General Assembly Session 60 meeting 62

The Acting President

The General Assembly will now take up the remaining reports of the First Committee, on agenda items 98 to 105 and 116.

I should like to remind members that this morning, the General Assembly, at its 61 st plenary meeting, decided not to discuss the reports of the First 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 First Committee have been made clear in the Committee and are reflected in the relevant official records.

May I remind members once again that, in accordance with General Assembly decision 34/401, 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, and 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 First 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 notified otherwise in advance. That means that where separate or recorded votes were taken, we will do the same. I should also hope that we may proceed to adopt without a vote those recommendations that were adopted without a vote in the First Committee.

The Acting President

The Assembly has before it six draft resolutions recommended by the First Committee in paragraph 22 of its report.

We will now take a decision on draft resolutions I to VI, one by one. After all the decisions have been taken, representatives will again have the opportunity to explain their votes.

We turn first to draft resolution I, entitled "United Nations regional centres for peace and disarmament".

The First Committee adopted draft resolution I without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The Acting President

Draft resolution II is entitled "United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean".

The First Committee adopted draft resolution II without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do likewise?

The Acting President

Draft resolution III is entitled "United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific".

The First Committee adopted draft resolution III without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The Acting President

Draft resolution IV is entitled "United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa".

The First Committee adopted draft resolution IV without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do likewise?

The Acting President

Draft resolution V is entitled "Regional confidence-building measures: activities of the United Nations Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa".

The First Committee adopted draft resolution V without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The Acting President

Draft resolution VI is entitled "Convention on the Prohibition of the Use of Nuclear Weapons".

The Acting President

May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 98?

The Acting President

The Assembly has before it three draft resolutions recommended by the First Committee in paragraph 12 of its report.

Ms. Ameri (United States)

The United States would like to put on record that it will not participate in the vote on draft resolution III, "Report of the Disarmament Commission".

The Acting President

We will now take a decision on draft resolutions I to III.

We turn first to draft resolution I, entitled "Twenty-fifth anniversary of the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research".

The First Committee adopted draft resolution I without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The Acting President

Draft resolution II is entitled "Report of the Conference on Disarmament".

The First Committee adopted draft resolution II without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do likewise?

The Acting President

Draft resolution III is entitled "Report of the Disarmament Commission".

The First Committee adopted draft resolution III without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The Acting President

May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 99?

The Acting President

The Assembly has before it a draft resolution recommended by the First Committee in paragraph 7 of its report.

We will now take a decision on the draft resolution.

A separate vote has been requested on the sixth preambular paragraph of the draft resolution. If there is no objection to that request, I shall first put to the vote the sixth preambular paragraph of the draft resolution, on which a separate, recorded vote has been requested.

The Acting President

I shall now put to the vote the draft resolution as a whole.

The Acting President

May I take it that the General Assembly wishes to conclude its consideration of agenda item 100?

The Acting President

The Assembly will now take a decision on the draft resolution recommended by the First Committee in paragraph 8 of its report.

The First Committee adopted the draft resolution without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The Acting President

May I take it that it is the wish of the Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 101?

The Acting President

The Assembly will now take a decision on the draft resolution recommended by the First Committee in paragraph 7 of its report.

The First Committee adopted the draft resolution without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The Acting President

May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 102?

The Acting President

The Assembly will now take a decision on the draft resolution recommended by the First Committee in paragraph 8 of its report.

The Acting President

May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 103?

The Acting President

The Assembly will now take a decision on the draft resolution recommended by the First Committee in paragraph 9 of its report.

The First Committee adopted the draft resolution without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The Acting President

May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 104?

The Acting President

The Assembly will now take a decision on the draft decision recommended by the First Committee in paragraph 7 of its report.

The First Committee adopted the draft decision without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The Acting President

May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 105?

The Acting President

The Assembly will now take a decision on the draft decision recommended by the First Committee in paragraph 5 of its report.

The draft decision, entitled "Proposed programme of work and timetable of the First Committee for 2006", was adopted by the First Committee. May I take it that the Assembly too wishes to adopt the draft decision?

The Acting President

The General Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 116.

