UN Transcripts — https://transcripts.un.org/en/ga/c1/80/1 First Committee, 1st plenary meeting - General Assembly, 80th session — First Committee — 3 October 2025 Language: en Automatically generated transcript — may contain errors. Not an official United Nations record. --- GA 1st Committee · Chair [0:05]: The first meeting of the Disarmament and International Security Committee the first committee for the 80th session of the General assembly is called to order. Distinguished delegates at the outset, allow me to extend a very warm welcome to all delegations participating in this Committee's deliberations at the current session of the General Assembly. I also take this opportunity to say how honored I am and deeply indebted to all of you for the privilege and distinction you have bestowed upon my country and on me personally. In electing me Chair of this very important Committee of the General Assembly. I shall do my utmost in full collaboration with other members of the current bugle to discharge my responsibilities in in a manner to ensure that our work is carried out efficiently and that our endeavors meet with success. Before proceeding to the matters at hand, I am sure that I speak on behalf of the entire membership of this Committee in commending Ambassador Marisa Chan Valverde of Costa Rica for the skillful and effective manner in which she conducted the proceedings of the first committee at its 79th session. I should also like to pay tribute to other members of the previous Bureau for all their hard work in ensuring the success of the session. Distinguished Delegates as noted in the UN Journal, the meeting today will address the organization of work of the Committee and will include a debate on the working methods of the Committee and program planning. We will first turn to the organizational work of the Committee for this session. The Committee as before it document AC1 81 containing the 20 agenda items allocated to the Committee by the General assembly at its second plenary meeting on 12 September 25. The committee also has before it documents a C1 80, CRP1 and CRP2. Document CRP1 contains the committee's proposed program of work and timetable for 2025. CRP2 is draft indicative timetable for structured design discussion of specific subjects on the adopted thematic approach on disarmament and international security agenda items. Before examining these documents one by one with the Committee's indulgence, I should like to inform delegations of the manner in which I intend to conduct our meetings in order to make full use of the time and conference services made available to the Committee. With your cooperation and support, I shall convene the meetings of the committee at 10am and 3pm sharp. Similarly, I shall adjourn the meetings punctually at 1pm and 6pm respectively and therefore appeal to all speakers, especially the first three speakers at a given meeting, to kindly be present in the Conference room on time. I should also like to remind members that the assembly has decided to continue its practice during this session of waiving the requirement that at least one quarter of the members be present to declare a Main Committee meeting open and permit the debate to proceed. The assembly made this recommendation on the understanding that such a departure from the rules did not involve any permanent change in the provisions of rules 67 and 108 of its rules of Procedure. Returning to the organizational work of the Committee and the agenda items allocated to the Committee as contained in document A C1.81, I would like to highlight the following some portions of the Annual Report of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is to be considered directly in plenary meeting under Item 89 deal with the subject matter of Item 99 general and complete disarmament according to its program work. The assembly will consider the report of IAEA on 29 October directly in plenary. In this regard, I would like to remind delegations that the First Committee will not meet that day. Agenda Item one two one, entitled Revitalization of the Work of the General assembly, is allocated to the First Committee for the purpose of discussing its working methods as well as considering and taking action on its tentative program of work for the committee's next session in 2026. Agenda item 137, program planning is allocated to all the Main Committees and the planning of the General Assembly. This is to enhance discussion of evaluation, planning, budgeting and monitoring reports. As noted earlier, the Committee will consider items 1 to 1 and 137 jointly later this morning. The Secretariat has prepared a note issued as document A C1.79 INF4 under two items. Distinguished delegates Let us turn now our attention to the Committee's proposed program of work and timetable as outlined in the document A80 CRP1. While this document is based on General Assembly Decision 79, 517 on 2nd of December 2024, the financial constraints facing the UN have forced all General assembly main Committees to reduce the number of meetings this session by 10%. It is therefore proposed that the Committee maintains its established practice of conducting its work in three phases, namely a general debate on all agenda items, a thematic discussion on specific subjects, and finally, action on all draft proposals. It will also conclude its work by 7th November as approved by the General Assembly. However, this year the Committee will hold a total of 28 meetings. After careful and long consideration, the Bureau is proposing a program that fully maintains the required number of meetings for the Committee's general debate and action phase, while bringing forward the debate on the working methods of the First Committee and program planning to today for the best use of the resources allocated to the Committee. The cuts to meetings have therefore directly affected the thematic discussions, which will have three fewer meetings and a reduced time limit for statements. No formal meetings of the Committee are Scheduled on Monday 20th October and Wednesday 5th November, in observance of the floating holidays of Diwali and Gurpugab, respectively. The general debate will run from 8 to 17 October for a total of nine meetings. This delayed start of the debate is to facilitate the early convening of informal consultations by Committee members. Given the concerns raised over the years, I have been informed that the President of the General assembly will address the committee on the 8th of October in the morning at the end of the General debate on 17 October in