Sixth Committee (Legal) — 80th session

Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly (Agenda item 121)

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Documentation

Summary of work

Background (source: A/80/100/Add.1)

At its forty-fifth session, the General Assembly, under the item entitled “Review of the efficiency of the administrative and financial functioning of the United Nations”, decided to include in the draft agenda of the forty-sixth session the item entitled “Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly” (decision 45/461).

At its fifty-eighth session, the Assembly decided that, in July of each year, the General Committee would conduct a review of the proposed programme of work for the forthcoming session of the Assembly, on the basis of a report submitted by the Secretary-General, and submit recommendations on the matter to the Assembly at its forthcoming session; and that the report would include information on the status of documentation to be issued during the forthcoming session (resolution 58/316).

At its seventy-ninth session, the Assembly decided to establish the Working Group on the Strengthening and Revitalizing of the Work of the General Assembly, with the mandate and composition of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Revitalization of the Work of the General Assembly. It also decided that the Working Group on the Strengthening and Revitalizing of the Work of the General Assembly would address the following clusters every three years, on a trial basis starting at the eighty-first session, while maintaining an ongoing focus on the implementation of mandates given by the Assembly and continuing the practice of concurrent discussions of the clusters within each session, namely: (a) the role, authority and working methods of the Assembly, and the Office of the President of the Assembly, at the eighty-first session and every three years thereafter; and (b) the process for the selection and appointment of the Secretary-General and other executive heads, at the eighty-second session and every three years thereafter. The Assembly further decided that the Working Group would convene, starting from the eightieth session, to review the implementation of the resolution and of past resolutions, and decided that the Working Group would consider a resolution every three years, starting at the eighty-third session, except for instances where earlier consideration of a resolution is deemed necessary by the Assembly, to align with specific timelines related to the work of the Assembly and issue a report on its deliberations. It decided to review and assess during the eighty-third session the feasibility and impact of the triennial frequency of the resolution and the timetable of the Working Group, and also to review and assess during the eighty-third session the feasibility and impact of such measures on the efficiency and effectiveness of the work of the Assembly. The Assembly called upon Member States to continue to nominate women as candidates for the position of President of the Assembly and to explore concrete steps at its eighty-first session, and requested the President to present to the Assembly recommendations to strengthen the efficiency, accountability, transparency and institutional memory of the Office of the President of the Assembly (resolution 79/327).

Since its sixtieth session, pursuant to resolution 58/316 and in order to facilitate the work of the Main Committees, the Assembly has decided annually, on the recommendation of the General Committee, to allocate the item to all the Main Committees for the purpose of discussing their working methods, as well as considering and taking action on their respective tentative programmes of work. Accordingly, at its seventy-ninth session, the Assembly approved the provisional programme of work and timetable of the First Committee for 2025 (decision 79/517); the proposed programme of work and timetable of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee) (decision 79/522); the draft programmes of work of the Second Committee (decision 79/545) and the Third Committee (decision 79/540); and the provisional programme of work of the Sixth Committee (decision 79/524) for the eightieth session of the Assembly.

Consideration at the eightieth session

The Sixth Committee considered the item at its 1st, 37th, 38th and 39th meetings, on 6 October and 14 and 21 November 2025 (see A/C.6/80/SR.1 and A/C.6/80/SR.37–39).

At its 1st meeting, on 6 October, statements were made by the representatives of the European Union (also on behalf of its member States (the candidate countries North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Armenia, Monaco and San Marino aligned themselves with this statement)), El Salvador (also on behalf of Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia, Egypt, Italy, Lebanon, Mexico, Portugal and South Africa) and Algeria.

At its 37th meeting, on 14 November, statements were made by the representatives of the United States of America, El Salvador, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Canada (on behalf of Canada, Australia and New Zealand (CANZ)), the European Union and China.

At its 39th meeting, on 21 November, statements were made by the representatives of the European Union (also on behalf of its member States (the candidate countries North Macedonia, Montenegro, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Georgia, as well as Armenia and Monaco aligned themselves with this statement)), Lebanon (also on behalf of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, Senegal, Sierra Lione, South Africa, Timor-Leste and Tunisia), Canada (on behalf of Canada, Australia and New Zealand (CANZ)), New Zealand (on behalf of New Zealand and Jamaica), the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, France, the Russian Federation, Sudan, Switzerland, the Islamic Republic of Iran, China and Singapore.

Several delegations welcomed the adoption of the General Assembly resolution 79/327 and supported efforts to strengthen the efficiency of the work of the Sixth Committee, including improving time management, shortening statements, and ensuring sufficient time for informal consultations. Several delegations supported proposals to streamline the agenda, including exploring the possibility of reducing the frequency of discussions on some resolutions.

There was broad support for increasing structured, active and in-depth dialogue between the Sixth Committee and the International Law Commission. Several delegations reiterated the need to further reflect on the scheduling and volume of side events during International Law Week, to preserve the centrality of the Sixth Committee’s plenary debate, and to consider approaches that promote balanced speaking time during discussions on the ILC report.

A number of delegations, while remaining mindful of ongoing budgetary pressure, underscored that efforts to review the budget with a view to enhancing efficiency should not divert the Committee from undertaking careful analysis, inclusive consultations and sound decision-making or undermine the work of the ILC and the regional courses organized under the United Nations Programme of Assistance.

Several delegations encouraged regular exchanges with the Bureaus of other Main Committees and the continued efforts to minimize overlapping meetings with other multilateral processes to allow delegations, especially smaller and resource-constrained ones, to prepare more effectively and engage more consistently across fora.

 Several delegations welcomed the amendments to the rules of procedure of the General Assembly reflecting gender equality. Several states emphasized the importance of maintaining gender parity in the composition of the Bureau of the Sixth Committee and the ILC, as well as in the selection of facilitators, and encouraged keeping gender parity and geographical representation in panel discussions and side events.

Several delegations emphasized that multilingualism was a core value of the UN and an indispensable driver for international diplomacy, and encouraged using cutting-edge technology to make documentation and information on the work of the Sixth Committee available in all UN official languages. A number of delegations also highlighted the growing demand for using languages other than French or English in the International Court of Justice.

Many delegations emphasized that consensus was a cornerstone of the Sixth Committee, which contributed to strengthening the authority and credibility of the outcome of the Committee, and should continue to guide the legal discussions. Other delegations valued consensus as a way to promote genuine and constructive dialogue, rather than as a tool to delay discussions or hinder progress.

A number of delegations did not see a need for strict enforcement of the time limits for the statements and emphasized that any approach should be applied consistently and fairly, without disadvantaging delegations speaking towards the end of the debate. Other delegations called for strict time limits and strict enforcement of such limits. The designation of focal points to facilitate ongoing dialogue about procedural improvements was welcomed.

Archived videos and summaries of plenary meetings

Video   1st meeting (6 October 2025, 10:00am – 1:00pm) | Summary

Video   37th meeting (14 November 2025, 10:00am – 1:00pm) | Summary

Video   38th meeting (21 November 2025, 10:30am – 1:00pm) | Summary

Video   39th meeting (21 November 2025, 3:00pm – 6:00pm) | Summary

Action taken by the Sixth Committee

At the 39th meeting, on 21 November, the Chair introduced a draft decision containing the provisional programme of work of the Committee for the eightieth session of the General Assembly, as proposed by the Bureau (A/C.6/80/L.20).

At the same meeting, the Committee adopted the draft decision (A/C.6/80/L.20) without a vote.

Subsequent action taken by the General Assembly

This agenda item will be considered at the eighty-first session (2026).

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