19 June 2007

Member States met today at the United Nations in a closed session to informally discuss the revitalization of the General Assembly. The consultations were co-chaired by H.E. Mr. Daniele D. Bodini of San Marino and H.E. Mr. Paul Badji of Senegal, and convened on the basis of a draft resolution [1] presented to the Member States in early June 2007 by the
Co-chairs. The draft was a result of a series of six interactive debates with over 90 Member States and several Secretariat officials held throughout the month of May 2007. Today’s deliberations were centered on the draft resolution [2], and while most Member States agreed that revitalization is an open process, rather than a instant fix, especially the following issues remained contentious:

1. The need to implement previous resolutions on revitalization before moving on, as well as the need for the establishment of an open-ended ad-hoc working group to monitor this implementation;
2. The issue of implementation as well as compliance of general GA-resolutions;
3. The need for a better relationship between the General Assembly and the Security Council (with most Member States in favor of establishing periodic briefings by the president of the Security Council);
4. The election process of the President of General Assembly;
5. The timetable for the revitalization process.

It is expected that the Co-chairs will submit a reworked draft resolution to the plenary in the near future.