the afternoon, the Committee will devote at least half a meeting and 90 minutes to hear statements by representatives of a civil society in an informal setting, following which delegations will be given the floor to make comments, comments or pose questions to the speakers. To maximize the time available to us during the general debate, I propose that we maintain the practice of using a rolling list of speakers which is currently open to all delegations wishing to take the floor. As in previous years, inscription on the list of speakers is through the Espeakers tool on the Edelegate portal. I am aware that a considerable number of delegations have already inscribed their names on the list and invite those who intend to speak but have not yet inscribed to do so as soon as possible. As indicated in the program of work, the list of speakers for the general debate will close on Thursday 9th October at 6pm I'd also like to remind all delegations to keep in mind that a rolling list implies that they should be prepared to intervene at any time, possibly even one meeting, sooner than they had originally planned to speak. To make the most efficient use of the resources allocated to us under current financial restrictions. I would like to urge all delegations taking the floor to kindly respect the time limits for statement of 8 minutes when speaking in a national capacity and 12 minutes for those speaking on behalf of groups of delegations. To allow a maximum number of participants, the time limit will be strictly enforced by means of automatic microphone cutoff. Delegations with relatively long statements should deliver a concise statement summary of the text and submit the full statement in written form for posting on e statements. Distinguished Delegates the second stage of the Committee's work, namely the thematic discussion on specific subjects, provides an opportunity for the introduction of draft proposals submitted under the Committee's agenda items. This segment will run from Tuesday, 21st October to Thursday 30th October, for a total of 11 meetings, with the committee meeting all day on Tuesday, 21st October, as well as the 24th, 27th and 28th October. Given the reduced number of meetings for this segment, statements in the national capacity are limited to three minutes. A statement on behalf of a group of countries should not exceed four minutes, in line with the Committee's established practice. The details of the Program of work for our thematic segments are contained in the indicative timetable outlined in documents a C1.80 CRP2. On 21 October, the committee is scheduled to have its usual exchange with the High Representative for Disarmament affairs on the follow up of resolutions and decisions adopted by the Committee at its previous sessions and presentation of reports. During this second phase, the Committee will tick up the seven clusters on which it has traditionally focused during this phase of its work work, namely nuclear weapons, other weapons of mass destruction, outer space disarmament aspects, conventional weapons, other disarmament measures, and international security, regional disarmament and security and disarmament machinery. For each of the seven classes of the Thematic Discussions, our proceedings will continue to comprise two parts. The first will begin in a formal mode with a panel of guest speakers as applicable, followed by an informal question and answer segment during which delegations taking the floor are encouraged to ask concise questions rather than read statements. The Committee will then resume informal mode to hear statements by delegations, including the introduction of draft resolutions and decisions. CRP2 as issued, reflects all panels and briefings during the Thematic Segment. It is my understanding that some of the briefers that cannot join us in person will submit written presentations this year. The list of speakers for the thematic segment will open once the list for the general debates has closed, as indicated on the Program of Work. The deadline for inscription on the list of speakers for the Thematic discussions is Tuesday 21st October at 6pm on 28th October, the committee will hold its traditional Certificate awards ceremony for graduating Disarmament Fellows Distinguished Delegates the third and last segment of the work of the Committee, namely action on all draft resolutions and decisions, will run from Friday 31st October to Friday 7th November for a total of seven meetings. As indicated in the Program of Work, the deadline for the submission of draft resolutions and decisions is Wednesday 15th October at 12 noon. Compliance with this deadline is important to ensure the timely issuance of all drafts in all official languages. Sponsors as sponsors of draft proposals wishing to schedule informal Consultations on their drafts are encouraged to begin as soon as possible in order to ensure that they have sufficient time for those consultations. The Secretariat continues to facilitate the virtual booking on the conference room. On site delegations considering convening virtual informal consultations should ensure that they do not clash with the plenary meetings as well as informal consultations listed in the schedule circulated by the Secretariat. Taking into account the lessons learned from the Committee's experience over over the years on the need for the early determination of the program budget, implications of draft resolutions and decisions before the Committee, delegations organized informal consultations on their drafts are encouraged to engage Secretarigate officials early for guidance. At the same time, I would like to remind all delegations of the views expressed by ACABQ regarding the use of the phrase within existing resources as set out in document A54.7. Accordingly, the use of this phrase in draft resolutions and decisions should be avoided. All submitted draft proposals to be issued as L documents will continue to be listed in a in a conference room paper and grouped under the seven Thematic Clusters. Delegations are reminded that to be reflected as co sponsors of an issued draft proposal, you must co sponsor the text prior to the deadline for submission to the Secretariat. Delegations are further reminded that sponsoring of draft proposals will continue through the Esponsorship tool on the Edelegate portal. Distinguished Delegates during the Action phase, the Committee will continue to be guided by the informal papers issued by the Secret Agate and containing the draft resolutions and decisions on which action will be taken each