Sixth Committee (Legal) — 69th session

Observer status for the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking States in the General Assembly (Agenda item 169)

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Documentation

Summary of work

Background (source: A/69/100)

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 this 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).

At its sixty-eighth 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-ninth session (decision 68/528).

Consideration at the sixty-ninth session

The Sixth Committee considered the item at its 10th and 29th meetings, on 14 October and on 14 November 2014 (see A/C.6/69/SR.10 and 29).

At the 10th meeting, on 16 October, the representative of Turkey, on behalf of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey, introduced a draft resolution entitled “Observer status for the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking States in the General Assembly” (A/C.6/69/L.4) , reiterating the view that the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking States (CCTS) met the two criteria for the granting of observer status in the General Assembly established in Assembly decision 49/426 of 9 December 1994.    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.

Statements were made by the representatives of Cyprus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Federation and Turkey.
Some delegations supported the position taken by Turkey and stressed that the granting of observer status to CCTS would contribute to regional cooperation.

Some other delegations opposed the granting of observer status to CCTS 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, and its ability to address matters of interest to the Assembly. A lack of progress in addressing their concerns since prior sessions of the Assembly was also pointed out by some delegations. It was stated that some of the Council’s activities were not in line with the Charter of the United Nations and that some of the Council's recent proclamations have been inconsistent with relevant Security Council and General Assembly resolutions. The need to find an alternative approach in dealing with the Council’s request for observer status, taking into account the unsuccessful attempts to find consensus on this issue during the last four years, was pointed out.

In response to this position it was pointed out that the limited membership of an organization was not relevant under the criteria for the granting of observer status in the General Assembly, and regret was expressed that some delegations voiced the same objections as the previous year despite being provided with the relevant documents that had been requested.  Commitment to the consensus approach of the Sixth Committee was reiterated and the importance of not making it a political forum was stressed. It was stated that the suggestion of finding an alternative approach should be explored during informal consultations.
Statements were made by some delegations in the exercise of the right of reply.

Action taken by the Sixth Committee

At the 29th meeting, on 14 November, statements were made by the representatives of Turkey, Cyprus and Armenia.
The representative of Turkey noted the absence of consensus in the Committee regarding the request for observer status for the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking States in the General Assembly and announced, on behalf of the sponsors, that the sponsors 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 seventieth session.

Reiterating their respect for the consensual mode of work of the Sixth Committee, some other delegations did not object to the deferral of the consideration of the item to the next session of the Assembly, while also reiterating their reservations as to whether the criteria for granting observer status in the Assembly had been met. They also stated that while they were not convinced that meaningful progress could be achieved before the next consideration of the item, they would still give it proper consideration while also encouraging the cosponsors to revisit the idea of withdrawing the item from the work programme of the Committee if no progress is made before then.

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 seventieth session of the Assembly.

Subsequent action taken by the General Assembly

This agenda item will be considered at the seventieth session (2015).

 

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