Organizational Arrangements for the Special Session of the General Assembly on Hiv/Aids and Its Preparatory Process

A/RES/55/242View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 179 Review of the problem of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in all its aspects, published in 2001.

What subjects does this mandate have?

3 subjects

Consultations Hiv/Aids Hiv/Aids Prevention

What’s in this document?

1 operative paragraph

Decides that the special session shall be referred to as the “special session of the General Assembly on HIV/AIDS”;

Also decides to adopt the organizational arrangements contained in the annex to the present resolution.

Organizational arrangements for the special session of the General Assembly on HIV/AIDS and its preparatory process

President

The special session shall take place under the presidency of the President of the fifty-fifth regular session of the General Assembly.

Vice-Presidents

The Vice-Presidents of the special session shall be the same as those of the fifty-fifth regular session of the General Assembly.

Credentials Committee

The Credentials Committee of the special session shall have the same membership as the Credentials Committee of the fifty-fifth regular session of the General Assembly.

General Committee

The General Committee shall consist of the President and the 21 Vice-Presidents of the special session, the Chairpersons of the six Main Committees of the fifty-fifth regular session of the General Assembly, the two facilitators and the chairpersons of the round tables.

Rules of procedure

The rules of procedure of the General Assembly shall apply to the special session.

Level of representation

In accordance with resolution 55/13, Member States and observers are invited to be represented at the special session at the highest political level.

Delegations to the special session

Member States and observers are encouraged to include representatives of civil society actors, people living with HIV/AIDS or representatives of their associations, as well as young people’s organizations, and representatives of the business and private sector in their national delegations to the special session.

Accreditation of civil society actors

Pursuant to paragraph 13 of resolution 55/13, accreditation of civil society actors to the preparatory activities and the special session shall be open to:

Non-governmental organizations which enjoy consultative status in accordance with Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/31 of 25 July 1996;

Non-governmental organizations which are members of the Programme Coordination Board of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS);

Those which are approved from the list as defined in resolution 55/13 of associations of people living with HIV/AIDS, non-governmental organizations and members of the business sector, including pharmaceutical companies, prepared by the Executive Director of UNAIDS, along with relevant background information,² made available to Member States for consideration on a non-objection basis for decision by the General Assembly in a timely manner. A complementary list, prepared by the Executive Director of UNAIDS, along with relevant background information,1 made available to Member States, shall be submitted to Member States no later than 1 April 2001 for consideration by Member States, on a non-objection basis for decision by the Assembly in a timely manner.

²Relevant background information includes the following: purpose of the organization; information identifying the programmes and activities of the organization in HIV/AIDS-relevant issues, indicating in which country or countries they are carried out; confirmation of the activities of the organization at the national, regional or international levels; copies of annual or other reports of the organization, with financial statements and a list of financial sources and contributions, including governmental contributions; a list of members of the governing body of the organization and the countries of nationality; a description of membership of the organization, indicating the total number of members, the names of the organizations that are members and their geographical distribution; and a copy of the constitution and/or by-laws of the organization.

Schedule of plenary meetings

The special session shall consist of a total of eight plenary meetings, as follows:

Monday, 25 June 2001, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., from 3 to 6 p.m. and from 7 to 9 p.m.

Tuesday, 26 June 2001, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., from 3 to 6 p.m. and from 7 to 9 p.m.

Wednesday, 27 June 2001, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 3 to 6 p.m.

The last hour of the afternoon meeting on Wednesday will be devoted to the adoption of the outcome document and the closing of the special session, following oral presentations by the chairpersons of the four round tables of the summaries of the discussions.

Debate in the plenary of the special session

Statements in the debate in the plenary of the special session shall be limited to five minutes.

The list of speakers for the debate in plenary shall be established by a drawing of lots on the basis of the eight meetings.

Member States, the Holy See and Switzerland, in their capacity as observer States, and Palestine, in its capacity as observer, shall be invited to participate in the drawing of lots.

The order of precedence for the list of speakers for the debate in plenary will be as follows: (a) heads of State/heads of Government; (b) Vice-Presidents/Crown Princes or Princesses; (c) Deputy Prime Ministers; (d) Ministers; (e) Vice-Ministers; (f) heads of delegations; and (g) the highest-ranking official of the delegations of the Holy See and Switzerland, in their capacity as observer States, and of Palestine, in its capacity as observer.

Participation of speakers other than Member States in the debate in the plenary of the special session

Observers may make statements in the debate in plenary:

A number of organizations and entities have received a standing invitation to participate as observers in the sessions and the work of the General Assembly;

In accordance with resolution 55/13, States members of the specialized agencies that are not members of the United Nations may participate in the special session in the capacity of observers.

Heads of entities of the United Nations system, including programmes, funds, the specialized agencies and the regional commissions, may make statements in the debate in plenary. The Executive Director of UNAIDS will be given the opportunity to make a statement early in the debate in plenary.

