UN General Assembly: Member States urged to strengthen disaster preparedness and risk reduction
GA/EF/3273
Sixty-fourth General Assembly
Second Committee
39th Meeting (PM)
The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) approved 11 draft resolutions this afternoon, including a text entitled "towards a new international economic order" that would have the General Assembly reaffirm the need to continue working towards that goal based on the principles of equity, sovereign equality, interdependence, common interest, cooperation and solidarity among all States.
By other terms of that text -– approved by a recorded vote of 108 in favour to none against, with 52 abstentions -– the Assembly would decide to continue considering during its sixty-fifth session the international economic situation and its impact on development. It would also request that the Secretary-General include in his next report an overview of the major global economic and policy challenges for equitable and inclusive sustained economic growth and sustainable development and the Organization's role in addressing them, in the light of relevant principles set forth in the Declaration on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order and the programme of action for setting it up. (See Annex II for details of the voting).
Speaking before that vote, the United States representative said the text did not advance the goal of moving towards a world of strong, sustainable economic growth. That move required innovative ideas to work towards shared international objectives –- something that future Committee resolutions on the matter should aim to build through consensus.
Canada's representative, who spoke after the vote, also expressed disappointment with the text, and said that it sent confusing messages about the United Nations work, which, in the wake of the current economic and financial crisis, should be forward-looking.
The representatives of Sweden, on behalf of the European Union, and Peru said the text's references to Assembly resolutions 3201 and 3202 of 1974 were outdated and irrelevant to today's world and did not address the myriad of changes in the global economic system that must be taken into account in order to better respond to the economic crisis and alleviate its impact.
But Chile's delegate said he supported the draft because the global economic order must be made more equitable and fair -- a vision shared by Cuba's delegate, who regretted that living conditions for the world's poor had not improved -- a clear sign that the current order did not encourage sustainable development.
Togo's representative, who was not present during the voting, later said she would have voted in favour of it.
A second text, approved by the Committee, on agricultural technology for development, would call upon Member States to include sustainable agricultural development as an integral part of their national policies and strategies, note the positive impact that North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation could have in that regard and urge relevant United Nations bodies to use agricultural technology, research and development to achieve Millennium Development Goals.
By other terms of that text -– approved by a recorded vote of 131 in favour to none against, with 37 abstentions -– the Assembly would call for more efforts by everyone to make agricultural technologies available and affordable to smallholder farmers as well as encourage Member States, civil society, and public and private institutions to develop partnerships in support of financial and market services. (See Annex I for details of the voting).
Furthermore, the Assembly would request that the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) promote, support and facilitate experience sharing among Member States to expand agriculture through technologies that allow soil recovery and agricultural production in difficult environmental circumstances, as well as encourage relevant international bodies to support sustainable agricultural research and development.
Speaking before the vote, Iraq's representative, on behalf of the Arab Group, said that since the "Group of 77" developing countries and China had submitted a text on agricultural development and food security, the new text, submitted by Israel, was not justified. It did not maintain a balance between the interests of developing and developed countries, nor did it address important issues such as transfer of agricultural technology, funding and the lifting of trade barriers. Furthermore, Israel had no credibility because, as an occupying Power, it had systematically undermined agriculture in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the occupied Syrian Golan since 1967.
After the vote, Israel's representative retorted by saying that the wide spectrum of co-sponsors who supported the resolution demonstrated the issue's importance, and that the Arab Group's statement and the abstentions simply indicated how politicized the issue had become.
In other action, the Committee approved five texts on sustainable development. A text on the protection of global climate for present and future generations of humankind would have the Assembly stress the seriousness of climate change, and call upon States to work cooperatively towards achieving the ultimate objective of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, by urgently implementing it. The text would also urge States that have not yet done so to ratify the Kyoto Protocol to the Convention in a timely manner.
Further to that text, the Assembly would urge the parties to the Convention and invite parties to the Kyoto Protocol to continue to make use of the information contained in the fourth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in their work. The Assembly would also request that the Secretary-General make provisions for the sessions of the Conference of Parties to the Convention and its subsidiary bodies in his proposal for the programme budget for the biennium 2010-2011.
The text would also have the Assembly note the ongoing parallel work of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention and the Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex 1 Parties under the Kyoto Protocol, and that the respective parties to the Convention and its Kyoto Protocol call for the completion of this work.
