Working Methods of the 3rd Committee

A/RES/79/192View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 121 Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly, published in 2024.

What subjects does this mandate have?

1 subject

Conferences

What’s in this document?

16 operative paragraphs

Decides to continue the practice of the Third Committee with respect to limiting the time allocated for general discussion and interactive dialogues, in accordance with the rules of procedure of the General Assembly;

Requests the Bureau of the Third Committee, in consultation with the Secretariat, to provide options regarding ways to improve the time efficiency of interactive dialogues and presentations, for further consideration and decision by Member States;

Also requests the Bureau of the Third Committee to address the increasing number of interactive dialogues with the Committee in consultation with the Bureau of the Human Rights Council, as well as by holding inclusive and transparent consultations with Member States, and, in this regard, to coordinate on the schedule of interactive dialogues with special procedure mandate holders, Chairs of treaty bodies, experts and other mechanisms in the Committee, with a view to mutually deciding on a road map aimed at developing a programme to progressively reduce the interactive dialogues to a manageable number at each annual session, including by considering:

Establishing a recommended ceiling capacity of interactive dialogues at each annual session;

Scheduling, including through rotation, of interactive dialogues at each session, while ensuring balance on substance, and without compromise to the quality of the work of the Third Committee;

Presenting the road map at the eightieth session of the General Assembly, with targets to effect its implementation by the eighty-fourth session of the Assembly, for consideration and approval by Member States;

Takes note with appreciation of the positive impact of the combined briefings on the management of time, demonstrating linkages between the mandates, and on enhancing the quality and the efficiency of the work of the Third Committee at previous sessions, and decides, without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 3 of the present resolution, that interactive dialogues, where feasible, may be combined, including on a regional basis;

Expresses its appreciation to those Member States that have already heeded the call to biennialize and triennialize resolutions submitted to the Third Committee, and calls upon Member States to further their efforts in this regard, bearing in mind that there should be no automaticity in requesting reports of the Secretary-General;

Encourages the main sponsors of Third Committee resolutions to consider streamlining resolutions, focusing on action-oriented operative paragraphs and limiting requests for reports that duplicate reporting requirements from the Human Rights Council, inter alia, by considering requesting consolidated reports;

Encourages Member States to streamline requests for interactive dialogues with the Third Committee, from both the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council;

Requests to continue to circulate, ahead of the session, the provisional list of special procedure mandate holders, Chairs of treaty bodies and other experts scheduled to make presentations, as well as the programme of work, for the consideration of Member States;

Recalls its resolution 47/202 B of 22 December 1992 on the pattern of conferences, and urges the authors of reports, special procedure mandate holders, Chairs of treaty bodies, experts and other mechanisms to submit their reports for consideration by the General Assembly in a timely manner in order to comply with that resolution, including to allow for the availability of the reports in all official languages;

Urges the Secretariat to ensure that all reports are made available to Member States online in a timely manner prior to the consideration of the agenda item under which those reports are scheduled to be discussed, according to the programme of work;

Requests the secretariat of the Third Committee, in line with previous practice, to continue to provide Member States with regular updates on the status of reports submitted for consideration during the session, including regarding reasons for delayed publication;

Welcomes the practice of preparing an informal paper on the working methods, lessons learned and best practices of the Third Committee, and encourages the Bureau of the Committee to continue to prepare, in consultation with Member States, updates to the informal paper;

Decides that, at its eighty-sixth session, in 2031, the Third Committee should further review, as appropriate, its methods of work.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

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