Sixth Committee (Legal) — 78th session
Observer status for the International Parliamentarians’ Congress in the General Assembly (Agenda item 170)
- Item proposed by Pakistan: A/78/141
Documentation
- A/78/141 — Letter dated 17 March 2023 from the representative of Pakistan to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General
- A/C.6/78/L.2 — Draft resolution
Summary of work
Background (source: A/78/150)
By the letter dated 17 March 2023 (A/78/141) addressed to the Secretary-General, the Permanent Representative of Pakistan requested the inclusion of this item in the provisional agenda of the seventy-eighth session.
Consideration at the seventy-eighth session
The Sixth Committee considered the item at its 14th and 36th meetings, on 16 October and 8 November 2023 (see A/C.6/78/SR.14 and 36).
Statements were made by the representatives of Pakistan, India and the United States of America.
Support was expressed for granting observer status to the International Parliamentarians’ Congress, in view of its aim to facilitate interparliamentary dialogue on critical issues resonating with core objectives of the United Nations, such as climate change, human rights and peace and security.
The view was also expressed that the Congress was not intergovernmental in nature and therefore did not meet the requirements for granting observer status in the General Assembly.
Archived videos and summaries of plenary meetings
14th meeting (16 October 2023, 3:00pm – 6:00pm) | Summary
36th meeting (8 November 2023, 10:00am – 11:30am) | Summary
Action taken by the Sixth Committee
At the 14th meeting, on 16 October 2023, the representative of Pakistan introduced a draft resolution entitled “Observer status for the International Parliamentarians’ Congress in the General Assembly” (A/C.6/78/L.2).
At the 36th meeting, on 8 November, the Chair of the Committee announced that the Bureau had been informed that the delegation of Pakistan had requested that the Committee defer a decision on the request for observer status for the International Parliamentarians’ Congress in the General Assembly until the seventy-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 Parliamentarians’ Congress in the General Assembly to the seventy-ninth session of the Assembly.
Subsequent action taken by the General Assembly
- Report of the Sixth Committee: A/78/456
- GA decision: 78/527 [for the text of the decision, see the Sixth Committee's report to the General Assembly]
This agenda item will be considered at the seventy-ninth session (2024).
