A/70/PV.75 General Assembly

Members will recall that the Assembly considered, in a joint debate, agenda items 15, 116 and 123 at its 52nd plenary meeting, on 13 November. The Assembly will now take a decision on draft resolution A/70/L.7/Rev.1, entitled, “The impacts of the 2015/16 El Niño phenomenon”. May I take it that the Assembly decides to adopt it?

The Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 15.

The Fifth Committee recommends in paragraph 4 of its report that the General Assembly *1542287* 15-42287 (E) confirm the reappointments by the Secretary-General of the following persons as regular members of the Investments Committee for a one-year term of office beginning on 1 January 2016: Mr. Masakazu Arikawa (Japan); Mr. Madhav Dhar (India); Mr. Nemir Kirdar (Iraq); Mr. Michael Klein (United States of America); Ms. Linah Mohohlo (Botswana); and Mr. Gumersindo Oliveros (Spain). May I take it that it is the wish of the Assembly to confirm the reappointment by the Secretary-General of Mr. Masakazu Arikawa, Mr. Madhav Dhar, Mr. Nemir Kirdar, Mr. Michael Klein, Ms. Linah Mohohlo and Mr. Gumersindo Oliveros, as regular members of the Investments Committee for a one-year term of office beginning on 1 January 2016?

May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of sub-item (c) of agenda item 114?

The General Assembly will now consider the reports of the Fifth Committee on agenda items 132, 142, 143 and 160. If there is no proposal under rule 66 of the rules of procedure, I shall take it that the General Assembly decides not to discuss the reports of the Fifth Committee that are before the Assembly today.

Statements will therefore be limited to explanations of vote. The positions of delegations regarding the recommendations of the Fifth Committee have been made clear in the Committee and are reflected in the relevant official records. May I remind members that under paragraph 7 of decision 34/401, the General Assembly agreed that “When the same draft resolution is considered in a Main Committee and in plenary meeting, a delegation should, as far as possible, explain its vote only once, that is, either in the Committee or in plenary meeting, unless that delegation’s vote in plenary meeting is different from its vote in the Committee.” May I further remind delegations that, also in accordance with decision 34/401, explanations of vote are limited to 10 minutes and should be made by delegations from their seats. Before we begin to take action on the recommendations contained in the reports of the Fifth Committee, I should like to advise representatives that we are going to proceed to take decisions in the same manner as was done in the Fifth Committee, unless notified otherwise in advance.

The Assembly has before it a draft resolution recommended by the Fifth Committee in paragraph 6 of its report. The Assembly will now take a decision on the draft resolution, entitled “Report on the activities of the Office of Internal Oversight Services”. The Fifth Committee adopted it without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do likewise?

The Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda items 132 and 142.

The Assembly has before it a draft resolution recommended by the Fifth Committee in paragraph 6 of its report. We will now take a decision on the draft resolution, entitled “Administration of justice at the United Nations”. The Fifth Committee adopted it without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do likewise?

The General Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 143.

The Assembly has before it a draft resolution recommended by the Fifth Committee in paragraph 6 of its report. We will now take a decision on the draft resolution, entitled “Financing of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali”. The Fifth Committee adopted it without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The General Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 160. Reports of the Sixth Committee

