Right of the Palestinian people to self-determination – GA vote – Verbatim record (excerpts)

General Assembly 

Sixty-eighth session 

70th plenary meeting 

Wednesday, 18 December 2013, 3 p.m. 

New York 

 Reports of the Third Committee

The President: The General Assembly will consider reports of the Third Committee on agenda items 27, 28, 62, 64 to 69, 108, 109, 122 and 135.

I request the Rapporteur of the Third Committee, Ms. Adriana Murillo Ruin of Costa Rica, to introduce the reports of the Committee in one intervention.

Ms. Ruin (Costa Rica), Rapporteur of the Third Committee (spoke in Spanish): It is a great honour and privilege for me to introduce to the General Assembly the reports of the Third Committee submitted to it under agenda items 27, 28, 62, 64 to 69, 108, 109, 122 and 135.

The reports contained in documents A/68/448 to A/68/459 and in document A/68/486 include the texts of draft resolutions and draft decisions recommended to the General Assembly for adoption. For the benefit of delegations, the Secretariat has issued document A/C.3/68/INF/1, which contains a checklist of action taken on the draft proposals contained in the reports before the Assembly.

/…

 Under agenda item 68, entitled “Right of peoples to self-determination”, the Third Committee recommends, in paragraph 20 of document A/68/455, the adoption of three draft resolutions.

/…

The President: I thank the Rapporteur of the Third Committee for her introduction of the reports of the Third Committee.

If there is no proposal under rule 66 of the rules of procedure, I shall take it that the General Assembly decides not to discuss the reports of the Third Committee which are before the Assembly today.

The President: Statements will therefore be limited to explanations of vote. The positions of delegations regarding the recommendations of the Third Committee have been made clear in the Committee and are reflected in the relevant official records.

/…

Agenda item 68

Right of peoples to self-determination

The President: The Assembly has before it three draft resolutions recommended by the Third Committee in paragraph 20 of its report. We will now take a decision on draft resolutions I to III, one by one.

/…

The President: We now turn to draft resolution III, entitled “The right of the Palestinian people to self-determination”. A recorded vote has been requested.

A recorded vote was taken.

In favour:Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Thailand, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Timor-Leste, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Against: Canada, Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Nauru, Palau, United States of America

Abstaining: Cameroon, Paraguay, Tonga, Vanuatu.

Draft resolution III was adopted by 178 votes to 7, with 4 abstentions (resolution 68/154).

The President: May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 68?

It was so decided.

/…

The meeting rose at 5.30 p.m.

This record contains the text of speeches delivered in English and of the interpretation of speeches delivered in the other languages. Corrections should be submitted to the original languages only. They should be incorporated in a copy of the record and sent under the signature of a member of the delegation concerned to the Chief of the Verbatim Reporting Service, room U-506. Corrections will be issued after the end of the session in a consolidated corrigendum.