day. These informal papers will be revised by the Secretarigate on a daily basis to reflect drafts that are ready for action at each of the remaining meetings. In this regard, I propose that the Committee retain the procedure it has followed in previous years by which draft resolutions and decisions are grouped under the seven Thematic Clusters. Also, during the action phase, a draft provisional program of work and timetable for the next year to be issued as a conference room paper will be circulated for the Committee's consideration and action. Closer to the final phase of our work, further information will be provided on how we will proceed, including the traditional ground rules for taking action on draft resolutions and decisions prepared by the Secretarigate and made available on e Delegate portal. Distinguished Delegates the documents before the Committee this session, including those already issued or forthcoming, are listed in Information Documents A C1.80 INF1. It is my hope that the Report of the Conference on Disarmament will be issued by close of business today. As you are aware, the Conference only concluded its session last month. Other forthcoming document is the list of participants which will be issued as a a c1.80 inf2. The e list of Participants module has been deployed for the main committees for the sessions. Permanent missions focal points should submit the participants names as soon as possible. Each mission will only have to make a single submission for all the main committees for the session. The deadline for submission is the end of October. The UN Department for Global Communications has informed that this session there will be no press release coverage of the GA six main Committees due to liquidity constraints. Webcast will continue to be provided for all meetings. Distinguished Delegates the Committee will now consider its program of work as contained in document A C1.80 CRP1. May I take that the Committee wishes to proceed in accordance with the provisional program of work and timetable contained in document A A C1.80 CFP1? I hear no objection. It is so decided. We shall now proceed to consider the draft indicative timetable contained in document A C1.80 C CRP2. May I take that the Committee wishes to proceed in accordance with the draft indicative timetable contained in document A C1 80 CRP2 here. No objection. It is so decided. Before concluding considerations of the organizational work of the Committee on the question of explanations of vote and rights to reply, the Bureau wishes to propose the following measures on an exceptional basis and without setting any precedent. Firstly, it is proposed that statements in the exercise of the right of reply do not exceed four and a half minutes for the first intervention and two and a half minutes for the second. Statements in exercise of the right of reply delivered in person will continue to be included in the verbatim records and will continue to be heard at the end of each meeting or at the end of the day if two meetings are scheduled for that given. Secondly, it is proposed that explanations of vote EOV be limited to 5 minutes. Longer statements can be submitted to his statements for the record, in line with the decision taken by the assembly on 12th September. Upon the recommendation of the General Committee, points of order shall be limited to five minutes. May I take that? Committee wishes to proceed in accordance with the proposed modalities as I just outlined as I hear no objection, so it is so decided. Distinguished Delegates, before proceeding to the next item on our agenda today, I would like to draw your attention to Agenda Item 5, entitled Election of the Officers of the Main Committees, and to Rule 99A of the Rules of Procedures, which reads as follows, I quote all the main Committees shall, at least three months before the opening of the session, elect a Chairman. Elections of the other offices provided for in Rule 103 shall be held at latest by the end of the first week of the session. In this connection, the General assembly, in its resolution 72 313, 20 September 2018, decided to establish the pattern for the rotation of the chairs of the Main Committees from for the 74th to the 83rd sessions of the Assembly. In accordance with the annex to this resolution, the Chair of the First Committee will be nominated by the Group of Asian and Pacific states for the 81st session in 2026. In light of this provision, I would like to propose that the First Committee consider this item sometimes in May or June 2026, about three months before the opening of the 81st session of the General Assembly. If I hear no objection, may I take that the Committee wishes to proceed accordingly? I hear none. It is so decided. Distinguished Delegates Distinguished the Committee will now convene its debate on the agenda Item one to one, entitled Revitalization of the Work of the General assembly and agenda item 137. Program planning in connection with the debate, the attention of the Committee is invited to a note by the Secretariat contained in document A C1 80, which highlights relevant provisions of the General assembly resolutions 79327 on revitalization of the work of the General assembly and 79247 on program planning in accordance with operative paragraph 7 of the General Assembly Resolution 79 247. Whenever the Committee for Program and Coordination cannot provide conclusions on a given sub program or program over the proposed program budget, the plenary or the relevant Main Committee or Main Committees of the General assembly responsible for those mandates will consider the said subprogram or program at the very start of its session in order to provide any conclusions and recommendations to the Fifth Committee at the earliest opportunity and no later than four weeks after the start of the session for timely considerations by the Fifth Committee, the Committee for Program and Coordination recommended in its report issued as document A79 16, that assembly at its 80s session review the program plan of program three disarmament under the agenda item entitled Program Planning. Today's meeting is in response to this mandate. I intend to submit a Chair summary of the discussions on the disarmament program to the Chair of the Fifth Committee following the debate. Similarly, based on the feedback from delegations as a chair, I will summarize the key points raised by Committee members on the working methods of the Committee for onward transmission to the General Committee of the Assembly. Distinguished Delegates, we will now hear