Given the availability of time, a limited number of accredited civil society actors may make statements in the debate in plenary. The President of the General Assembly is requested, following appropriate consultations with Member States, to present the list of selected accredited civil society actors to Member States for consideration on a non-objection basis for final decision by the Assembly. The President is also requested to ensure that such selection is made on an equal and transparent basis, taking into account the principle of equitable geographical representation, relevant expertise and a wide variety of perspectives.

Round tables

Pursuant to resolution 55/13, four interactive round tables shall be held, as follows:

Round table 1: Monday, 25 June 2001, from 3 to 6 p.m.

Round table 2: Tuesday, 26 June 2001, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Round table 3: Tuesday, 26 June 2001, from 3 to 6 p.m.

Round table 4: Wednesday, 27 June 2001, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The chairpersons of the four round tables shall be from the four regional groups not represented by the President of the General Assembly. The four chairpersons shall be selected by their respective regional groups. The chairpersons of the round tables will present orally their summaries of the discussions, during the concluding plenary meeting of the special session.

A number of issues to be discussed in the round tables are outlined in resolution 55/13. AIDS in Africa will be a cross-cutting theme in all four round tables. The overall themes to be discussed in the round tables will be the following:

Round table 1 HIV/AIDS prevention and care

Round table 2 HIV/AIDS and human rights

Round table 3 The social and economic impact of the epidemic and the strengthening of national capacities to combat HIV/AIDS

Round table 4 International funding and cooperation to address the challenges of the HIV/AIDS epidemic

The round tables shall be open to Member States, observers, as well as entities of the United Nations system and accredited civil society actors.

In order to ensure interactive and substantive discussions of high quality, participation in each round table shall be limited to a maximum of 65 participants, of which at least 48 will be representatives of Member States. In addition, each round table shall include a maximum of 17 participants, representing observers, entities of the United Nations system and accredited civil society actors.

Following the selection of the chairpersons of the round tables, each regional group should determine which of its members will participate in each round table, ensuring that equitable geographical distribution will be maintained, allowing for some flexibility, and taking into account the importance of ensuring a mix of countries highly affected by the epidemic as well as countries that are less affected.

Thus, in order to allow for some flexibility, for each round table the maximum number of participants from each regional group will be as follows:

African States: 14 Member States;

Asian States: 14 Member States;

Eastern European States: six Member States;

Latin American and Caribbean States: nine Member States;

Western European and other States: eight Member States.

The chairpersons of the regional groups will communicate to the President of the General Assembly the list of countries from their respective regions that will participate in each round table.

Member States that are not members of any of the regional groups may participate in different round tables, to be determined in consultation with the President of the General Assembly.

Each representative of a Member State attending the round tables may be accompanied by two advisers.

The Holy See and Switzerland, in their capacity as observer States, and Palestine, in its capacity as observer, may also participate in different round tables, to be determined in consultation with the President of the General Assembly.

A limited number of observers as defined in paragraph 14 above may also participate in each round table.

Entities of the United Nations system with specific expertise in areas related to the themes of the round tables will be invited to participate in the round tables. The UNAIDS secretariat will provide to the President of the General Assembly a list of those entities that will participate in each round table.

Accredited civil society actors with specific expertise in areas related to the themes of the round tables will also be invited to participate in the round tables. The President of the General Assembly is requested to conduct appropriate consultations with Member States, and also with accredited civil society actors, before presenting a list of selected accredited civil society actors that may participate in each round table to Member States, in the last week of May 2001, for consideration on a non-objection basis for final decision by the General Assembly. When selecting civil society actors, due consideration shall be given to the principles of equitable geographical representation and gender, as well as to an adequate mix of national, regional and international civil society actors, and to the need to ensure that a variety of perspectives are represented.

The list of participants of each round table will be made available as soon as possible.

The round tables shall be closed to the general public. Representatives of Member States, observers, entities of the United Nations system and accredited civil society actors, as well as representatives of accredited media, will be able to follow the proceedings of the round tables via a closed-circuit television in an overflow room.

Outcome document of the special session

The General Assembly at its special session shall consider and adopt a declaration of commitment, taking into account the report of the Secretary-General³ and other relevant documents, as may be deemed necessary.

³A/55/779.

Preparatory process of the special session

During the preparatory process, one week, from 26 February to 2 March 2001, will be devoted to the discussion on the report of the Secretary-General and to open-ended informal consultations of the plenary.

A limited number of accredited civil society actors may make statements during the discussion devoted to the report of the Secretary-General, given the availability of time, and ensuring that equitable geographical representation and a wide variety of perspectives are represented.

The first draft outline of the declaration of commitment shall be made available by 12 March 2001, and a meeting of the open-ended informal consultations of the plenary shall be held at that time for its introduction.

During a second week, from 21 to 25 May 2001, the open-ended informal consultations of the plenary shall focus on the draft declaration of commitment.

The provisions outlined above shall in no way create a precedent for other special sessions of the General Assembly.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

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