A/73/PV.103 General Assembly

The Assembly will now resume its consideration of agenda item 6 to proceed to the election of one remaining Vice-President of the General Assembly for the seventy-fourth session, in accordance with rule 30 of its rules of procedure. Members will recall that, at its 87th plenary meeting, on 4 June, the Assembly elected 20 Vice-Presidents of the General Assembly for the seventy-fourth session. The Assembly was informed that one remaining seat for Latin American and Caribbean States would be filled at a later date to be announced. In a note verbale dated 7 August, the Permanent Mission of Belize to the United Nations reaffirmed its candidature for one of the vacancies of Vice-President allocated to the Latin American and Caribbean States. In accordance with paragraph 16 of decision 34/401, the election of the Vice-Presidents of the Assembly by secret ballot will be dispensed with when the number of candidates corresponds to the number of seats to be filled. We shall proceed accordingly. Since there is only one candidate for one seat to be filled from among the Latin American and Caribbean States, I declare Belize elected Vice-President of the General Assembly at its seventy-fourth session. I congratulate Belize on its deserved election. I wish to remind members that following the election of the Chair of the Fifth Committee, at a later date, the General Committee of the General Assembly at its seventy-fourth session will be fully constituted, in accordance with rule 38 of the rules of procedure. May I take it that it is the wish of the Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 6?

I now give the floor to the representative of Finland to introduce draft resolution A/73/L.108.

I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the European Union (EU). The EU and its member States are very pleased that today the General Assembly will adopt a draft resolution that endorses the agreed recommendations of the work of the ad hoc open-ended working group established under resolution 72/277, entitled “Towards a Global Pact for the Environment”. We would like to thank all delegations for their constructive engagement in this process, both in Nairobi and here in New York. Strengthening environmental protection and governance remains an indispensable element of the pathway towards global sustainable development. Those issues are of the utmost urgency, as demonstrated throughout the world by the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation, biodiversity loss and pollution. Solving such problems requires the global cooperation and commitment of all. The outcome of the ad hoc open-ended working group includes a number of important substantive recommendations on how to strengthen the implementation of international environmental law and governance, which we, as the General Assembly, endorse today. We call upon all relevant stakeholders, Governments, international organizations and conventions, scientists and civil society to implement those recommendations with urgency. Based on the work of the next United Nations Environment Assembly, a United Nations high-level meeting will agree on a political declaration in the near future. That will be an important occasion to demonstrate at highest political level our joint commitment to strengthening international environmental protection. We look forward to continuing the constructive work with all other delegations to prepare for the high- level meeting in the most effective and efficient way and to ensure an ambitious political declaration.

The Assembly will now take a decision on draft resolution A/73/L.108, entitled “Follow up to the report of the ad hoc open- ended working group established pursuant to General Assembly resolution 72/277”. I now 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 the document, the following countries have also become sponsors of draft resolution A/73/L.108: Andorra, Colombia, Fiji, Georgia, Kenya, Lesotho, Monaco, Morocco, San Marino, Senegal and Ukraine.

Before we formally adopt the draft resolution, I would like to thank Member States, the co-sponsors and, in particular, the delegation of Finland for its leadership and timely follow-up on the recommendations of the ad hoc open-ended working group established pursuant to resolution 72/277, entitled “Towards a Global Pact for the Environment”. This plenary meeting provides a formal opportunity to recognize the hard work of the co-Chairs of the working group, Her Excellency Ms. Amal Mudallali, Permanent Representative of Lebanon to the United Nations, and His Excellency Mr. Francisco Duarte Lopes, Permanent Representative of Portugal to the United Nations. I am delighted to take this opportunity to thank the co-Chairs and all delegations for the important role they played in reaching consensual recommendations on this very important topic. As mentioned in the briefing on this topic on 9 July, the General Assembly now has a set of actionable recommendations with regard to multilateral environmental frameworks and international environmental law and on how to ensure that we are on track to realize our shared ambitions. I am counting on Member States to take action based on those recommendations and to use them as a stepladder to our collective drive for greater ambition on all three dimensions all the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. (spoke in Spanish) May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to adopt draft resolution A/73/L.108?

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

First, I would like to thank Finland for its facilitation of resolution 73/333. With this resolution and its annex, the United States reaffirms its position on references to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the Rio+20 outcome document, entitled “The future we want”, and the 1992 Rio Declaration, among other documents, as reflected in our general statement delivered to the General Assembly on 8 November 2018. We also reiterate our statement delivered at the conclusion of the session of the ad hoc open-ended working group in Nairobi on 22 May 2019. With respect to recommendations relating to multilateral environmental agreements, including recommendations referring to policy coherence, we underscore that it is the governing bodies of such instruments that determine the policies and priorities to be addressed under those agreements and by their secretariats. With respect to the language on means of implementation in paragraph (b) of the annex, the United States notes that the language is not to be understood as implying a call for increased financing from any particular country, and we emphasize the role of all sources in the mobilization of means of implementation. We underscore in particular the need for an expansion of the donor pool beyond traditional donors and the increasingly important role of domestic resource mobilization and private investment, while noting in particular the need for good governance, transparency and strong investment climates. We want to reiterate that the United States supports strong levels of environmental protection as part of a balanced approach to promote economic growth and foster access to affordable and reliable energy while protecting the environment.

