A/73/PV.98 General Assembly

I invite the attention of the General Assembly to draft decision A/73/L.98, circulated under sub-item (b) of agenda item 20, entitled “Follow-up to and implementation of the SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway and the Mauritius Strategy for the Further Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States”. Members will recall that at its 3rd plenary meeting, on 21 September 2018, the General Assembly decided to allocate sub-item (b) of agenda item 20 to the Second Committee. To enable the General Assembly to take action expeditiously on draft decision A/73/L.98, may I take it that the Assembly wishes to consider sub-item (b) of agenda item 20 directly in plenary meeting and proceed immediately to its consideration?

The General Assembly will now take action on draft decision A/73/L.98, entitled “Accreditation of relevant major groups organizations in the high-level review of the SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway”. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to adopt draft decision A/73/L.98?

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

Members will recall that the General Assembly concluded its consideration of sub-item (h) of agenda item 117 at its 65th plenary meeting on 22 December 2018. In order for the Assembly to appoint four new half-time judges from among candidates recommended by the Internal Justice Council in document A/73/911, it will be necessary to reopen consideration of sub-item (h) of agenda item 117. May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to reopen consideration of sub-item (h) of agenda item 117 and proceed immediately with the election for the appointment?

As indicated in document A/73/917, in paragraphs 32 and 33 of General Assembly resolution 73/276, of 22 December 2018, the Assembly approved the addition of four half-time judges in lieu of the three ad litem judges to the Dispute Tribunal and decided to amend article 4.1 of the statute of the Tribunal accordingly. In paragraph 37 of the same resolution, the Assembly decided to extend the positions of the two ad litem judges in Geneva and Nairobi pending the nomination of candidates by the Internal Justice Council and the appointment of the four new half-time judges by the Assembly, which should take place no later than 31 December 2019. Accordingly, there is a need to appoint four half- time judges to the Tribunal for a seven-year term of office beginning on the date of their appointment. In its report to the General Assembly, the Internal Justice Council has recommended to the Assembly seven candidates for the four positions in the Tribunal. The seven candidates recommended by the Internal Justice Council for half-time appointment to the Tribunal, in alphabetical order, are Francis Belle (Barbados), Eleanor Donaldson-Honeywell (Trinidad and Tobago), Heinrich Glasser (Germany), Ole Jan van Leeuwen (Netherlands), Rachel Sikwese (Malawi), Cristiane Souza de Castro Toledo (Brazil) and Margaret Tibulya (Uganda). The appointment of the four half-time judges of the Tribunal will be made in accordance with the statute of the Tribunal and the rules of procedure of the General Assembly. Article 4 of the statute of the Tribunal, as amended, states that “the Dispute Tribunal shall be composed of three full-time judges and six half-time judges” and that “the judges shall be appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Internal Justice Council in accordance with Assembly resolution 62/228. No two judges shall be of the same nationality. Due regard shall be given to geographical distribution and gender balance”. Paragraph 3 of Article 4 of the statute of the Tribunal further provides that, “to be eligible for appointment as a judge, a person shall: (a) be of high moral character and impartial; (b) possess at least 10 years of judicial experience in the field of administrative law, or the equivalent within one or more national jurisdictions; and (c) be fluent, both orally and in writing, in English or French”. Article 4, paragraph 4, of the statute of the Dispute Tribunal provides that “a judge of the Dispute Tribunal shall be appointed for one non-renewable term of seven years” and that a “current or former judge of the United Nations Appeals Tribunal shall not be eligible to serve in the Dispute Tribunal.” In document A/73/917, it is proposed that the General Assembly proceed to appoint the judges through an election, held in accordance with the rules of procedure of the Assembly, bearing in mind paragraph 58 of resolution 63/253, in which the Assembly invited Member States, when electing judges to the Tribunal, to take due consideration of geographical distribution and gender balance. Only those candidates recommended by the Internal Justice Council are eligible for election. The electors in the General Assembly will indicate the candidates for whom they wish to vote by placing a cross against each name on the ballot papers. Each elector may vote for no more than the number of judicial positions in the Tribunal to be filled at the present election, namely, four positions. Those candidates who obtain the highest number of votes and a majority of votes in the General Assembly of the members present and voting will be considered to be elected and thereby appointed by the Assembly to the Tribunal. Balloting shall continue in accordance with the rules of procedure of the Assembly until as many candidates as are required to fill the four half-time positions in the Tribunal have obtained, in one or more ballots, a majority of votes of the members present and voting. Also, consistent with past practice, in case, due to a tie vote, it becomes necessary to determine the candidate to be elected or that will proceed to the next round of restricted balloting, there will be a special restricted ballot limited to those candidates that have obtained an equal number of votes. Finally, in accordance with paragraph 5 of the Secretary-General’s memorandum, circulated in document A/73/917, it is my understanding that the four half-time judges to the Tribunal are to commence their seven-year term of office on the date of their appointment by the Assembly. May I take it that the Assembly agrees to these procedures?

The General Assembly will now proceed to the election of four half- time judges to the United Nations Dispute Tribunal. Only those candidates whose names appear on the ballot papers are eligible for election. Representatives are requested to indicate the candidates for whom they wish to vote by placing a cross against each of the candidate’s name on the ballot papers. Each representative may vote for no more than the number of judicial positions in the Tribunal to be filled at the present election, namely, four positions. The election will be held in accordance with the relevant rules of procedure of the General Assembly. Therefore, in accordance with rule 92 of the rules of procedure, the election shall be held by secret ballot. Before we begin the voting process, I should like to remind members that, pursuant to rule 88 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly, no representative shall interrupt the voting except on a point of order in connection with the actual conduct of the voting. We shall now begin the voting process. Members are requested to remain seated until all ballots have been collected. Ballot papers will now be distributed. The voting has therefore begun. I request representatives to use only those ballot papers that have been distributed. In addition, ballot papers will be given only to the representative seated directly behind the country’s nameplate. May I request representatives to indicate the candidates for whom they wish to vote by placing a cross against the candidate’s name on the ballot papers. May I remind representatives that they are voting for four candidates for the half-time appointment to the Tribunal. A ballot will be declared invalid if more than four names are marked for the half-time appointment to the Tribunal. If a ballot paper contains any notation other than votes in favour of specific candidates, those notations will be disregarded.

The result of the voting is as follows: Number of ballot papers: 171 Number of invalid ballots: 1 Number of valid ballots: 170 Abstentions: 0 Number of members voting:170 Required majority: 86 Number of votes obtained: Margaret Tibulya (Uganda) 110 Rachel Sikwese (Malawi) 109 Eleanor Donaldson-Honeywell (Trinidad and Tobago) 101 Francis Belle (Barbados) 88 Cristiane Souza de Castro Toledo (Brazil) 85 Heinrich Glasser (Germany) 82 Ole Jan van Leeuwen (Netherlands) 75

I take this opportunity to extend to them the congratulations of the General Assembly on their appointment and to thank the tellers for their efforts. I would also like to note that, of the four half-time judges elected, three are women judges, which is also very welcome news for the Organization. May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of sub-item (h) of agenda item 117?