Statement by Ms. ABO Ai, Chair of the Committee on Conferences, Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations, Agenda item 137: Pattern of conferences, Main Part of the 78th Session of the Fifth Committee of the United Nations General Assembly
2023/10/27
(Check against delivery)
Mr. Chair,
Distinguished Delegates,
It is my privilege to introduce the Report of the Committee on Conferences for 2023 in my capacity as Chair of the Committee. The Committee’s report, as contained in document A/78/32, covers the work of the Committee in 2023 and was adopted at its substantive session held from 5 to 11 September 2023. The report also includes a draft resolution on the pattern of conferences and a draft calendar of conferences and meetings of the United Nations for 2024 for the Committee’s consideration and recommendation for adoption by the General Assembly.
Mr. Chair,
Distinguished Delegates,
At the opening of the substantive session, on 5 September, the Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management introduced the report of the Secretary-General on the pattern of conferences (A/78/96), which the Committee considered together with the statistical data presented as supplementary information. The report reflects the Committee’s discussions.
Member States also had an opportunity to engage in a questions and answers session with representatives of the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management (DGACM) in New York and at the other three duty stations, i.e. Geneva, Vienna and Nairobi which provided an opportunity to interact on the various substantive issues before the Committee.
On matters related to the calendar of conferences and meetings, the Committee considered a letter dated 10 August 2023 signed by 12 Member States requesting that Lunar New Year be included in the list of floating holidays of the United Nations as from 2024.
Following informal consultations dedicated to negotiations, the Committee decided to adopt the draft resolution that is annexed to the report and recommended for the adoption by the General Assembly.
Regarding the Membership of the Committee, I would like to remind that the Committee has four vacancies for members from the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States to be filled.
Mr. Chair,
Distinguished Delegates,
Before I conclude, I would like to thank the Bureau and the members of the Committee for their active engagement during the substantive session, which enabled the Committee to have meaningful and productive discussions. I am confident that we will continue to work in the same spirit during the Fifth Committee’s consideration of the item on the pattern of conferences.
On behalf of the Committee, I would also like to express our gratitude to Mr. Movses Abelian, Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management and Ms. Cherith Norman Chalet, Assistant Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management, as well as all the staff of DGACM, including the conference management staff at the other duty stations, for providing substantive and technical support to the Committee throughout the year.
I thank you, Mr. Chair.
Distinguished Delegates,
It is my privilege to introduce the Report of the Committee on Conferences for 2023 in my capacity as Chair of the Committee. The Committee’s report, as contained in document A/78/32, covers the work of the Committee in 2023 and was adopted at its substantive session held from 5 to 11 September 2023. The report also includes a draft resolution on the pattern of conferences and a draft calendar of conferences and meetings of the United Nations for 2024 for the Committee’s consideration and recommendation for adoption by the General Assembly.
Mr. Chair,
Distinguished Delegates,
At the opening of the substantive session, on 5 September, the Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management introduced the report of the Secretary-General on the pattern of conferences (A/78/96), which the Committee considered together with the statistical data presented as supplementary information. The report reflects the Committee’s discussions.
Member States also had an opportunity to engage in a questions and answers session with representatives of the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management (DGACM) in New York and at the other three duty stations, i.e. Geneva, Vienna and Nairobi which provided an opportunity to interact on the various substantive issues before the Committee.
On matters related to the calendar of conferences and meetings, the Committee considered a letter dated 10 August 2023 signed by 12 Member States requesting that Lunar New Year be included in the list of floating holidays of the United Nations as from 2024.
Following informal consultations dedicated to negotiations, the Committee decided to adopt the draft resolution that is annexed to the report and recommended for the adoption by the General Assembly.
Regarding the Membership of the Committee, I would like to remind that the Committee has four vacancies for members from the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States to be filled.
Mr. Chair,
Distinguished Delegates,
Before I conclude, I would like to thank the Bureau and the members of the Committee for their active engagement during the substantive session, which enabled the Committee to have meaningful and productive discussions. I am confident that we will continue to work in the same spirit during the Fifth Committee’s consideration of the item on the pattern of conferences.
On behalf of the Committee, I would also like to express our gratitude to Mr. Movses Abelian, Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management and Ms. Cherith Norman Chalet, Assistant Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management, as well as all the staff of DGACM, including the conference management staff at the other duty stations, for providing substantive and technical support to the Committee throughout the year.
I thank you, Mr. Chair.