from our first speaker in the debate. The live list of speakers can be found in today's journal. Statements should be limited to 3 minutes. Group statements should not exceed 4 minutes. To assist speakers in this regard, and with your understanding, we will use a timing mechanism by which the red light on the speaker's microphone will begin to blink when approaching the time limit for the statement. The time limit for statements will be strictly enforced, including through microphone cutoffs. Delegates who have longer statements are encouraged to deliver a summarized version and to share their full statements to estatementsn.org so that it could be posted on the UN Journal. At the same time, I would like to strongly encourage speakers to speak at a reasonable speed to allow adequate interpretation and I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of of New Zealand on behalf of gantz. New Zealand · CANZ [28:00]: Thank you Chair. I deliver the following remarks on behalf of Australia, Canada and my own country, New Zealand. Thank you for convening this discussion on the working methods of the First Committee and program planning in accordance with General assembly resolutions 77, 254, 77, 355 and 79, 247. CAINE supports the important work of the UN Office of Disarmament affairs and thanks them for their work in preparing the program plan. We are disappointed that the Committee on Program and Coordination was unable to provide a Recommendation on Program 3 on Disarmament. CAIRNS is not represented on the CPC, but we note with concern that it was once again unable to provide recommendations on a large number of program plans at its June session this year, failing to provide recommendations on a record 26 out of a total of 28. At a time when the need for a more effective, efficient and coordinated UN has never been greater, it is unfortunate that a body responsible for maintaining strategic direct direction and coherence is unable to provide this. We recall that the mandates covered in program three have already been agreed. The CPC's role is not to relitigate the decisions of Member States in other forums, but to ensure coherence across our work. Failure to reach agreement generates uncertainty and requires further time and resource here and elsewhere to discussing issues that could already have been resolved. Planning is and should remain a consensus based exercise. Ultimately, this issue will need to be resolved through decisions on the program plan and budget in the Fifth Committee. In this regard, Cairns ask that you, Chair, recommend to the Chair of the Fifth Committee that the General assembly approve the program Plan for Program 3 Disarmament as proposed by the Secretary General without modification. Chair Cairns reiterates our support for the Secretary General's efforts through the UN 80 initiative to achieve an accountable, effective, efficient UN that is able to respond to current and future global challenges. We look forward to discussing further, in the context of the UN80 initiative, how we can work together to better align our budget and program coordination and deliver in a timely, reliable, efficient and effective manner. In the face of growing pressures on finite resources, we urge ambitious reform that promotes efficient and effective mandates, structures, processes and rules. Chair on working methods, Cairns would like to highlight the vital role played by civil society organisations in this Committee. Civil society organisations enrich our work with their perspectives and expertise and CANS strongly supports their continued and enhanced participation. We welcome the convening of dedicated meetings to hear statements by civil society representatives and support ways to further enhance their participation, including by removing practical barriers to their access to UN buildings and meetings. We would also like to highlight the importance of aiming for gender parity in the work of this Committee, including among the speakers and panellists for high level and other relevant meetings. Thank you, Chair. Chair [31:29]: I thank the distinguished representative of New Zealand on behalf of Council for her statement. I give now the floor to the distinguished representative of Costa rica, Costa Rica [31:44]: Senor Presidente. Mr. Chair, as this is the first time that my delegation takes the floor at this session, allow me to congratulate you and the other members of the Bureau on your election and to reiterate Costa Rica's full support for your leadership of this Commission's work. Allow me to highlight three points. First, we welcome the fact that this year we're beginning the work of the Committee by discussing our working methods and program planning. This allows us to implement the program provisions of Resolution 79, 247, which establishes that the main Committees at the beginning of the session should examine the mandates for which the Committee for Program and Coordination has not been able to formulate conclusions and recommendations. We regret that once again, as has been the case since 2017, the CPC has been unable to provide recommendations to the General assembly on the disarmament program. In this regard, we recall the importance of complying with the seventh operative paragraph of that resolution. Second, Resolution 7923327 requests each main Committee to review its working methods during this 80th session and to submit concrete proposals to make our work more effective and efficient. This call is even more pertinent as we face budget cuts that reduce the number of meetings and the time available for our discussions. We therefore reiterate our call for resolutions that for several years have incorporated only technical changes to be submitted on a biennial or triennial basis. This adjustment would allow us to focus on the debate on initiatives with substantive changes and devote more time to meaningful negotiations. Third, the use of Thematic Clusters has been a valuable practice of this Committee for decades, allowing for better use of time. However, the current seven Clusters responded to the reality of a couple of decades ago. We consider it appropriate to review the agenda item and update the cluster organization to reflect contemporary priorities in disarmament and international security. Mr. Chair, working methods are the tool that enables this body to fulfill its mandate effectively, inclusively and meaningfully. I thank you. GA 1st Committee · Chair [34:21]: I thank the distinguished representative of Costa Rica, for instance. Statement I give now the