The General Assembly will now consider the reports of the Sixth Committee on agenda items 80 to 86, 108, 120, 135 and 167 and 174. I request the Rapporteur of the Sixth Committee, Mr. Idrees Mohammed Ali Mohammed Saeed of the Sudan, to introduce the reports of the Committee in one intervention. Mr. Saeed (Sudan), Rapporteur of the Sixth Committee: I have the honour to present the reports of the Sixth Committee on its work during the seventieth session of the General Assembly. The Assembly allocated to the Committee 17 substantive and three procedural agenda items. Except for the item relating to the election of officers, all those agenda items fall under three of the headings corresponding to the priorities of the Organization, namely: “Promotion of justice and international law”, “Drug control, crime prevention and combating international terrorism in all its forms and manifestations” and “Organizational, administrative and other matters”. I will introduce the reports of the Sixth Committee on the various items in the order in which they fall under those three headings. I shall begin with the first heading, “Promotion of justice and international law”, under which the Sixth Committee considered seven agenda items and adopted seven draft resolutions recommended to the General Assembly for adoption. I first invite the Assembly to consider agenda item 80, “Criminal accountability of United Nations officials and experts on mission”. The report on that agenda item is contained in document A/70/506, and the draft resolution recommended to the General Assembly for adoption is reproduced in paragraph 9 thereof. The draft resolution affirms and further elaborates on the various measures adopted in previous resolutions, aimed at ensuring the criminal accountability of United Nations officials and experts on mission and sets out a variety of mechanisms intended to increase and enhance the information enabling Member States to address the topic. The report on agenda item 81, “Report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law on the work of its forty-eighth session”, is contained in document A/70/507, and the draft resolution is reproduced in paragraph 8 thereof. Under the terms of the draft resolution, the General Assembly would, inter alia, request the Secretary-General to establish and operate through the secretariat of the Commission the repository of published information under the Rules on Transparency in Treaty-based Investor-State Arbitration, in accordance with article 8 of the Rules, initially as a pilot project until the end of 2016, to be funded entirely by voluntary contributions. It would further note with interest the decisions taken by the Commission as regards its future work and the progress made by the Commission in its work in several areas. The report on agenda item 82, “United Nations Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law”, is to be found in document A/70/508, and the draft resolution is reproduced in paragraph 8 thereof. Under the terms of the draft resolution, the General Assembly would, inter alia, note that this year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Programme of Assistance, and emphasizes the importance of ensuring the successful continuation of the Programme for the benefit of present and future generations of lawyers. The Assembly would reaffirm that the Programme constitutes a core activity of the United Nations and recognize the Programme’s important contribution to the furtherance of the United Nations rule of law programmes and activities. The Assembly would approve the guidelines and recommendations contained in the report of the Secretary-General on the agenda item (A/70/423) and authorize the Secretary-General to carry out the activities specified therein. It would also decide to appoint 25 Member States as members of the Advisory Committee on the Programme of Assistance for a period of four years beginning on 1 January 2016. The report on agenda item 83, “Report of the International Law Commission on the work of its sixty- seventh session”, is contained in document A/70/509, and the draft resolution is reproduced in paragraph 10 of the report. Under the draft resolution, the Assembly would, among other things, express its appreciation to the Commission for the work accomplished at its sixty- seventh session, take note of the final report on the topic “The Most-Favoured-Nation clause” and encourage its widest possible dissemination. The Assembly would also take note of the decision of the International Law Commission to include the topic “Jus cogens” in its programme of work and recommend that it continue its work on the topics in its current programme. Furthermore, the Assembly would decide that the next session of the Commission should be held at the United Nations Office at Geneva from 2 May to 10 June and from 4 July to 12 August 2016. The report on agenda item 84, “Report of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization”, is contained in document A/70/510. The draft resolution appears in paragraph 9 thereof. Under the terms of the draft resolution, the Assembly would, inter alia, request the Special Committee to continue its consideration of all proposals concerning the question of the maintenance of international peace and security, including strengthening the relationship and cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations or arrangements in the peaceful settlement of disputes and the question of the implementation of the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations related to assistance to third States affected by the application of sanctions, including the frequency of its consideration. It would also request that the Special Committee continue to consider, on a priority basis, ways and means of improving the Committee’s working methods and enhancing its efficiency and utilization of resources. The Assembly would further recall the consideration by the Special Committee of the proposal to commemorate the seventieth anniversary of the Charter of the United Nations and welcome the activities performed in that regard. The report on agenda item 85, “The rule of law at the national and international levels”, is contained in document A/70/511. Under the terms of the draft resolution, which appears in paragraph 8 of the report, the Assembly would, inter alia, invite Member States to focus their comments, in the upcoming Sixth Committee debates during its seventy-first session, on the subtopics “Sharing national practices of States in the implementation of multilateral treaties” and “Practical measures to facilitate access to justice for all, including for the poorest and most vulnerable”. The report on agenda item 86, “The scope and application of the principle of universal jurisdiction”, is contained in document A/70/512. Under the draft resolution, which is reproduced in paragraph 9 of the report, the Assembly would decide that the Sixth Committee shall continue its consideration of the matter next year, including in the context of a working group of the Committee, which would undertake a thorough discussion of the item. I shall now turn to the second heading, “Drug control, crime prevention and combating international terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” under which the Sixth Committee considered agenda item 108, “Measures to eliminate international terrorism”. The relevant report is contained in document A/70/513, and the draft resolution is reproduced in paragraph 10 thereof. By its terms, it is envisaged that a working group would be established at the seventy-first session with a view to finalizing the process on the draft comprehensive convention on international terrorism as well as discussion on the item included on its agenda under resolution 54/110, while encouraging all Member States to redouble their efforts to resolve any outstanding issues during the intersessional period. Under the third and final heading, “Organizational, administrative and other matters”, the Sixth Committee considered nine substantive and two procedural items. Agenda item 143, entitled “Administration of justice at the United Nations”, was allocated to the Fifth and Sixth Committees. The views of the Sixth Committee on the item were transmitted to the Fifth Committee through a letter from the President of the General Assembly, dated 3 November 2015, that is annexed to document A/C.5/70/9. The report on agenda item 167, entitled “Report of the Committee on Relations with the Host Country”, is contained in document A/70/515, and the draft resolution appears in paragraph 8 of the report and, among other things, requests the Committee to continue its work in conformity with resolution 2819 (XXVI). Furthermore, the Sixth Committee considered seven requests for observer status in the General Assembly. It recommended that the Assembly grant observer status to the International Civil Defence Organization, under agenda item 171, the Indian Ocean Rim Association, under agenda item 172, and the Union for the Mediterranean, under agenda item 174. The Committee recommended further that the Assembly defer taking a decision on the requests for observer status in the General Assembly for the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking States, under agenda item 168; the Eurasian Economic Union, under agenda item 169; the Community of Democracies, under agenda item 170; and the International Conference of Asian Political Parties, under agenda item 173, to the seventy- first session of the Assembly. The reports concerning those requests are found in documents A/70/533, A/70/534, A/70/536, A/70/530, A/70/531, A/70/532 and A/70/535, respectively. The relevant draft resolutions and draft decisions are reproduced in paragraph 7 of documents A/70/533, A/70/534 and A/70/536 and in paragraph 8 of documents A/70/530, A/70/531, A/70/532 and A/70/535. Concerning two procedural items — namely, agenda item 120, entitled “Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly”, and agenda item 135, entitled “Programme planning” — the report under agenda item 120, containing the provisional programme of work of the Sixth Committee at the seventy-first session, is to be found in document A/70/526. The draft decision by which the Assembly would take note of the provisional programme of work is reproduced in paragraph 6 of the report. The report on agenda item 135 is contained in document A/70/527, and no further action by the Assembly is recommended. The draft resolutions and draft decisions relating to the agenda items under all three headings were adopted by the Sixth Committee without a vote, and it is my hope that the General Assembly will be in a position to do the same. Finally, I wish to inform the Assembly that there is no report in respect to agenda item 5, entitled “Election of the officers of the Main Committees”. Consistent with previous practice, the election of the officers of the Sixth Committee for the seventy-first session will be taken up at a later stage in the course of the current session. That concludes my introduction of the reports of the Sixth Committee. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the Chair of the Sixth Committee, Ambassador Eden Charles of Trinidad and Tobago, for his dedicated work and for the commendable leadership that he provided to the Committee, as well as to the other members of the Bureau — Ms. Natalie Morris-Sharma of Singapore, Mr. Andreas Kravik of Norway and Mr. Boris Holovka of Serbia — for their cooperation. I also wish to thank all representatives and colleagues for their valuable contributions to the success of this session. Finally, I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to the secretariat of the Sixth Committee and the Codification Division of the Office of Legal Affairs for their efficient and valuable support and for the competent and professional advice provided throughout the session.

