A/78/PV.37 General Assembly

Pursuant to General Assembly decision 42/450, of 17 December 1987, and on the nomination of the Economic and Social Council, the Assembly elects the members of the Committee for Programme and Coordination. The Assembly has before it a note by the Secretary- General circulated in document A/78/519, which contains the nominations by the Economic and Social Council to fill the vacancies in the Committee that will occur on 31 December 2023 upon the expiration of the terms of office of the following members: Armenia, Belarus, Brazil, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Eritrea, Eswatini, Germany, India, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Italy, Japan, Mali, Malta, Pakistan, Poland, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and United States of America. Those States are eligible for immediate re-election. I should like to inform members that, as of 1 January 2024, the following States will remain members of the Committee: Argentina, Belgium, Botswana, Chile, China, France, Kenya, Liberia, Morocco, Paraguay, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation and Tunisia. Those 14 States will therefore not be eligible in this election. I should now like to inform members that the following 19 States have been nominated by the Economic and Social Council: Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Rwanda and South Africa for the four seats for the African States; India, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan and Pakistan for the four seats for the Asia-Pacific States; Armenia and Poland for the three seats for the Eastern European States; Brazil, Costa Rica, Mexico and Uruguay for the four seats for the Latin American and Caribbean States; and Germany, Israel, Italy, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America for the five seats for the Western European and other States. In accordance with rule 92 of the rules of procedure, all elections should be held by secret ballot. However, I should like to recall paragraph 16 of General Assembly decision 34/401, whereby the practice of dispensing with the secret ballot for elections to subsidiary organs when the number of candidates corresponds to the number of seats to be filled should become standard, unless a delegation specifically requests a vote on a given election. In the absence of such a request, may I take it that the Assembly decides to proceed to the election on the basis of dispensing with the secret ballot?

The number of States nominated from among the African States, the Asia- Pacific States, the Eastern European States, the Latin American and Caribbean States and the Western European and other States is equal to or lower than the number of seats to be filled in each of those groups. May I therefore take it that the Assembly wishes to declare those States nominated by the Economic and Social Council, namely, Armenia, Brazil, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Germany, India, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Pakistan, Poland, Rwanda, South Africa, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States of America and Uruguay, elected as members of the Committee for Programme and Coordination for a three-year term of office beginning on 1 January 2024?

I now call on the representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran on a point of order.

Is there a possibility for an explanation of position on the results of the elections? If not, we would like to disassociate ourselves from the decision to elect Israel as a member of the Committee for Programme and Coordination. We will submit our position in writing.

It is my understanding that there is no practice of taking the floor on a point of order in the context of elections. I would therefore kindly request that the delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran submit its position in writing to the Secretariat and to the Office of the President of the General Assembly. Would that be satisfactory?

Yes, absolutely, Sir. We will submit it in writing.

I call on the representative of the Syrian Arab Republic on a point of order.

I align myself with the remarks of the representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran. My delegation will submit my country’s explanation of vote. My country’s delegation joined consensus on the election of new members of the Committee for Programme and Coordination, but it expresses its reservation about nominating Israel as one of the members of the Committee.

As I indicated earlier, there is no tradition or practice of explanation of position in the context of elections. I therefore kindly request that the delegation of the Syrian Arab Republic submit its position in writing to the Secretariat and to the Office of the President of the General Assembly. I seek members’ kind understanding. I congratulate the States that have just been elected as members of the Committee for Programme and Coordination. I should like to remind members that one member from among the Group of Eastern European States remains to be elected for a three-year term beginning on 1 January 2024. The General Assembly will be in a position to act on this vacancy upon nomination by the Economic and Social Council. The General Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of sub-item (a) of agenda item 114.

As indicated in the note by the Secretary-General, since the terms of office of France, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria, the Russian Federation and Sri Lanka and of one of the vacancies remaining to be filled from the Latin American and Caribbean States will expire on 31 December 2023, it will be necessary for the President of the General Assembly to appoint seven members to fill the resulting vacancies. Those members will serve for a period of three years, beginning on 1 January 2024. Consequently, after consultations with the Chairs of the Groups of the African States, the Asia-Pacific States, the Eastern European States, the Latin American and Caribbean States and the Western European and other States, the President of the General Assembly has appointed Argentina, Botswana, France, the Philippines, the Russian Federation, Sierra Leone and Sri Lanka and for a period of three years beginning on 1 January 2024. May I take it that the Assembly takes note of those appointments?

Members will recall that four members from among the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States remain to be appointed: one for a term of office beginning on the date of appointment and expiring on 31 December 2023, two for a term of office beginning on the date of appointment and expiring on 31 December 2024 and one for a term of office beginning on the date of appointment and expiring on 31 December 2025. After consultations with the Chair of the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States, the President of the General Assembly has appointed Brazil and Peru for a term of office beginning on the date of appointment and expiring on 31 December 2024, and Guatemala for a term of office beginning on the date of appointment and expiring on 31 December 2025. May I take it that the Assembly takes note of those appointments?

The General Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of sub-item (f) of agenda item 115.

I now give the floor to the representative of Azerbaijan to introduce draft resolution A/78/L.8.

I have the honour, on behalf of the delegations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and, my own country, Azerbaijan, to introduce draft resolution A/78/L.8, entitled “ Commemoration of the twenty- fifth anniversary of the United Nations Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia”, under agenda item 13, entitled “Integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields”. The United Nations Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) plays a significant role as a regional platform that serves to strengthen economic cooperation and development in the Central Asian region and integrate it into the world economy, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Since its establishment in 1998, it has been advancing the common interests of its members and good-neighbourly relations. The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, as the main partners of SPECA, jointly provide overall support to the activities under the Programme on an annual rotation basis. The primary objective of the draft resolution, the first of its kind at the General Assembly dedicated to SPECA, is to commemorate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the establishment of the Special Programme. On this occasion, the Government of Azerbaijan, as Chair of SPECA for 2023, will organize a meeting of the Heads of State of SPECA participating States on 24 November in Baku. The meeting will focus on the critical role of the SPECA region in diversifying transit routes, promoting digitalization and green transformation, facilitating trade and transport and leveraging resources for sustainable development in the region and beyond. The draft resolution also highlights the possibility of establishing a United Nations multi-partner trust fund, which would provide financial support from international donors to implement projects under the Special Programme. We sincerely thank all delegations for their constructive engagement and valuable contributions throughout the negotiations process. We also extend our appreciation and gratitude to all Member States that have become sponsors of the draft resolution and invite others to co-sponsor the text now. We sincerely hope the draft resolution will receive unanimous support from the General Assembly.

We shall now proceed to consider draft resolution A/78/L.8. 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 the delegations listed on the document, the following countries have also become sponsors of draft resolution A/78/L.8 — Belarus, Estonia, Hungary, the Russian Federation and Türkiye.

The General Assembly will now proceed to take action on draft resolution A/78/L.8, entitled “Commemoration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the United Nations Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia”. May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to adopt draft resolution A/78/L.8?

The General Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 13.