The General Assembly has thus concluded its consideration of all reports of the First Committee before it.

The Acting President

The General Assembly will now consider the reports of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee) on agenda items 27 to 37, 26 and 116. I request the Rapporteur of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee, Mr. Muhammad Shahrul Nizzam Umar of Brunei Darussalam, to introduce, in one intervention, the reports of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee.

Mr. Umar (Brunei)

It gives me great pleasure to introduce to the General Assembly the reports of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee), submitted under agenda items 26 to 37 and 116. These reports are contained in documents A/60/472 to A/60/483 and A/60/525. These documents include the texts of draft resolutions and draft decisions recommended to the General Assembly for adoption.

For the convenience of delegations, the Secretariat has prepared a checklist of Fourth Committee reports, which is contained in document (A/C.4/60/INF/3).

In accordance with the General Assembly's recommendations, the Fourth Committee held 25 formal meetings during this first part of the sixtieth session of the General Assembly. Consistent with established practice, a working group of the whole, established by the Committee under agenda item 29 on international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space, also held several informal meetings.

During the first part of the sixtieth session of the General Assembly, the Fourth Committee adopted 25 draft resolutions and three draft decisions, of which 10 draft resolutions and all three draft decisions were adopted without a vote. The work of the Fourth Committee was performed in a constructive environment in a results-oriented and flexible manner.

The Committee had in-depth interactive dialogue sessions with the Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information on the item entitled "Questions relating to information" and with the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations on the item entitled "Comprehensive review of the whole question of peacekeeping operations in all their aspects". Similarly, the Committee benefited from an interactive dialogue session with the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). This format allowed for the active participation of delegations in the deliberations of the Committee and should be continued and improved in the future.

The report submitted under agenda item 27, entitled "Assistance in mine action", is contained in document A/60/473. The Committee held a series of intensive informal consultations on the subject and was able to reach a consensus on a draft resolution concerning that issue. In conformity with General Assembly resolution 58/316, this item is to be considered on a biennial basis and will be taken up again at the sixty-second session of the General Assembly.

The report submitted under agenda item 28, entitled "Effects of atomic radiation", is contained in document A/60/474. The Fourth Committee considered the report of the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, contained in document A/60/46. The draft resolution submitted under that agenda item is contained in paragraph 9 of the report of the Fourth Committee.

The report submitted under agenda item 29, entitled "International cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space", is contained in document A/60/475. In considering that item, the Fourth Committee held several informal meetings of a working group of the whole; it was chaired by the delegation of Nigeria. That working group formulated the draft resolution, which was adopted by the Committee without a vote. It is contained in paragraph 11 of the report.

The report submitted under agenda item 30, entitled "United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)", is contained in document A/60/476. The Fourth Committee considered the report of the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, published under the symbol A/60/13 and Add.1, as well as the report of the Working Group on the Financing of UNRWA, issued in document A/60/439, and various reports of the Secretary-General. Under this item, the Committee adopted four draft resolutions by a recorded vote. It also adopted one draft decision without a vote on increasing the membership of the Advisory Commission on UNRWA. The Fourth Committee recommends these draft resolutions and decision for adoption by the General Assembly.

The report on item 31, entitled "Report of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories", is contained in document A/60/477. The Fourth Committee considered the report of the Special Committee concerning the protection and promotion of the rights of the Palestinian people and other Arab inhabitants of the occupied territories, as well as other reports of the Secretary-General issued under this item. The Fourth Committee adopted five draft resolutions, which are contained in paragraph 20 of its report. The Committee recommends that the General Assembly adopt the draft resolutions.

The report on agenda item 32, entitled "Comprehensive review of the whole question of peacekeeping operations in all their aspects", is contained in document A/60/478. The Fourth Committee heard statements by the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Mr. Jean-Marie Guéhenno, and other representatives of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO). The Committee also held an interactive dialogue on this item with the Under-Secretary-General and representatives from the Department of Peacekeeping Operations.