After that action, several representatives -– among them Sweden, speaking on behalf of the European Union, and Sudan, speaking for the Group of 77 and China –- welcomed the consensus reached by the Committee on the issue and highlighted the importance of approaching Copenhagen in such a positive spirit.
But the representatives of Peru and Colombia lamented that the text had omitted references to low-lying countries that were particularly vulnerable to climate change.
A text on harmony with Mother Earth -- the first of its kind in the Committee -- would have the Assembly invite Member States, relevant organizations of the United Nations system and international, regional and subregional organizations to transmit to the Secretary-General their views on the scope and content of a possible declaration of ethical principles and values for living in harmony with Mother Earth. The Assembly would also request that the Secretary-General submit during the Assembly's sixty-fifth session a report on views and comments on the resolution.
A text on the follow up to and implementation of the Mauritius Strategy for the further Implementation of the programme of action for the sustainable development of small island developing states would have the Assembly decide that the high-level review be structured around an opening plenary meeting, followed by two multi-stakeholder roundtable sessions, an interactive dialogue on cross-regional perspectives and a closing plenary meeting. The Assembly would also decide that the review be chaired by the Assembly President and request him to present a concise draft political declaration based on, inter alia, inputs for the preparatory meetings, at an appropriate date to allow sufficient consideration and agreement by the Member States.
The Assembly furthermore would decide to convene regional preparatory meetings of small island developing states in their regions, as well as an inter-regional meeting for all such States, to review the Mauritius Strategy for Implementation at the national and regional levels. For that purpose, the Assembly would also decide that all relevant United Nations agencies should organize, facilitate and provide necessary support to the review process. And finally the Assembly would decide that the preparatory committee meeting for the high-level review will be convened during the eighteenth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development, in accordance with resolution 17/2 of the Commission.
The text on the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction would have the Assembly call upon the international community to increase efforts to fully implement the commitments of the Hyogo Declaration and Hyogo Framework for Action and call upon the United Nations system to support in a timely, sustained manner efforts led by disaster-stricken countries for disaster risk reduction in post-disaster recovery and rehabilitation processes. It would urge Member States to continue to develop, update and strengthen disaster preparedness and risk reduction and encourage the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery to continue supporting implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action.
Further to that text, the Assembly would call upon the international community to support the development and strengthening of institutions that could systematically help build resilience to hazards, and encourage the international community to continue providing adequate voluntary financial contributions to the United Nations Trust Fund for Disaster Reduction to ensure adequate support for Hyogo follow up. It would also decide to designate 13 October as the date to observe the International Day for Disaster Reduction.
The Committee also approved a text on commodities, which would have the Assembly express concern over the large-scale land acquisitions by, among others, transnational corporations in developing countries that incurred risk to development efforts and stress the importance of responsible investment in agriculture. The Assembly would underscore the need for more efforts to address commodity price volatility, and call for a coherent international policy action to address excessive price volatility and mitigate its negative impact on commodity-dependent developing countries by facilitating value addition and enhancing those countries' participation in commodity and related-product value chains, and by supporting large-scale economic diversification.
Further to that text, the Assembly would call upon the international community to work closely with commodity-dependent economies to identify trade-related policies and instruments as well as investment and financial policies as key elements of development strategies, underscoring those nations' urgent need for trade finance, considering the increasing restrictions on access to all types of credit.
The Assembly would also call upon the international community to take urgent measures for food security by providing food grains in developing countries suffering from shortages, particularly least developed countries, while supporting efforts to achieve longer-term food security and sustainable agricultural development. It would call for fully implementing the Marrakech Decision on Measures concerning the Possible Negative Effects of the Reform Programme on Least Developed and Net Food-Importing Developing Countries, and for the conclusion of the Doha Development Round of trade negotiations with a development-oriented outcome that ensured greater market access for developing countries' products.
A text on the Second United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (2008-2017) would have the Assembly emphasize the need to accord the highest priority to poverty eradication in the United Nations development agenda and call upon the international community to continue to give priority to eradicating poverty and on donor countries in a position to do so to support developing countries' effective national efforts in that regard through adequate, predictable financial resources on either a bilateral or multilateral basis.
It would reaffirm the need to fulfil all official development assistance (ODA)-related commitments, including those by many developed countries to give 0.7 per cent of their gross national product for ODA by 2015 and at least 0.5 per cent by 2010, as well as 0.15 per cent to 0.2 per cent to least developed countries. It would call on Member States to take ambitious action in the interest of all nations in order to achieve a more inclusive, equitable, balanced, stable and development-oriented sustainable socio-economic model to overcome poverty and inequality.