The Norwegian delegation would like to express its satisfaction at the adoption of resolution 73/333. We once again thank the co-Chairs, who guided our efforts to this successful conclusion. Recent reports from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, as well as the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report entitled Global Environment Outlook 6, all share one overarching finding: in spite of everything we are doing, our efforts are not yet sufficient to curb the overall trajectory in terms of climate change, biodiversity loss and plastic pollution in our oceans, among other things. Effective environmental governance includes implementation, monitoring and, yes, enforcement at the appropriate levels as part of the solution. Norway will work with Member States to implement the resolution’s recommendations, in particular as they pertain to the fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly. Some aspects require further guidance, such as the modalities around the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of UNEP at the Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm. On the political declaration, we will work closely with Member States in Nairobi and with our colleagues in the United Nations Environment Assembly Bureau, with the support of the United Nations Environment secretariat, to take the next step. As part of our consistent and long-standing tradition of working for global action for sustainable action, Norway is committed to working for a declaration that galvanizes the political will required for us to step up action needed to address the global environmental challenges we all face.

We have heard the last speaker in explanation of position. The Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 14.

I now give the floor to the representative of the Russian Federation to introduce draft resolution A/73/L.106.

On behalf of the States members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), I would like to introduce draft resolution A/73/L.106, entitled “Cooperation between the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization”. The work on this year’s draft resolution — and such a draft resolution is regularly put forward for consideration by the General Assembly — was difficult, requiring substantial efforts and a readiness to engage in constructive cooperation towards compromise solutions by all parties. In that connection, we would like to commend in particular the decisive contributions of the Kyrgyz delegation throughout all stages of the work on the draft resolution. Our Kyrgyz colleagues coordinated the process of consultations on the draft resolution between November 2018 and June 2019, when the SCO Summit of Heads of State was held in Bishkek. Russia has since taken over the presidency of the SCO. The customary broad-based support for this draft resolution serves to underscore the importance attached to the consistent development of cooperation between the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. We firmly believe that it will allow for productive collaboration between the two organizations in the interests of security and stability around the world. Fifteen years ago, through resolution 59/48, of 2 December 2004, the General Assembly granted observer status to the SCO, marking the beginning of dialogue between the United Nations and that young regional organization. Today the SCO is rapidly developing and playing a decisive role in regional affairs, which is also bolstering its international authority. Its eight member States — China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan — account for almost half the population of the planet and around a quarter of global gross domestic product. In their capacity as observers and dialogue partners, another 10 States — spread widely, from South-East Asia to Europe — participate in its work. A key priority of the SCO is the fight again terrorism, illegal drug trafficking and cross-border crime in the region. In that regard, it is underpinned by a robust legal treaty and the necessary practical mechanisms, including the SCO regional counter- terrorism structure. The SCO Convention on Countering Extremism entered into force this year. It is open for accession by any State. The counter-narcotic strategy is also being systematically implemented. A key area of our work is cooperation in the economic sphere, with a focus on supporting national strategies and integration initiatives with a view to creating a space of broad, open, mutually beneficial and equal cooperation to ensure reliable security and sustainable development in Eurasia. A cornerstone of the SCO is promoting dialogue among civilizations and strengthening mutual trust between peoples. At this stage, we are preparing to hold joint activities to honour the seventy-fifth anniversary of the victory over fascism in the Second World War. As President of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in 2019 and 2020, Russia intends to work energetically to further consolidate the SCO, boost its role in international and regional affairs and enhance its cooperation in the political, security, economic and humanitarian spheres. SCO member States are, as always, firmly committed to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations. In that connection, an important dimension of our joint work is strengthening the multifaceted forms of cooperation with the United Nations, based on the 2010 joint declaration of cooperation between the United Nations and SCO secretariats, and the memorandum of understanding with its specialized agencies. We call on all Member States to support draft resolution A/73/L.106 and join the list of co-sponsors.

The Assembly will now take a decision on draft resolution A/73/L.106, entitled “Cooperation between the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization”. I give the floor to the representative of the Secretariat.

I should like to announce that, since the submission of draft resolution A/73/L.106, and in addition to those delegations listed in the document, the following countries have also become sponsors: Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Qatar, Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan.

May I take it that it is the wish of the Assembly to adopt draft resolution A/73/L.106?

May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of sub-item (s) of agenda item 128?