A/70/PV.58 General Assembly

Members will recall that at its 2nd plenary meeting on 18 September 2015, the General Assembly decided to allocate sub-item (a) of agenda item 20 to the Second Committee. To enable the General Assembly to take action expeditiously on the item, may I take it that the Assembly wishes to consider sub-item (a) of agenda item 20 directly in plenary meeting and proceed immediately to its consideration?

The Assembly will now take action on draft decision A/70/L.15. May I take it that the Assembly decides to adopt draft decision A/70/L.15? *1537711* 15-37711 (E)

The General Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of sub-item (a) of agenda item 20.

I now give the floor to the representative of Sweden to introduce draft resolution A/70/L.9.

I am very pleased to be able to introduce, on behalf of all of its 74 sponsors, the draft resolution contained in document A/70/L.9 concerning the investigation into the conditions and circumstances resulting in the tragic death of Dag Hammarskjöld and the colleagues who accompanied him. We are very grateful to all the delegations that have joined us in this endeavour and I would like to thank all the sponsors for their support. The influence of Dag Hammarskjöld, the second Secretary-General, on the role and function of the Organization has been profound, and remains so to this day. His dedication to the office he held, his moral leadership in a world of turmoil and cold war and his courageous stand in both words and deeds continue to stand out as exceptional. They still resonate in the Assembly. He promoted the integrity of the United Nations; he was meticulously loyal to the ideals of the Charter of the United Nations; he fought hard for the independence and integrity of his office; and he showed creativity and innovation by conceiving the concepts of preventive diplomacy and setting up the first United Nations peacekeeping operation, in 1956. The contrast between what we know about Hammarskjöld’s life and legacy, and even his inner thoughts, on the one hand, and what we still do not know about the circumstances surrounding his death, on the other, remains troubling. Last year, the General Assembly adopted resolution 69/246, requesting the Secretary-General to appoint an independent panel of experts to examine new information and assess its probative value, and encouraging Member States to release any relevant records in their possession and provide the Secretary-General with relevant information related to the deaths of Dag Hammarskjöld and the members of the party accompanying him. We would like to thank the Independent Panel of Experts for their important work. The pursuit of bringing clarity to the circumstances of the incident is particularly important to the families of all 16 victims, some of whom are present today. But it should also be important to the United Nations as an organization and to all of us, as we try to come together to continue the work left unfinished by Dag Hammarskjöld’s premature death. It is clear from eyewitness accounts, observations and additional information contained in the report regarding the possible cause of the crash that there is a need for a follow-up. We agree with the Secretary- General that this may be the last chance to find out the truth, and that it is our shared responsibility to pursue the full truth concerning the fateful plane crash in Ndola 54 years ago. We therefore join the Secretary- General in his call on Member States to disclose all information that may be relevant to the case. In the light of that, and in firm support of the Secretary-General’s recommendation on the way forward, Sweden, together with partners, is introducing the draft resolution before the Assembly today. The draft resolution has four operational elements. First, it requests the Secretary-General to pursue the pending request for information made by the Independent Panel of Experts to Member States, as well as to explore the feasibility of the establishment of a central archival holding or other holistic arrangement, in line with the recommendations of the Panel. Secondly, it urges all Member States, particularly those addressed in the report of the Panel of Experts, to release any records in their possession relevant to the deaths of Dag Hammarskjöld and the members of the party accompanying him. Thirdly, it requests that the Secretary-General inform the General Assembly before the end of the seventieth session on any further progress made. And fourthly, it decides to include the item on the provisional agenda of the Assembly at its seventy- first session, hopefully by then with much more clarity as to the circumstances. Sweden is grateful for the support already received for this initiative, particularly the valuable partnership with Zambia. It is my Government’s sincere hope that the momentum from this year’s efforts can be utilized and the unresolved questions answered out of respect for the memory of Dag Hammarskjöld and those who perished with him. I am confident that we will have the Assembly’s full support for the draft resolution and its full cooperation in its implementation.

The Assembly will now take a decision on draft resolution A/70/L.9, entitled “Investigation into the conditions and circumstances resulting in the tragic death of Dag Hammarskjöld and of the members of the party accompanying him”. I give the floor to the representative of the Secretariat.

I should like to announce that, since draft resolution A/70/L.9 was submitted, the following countries have become sponsors: Algeria, Andorra, Armenia, Bulgaria, Canada, Eritrea, France, Georgia, Guatemala, Hungary, Lesotho, Liberia, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of Moldova, Romania, the Russian Federation, San Marino, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, the Sudan, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

May I take it that the Assembly decides to adopt draft resolution A/70/L.9?

The General Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 129.