19 June 2007
Member States met today at the United Nations in a closed session to informally discuss the revitalization of the General Assembly. The consultations were co-chaired by H.E. Mr. Daniele D. Bodini of San Marino and H.E. Mr. Paul Badji of Senegal, and convened on the basis of a draft resolution presented to the Member States in early June 2007 by the
Co-chairs. The draft was a result of a series of six interactive debates with over 90 Member States and several Secretariat officials held throughout the month of May 2007. Today’s deliberations were centered on the draft resolution, and while most Member States agreed that revitalization is an open process, rather than a instant fix, especially the following issues remained contentious:
- The need to implement previous resolutions on revitalization before moving on, as well as the need for the establishment of an open-ended ad-hoc working group to monitor this implementation;
- The issue of implementation as well as compliance of general GA-resolutions;
- The need for a better relationship between the General Assembly and the Security Council (with most Member States in favor of establishing periodic briefings by the president of the Security Council);
- The election process of the President of General Assembly;
- The timetable for the revitalization process.
It is expected that the Co-chairs will submit a reworked draft resolution to the plenary in the near future.
