Sixth Committee (Legal) — 69th session
Observer status for the International Chamber of Commerce in the General Assembly (Agenda item 170)
- Authority: decision 68/530
Documentation
- A/67/191 — Letter dated 10 August 2012 from the Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General (see decision 68/530)
Summary of work
Background (source: A/69/100)
By a letter dated 10 August 2012 (A/67/191), the Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations requested the inclusion of this item in the provisional agenda of the sixty-seventh session.
At its sixty-seventh session, the General Assembly, on the recommendation of the Sixth Committee, decided to defer a decision on the request for observer status for the International Chamber of Commerce in the General Assembly to its sixty-eighth session (decision 67/527).
At its sixty-eighth session, the General Assembly similarly decided to defer a decision on the request for observer status for the International Chamber of Commerce in the General Assembly to its sixty-ninth session (decision 68/530).
Consideration at the sixty-ninth session
The Sixth Committee considered the item at its 10th and 29th meetings, on 14 October and 14 November 2014 (see A/C.6/69/SR.10 and 29).
Statements were made by the representatives of France, Argentina, the Russian Federation, Cuba and Cyprus.
While highlighting the positive view that many delegations had expressed regarding the work of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), France acknowledged that there was a disagreement as to whether the ICC constituted an intergovernmental organization under the criteria established by General Assembly decision 49/426, and stated that it would not force the issue in the Sixth Committee if consensus did not exist. Stating their desire to continue discussing possible solutions to the issue with other delegations on an informal basis outside of the Committee, the delegation of France suggested closing discussion on the issue in the Committee, saying that it would return to the General Assembly with a resolution at a later stage when it was clear that consensus could in fact be reached.
Some delegations stressed that their opposition to granting of observer status to the ICC was not based on the merits of the organization, whose function and work they praised, but on the importance of staying true to the established criteria for granting observer status. It was also emphasized that the ICC would continue to make valuable contributions to the United Nations through its consultative status with ECOSOC. Several delegations also thanked France for its flexibility and supported its proposal to close discussion on the matter.
Action taken by the Sixth Committee
At the 29th meeting, on 14 November, the Chair of the Committee recalled that, at the 10th meeting of the Committee, on 14 October 2014, France, the coordinating delegation for this item, indicated that it had decided not to pursue the request for observer status in the General Assembly for the International Chamber of Commerce at the current session, while reserving the right to present it at a future session (A/C.6/69/SR.10 and 29).
At the same meeting, the Committee concluded its consideration of the item without taking action.
Subsequent action taken by the General Assembly
- Report of the Sixth Committee: A/69/512
- GA decision: 69/528 [for the text of the decision, see the Sixth Committee's report to the General Assembly]