The report on agenda item 33, entitled "Questions relating to information", is contained in document A/60/479. The Fourth Committee reviewed the report of the Committee on Information (document A/60/21) and the report of the Secretary-General (A/60/173) and heard a briefing by the Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, Mr. Shashi Tharoor. The Committee also held an interactive dialogue on this item with the Under-Secretary-General. The Committee then adopted, without a vote, two draft resolutions and one draft decision on the increase in the membership of the Committee on Information, which are contained, respectively, in paragraphs 11 and 12 of the report.

By the terms of the draft decision, Austria would be appointed as a member of the Committee on Information, and the membership of the Committee on Information would increase from 107 to 108 members. The Fourth Committee recommends that the General Assembly adopt the draft resolutions and the draft decision.

The Fourth Committee considered the decolonization items in one cluster with a single general debate on all decolonization items. The report presented under agenda item 34, entitled "Information from Non-Self-Governing Territories transmitted under Article 73 (e) of the Charter of the United Nations", is contained in document A/60/480. The draft resolution submitted under this item can be found in paragraph 7 of the report. The Fourth Committee recommends it for adoption by the General Assembly.

The report submitted under agenda item 35, entitled "Economic and other activities which affect the interests of the peoples of the Non-Self-Governing Territories", is contained in document A/60/481. Under that item, the Fourth Committee adopted a draft resolution, which is contained in paragraph 7 of the report. The Committee recommends that the General Assembly adopt it.

The report submitted under agenda item 36, entitled "Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples by the specialized agencies and the international institutions associated with the United Nations", is contained in document A/60/482. The Fourth Committee recommends that the draft resolution found in paragraph 7 of the report be adopted by the General Assembly.

The report submitted under agenda item 37, entitled "Offers by Member States of study and training facilities for inhabitants of Non-Self-Governing Territories", is contained in document A/60/483. The Fourth Committee recommends that the General Assembly adopt the draft resolution that appears in paragraph 6 of the report.

The report submitted under agenda item 26, entitled "Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples", is contained in document A/60/472. The Fourth Committee adopted seven draft resolutions and one draft decision under this item. The Committee recommends that the General Assembly adopt the seven draft resolutions contained in paragraph 32 of the report, as well as the draft decision contained in paragraph 33.

The report submitted under agenda item 116, entitled "Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly", is contained in document A/60/525. In accordance with resolution 58/316, of 1 July 2004, the Fourth Committee approved the draft programme of work of the Committee for the sixty-first session of the General Assembly. Under this item, the Committee also considered the issue of the rationalization of its working methods. At the invitation of the Chairman, the President of the General Assembly addressed the Committee, highlighting the importance attached to that issue. Together with the draft programme of work, the Committee decided to attach a non-paper entitled "Revitalization of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee)" to the report on this item. Those attachments are found, respectively, as annex I and II.

I would like to pay tribute to all delegations for the remarkable spirit of cooperation that prevailed in the work of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee. On behalf of the Bureau of the Fourth Committee, we would like to express our deep gratitude to delegations, whose concerted efforts led to the Committee's adoption of the draft resolutions before it. We would also like to thank all delegations that helped the Committee reach consensus on many draft resolutions and draft decisions.

I wish to pay special and well-deserved tribute to Ambassador Yashar Aliyev of Azerbaijan, Chairman of the Fourth Committee. His experience in multilateral diplomacy and his deep knowledge of the wide range of subjects considered by the Committee allowed him to lead the Committee with great insight. His vision and exemplary diplomatic skills proved instrumental for the smooth consideration by the Committee of some particularly complex items on its agenda.

I would also like to express my appreciation to the other members of the Bureau, namely, Mr. Subhas Gujadhur of Mauritius, Ms. Amparo Anguiano Rodríguez of Mexico and Mr. Alexander Gerts of the Netherlands, with whom I had the pleasure of working and who also played major roles in the success of the Fourth Committee.

I should also like to thank Mr. Zhang Saijin, Secretary of the Committee, for his invaluable assistance and advice in the work of the Committee. My appreciation also goes to his team -- Ms. Tatyana Shestakova, Ms. Hyacinth Bailey and others -- for their competence and dedication.

In conclusion, I respectfully submit to the General Assembly for its consideration and approval the recommendations of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee that appear in the reports published under the symbols A/60/472 to A/60/483 and A/60/525.