floor to the distinguished representative of South Africa. South Africa [34:34]: Thank you. Chairperson South Africa would like to congratulate you on assuming the Chairpersonship of the 80th session of the First Committee as well as the members of the Bureau on their election and assure you of our continued support. We also wish to convey our sincere appreciation to the outgoing Chairperson, the Permanent Representative of Costa Rica, Ambassador Maritza Chan Valverde, and the members of the Bureau for their outstanding work during the 79th session of the First Committee. Chairperson in the debate on the working methods of the Committee held during the 79th session of the First Committee, Singapore and South Africa tabled a decision to enhance the transparency of the Committee's work as it relates to the identity of Member States calling for votes on resolutions. The General assembly adopted the by consensus decision 79516 on information on requests for votes. The intention of this decision was not to impinge on the rights of Member States to call for votes, but was meant to take the work of the Committee or make the work of the Committee more transparent, which in our view also contributes to building trust within the First Committee. It will be recalled that the decision was necessitated by some challenges experienced in the work of the Committee. These included the inability of Member States to determine which States called for a vote, no or limited knowledge of the reasons why votes were being called, and depriving Member States of the opportunity to engage each other on issues of concern that could have prevented votes being called. We trust that this decision will continue to be steadfastly implemented as it directly and meaningfully improves the Committee's working method. Methods Chairperson this meeting is convened against the background of a number of processes which the United nations is undertaking, including the UN 80 initiative, in order to make the UN more effective in delivering on its mandates and to ensure efficiency in its work. Member States recently adopted by consensus resolution 79327 on the revitalization of the work of the General assembly, which amongst others, mandates main Committees to review their working methods and to submit concrete proposals to the General Committee on how to make their work more efficient and effective. South Africa supports efforts aimed at streamlining the work of the General Assembly. In this regard, we welcome paragraph 22 and 23 of resolution 79327, which strongly encourage Member States to reduce the frequency, length and number of resolutions submitted to the General assembly and to reintroduce resolutions only when operational adjustments are made. It should be noted that this does not apply to resolutions related to peace and security. We are also pleased that Member states in paragraph 28 of the same resolution decided to simplify the adoption of draft resolutions and decisions recommended by a Main Committee to the General Public Assembly. GA 1st Committee · Chair [37:38]: I thank the distinguished representative of South Africa for his statement and I give now the floor to the distinguished representative of Switzerland. Switzerland [37:55]: Thank you, Mr. Chair. Switzerland welcomes the ongoing reflections on the working methods of the UN disarmament machinery. In First Committee in particular, we see both great need and significant potential for adaptation. For many years, proposals have been made to reform working methods of this Committee. The moment has come to translate long standing discussions into concrete action to strengthening deficiency, coherence and relevance of the disarmament machinery. On statements, we support limiting the length of interventions. Proposals for reducing national statements to three minutes per cluster is a step in the right direction. General statements should be limited to 5 minutes, and group statements should not exceed this limit to ensure fairness and equal treatment among delegations. And the automatic cutoff of the microphone is an effective tool on draft resolutions. We support proposals to limit submissions to resolutions that introduce new mandates or substantive updates. Resolutions of a historical or primarily political nature, as well as technical rollover resolutions could be tabled every three to five years instead of annually, thereby creating space for more substantive contributions. Consolidating overlapping clusters, for instance, merging certain clusters would help reduce redundancies, sharpen discussions and increase the added value of deliberations without prejudice to the substance. We support limiting the First Committee to a maximum of four weeks, including voting and exploring, alternating its venue between New York and Geneva. This would enhance efficiency, lower costs and enable broader participation, particularly for smaller delegations. Such measures would improve the effectiveness and sustainability of the First Committee's work and better align our collective efforts with contemporary challenges. Switzerland stands ready to engage with all partners in further developing and implementing these proposals, ideally with a trial run as of 2026. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. GA 1st Committee · Chair [40:16]: I thank the distinguished representative of Switzerland for his statement. I give now the floor to His Excellency, the Permanent Representative of Singapore. Please. Singapore · Permanent Representative [40:31]: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I'd like to Start by expressing my congratulations to you and members of the Bureau on your election, and I have every confidence that you will lead our Committee to a productive and successful conclusion. I have two points with regard to the working methods of our Committee. First, I'd like to endorse the statement just made earlier by the delegation of South Africa. My delegation emphasizes the need to fully implement Decision 79,516, entitled Information on Request for Votes, which was adopted by the Committee last year. Singapore and South Africa had the honor to jointly present this decision and we thank members for their support. The Objective of Decision 79516 is to enhance transparency in the work of the Committee and to bring our working methods in line with the practices of other main Committees of the General Assembly. The full implementation of the decision is essential, not only to strengthen transparency, but but also to build confidence, foster dialogue and enhance