Preparation for and Organization of the High-Level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly

A/RES/59/291View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda items 45 Integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields and 55 Follow-up to the outcome of the Millennium Summit, published in 2005.

What subjects does this mandate have?

13 subjects

Civil Society Conferences Consultations Developing Countries Development Finance Hearings Holy See Information Exchange Non-Governmental Organizations Observer Status Private Sector Report Preparation Trust Funds

What’s in this document?

11 operative paragraphs

Expresses satisfaction with the open, inclusive and transparent manner in which the President of the General Assembly is conducting the preparatory process for the High-level Plenary Meeting, which should lead to the adoption of a balanced document;

Welcomes the submission by the Secretary-General on 21 March 2005 of the comprehensive report entitled “In larger freedom: towards development, security and human rights for all”;³

³A/59/2005.

Invites, owing to the importance of the High-level Plenary Meeting, the Head of State of the country of the President of the General Assembly at its fifty-ninth session and the Head of State or Government of the country of the President of the General Assembly at its sixtieth session to jointly preside over the High-level Plenary Meeting;

Decides that the Holy See, in its capacity as observer State, and Palestine, in its capacity as observer, shall participate in the High-level Plenary Meeting;

Decides also that the plenary meetings shall be organized in accordance with the modalities set forth in annex I to the present resolution and that the list of speakers for the plenary meetings shall be established in accordance with the procedure set forth in that annex;

Decides further that the round-table sessions shall be organized in accordance with the modalities set forth in annex II to the present resolution;

Decides that the separate meeting on Financing for Development to be held within the framework of the High-level Plenary Meeting shall be held on 14 September 2005, immediately following the adjournment of the opening plenary meeting;

Decides also that the President of the General Assembly shall preside over the informal interactive hearings to be held on 23 and 24 June 2005 with representatives of non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations and the private sector, and that the hearings shall be organized in accordance with the modalities set forth in annex III to the present resolution, and requests the President of the Assembly to prepare a summary of the hearings to be issued as an Assembly document prior to the High-level Plenary Meeting in September 2005;

Requests the Secretary-General to establish a trust fund to enhance the participation in the hearings of representatives of non-governmental organizations and civil society organizations from developing countries, and calls upon Member States and others to support the trust fund generously and speedily;

Encourages Member States to attend the hearings at the ambassadorial level to facilitate interaction between the Member States and the representatives of non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations and the private sector;

Requests the President of the General Assembly to continue to hold open, inclusive and transparent consultations with all Member States with a view to reaching the broadest possible agreement on all major issues relating to the High-level Plenary Meeting, taking into account the views expressed by Member States.

Organization of the plenary meetings and establishment of the list of speakers for the High-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly

The High-level Plenary Meeting will consist of a total of six meetings, on the basis of two meetings a day, as follows:

Wednesday, 14 September 2005, from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.;

Thursday, 15 September 2005, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.;

Friday, 16 September 2005, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The podium in the General Assembly Hall will have three seats to accommodate the two Co-Chairpersons and the Secretary-General. In the absence of the Head of State of the country of the President of the General Assembly at its fifty-ninth session or the Head of State or Government of the country of the President of the General Assembly at its sixtieth session, the President of the Assembly at its fifty-ninth session or the President of the Assembly at its sixtieth session will sit instead.

At the opening plenary meeting, on Wednesday morning, 14 September 2005, the speakers will be the two Co-Chairpersons, the Secretary-General and the head of the delegation of the host country of the Organization.

The separate meeting on Financing for Development will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. immediately following the adjournment of the opening plenary meeting. Statements will be made by the head of the delegation of the host country of the International Conference on Financing for Development, major institutional stakeholders, individual delegations, in particular delegations that are proposing key initiatives in the Financing for Development process, one representative from civil society and one representative from the private sector, in consultation with the President of the General Assembly.

The list of speakers for the High-level Plenary Meeting will therefore be established on the basis of five meetings. The afternoon meeting on Wednesday, 14 September 2005, the morning and afternoon meetings on Thursday, 15 September 2005, and the morning meeting on Friday, 16 September 2005, will each have 40 speaking slots. The Friday afternoon meeting will have 32 speaking slots since the last hour will be devoted to the closing of the High-level Plenary Meeting.

The list of speakers for the High-level Plenary Meeting will be established initially as follows:

The representative of the Secretary-General will draw one name from a first box containing the names of all Member States that will be represented by Heads of State, Heads of Government, vice-presidents, crown princes/princesses, and of the Holy See, in its capacity as observer State, and Palestine, in its capacity as observer, should they be represented by their highest-ranking officials. This procedure will be repeated until all names have been drawn from the box, thus establishing the order in which participants will be invited to choose their meetings and select their speaking slots. The representative of the Secretary-General will then draw from a second box the names of those not contained in the first box in accordance with the same procedure;

Five boxes will be prepared, each one representing a meeting and each one containing numbers corresponding to speaking slots at that meeting;

Once the name of a Member State, the Holy See, in its capacity as observer State, or Palestine, in its capacity as observer, has been drawn by the representative of the Secretary-General, that Member State, the Holy See, in its capacity as observer State, or Palestine, in its capacity as observer, will be invited first to choose a meeting and then to draw from the appropriate box the number indicating the speaking slot in the meeting.

