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Elections and Appointments

64th Session

Results from the "Related official documents" links below are in PDF.

Election of a member of the International Court of Justice

9 September

In one round of balloting today, the General Assembly elected Joan Donoghue of the United States as a member of the International Court of Justice, in an election run independently of, but concurrently with, the Security Council. Ms. Donoghue, will fill the remainder of the term of Judge Thomas Buergenthal of the United States, whose resignation took effect 6 September 2010.  A member of the Court since 2 March 2000 and re-elected 6 February 2006, Judge Buergenthal’s term of office would have expired on 5 February 2015.

Election of members of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law

25 August

The General Assembly elected by acclamation Georgia to the sixty-member Commission on International Trade Law, the United Nations’ core legal body in that field, beginning in June 2011, the first day of the Commission’s forty-fourth session, and filling the unexpired term of office of Belarus.

Election of the Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme

25 August

The General Assembly elected Mr. Joan Clos (Spain) as Executive Director of United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) to a four-year term of office, beginning on 18 October 2010 and ending on 17 October 2014.

Appointment of members of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions

30 July

The General Assembly appointed Akira Sugiyama to the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) to fill a seat left vacant through Misako Kaji's resignation.

Appointment of the Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services

28 July 2010

The Assembly approved the Secretary-General’s proposal to appoint Ms. Carman Lapointe-Young of Canada as Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services, for one fixed term of five years, beginning on 13 September 2010 and ending in September 2015.

Election of members of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme

28 July 2010

The General Assembly elected Belarus, by acclamation, to the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme, to fill the uncompleted term of Croatia, due to expire on 31 December 2011.

Appointment of 13 permanent judges and ten ad litem judges on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY)

16 July 2010

The General Assembly extended the terms of office of 13 permanent judges and 10 ad litem judges on the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Five of the judges for the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia would be kept on through the end of 2011, with the remaining 18 to be extended through the end of 2012, or until the completion of their assigned cases.

Appointment of seven permanent judges and nine ad litem judges of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR)

16 July 2010

The General Assembly extended the terms of office of seven permanent judges and nine ad litem judges of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. The Assembly’s decision would allow 16 judges on that court to continue through the end of 2011 — with two continuing through the end of 2012 — or until the completion of the cases to which they were assigned, if sooner.

Appointment of one member of the International Civil Service Commission

16 July 2010

The Assembly also appointed Yevgeny Vladimirovich Afanasiev, of the Russian Federation, to the International Civil Service Commission, following the resignation of Vladimir Morozov, also of the Russian Federation. His term of office will expire on 31 December 2012.

Appointment of three ad litem judges of the United Nations Dispute Tribunal

18 June 2010

The General Assembly elected by secret ballot Marilyn Kaman (United States) as an ad litem judge to the Dispute Tribunal for one year starting 1 July 2010. Ms. Kaman joins Jean-François Cousin (France) and Nkemdilim Amelia Izuako (Nigeria) on the Tribunal, whose terms of office were extended for one year beginning on 1 July 2010 at an earlier meeting.

Appointment of members of the Joint Inspection Unit

18 June 2010

The General Assembly appointed Gérard Biraud (France), István Posta (Hungary), Papa Louis Fall (Senegal) and Cihan Terzi (Turkey) as members of the Joint Inspection Unit for a five-year term of office beginning on 1 January 2011 and expiring on 31 December 2015.

Election of the President for the sixty-fifth session of the General Assembly

11 June 2010

The General Assembly elected, by acclamation, His Excellency Mr. Joseph Deiss of Switzerland as President of the sixty-fifth session of the General Assembly.

Election of the Chairpersons and the Bureaux of the Main Committees for the sixty-fifth session of the General Assembly

11 June 2010

The General Assembly elected the following chairpersons and members of the bureaux of the main committees for the sixty-fifth session of the General Assembly:

Election of the Vice-Presidents of the General Assembly for the sixty-fifth session

11 June 2010

The General Assembly elected by acclamation 21 Vice-Presidents for the sixty-fifth session:

  1. The five permanent Members of the Security Council: China, France, Russian Federation, United Kingdom, United States of America
  2. Five Members of the Group of African States: Botswana, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Mauritania, Senegal, Sudan
  3. Five Members of the Group of Asian States: Afghanistan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, United Arab Emirates
  4. One Member of the Group of Eastern European States: Belarus
  5. Three Members of the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States: Ecuador, Nicaragua, Suriname
  6. One Member of the Group of Western European and other States: Luxembourg

Appointment of members of the Committee on Contributions

3 June 2010

The General Assembly appointed Andrei Vitalievitch Kovalenko (Russian Federation) to the Committee on Contributions to replace Vyacheslav Anatolievich Logutov (Russian Federation).  Mr. Kovalenko will fill the vacancy effective as of 3 June 2010 for the remaining period of Mr. Logutov’s term, which expires on 31 December 2011.