Furthermore, it would call upon the relevant organizations of the United Nations system to carry our coherent, comprehensive and integrated activities to ensure implementation of the Decade in consultation with Member States and other relevant stakeholders. The Assembly would also take note of the Secretary-General's decision to appoint the Under-Secretary-General for Economic Affairs as coordinator for the Decade.
A text on human resources development would have the Assembly call upon the international community to help developing countries implement development strategies with regard to national human resources, in particular by providing financial resources, capacity-building, technical assistance and transferring technology. The Assembly would also call upon the international community and the United Nations system to support developing countries as they address how HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other infectious diseases negatively affect human resources, especially in Africa.
Also by that text, the Assembly would request the Secretary-General to submit a report to the Assembly during its sixty-sixth session on lessons learned from the global financial and economic crisis, and provide an assessment of, with regard to human resources, how countries overcome the crisis' adverse effects and begin to recover and advance towards a more sustainable development path.
By other terms, the Assembly would call for national, regional and international action to improve literacy and proficiency in science and provide tertiary, technical-vocational and adult education, and encourage Member States to strengthen social protection systems.
A text entitled "Towards global partnerships" would have the Assembly request that the Secretary-General promote, in consultation with Member States, the assessment of various partnerships, taking into account best tools available, in order to enable effective management, ensuring accountability and effective learning from both successes and failures. The Assembly would also call upon the international community to continue to promote multi-stakeholder approaches to address development challenges in the context of globalization.
Further to that text, the Assembly would call upon United Nations entities to ensure that information on the nature and scope of partnership arrangements with the private sector was available within the United Nations system, as well as to Member States and the public at large so as to enhance transparency. The Assembly would reiterate its call upon all United Nations bodies engaged in partnerships to ensure the Organization's integrity and independence and include information on partnerships in their regular reporting, as appropriate, through their websites and through other means. The Assembly would also reiterate its call upon partners to provide and exchange relevant information with Governments and other stakeholders on their practical experience.
A text on amendments to the Charter of the United Nations University would have the Assembly approve amending that Charter to add a new paragraph 8 to article I that would read "The University shall grant and confer master's degrees and doctorates, diplomas, certificates and other academic distinctions under conditions laid down for that purpose in the statutes by the Council." It would also add a new paragraph 2 bis to article IX to read as follows: "The costs of the postgraduate degree programmes of the University as referred to in article I, paragraph 8, above may also be met from tuition fees and related charges." Furthermore, the Assembly would invite the Council of the United Nations University to adopt such statutes as may be necessary to implement those amendments.
Also during the meeting, Sudan's representative (on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China) introduced a draft under the Committee's agenda item on macroeconomic policy questions.
The Committee will meet again at 3 p.m., on Wednesday, 9 December to take action on all outstanding drafts.
Background
The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) met this morning to take action on draft resolutions relating to macroeconomic policy questions, sustainable development, globalization and interdependence, eradication of poverty and other development issues, towards global partnerships and the United Nations University, and to hear the introduction of a draft relating to macroeconomic policy questions.
Introduction of Draft Resolution
At the outset of the meeting, the representative of Sudan, speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, introduced a draft resolution entitled unilateral economic measures as a means of political and economic coercion against developing countries (document A/C.2/64/L.50).
Action on Draft Resolutions
The Committee then approved, by consensus, draft resolutions on commodities (document A/C.2/64/L.53) and harmony with nature (document A/C.2/64/L.24/Rev.1).
As the Committee prepared to take action on a draft entitled Agricultural Technology for Development (document A/C.2/64/L.21/Rev.1), the representative of Iraq, speaking on behalf of the Arab Group, in explanation of position before the vote, said that as long as the Group of 77 Developing Countries and China had submitted a draft resolution on agricultural development and food security under agenda item 60, there was no justification in terms of substance for the submission of a new draft resolution on the issue. Furthermore, the Israeli draft resolution did not maintain a balance between the interests of developing and developed countries, nor did it address important issues such as transfer of agricultural technology, funding and the lifting of trade barriers.
Furthermore, he said, Israel had no credibility because it, as an occupying Power, it routinely violated and rejected United Nations resolutions and, showing such disdain for the Organization, was unqualified to submit a resolution to it. As an occupying Power, Israel had systematically undermined agriculture in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the occupied Syrian Golan since 1967. Various United Nations reports had shown the disastrous consequences of these practices.