If there is no proposal under rule 66 of the rules of procedure, I shall take it that the General Assembly decides not to discuss the reports of the Sixth Committee that are before the Assembly today.

Statements will therefore be limited to explanations of vote. The positions of delegations regarding the recommendations of the Sixth Committee have been made clear in the Committee and are reflected in the relevant official records. May I remind members that, under paragraph 7 of decision 34/401, the General Assembly agreed that “When the same draft resolution is considered in a Main Committee and in plenary meeting, a delegation should, as far as possible, explain its vote only once, that is, either in the Committee or in plenary meeting, unless that delegation’s vote in plenary meeting is different from its vote in the Committee”. May I also remind delegations that explanations of vote are limited to 10 minutes and should be made by delegations from their seats. Before we begin to take action on the recommendations contained in the reports of the Sixth Committee, I should like to advise representatives that we are going to proceed to take decisions in the same manner as was done in the Committee, unless the secretariat is notified otherwise in advance. I therefore hope that we may proceed to adopt without a vote those recommendations that were adopted without a vote in the Committee. Members are reminded that additional sponsors are no longer accepted now that draft resolutions and decisions have been adopted by the Committee. Any clarification about sponsorship should be addressed to the Secretary of the Committee.

The Assembly has before it a draft resolution recommended by the Sixth Committee in paragraph 9 of its report. We will now take a decision on the draft resolution. The Committee adopted it without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do likewise?

May I take it that it is the wish of the Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 80?

The Assembly has before it a draft resolution recommended by the Sixth Committee in paragraph 8 of its report. We will now take a decision on the draft resolution. The Committee adopted it without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

May I take it that it is the wish of the Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 81?

The Assembly has before it a draft resolution recommended by the Sixth Committee in paragraph 8 of its report. We will now take a decision on the draft resolution. The Committee adopted it without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do likewise?