The Acting President

I thank the Rapporteur of the Special Political and decolonization Committee for his report.

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 Special Political and Decolonization Committee.

The Acting President

Statements will therefore be limited to explanations of vote. The positions of delegations regarding the recommendations 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, that is, either in the Committee or in plenary meeting, unless that delegation's vote is different from its vote in the Committee."

May I also 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 recommendations contained in the reports of the Special Political and Decolonization 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 Special Political and Decolonization Committee, unless the Secretariat is notified to the contrary in advance. That means that, where recorded votes were taken, we will do the same. I should also hope that we will proceed to adopt without a vote those recommendations that were adopted without a vote in the Special Political and Decolonization Committee.

The Acting President

The Assembly has before it a draft resolution recommended by the Special Committee and Decolonization Committee in paragraph 9 of its report.

I call on the representative of the Sudan in explanation of position.

Mr. Ali (Sudan)

The Sudan is among the countries to have suffered directly from mines and unexploded ordnance during wars. We are aware of the tragedy resulting from that, including the physical, social and economic problems suffered by victims -- especially women and children -- as a result of landmines.

We also believe that there is an urgent need for the international community to provide as much help as possible in order to eradicate landmines, as well as to build capacity at the national level following the entry into force of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. We need assistance with the efforts to remove landmines so the returnees can live in peace and tranquillity in cleared lands.

For reasons that I do not have the time to elaborate, we have always supported any international effort or draft resolutions in the area of landmines. However, owing to reasons beyond our control, we were not able to join the list of sponsors of draft resolution A/C.4/60/L.7/Rev.1, entitled "Assistance in mine action", prior to the Fourth's Committee adoption. We also made an effort to sign on to the draft resolution prior to its adoption by the General Assembly, but found ourselves again unable to do so. The delegation of the Sudan would like to emphasize that we nevertheless feel that we are indeed a sponsor of draft resolution A/C.4/60/L.7/Rev.1, despite the fact that we did not officially become one due to the reasons I have just mentioned.

We urge members to adopt the draft resolution unanimously. We request that our position be reflected in the record of this meeting.

The Acting President

The General Assembly will now take action on the draft resolution.

The Special Political and Decolonization Committee adopted the draft resolution without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do likewise?

The Acting President

May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 27?

The Acting President

The Assembly has before it a draft resolution recommended by the Special Political and Decolonization Committee in paragraph 9 of its report.

We will now take a decision on the draft resolution.

The Special Political and Decolonization Committee adopted the draft resolution without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The Acting President

May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 28?

The Acting President

The Assembly has before it a draft resolution recommended by the Special Political and Decolonization Committee in paragraph 11 of its report.

We will now take a decision on the draft resolution.

The Special Political and Decolonization Committee adopted the draft resolution without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The Acting President

May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 29?

The Acting President

The Assembly has before it four draft resolutions recommended by the Special Political and Decolonization Committee in paragraph 22 of its report and one draft decision recommended by the Committee in paragraph 23 of the same report.

We will now take a decision on draft resolutions I to IV one by one and on the draft decision.

After all the votes have been taken, representatives will again have the opportunity to explain their vote.

We turn first to draft resolution I, entitled "Assistance to Palestine refugees".

The Acting President

Draft resolution II is entitled "Persons displaced as a result of the June 1967 and subsequent hostilities".

The Acting President

Draft resolution III is entitled "Operations of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East".

The Acting President

We now turn to draft resolution IV, entitled "Palestine refugees' properties and their revenues".

The Acting President

We turn now to the draft decision entitled "Increase in the membership of the Advisory Commission on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East".

The Special Political and Decolonization Committee adopted the draft decision without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The Acting President

May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 30?

The Acting President

The Assembly has before it five draft resolutions recommended by the Special Political and Decolonization Committee in paragraph 20 of its report.

We will now take a decision on draft resolutions I to V one by one. After all the decisions have been taken, representatives will again have the opportunity to explain their vote.

The Acting President

We turn first to draft resolution I, entitled "Work of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories".

The Acting President

Draft resolution II is entitled "Applicability of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the other occupied Arab territories".