General Assembly Session 63 meeting 84

The President

Members will recall that at its 74th plenary meeting, on 23 December 2008, the Assembly decided to consider agenda item 48 directly in plenary meeting. Members will further recall that, in accordance with General Assembly resolutions 63/239, of 24 December 2008, and 63/277, of 7 April 2009, the Assembly decided to hold a Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and Its Impact on Development from 1 to 3 June 2009 at United Nations Headquarters.

In that connection, members have received a letter from my Chef de Cabinet dated 21 May 2009 recalling the alert I brought to the Assembly's attention in my letter of 1 April 2009, namely, that the dates of 1 to 3 June for the holding of the Conference would no longer be appropriate. In the past few days, a large number of representatives from the various regions have requested a brief deferral of the Conference, to 24 to 26 June, to facilitate the participation of their Governments at the highest level. At the same time, some representatives have also indicated that the intergovernmental negotiations on the draft outcome document are proving to be most challenging and may need more time to arrive at an agreement among Member States.

Given the ongoing dire and critical financial and economic situation of the world and the utmost urgency for Member States and the United Nations system as a whole to find a common and lasting solution soon, and on the request of Member States, I would like to propose to reschedule the holding of the Conference to 24 to 26 June, which appears to enjoy wide acceptance.

Before proceeding further, I wish to inform Member States that, after extensive consultations with representatives of negotiating groups and regional groups, we arrived at a consensus late on the evening of 22 May. I also made available a letter on that day informing Member States of this. I will shortly read out that letter for the record.

May I take it that the Assembly wishes to reconsider the dates for the holding of the Conference? There appears to be no objection.

The President

May I also take it that the General Assembly wishes to hold the Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and Its Impact on Development from 24 to 26 June 2009?

The President

As I said earlier, I will now read out for the record the letter that was made available to all Member States on Friday evening, 22 May. Hard copies are available at the Secretariat table.

"It is our common endeavour to ensure the success of the United Nations Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and Its Impact on Development. We believe that success will depend on a positive and forward-looking outcome document and the active engagement of the political leadership of the Member States at the highest possible level.

"With this in view, I have carried out extensive consultations with the Permanent Representatives representing all the regional groups and negotiating groups and with the heads of State and Government of several countries. In the coming days I shall continue to do so.

"I have heard the concerns expressed by some Member States. I would like to reiterate that this process will be open, comprehensive, transparent and inclusive and, above all, driven by Member States. I am therefore committed to ensuring that the draft outcome document, at all stages of its evolution, will be negotiated and approved by Member States by consensus, consistent with resolution 63/277.

"I appeal to all Member States to agree on this document no later than Monday, 15 June. I am confident that Member States will demonstrate the necessary political will and good faith towards this end, and I will empower the two facilitators to play their role independently in coordination and cooperation with Member States.

"On this basis and for the sake of both a good outcome document and high level attendance, I believe there would be consensus on the Conference being rescheduled to 24 to 26 June 2009."

Mr. Palous (Czech Republic)

On behalf of the European Union, I would like to express our satisfaction about the fact that we have been able to join in this decision based on consensus among all Member States to reschedule the Conference to 24 to 26 June 2009. As you have yourself pointed out, Mr. President, we were the last Group to join that consensus. We did so even though we still have certain concerns about the transparency of the process that has brought us here. We certainly want to use this opportunity as a new beginning to put the intergovernmental process back on track and to do everything possible to ensure the success of the Conference, which will discuss the most important and urgent issues of our time.

The new dates, to which we have agreed, were decided in a process that, in our view, was not transparent enough. However, we are ready to accept that decision. We certainly welcome the President's letter dated 22 May, in which we have been given assurances that the process will be transparent, open, comprehensive and inclusive and, above all, driven by Member States. I would like to assure you, Mr. President, on behalf of the European Union, that we will be a very constructive and transparent partner in this process.

I would also like to express our strong support to the two facilitators. I would also like to say that we have had a very positive experience working with them in recent weeks. We are ready to continue to work with them in the days and weeks to come.

Once again, the European Union accepts this decision. We will work in a spirit of cooperation and inclusiveness. We hope that this process will produce a consensus outcome document and a successful Conference.

Mr. Mohamad (Sudan)

I have taken the floor to say how pleased the Group of 77 and China is about the consensus reached on rescheduling to 24 to 26 June the United Nations Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and Its Impact on Development.

We take this opportunity to reaffirm the importance of the Conference. We trust that the constructive spirit that prevailed during the recent negotiations will have a positive impact on the coming deliberations and consultations, with a view to ensuring the success of the Conference, for which the international community has such high hopes.

We express our support to you, Mr. President, and our appreciation for your wise leadership. We also place on record our full confidence in the facilitators; we will spare no effort to work with them in an atmosphere of transparency and openness to make the Conference a success.