May I take it that it is the wish of the Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 82?

In relation to the draft resolution recommended by the Sixth Committee in paragraph 10 of its report, I should like to inform members that the Assembly will be in a position to take action on the draft resolution after the Fifth Committee has considered its programme budgetary implications. The General Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 83.

The Assembly has before it a draft resolution recommended by the Sixth Committee in paragraph 9 of its report. We will now take a decision on the draft resolution. The Committee adopted it without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

May I take it that it is the wish of the Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 84?

The Assembly has before it a draft resolution recommended by the Sixth Committee in paragraph 8 of its report. We will now take a decision on the draft resolution. The Committee adopted it without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do likewise?

May I take it that it is the wish of the Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 85?

The Assembly has before it a draft resolution recommended by the Sixth Committee in paragraph 9 of its report. We will now take a decision on the draft resolution. The Committee adopted it without a vote. May I consider that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

May I take it that it is the wish of the Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 86?

The Assembly has before it a draft resolution recommended by the Sixth Committee in paragraph 10 of its report. We will now take a decision on the draft resolution. The Committee adopted it without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do likewise?

I now give the floor to the representative of India, who wishes to speak in explanation of position on the resolution just adopted.

We note the adoption of the report of the Sixth Committee (A/70/513) on agenda item 108, “Measures to eliminate international terrorism”, as well as of the accompanying resolution 70/120. It is merely a repetition of last year’s resolution 69/127, with technical updates. We are disappointed by the lack of progress on the item in the Committee, especially on the finalization of the draft comprehensive convention on international terrorism. The Working Group of the Committee held as many as five formal meetings during October and November. Beginning in September, the Chair of the Working Group, the Friends of the Chairman, and the Chair of the Sixth Committee organized many informal consultations and group meetings and thus generated momentum; yet no progress was achieved in the Committee on this long-pending matter. However, we welcome the announcement on 20 November by the Chair of the Sixth Committee that the Bureau of the Committee has decided to hold informal informal consultations during the intersessional period next year. That possibility is envisaged in paragraph 25 of the resolution we adopted today, which recognizes “the efforts of Member States towards resolving any outstanding issues, and encourages all Member States to redouble their efforts during the intersessional period”. We look forward to participating in those meetings and encourage all delegations to take part in those consultations in order to finalize the comprehensive convention on international terrorism.

May I take it that it is the wish of the Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 108?

The Assembly has before it a draft resolution recommended by the Sixth Committee in paragraph 8 of its report. We will now take a decision on the draft resolution. The Committee adopted it without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do likewise?

May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 167?

The Assembly has before it a draft decision recommended by the Sixth Committee in paragraph 8 of its report. We will now take action on the draft decision. The Committee adopted it without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

May I take it that it is the wish of the Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 168?

The Assembly has before it a draft decision recommended by the Sixth Committee in paragraph 8 of its report. We will now take action on the draft decision. The Committee adopted it without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

May I take it that it is the wish of the Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 169?

The Assembly has before it a draft decision recommended by the Sixth Committee in paragraph 8 of its report. We will now take action on the draft decision. The Committee adopted it without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

May I take it that it is the wish of the Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 170?

The Assembly has before it a draft resolution recommended by the Sixth Committee in paragraph 7 of its report. We will now take a decision on the draft resolution. The Committee adopted it without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

May I take it that it is the wish of the Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 171?

The Assembly has before it a draft resolution recommended by the Sixth Committee in paragraph 7 of its report. We will now take a decision on the draft resolution. The Committee adopted it without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

May I take it that it is the wish of the Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 172?

The Assembly has before it a draft decision recommended by the Sixth Committee in paragraph 8 of its report. We will now take action on the draft decision. The Committee adopted it without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

May I take it that it is the wish of the Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 173?

The Assembly has before it a draft resolution recommended by the Sixth Committee in paragraph 7 of its report. We will now take a decision on the draft resolution. The Committee adopted it without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

May I take it that it is the wish of the Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 174?

The Assembly has before it a draft decision recommended by the Sixth Committee in paragraph 6 of its report. We will now take action on the draft decision, entitled “Provisional programme of work of the Sixth Committee for the seventy-first session of the General Assembly”. The Committee adopted it without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The General Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 120.

May I take it that the General Assembly wishes to take note of the report of the Sixth Committee?

The Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 135. On behalf of the General Assembly, I would like to thank Mr. Eden Charles of Trinidad and Tobago, Chair of the Sixth Committee, the members of the Bureau, the Secretary of the Committee and representatives for a job well done. The General Assembly has thus concluded its consideration of all the reports of the Sixth Committee before it for this meeting.