the credibility of our work in this Committee. We therefore call on you to continue the good practice established last year by providing information on the votes requested in the Committee. Second, as we Undertake our broader UN 80 and GA revitalization efforts in line with Resolution 79 327, we should also reflect on the Committee's existing working methods and consider how they can be further streamlined. The heavy workload of this Committee places a disproportionate burden on small states and many developing countries. It is a fact that this is the Committee with one of the highest numbers of resolutions adopted by voting. And as we explore ideas to streamline our work, we should be guided by the principles of inclusivity, impartiality and non selectivity. And as a delegation, we would support any proposal to streamline resolutions by biannualizing and triennializing annual resolutions. My delegation has an open mind to consider all proposals and we will take a pragmatic approach and we are ready to engage constructively with all Member States to improve the way we work in this Committee. I thank you very much for your attention. GA 1st Committee · Chair [42:45]: I thank His Excellency, Permanent Representative of Singapore for his statement. I give now the floor to the distinguished representative of Egypt. Egypt [42:58]: Mr. Chairperson, allow me to congratulate you and the Government of Italy on your election as the Chairperson of the First Committee. Egypt is proud to serve in your bureau representing Africa. Strengthening the methods of work and ensuring support to the work of the Committee is crucial to its efficiency and effectiveness. Egypt commends the efforts of the UNODA, led by High Representative Izumi Nakamitsu, including its support to the First Committee as a Main Committee of the UN General Assembly. Assembly, whose permanent convening is in New York City. Chairperson, this delegation takes note of CPC report 80 16. We underscore the importance of taking the necessary steps, including providing the resources necessary to implement the mandates emanating from the Committee. We reiterate that programming and budgeting should be safeguarded from any political considerations or undue or arbitrary interventions. The resources crisis should not result in disallowing the implementation of mandated activities. Egypt attaches specific attention to Supporting the upcoming 11th NPT Review Conference as well as activities in support of establishing a zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction in the Middle east, including through the annual UN Conference through sufficient and adequate appropriate grade level human and financial resources. UN ODA should receive also the resources allowing it to support the growing engagement with matters related to emerging technologies in the context of international security. Such a person Egypt underlines the importance of strict adherence to the rules of procedures. Discussions on strengthening methods of work should be comprehensive, consensual, balanced, incremental and conscious of the specificity of the work of this Committee. We suggest the following to continue to addressing the considerable strain of resources Rights of replies to be grouped and delivered at the end of general debate in each cluster extending the deadline for tabling draft proposals to avail additional time for consultations spread informal consultations across the days enable delegations to engage with side events and relatively relieve the pressure on smaller delegations. The finalization and tranazations of resolutions is a commendable idea. However, it will only be viable if it is a result of delicate understandings, a sense of unity of purpose and burden sharing. Another effective element is consolidating the coherence of the discussions. The merge of the prevention of arms race and outer space tracks and the moratorium on new resolutions related to cyber security provided promising examples. Conclusion Egypt renews its recommendation to launch an informal platform or methods of work of the Committee. The state led undertaking can take place under the auspices of the Chairpersons of the Committee and with the active engagement by UNODA academia and civil society. GA 1st Committee · Chair [45:40]: I thank you. I thank the distinguished representative of Egypt for his statement. I give now the floor to the distinguished representative of the Russian Federation. Russian Federation [45:54]: Chair. I would like to congratulate you on your election to this post and we're ready to provide you with full support in your work. We are particularly concerned about the new practice of arbitrary introduction during the intersection period of proposals to fundamentally review the organisation of work of the First Committee, including significantly reducing the number of meetings, merging thematic discussions, reducing the number of statements and time provided for them. All these do not undermine the could lead to further worsening of the situation in the world. We believe it's very important in the future to strike a balance between optimising the work of the Committee and ensuring its proper functioning, bearing in mind the tasks it has to fulfil in the complex geopolitical reality. We believe that the proposal changed to some of these as a one off that does not create a precedent for the future. We'd also focus on the need to return during the 81st session of the General assembly to the traditional number of meetings and the format for statements by delegations in the Committee, mainly during thematic discussions. Separately, I'd like to touch on last year's initiative of the UAE in Singapore to de anonymize the initiators of a vote to approve documents within the Committee. We believe it would be appropriate to discuss whether this initiative will happen during this session and if it will, then what then how will it be implemented? On our side, we propose that the Secretariat of the Committee directly in writing, inform either the sponsors of the draft resolution or States who asked a request, who put a vote, put a draft, the vote by them, all separate paragraphs of the resolution. The delegations can then receive the same information and use this data to analyse a situation and carry out targeted work, if necessary, with interested parties. This would allow us to avoid the negative experience of last year when the discussion of draft resolutions was replaced by politicization and accusatory statements. We'd like to now on the bilingualisation or triennialization