Sixth Committee (Legal) — 68th session
The representatives of Argentina, Cuba and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) made general statements concerning requests for observer status in the General Assembly. The need to apply the criteria for the granting of observer status in strict accordance with the requirements articulated in General Assembly decision 49/426 of 9 December 1994 was stressed. It was emphasized that non-governmental organizations should seek consultative status in ECOSOC. It was stated that to enable the in-depth analysis of the requests they should be circulated well in advance and, moreover, that they should not be considered in a cluster. The need to allow for sufficient time to analyze the requests was highlighted.
Observer Status for the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking States in the General Assembly (Agenda item 167)
- Authority: Decision 67/525
Documentation
- A/66/141 — Letter dated 2 May 2011 from the Permanent Representatives of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General; Observer status for the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking States in the General Assembly
Summary of work
Background (source: A/68/100)
By a letter dated 2 May 2011 (A/66/141), the Permanent Representatives of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey to the United Nations requested the inclusion of the item in the provisional agenda of the sixty-sixth session.
At its sixty-sixth session, the General Assembly, on the recommendation of the Sixth Committee, decided to defer a decision on the request for observer status for the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking States in the Assembly to its sixty-seventh session (decision 66/527).
At its sixty-seventh session, the General Assembly similarly decided to defer a decision on the request for observer status for the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking States in the Assembly to its sixty-eighth session (decision 67/525).
Consideration at the sixty-eighth session
The Sixth Committee considered the item at its 11th and 27th meetings, on 16 October and on 6 November 2013 (see A/C.6/68/SR.11 and 27).
Statements were made by the representatives of Armenia, Cyprus, the Russian Federation, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan.
At the 11th meeting, on 16 October, the representative of Azerbaijan, on behalf of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey, introduced draft resolution entitled “Observer status for the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking States in the General Assembly” (A/C.6/68/L.2). Under this draft resolution, the General Assembly would decide to invite the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking States to participate in the sessions and the work of the General Assembly in the capacity of observer; and request the Secretary-General to take the necessary action to implement the resolution.
The representative of Azerbaijan reiterated the view that that the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking States met the criteria for the granting of observer status in the Assembly established in Assembly decision 49/426 of 9 December 1994. He stated that consultations on the request were ongoing and the outcome would be announced to the Committee at a later stage.
Some delegations supported the position taken by Azerbaijan and stressed that all relevant information had been provided to requesting delegations.
Some other delegations opposed the granting of observer status to the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking States in the General Assembly and requested the removal of this item from the agenda. Concern was expressed regarding the nature and the limited membership of the Council, the scope of its activities, which was closely linked to its ethnic nature, as well as its ability to address matters of interest to the General Assembly. A point was made that some of the Council’s activities were not in line with the Charter of the United Nations.
In response to this position it was pointed out that the unconstructive nature of the debate and the request to remove the item from the agenda might compel the sponsors to request a vote on this item.
Action taken by the Sixth Committee
At the 27th meeting, on 6 November, the Chair of the Committee announced that the coordinating delegation for this item, on behalf of the sponsors, had informed him that they would request the Committee to defer a decision on the request for observer status for the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking States in the General Assembly to its sixty-ninth session.
At the same meeting, the Committee adopted, without a vote, a draft decision under which the General Assembly would decide to defer a decision on the request for observer status for the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking States in the General Assembly to the sixty-ninth session of the Assembly.
Subsequent action taken by the General Assembly
- Report of the Sixth Committee: A/68/475
- GA decision: 68/528 [for the text of the decision, see the Sixth Committee's report to the General Assembly]
This agenda item was subsequently considered at the sixty-ninth session (2014).
