General Assembly Session 59 meeting 84

The President

I should like, on behalf of all members of the General Assembly, to extend our deepest sympathy to the Government and the people of Indonesia for the tragic loss of life and material damage that have, once again, resulted from the recent earthquake in the area.

May I also express the hope that the international community will show its solidarity and respond promptly and generously to any request for help from that country.

The President

As indicated in his note, the Secretary-General has the honour to request, pursuant to rule 15 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly, the inclusion in the agenda of the fifty-ninth session of the General Assembly of an additional item, entitled "Financing of the United Nations Mission in the Sudan".

Owing to the nature of the item, and in the absence of objection, may I take it that the General Assembly agrees that the relevant provision of rule 40 of the rules of procedure, which would require a meeting of the General Committee on the question of the inclusion of this item on the agenda, could be waived?

The President

May I take it that the General Assembly, on the proposal of the Secretary-General, wishes to include in the agenda of the current session an additional item, entitled "Financing of the United Nations Mission in the Sudan" under heading I, "Organizational, administrative and other matters"?

The President

The item is therefore included in the agenda as item 164.

In his note, the Secretary-General further requests that the item be allocated to the Fifth Committee. May I take it that the General Assembly, as requested by the Secretary-General, wishes to allocate this item to the Fifth Committee?

The President

The Chairman of the Fifth Committee will be informed of the decision just taken by the General Assembly.

The President

I request the Rapporteur of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee), Mr. Kais Kabtani of Tunisia, to introduce the report of the Committee.

Mr. Kabtani (Tunisia)

It is an honour for me to introduce to the General Assembly the report of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee), issued as document A/59/472/Add.1, submitted under agenda item 77, entitled "Comprehensive review of the whole question of peacekeeping operations in all their aspects".

The Special Political and Decolonization Committee considered this issue at its 15th to 18th meetings, held from 25 to 28 October 2004, during the first portion of the fifty-ninth session of the General Assembly. At its 27th meeting, held on 23 March 2005, it resumed its consideration and examined the report of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations (A/59/19). At that same meeting, the Fourth Committee adopted a draft resolution without a vote.

The draft resolution submitted under agenda item 77 is contained in paragraph 7 of the report. By the operative part of the draft resolution, the General Assembly would welcome the report of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations. It would endorse the proposals, recommendations and conclusions of the Special Committee, contained in paragraphs 22 to 154 of its report, and would urge Member States to take all necessary steps to implement them. It would reiterate the conditions under which the countries that provide personnel can become members of the Special Committee and would decide that the Special Committee should continue its efforts. The Assembly would also request the Special Committee to submit a report on its work to the General Assembly at its sixtieth session.

It is my honour to submit to the General Assembly for consideration and adoption the draft resolution contained in paragraph 7 of document A/59/472/Add.1, entitled "Comprehensive review of the whole question of peacekeeping operations in all their aspects".

The President

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 report of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee) that is before the Assembly today.

The President

Statements will therefore be limited to explanations of vote or position.

The positions of delegations regarding the recommendation of the Special Political and Decolonization 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, i.e., either in the Committee or in plenary meeting, unless that delegation's vote in plenary meeting is different from its vote in the Committee."

I also wish to remind delegations that, also in accordance with General Assembly 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 draft resolution, I should like to inform representatives that we are going to proceed to take a decision in the same manner as was done in the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee), unless notified to the contrary in advance.

I call on the representative of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in explanation of position before action is taken on the draft resolution.