of resolutions. This would be sensible only if the decision is made by the sponsors of the project and also if there is no real opportunity to come back to it. If this would then return to an annual basis if necessary. In terms of measures to improve effectiveness of the Committee. We'd recommend also moving the deadline for submitting draft resolutions to the third week of the session. I would also recommend additional optimizing the work of the UN portal to make it easier to work, including providing timely public application of full statements at the same day that they were delivered. The Speaker's microphone has been cut off. GA 1st Committee · Chair [48:57]: I take the distinguished representative of the Russian Federation for his statement. I give now the floor to Her Excellency, the Permanent Representative of El Salvador. El Salvador · Permanent Representative [49:11]: Thank you, Chair. We're grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this debate and the full statement will be available online regarding the methods of work. In the previous session, the Committee adopted a draft decision geared towards generating greater transparency in its work and my country supported it. However, we believe that in addition to Making progress in transparency. It's essential to have a broader reflection on the general methods of work bearing this in mind. As it is well known by delegations, my country already last year proposed examining whether the thematic clusters properly reflect the current threats to international security. We Note that cluster 5 does not represent appropriately the emerging challenges in cyberspace or the intersection between science, technology and international security. This is why we suggest a complete restructuring. Also, we should examine whether the traditional thematical clusters respond to the current reality, which has been marked by the emergence of new technologies. The world is evolving quickly, but the Committee remains geared in dynamics that no longer reflect the current security issues. El Salvador reiterates that as in previous years, there's a need to examine other resolutions biennially or trienally. It's important to note that the proliferation of resolutions causes serious problems for small resolutions and increases the complexity of the agenda, which, contrary to this, should be geared towards greater efficiency. Mr. Chairman, it's not enough to have a debate on methods of work as though it were just another session. If we aspire to real change, what's necessary is a more decisive action by the Bureau and of all Member States, acknowledging that this is a comprehensive discussion that is connected to the functioning of the entire disarmament machinery. This is why we invite the Bureau very respectfully to provide follow up to the observations expressed and present concrete recommendations. I repeat concrete recommendations at the end of this session which should be considered by this Committee during the next session regarding planning of the programs. We regret that from 28 of the programs only two have been approved. This is a situation that should be exceptional and unfortunately it has become a recurrent practice, as we've seen for the program of discernment over the past few years. My country would like to make an appeal for the CPC to fulfill its mandate in a responsible way. And we hope that the disarmament program receives timely financing and its proposals and recommendations should be duly approved by the Fifth Committee. Speaker 17 [52:06]: Thank you very much. I thank Her Excellency, the Permanent Representative of El Salvador for a statement. And I give out the floor to the distinguished representative of Sweden. Sweden [52:22]: Thank you, Mr. Chair. I can assure you of our support to your Presidency, including the issue we discussed today, the efficiency of the First Committee's working methods. Please allow me to make two points. First, on statements, we support the Presidency's approach to shorten and sharpen both regional and national statements, as well as the limitations on the rights of reply and explanation explanations of vote. In addition, throughout the general and clustered debates, there is plenty of potential to Avoid repetitions by streamlining the segments. Secondly, on resolutions, we need to recognize that the majority of resolutions adopted by the First Committee are repetitive or contain only technical updates. As the calendar on informal negotiations show, it is at tops only a dozen of resolutions that call for in depth negotiations and engagement from Member States in view of UN 80. We therefore urge colleagues to consider biennial, triennial or decennial resolutions, or even better, to recognize that a resolution, once adopted, has no need to be repeated at all. We hope that such an approach would enable us to focus energy on issues, resolutions and decisions where progress is actually needed. Chair. We hope that these efficiencies regarding speaking times and resolutions would enable us to conduct the First Committee within four weeks and thereby contributing to making our work both more productive and time efficient. Thank you. GA 1st Committee · Chair [54:17]: I thank the distinguished representative of Sweden for his statement. I give now the floor to the distinguished representative of Cuba. Cuba [54:30]: I would like to make this statement on behalf of Cuba and the State of Iran. We'd like to congratulate Ambassador His Excellency Mauricio Masadi for his appointment as the Chair of the First Committee, as well as the Vice Chairs that will assist him during this session. We take note of the program of work presented and the decisions taken this year due to the financial situation of the Organization and the liquidity crisis. This fact has led to our Committee meeting fewer days and ultimately to dedicate less time to issues of international security and disarmament, which are increasingly more relevant for the international community. Mr. Chair, we reject any economic justification that results in restricting Member States from presenting resolutions, including when these only contain technical updates throughout the years. But both delegations, in their national capacity or as representing groups of countries such as Non Aligned Movement, have presented texts that reflect common positions and positions of principle with an appropriate balance on topics of priority. Resolution 79, 327, revitalization of the work of the General assembly, adopted recently after intense negotiations, does not