes that paragraph 4 states that “the outcome document of the post-2015 development agenda should be adopted by consensus”. We intend to make every effort to reach consensus. If despite best efforts, it is not possible to reach consensus, then the use of the word “should” means that rules 82 through 91 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly would apply to the adoption of the outcome document. We of course trust that all delegations share the goal of reaching a consensus on the post-2015 outcome document in order to cement the agenda’s universality and significance. We are determined to reach that goal and appreciate that our fellow Member States share that same commitment.

We have heard the last speaker in explanation of position. I now give the floor to the observer of the European Union.

I speak on behalf of the European Union and its member States. We welcome decision 69/555, on modalities for the post-2015 intergovernmental negotiation process, which provides a useful framework for our collective work ahead. As for the participation of civil society and other stakeholders, we are pleased that the decision affords them the opportunity to participate in our deliberations in a way that is no less open than the arrangements used during the session of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals and preferably in a manner that further enhances their engagement and contributions. We are content with the way the provisional road map is set out in the decision, but we also stress that the flexibility in this decision committing the co-facilitators to adjust the meeting calendar removes the need to seek a further decision by the Assembly on this issue. Such adjustments to the road map will be within the co-facilitators’ mandate. If adjustments are deemed necessary, it would of course be important that Member States be informed as soon as possible. As for the importance of achieving a consensus- based document for adoption at the September summit, we wholeheartedly agree, and note that that is the approach we follow in all our engagements at the United Nations. We do not read paragraph 4 as in any way modifying the relevant rules of procedure of the Assembly. The European Union and its member States would like to thank the co-facilitators, the Permanent Representatives of Kenya and Ireland, for their guidance and leadership, and we look forward to engaging constructively and positively in our discussions on the post-2015 development agenda ahead.

The Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of sub-item (a) of agenda item 13 and agenda item 115.

Members will recall that the Assembly held its debate on agenda item 123 and its sub-items (a) to (y) at its 48th plenary meeting, on 11 November 2014. I now give the floor to the representative of Grenada to introduce draft resolution A/69/L.51.

I have the honour to introduce draft resolution A/69/L.51, entitled “Cooperation between the United Nations and the Caribbean Community”, on behalf of the States members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the sponsors of the draft resolution. The draft resolution reflects the latest developments in cooperation activities between the secretariats of the United Nations and the Caribbean Community, as documented in the Secretary-General’s report (A/69/228), and other areas in which cooperation between the two secretariats and the member States of CARICOM have been critical to advancing long- standing regional objectives. CARICOM welcomes, in this draft resolution, the strong collaboration with the United Nations on issues such as citizen security, non-communicable diseases and climate change, which represent some of the critical areas in which the United Nations and the Caribbean Community have forged enduring and important partnerships. Consistent with the calls contained in the previous resolutions on cooperation between the United Nations and CARICOM, the draft likewise contains a call upon the Secretary-General, in association with the Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community, to continue to assist in furthering the development and maintenance of peace and security within the Caribbean Community. For CARICOM, many of our challenges, whether related to development or security, emanate from global phenomena such as the illegal trade in small arms and light weapons and the ongoing impacts of the protracted global financial and economic crisis. The latter itself has jeopardized development progress and stymied CARICOM’s economic growth. In that regard, CARICOM continues to underscore the importance of reliable, accessible and adequate financing for development and of a more robust collaboration with the United Nations to build capacity in pursuit of sustainable development. In the draft resolution, the General Assembly therefore repeats the call on the United Nations system to intensify its assistance to CARICOM member States in order that they may be better able to address the unique vulnerabilities and sustainable development challenges they face, including through the sustained and effective implementation of the outcomes of the three international conferences on small island developing States held, respectively, in Barbados, Mauritius and Samoa. In the area of peace and security, the Assembly acknowledges in the draft resolution the launch of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) regional programme for the period 2014-2016 in support of the CARICOM crime and security strategy. While we are pleased with the conclusion of a memorandum of understanding between UNODC and CARICOM’s Implementation Agency for Crime and Security, we nonetheless reiterate the urgent necessity to reopen the regional office of UNODC. The United Nations commitment to support CARICOM in achieving its objectives must go hand in hand with its commitment to remain on the ground. Looking forward, the opportunities for strengthened cooperation are many. CARICOM leaders have endorsed a strategic plan for the Caribbean Community for the period 2015-2019. As acknowledged in the draft resolution, the plan highlights 11 high-priority areas. It is CARICOM’s hope that, as we improve coordination and coherence with the United Nations, including through the regional team of the United Nations Development Group for Latin America and the Caribbean, those priority areas will assist in providing strategic focus for further cooperation. In 2015, as we begin to chart the course for the post-2015 development agenda, the financing for development architecture, the new climate change regime and the successor framework for disaster risk reduction, CARICOM affirms its readiness and commitment to work with and through the United Nations to ensure that this body remains the central forum for advancing global responses to the myriad global challenges.

The Assembly will now take a decision on draft resolution A/69/L.51, entitled “Cooperation between the United Nations and the Caribbean Community”. I give the floor to the representative of the Secretariat.

I should like to announce that, since the submission of the draft resolution and in addition to those delegations listed in document A/69/L.51, the following countries have become sponsors of the draft resolution: Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, Estonia, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Italy, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Montenegro, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Samoa, Sweden, Timor- Leste, Turkey and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

May I take it that the General Assembly decides to adopt draft resolution A/69/L.51?

May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of sub-item (e) of agenda item 123?