The initial list of speakers for the High-level Plenary Meeting as outlined in paragraph 6 above will be established at a meeting to be scheduled as soon as possible in the month of May 2005.

Subsequently, when each category of speakers is organized following the order resulting from the selection process outlined in paragraph 6 above, the list of speakers for each meeting will be rearranged in accordance with the established practice of the General Assembly:

Heads of State will thus be accorded first priority, followed by Heads of Government; vice-presidents, crown princes/princesses; the highest-ranking official of the Holy See, in its capacity as observer State, and of Palestine, in its capacity as observer; ministers; and permanent representatives;

In the event that the level at which a statement is to be made is subsequently changed, the speaker will be moved to the next available speaking slot in the appropriate category at the same meeting;

Participants may arrange to exchange their speaking slots in accordance with the established practice of the General Assembly;

Speakers who are not present when their speaking turn comes will be automatically moved to the next available speaking slot within their category.

In order to accommodate all speakers at the High-level Plenary Meeting, statements will be limited to five minutes, on the understanding that this will not preclude the distribution of more extensive texts.

Without prejudice to other organizations which have observer status in the General Assembly, a representative of each of the following may also be included in the list of speakers for the plenary meetings of the High-level Plenary Meeting:

League of Arab States

African Union

European Community

Organization of the Islamic Conference

World Conference of Speakers of Parliament of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

Representatives of non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, civil society organizations and the private sector, one from each grouping, selected during the informal interactive hearings of June 2005, may also be included in the list of speakers for the plenary meetings of the High-level Plenary Meeting in consultation with the President of the General Assembly, time permitting.

Other than for Member States, the list of speakers for the plenary meetings of the High-level Plenary Meeting will be closed on Monday, 1 August 2005.

The arrangements set out above shall in no way create a precedent.

Organization of the interactive round-table sessions for the High-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly

The High-level Plenary Meeting will hold four interactive round-table sessions, as follows:

Wednesday, 14 September 2005, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.;

Thursday, 15 September 2005, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.;

Friday, 16 September 2005, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The four round-table sessions will have at least 40 seats each and will be chaired by a Head of State or Government.

The chairpersons of the four round-table sessions will be from the African States, the Asian States, the Eastern European States and the Latin American and Caribbean States. Those four chairpersons will be selected by their respective regional groups in consultation with the President of the General Assembly.

Following the selection of the chairpersons of the round-table sessions, each regional group will determine which of its members will participate in each round-table session, ensuring that equitable geographical distribution will be maintained, allowing for some flexibility. 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 session. Member States are encouraged to be represented at the round tables at the level of Head of State or Government.

All four round-table sessions will cover the entire agenda of the High-level Plenary Meeting.

Each Head of State or Head of Government or head of delegation attending the round-table sessions may be accompanied by two advisers.

The composition of the four round-table sessions will be subject to the principle of equitable geographical distribution. Thus, for each regional group, the distribution of its members for participation in each round-table session will be as follows:

African States: fifteen Member States;

Asian States: fifteen Member States;

Eastern European States: seven Member States;

Latin American and Caribbean States: ten Member States;

Western European and other States: nine Member States.

A Member State that is not a member of any of the regional groups may participate in a round-table session to be determined in consultation with the President of the General Assembly. The Holy See, in its capacity as observer State, and Palestine, in its capacity as observer, as well as the organizations listed in paragraph 10 of annex I to the present resolution, may also participate in different round-table sessions to be determined also in consultation with the President of the Assembly.

Heads of entities of the United Nations system may also participate in the round-table sessions, in consultation with the President of the General Assembly.

The list of participants in each round-table session will be made available in due course.

The round-table sessions will be closed to the media and the general public. Accredited delegates and observers will be able to follow the proceedings of the round-table sessions via a closed-circuit television in the overflow room.

Summaries of the deliberations of the four round-table sessions will be presented orally by the chairpersons of the round-table sessions during the concluding plenary meeting of the High-level Plenary Meeting.

Organization of the informal interactive hearings

The President of the General Assembly will preside over the informal interactive hearings to be held on 23 and 24 June 2005. The hearings shall consist of a brief opening plenary meeting followed by four sequential sessions of the hearings on the basis of two sessions a day, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Each session will consist of presentations by invited participants from non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, civil society organizations and the private sector and an exchange of views with Member States.

The hearings will be attended by representatives of non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, civil society organizations, the private sector, Member States and observers.

The President of the General Assembly will determine the list of invited participants and the exact format and organization of the hearings, in consultation with Member States and representatives of non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, civil society organizations and the private sector.

The themes for the hearings will be based on the comprehensive report of the Secretary-General of 21 March 20052 and the clusters defined therein.

The President of the General Assembly will consult with representatives of non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, civil society organizations and the private sector, and with Member States, as appropriate, on the list of representatives of non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations and the private sector that may participate in the plenary meetings of the High-level Plenary Meeting of September 2005.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

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