Election of members of the Human Rights Council

13 May 2010

The General Assembly today elected 14 States to serve on the Human Rights Council for three-year terms starting 19 June 2010: Angola, Ecuador, Guatemala, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Poland, Qatar, Republic of Moldova, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand and Uganda.

Election of the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

22 April 2010

The General Assembly re-elected Achim Steiner as Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) for a further four years, beginning 15 June.

Election of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

22 April 2010

The General Assembly re-elected António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres to the post of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for a further five years, also beginning 15 June.


Election of members of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL)

15 April 2010

The Assembly elected Botswana and Paraguay members of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law for a six-year term of office beginning on 21 June.


Appointment of members of the Committee on Conferences

15 April 2010

The General Assembly took note of the President’s decision to appoint Nigeria, Panama and Venezuela members of the Committee on Conferences for a period of three years beginning on 1 January 2010.


Appointment of members of the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC)

19 November 2009


The General Assembly appointed for four-year terms beginning on 1 January 2010: Minoru Endo (Japan), Lucretia Myers (United States), Gilberto Paranhos Velloso (Brazil), Wolfgang Stöckl (Germany) and Gian Luigi Valenza (Italy).  It also designated Mr. Stöckl as Vice-Chairman of that Commission for a four-year term beginning on 1 January 2010.

Appointment of members of the Board of Auditors

19 November 2009

The General Assembly has appointed the Comptroller and Auditor-General of the National Audit Office of the United Kingdom as a Board member, for a six-year term beginning on 1 July 2010.

Appointment of members of the Investments Committee

19 November 2009

The General Assembly has confirmed the appointment renewal of the following members: Emilio Cárdenas (Argentina) and Linah Mohohlo (Botswana) for a three-year term and for Fernando Chico Pardo (Mexico) for a one-year term.

Appointment of members of the Committee on Contributions

19 November 2009

The General Assembly appointed Andrzej Abraszewski (Poland), Elmi Ahmed Duale (Somalia), Ihor Humenny (Ukraine), Meshal Al Mansour (Kuwait), Lisa Spratt (United States of America) and Shigeki Sumi (Japan) for three-year terms of office beginning on 1 January 2010.

Appointment of members of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ)

19 November 2009

The General Assembly appointed Mohammad Mustafa Tal (Jordan), Nonye Udo (Nigeria), Collen Kelapile (Botswana), Jasminka Dinić (Croatia) and Stafford Neil (Jamaica) for three-year terms of office beginning on 1 January 2010.

Election of members to the Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC)

3 November 2009

The General Assembly elected Comoros, Haiti, Israel, Namibia, Russian Federation and Venezuela to the Committee for Programme and Coordination, a subsidiary body of the Economic and Social Council, for three-year terms of office beginning on 1 January 2010.

Appointment of members of the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU)

3 November 2009

The General Assembly selected France and Turkey, among the Western European and other States, to join Hungary (Eastern European States) and Senegal (African States) in proposing one candidate each to fill vacancies in the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU).

Appointment of members of the Committee on Conferences

3 November 2009

The President of the General Assembly appointed Côte d’Ivoire, Germany and Syria to the Committee on Conferences for a three-year term, beginning on 1 January 2010.

Election of members of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

3 November 2009

The General Assembly elected the following 29 members to the Governing Council of UNEP, for a four-year term of office, beginning on 1 January 2010: Australia, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Central African Republic, China, Czech Republic, France, Gabon, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, Lesotho, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mozambique, Pakistan, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, United Republic of Tanzania, United States, Uruguay and Zambia.

Election of members of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL)

3 November 2009

The General Assembly elected the following 30 members of the UNCITRAL to six-year terms, replacing those members whose terms of office will expire on 20 June 2010: Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Brazil, Colombia, Czech Republic, Fiji, Gabon, India, Iran, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United States and Venezuela.

Election of members of the Economic and Social Council

26 October 2009

The General Assembly elected the following 18 members to the Economic and Social Council to serve three-year terms beginning 1 January 2010: Argentina, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Comoros, Egypt, Ghana, Iraq, Italy, Mongolia, Philippines, Rwanda, Slovakia, Ukraine, United States and Zambia.

Election of non-permanent members of the Security Council

15 October 2009

The General Assembly elected Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Gabon, Lebanon and Nigeria to serve as five non-permanent members of the Security Council for two-year terms beginning on 1 January 2010.