Sixth Committee (Legal) — 68th session
Observer Status for the International Chamber of Commerce in the General Assembly (Agenda item 169)
- Aurhority: Decision 67/527
Documentation
- A/67/191 — Letter dated 10 August 2012 from the Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General
Summary of work
Background
By a letter dated 10 August 2012 (A/67/191), the Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations requested the inclusion of the 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).
Consideration at the sixty-eighth session
The Sixth Committee considered the item at its 11th and 29th meetings, on 16 October and 15 November 2013 (see A/C.6/68/SR.11 and 29).
At the 11th meeting, on 16 October, the representative of France, on behalf of Bangladesh, Belgium, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Finland, France, Gabon, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands and Slovenia, introduced a draft resolution entitled “Observer status for the International Chamber of Commerce in the General Assembly” (A/C.6/68/L.4). Under this draft resolution, the General Assembly would decide to invite the International Chamber of Commerce 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.
According to the representative of France, who stated that the ICC met the necessary criteria, France would not force this issue if a consensus did not exist in the Committee to grant observer status in the General Assembly to the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).
Action taken by the Sixth Committee
At the 29th meeting, on 15 November, the representative of France noted the absence of consensus in the Committee regarding the request for observer status for the International Chamber of Commerce in the General Assembly and, on behalf of the sponsors of the draft resolution, proposed that the Committee defer a decision on the request for observer status for the International Chamber of Commerce in the General Assembly to the sixty-ninth session of the Assembly.
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 International Chamber of Commerce 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/68/477
- GA decision: 68/530 [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).
