Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly
72nd Session (2017-2018)
Mandate
By of 8 September 2017, the General Assembly decided to establish at its 71st session an ad hoc working group on the revitalization of the work of the General Assembly (AHWG), open to all Member States, “to identify further ways to enhance the role, authority, effectiveness and efficiency of the Assembly, inter alia, by building on the progress achieved in past sessions of the Assembly as well as on previous resolutions, including evaluating the status of their implementation” and to submit a report thereon to the Assembly at its 72nd session.
By the same resolution, the General Assembly also decided that the AHWG shall continue its review of the (see p.31 of document ) of General Assembly resolutions on revitalization annexed to its report submitted at the 71st session of the Assembly.
Among specific mandates for the 72nd session, the Assembly:
- Requested the Co-Chairs of the AHWG to continue to convene an interactive dialogue between the Permanent Missions and the Secretariat aimed at identifying solutions in better meeting the needs and requirements of the Permanent Missions regarding standard operating procedures used at United Nations Headquarters in New York;
- Decided that the AHWG shall review the implementation of the decisions of the Assembly on the revised format, production and editing of the Journal of the United Nations, starting in March 2018;
- Decided to continue to consider ways to rationalize the number of side events held during the general debate in September, bearing in mind the need to enhance its decorum and significance;
- Decided that the AHWG shall start to consider the potential concept and scope of a code of conduct to guide the conduct of election campaigns by Member States, with a view to improving the standards of transparency, accountability and equity;
- Requested each Main Committee to further discuss its working methods at the beginning of every session, and in this regard invited the Chairs of the Main Committees to brief the AHWG, as appropriate;
- Requested the Secretariat to provide a briefing to the AHWG on the gender balance and regional origin of the executive heads of the United Nations system and the Senior Management Group of the Organization;
- Requested the AHWG to prepare long-term arrangements concerning the election of the Chairs and Rapporteurs of the Main Committees with the aim of establishing a predictable, transparent and fair mechanism and to submit them to the Assembly at its 72nd session;
- Requested the Secretary-General to report on sources of the funding and staffing of the Office of the President of the Assembly, including on any technical, logistical, protocol-related or financial questions, and for more clarification on the budgetary basis for the provision of such support by the Secretariat;
- Requested the President of the General Assembly, in cooperation with the Secretariat, to report on the implementation of all mandates accorded to him by resolution 71/323.
Letters
- Tentative programme of work of the AHWG (19 January 2018)
- Appointment of Co-Chairs of the AHWG on the revitalization of the work of the General Assembly (10 November 2017)
Draft updated inventory chart