Finally, he said that Israel blatantly exploited the issue of transfer of agricultural technology and the needs of many developing countries. "Attacks by Israeli settlers on the farms and trees of Palestinian farmers, the theft of water resources from the occupied Arab territories and their transfer to Israeli settlements and the burial of nuclear waste in the occupied Syrian Golan, lost Israel any moral legitimacy to talk about the transfer of agricultural technology."
The Committee then approved the draft by a recorded vote of 131 in favour with none against, and 37 abstentions. (See Annex I for voting details).
Immediately after the action, the representative of Israel in explanation of the vote said that the wide spectrum co-sponsors who supported the resolution demonstrated the importance of the issue, and that the Arab Group's statement and the abstentions simply indicated how politicized the issue had become. In conclusion, while the adoption reflected only the beginning of what needed to be done, she was confident it would be translated into action.
The Committee then turned to a text on Follow-up to and implementation of the Mauritius Strategy for the Further Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States (document A/C.2/64/L.46).
The Committee Secretary read out the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management's operational note, as well as the Secretariat's oral statement of programme budget implications in connection with that text.
The Committee then approved the draft, as orally revised, by consensus.
As the Committee turned to a text on the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (document A/C.2/64/L.52), the Committee Secretary read out the Secretariat's oral statement of its programme budget implications.
The Committee then approved that text without a vote.
Next, the Committee Secretary read out the Secretariat's oral statement of its programme budget implications, when the Committee turned to a text on protection of global climate for present and future generations of mankind (document A/C.2/64/L.54).
The Committee then approved the text, as orally revised, by consensus.
After that action, Peru's representative lamented that a paragraph, presented by Peru, on low-lying countries vulnerable to climate change, had not been approved during the Committee's negotiations for inclusion in that text. As the text was linked to the Copenhagen Conference, it was necessary to highlight, as in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which specific countries were most vulnerable.
After action, the delegate from the United States said that he had been pleased to join the consensus on that resolution in these final days before the climate conference in Copenhagen. "Climate change is a global challenge that demands a global solution," he said. But he also reiterated support for the principle that the United Nations regular budget should not be used to subsidize special bodies or treaties such as the UNFCCC. The United States supported the treaty and would continue to do so, but through voluntary contributions.
The representative of Sweden, speaking on behalf of the European Union, also expressed strong satisfaction concerning the decision that had just been taken, as it had come on the eve of the climate conference. He thanked the delegates who had worked day and night to get it done, and said he was particularly pleased about how the call for completion of work in the two working groups had been resolved. The decision today added an optimistic note for Copenhagen.
The delegate from Sudan, speaking on behalf Group of 77, said that she was pleased to have reached consensus at this key juncture and that she hoped for good results in Copenhagen. It was important that the outcome was equitable, given that the developing world was the most affected by climate change, yet the least able to adapt. "We hope that the honest and fruitful engagement we've all had here in New York can contribute to a constructive atmosphere in Copenhagen," she said.
The representative of Colombia also welcomed the consensus and highlighted the importance of approaching Copenhagen in such a positive spirit. He expressed reservation, however, about certain paragraphs in the resolution that referred to the risk of climate change, as they omitted reference to those countries that were especially vulnerable. Colombia, he said, would continue to work to ensure that the international community was consistent in its commitments.
The Committee then approved by consensus a draft on Second United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (2008 - 2017) (document A.C.2/64/L.56).
After that action, the delegate from Bangladesh said that the resolution was especially important in light of the economic crisis, and reminded the delegates that every night, a billion people in the world went to bed hungry. Assistance from the international community was not charity, but assistance, and in order to accomplish the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, Member States would have to focus on the number one priority: fighting poverty. In conclusion, he thanked the other delegates for their work on the resolution.
The Committee then approved, as orally revised, the draft resolution on Human resources development (document A/C.2/64/L.34).
The Committee then turned to a draft entitled towards a new international economic order (document A/C.2/64/L.16).
Speaking in explanation of position before the vote, the United States representative said he strongly supported the goal of moving towards a world of strong, sustainable economic growth, and said that move required creative new ideas to work towards shared international objectives. The draft, however, did not advance a move in that direction. He urged that future resolutions of the Committee should begin the difficult work of offering innovative thinking to reach consensus, and noted that the current resolution failed to do that. That was why the United States had called for a vote and it would abstain from it.
The Committee then approved that text by a recorded vote of 108 in favour and none against, with 52 abstentions. (See Annex II for voting details.)
Speaking after the vote, Peru's representative said Peru voted in favour of the text but it had the some reservations about it as last year because its references to General Assembly resolutions 3201 and 3202 of 1974 were outdated. The world today was much different than it was then.
Similarly, Sweden's representative, speaking of behalf of the European Union, said she had abstained during the vote because those references were outdated and irrelevant, and they did not address multilateral changes in the global economic system. The clock could not be turned back, and attempts to do so risked marginalization. The European Union had seriously engaged in attempts to find a possible compromise to have the resolution reflect today's work, but she regretted that some other partners were not ready to move on.
She said many substantive issues in the resolution were covered in more constructive ways in other resolutions under the Committee's cluster. Economic growth should be fair, sustainable and more inclusive, with fairer investment and trade policies between developed, emerging and developing countries. The United Nations and international financial institutions had complementary mandates. She welcomed the United Nations response to the crisis, including the nine Joint Crisis Initiatives of the Chief Executives Board and the creation of the Global Impact and Vulnerability Alert System in September, which would allow the impact of the crisis to be monitored. Also welcome was the outcome of the Development Committee meeting of the World Bank, which helped developing countries to respond to the crisis.
In 1974, the United Nations had 138 members, today it had 192, she said. Over the past year, significant efforts had been made to reform the international system to make it more responsive. The European Union was working to alleviate the crisis' impact and to take timely, defensive and coordinated action. She reaffirmed the Union's commitment to constructive international cooperation vis-à-vis the millennium targets and move towards a fair, equal economic system.
The delegate from Chile said that he supported the resolution because his country shared the idea that the international economic order had to be improved in a more equitable and fair manner.
The representative from Colombia voted for the resolution, but expressed concern about the international economic order. He said that the United Nations development agenda should be dynamic and that Member States should constantly strive to achieve a more fair economic order, based on consensus and cooperation.
The delegate from Canada said he was disappointed to see the resolution back on the United Nations agenda. Especially in the wake of the current economic and financial crisis, it was important that United Nations work –- and especially the work of the Second Committee -– remained forward-looking. But the resolution confused those efforts and sent confusing messages. He fully supported the United Nations development agenda and believed in the importance of working together in a focused way, and in light of that, he had abstained from voting.
The representative of Togo apologized for not having made the vote in time and said she would have voted in favour of the resolution.
The delegate from Cuba highlighted how Cuba had played an active role in the resolution's adoption and had sought a way to have garnered the support of all delegates. However, that had not been possible. For Cuba, that was an extremely important subject, but unfortunately, there were no indication that living conditions for the world's poor had improved, which clearly showed that the international economic order did not encourage sustainable development.
The Committee then approved by consensus, as orally revised, a text entitled towards global partnerships (document A/C.2/64/L.14/Rev.1) and another, also by consensus, on amendments to the Charter of the United Nations University (document A/C.2/64/L.55).
After that action, Japan's representative said that the resolution would enable the United Nations University to establish a post-graduate programme. That was an important step forward for the University, and he expressed hope for continued support for it.
A representative of the United Nations University, speaking on behalf of the Director of the University, thanked everyone for their support.
ANNEX I
Vote on Agricultural Technology for Development
The draft resolution on Agricultural Technology for Development (document A/C.2/64/L.21/REV.1) was approved by a recorded vote of 131 in favour to none against, with 37 abstentions, as follows:
In favour: Albania, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia (Federated States of), Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Senegal, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Thailand, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Viet Nam.
Against: None.
Abstain: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Comoros, Cuba, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Djibouti, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Namibia, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, Yemen, Zambia.
Absent: Algeria, Azerbaijan, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Iran, Kenya, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Liberia, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Zimbabwe.
ANNEX II
Vote on New International Economic Order
The draft resolution on Towards a new international economic order (document A/C.2/64/L.16) was approved by a recorded vote of 108 in favour to none against, with 52 abstentions, as follows:
In favour: Afghanistan, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Fiji, Gabon, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Against: None.
Abstain: Albania, Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Timor-Leste, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States.
Absent: Algeria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Botswana, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Kenya, Kiribati, Liberia, Micronesia (Federated States of), Nauru, Nigeria, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, United Republic of Tanzania, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu.
For information media • not an official record