envision any obligation for Member States in this regard, nor does it mandate the Secretariat to limit the presentation of initiatives by Member States. The Member States are sovereign on this point. In particular, we're talking about priorities of Foreign Policy. Mr. Chairman, we reiterate the importance of multilateralism and disarmament. This requires the participation of all States in the work of the First Committee on equal footing. We would like to reiterate the readiness of my delegation to conduct transparent and inclusive negotiations that lead us to successful conclusion. Thank you. GA 1st Committee · Chair [56:28]: I thank the distinguished representative of Cuba for her statement. I give now the floor to the distinguished representative of Mexico. Mexico [56:41]: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'd like to start by congratulating you on your election to chair this Committee, as well as the rest of the members of the Bureau. Taking into account limited time for interventions during this session and the importance of being efficient, my delegation would now like to outline measures to improve the methods of work of the First Committee. Many of these proposals have already been put forward by Mexico in previous sessions, so they're well known. First of all, we welcome that the debate on the methods of work take place before the substantive discussions begin in the Committee. We consider that it's necessary to compile a list of proposals and recommendations that are the outcome of this thematic debate that should be duly analyzed for the future. Next year, we should be able to take action on some of these that reflect the generalized consensus concerns of member states. 2. In addition to the Secretariat providing program and budgetary implications on each draft resolution, there should be a similar mechanism for the implications of certain projects or drafts that seek to alter the rules of procedure of the General Assembly. We're referring to cases where the rules would apply for certain issues and the improper use of consensus views for others, or where consensus is used, but where it's conditioned on the possibility that future positions could be unlinked from the agreements achieved. 3. Changing the frequency of annual resolutions to biennial or triennial cycles, especially for resolutions with few changes that have remained static for years. Mexico has already changed the cycles of its various resolutions, so we hope that others do the same. We understand that various delegations share similar views, which we welcome and we hope to join efforts with them. Fourth, reflect the name of organizations of civil society and that they not simply be indicated with the generic name civil society. We regret that their contributions are reduced to an informal modality. The voice of civil society is essential for our work. The minimum we can do is duly recognize them in this room. Lastly, Mexico would like to request the Secretary to the Committee to provide an explanation for the benefit of all the membership regarding the new procedures adopted through paragraph 28 of resolution 79327 on the revitalization of the General assembly, especially with regard to the one gavel approach. Thank you very much. GA 1st Committee · Chair [59:39]: I thank the distinguished representative of Mexico for his statement. Give now the floor to the distinguished representative of Germany. Germany [59:50]: Thank you, Mr. Chair. Allow me to begin by extending my congratulations to you on your election and your borough. You can count on the full support and constructive engagement of my delegation. Thank you for convening us today to discuss the important topic of working methods. In time of financial strain, we believe that it is necessary to aim for incremental and realistic improvements of our working methods with the overarching aim to enhance efficiency. Germany, together with friends, therefore develop a non paper. And this paper proposes, among others, to reduce further time for general statements as for statements in different clusters, to streamline the number of clusters by merging cluster 6 and 7, and to reduce the duration of the first committee to four weeks. We are encouraged to hear that many. Negations today expressed similar ideas. Our intentions are. The proposals laid out in the French German brown paper serve as food for thought. And we're looking forward to further explore these ideas together. Thank you. GA 1st Committee · Chair [1:00:47]: I thank the distinguished representative of Germany for her statement. And I give now the floor to the distinguished representative of France. France [1:01:03]: Thank you, Chair. First of all, I'd like to congratulate you on your appointment to chair this committee. And you can rest assured that you have France's full support in leading the work of this session. France shares the goal of improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the work of this committee, particularly in the context of the UN 80 initiative and the financial challenges that the UN system is facing as a whole alongside Germany. As my colleague has just highlighted, we're working on some suggestions to contribute to this goal of improving the effectiveness of our work. These proposals, and some of them have already been mentioned by previous colleagues in this meeting. They could be included. They could include the limiting of time for statements during the general debate and on thematic discussions at the First Committee. Also, streamlining the number of proposals conceived at each session of the First Committee. States could particularly be encouraged to revise the periodicity of frequency of text when they are simply technical rollovers. This measure would also foster more substantive and far reaching discussions on the text that would be then submitted at each session. Thirdly, streamlining the number of clusters. This would allow us to reduce the number of steps statements made and the risk of duplication and redundancy in our debates. Finally, if necessary, the reducing of the total work of our committee to four weeks. These proposals are obviously offered as food for thought and we were looking forward to discussing them with all Member States so that we can reach agreement on some concrete measures which could be tried out as early as next session of the Committee next next year, 2026. Speaker 27 [1:02:48]: Thank you very much. I thank the distinguished representative of France for his statement. Again, all the floor to the distinguished representative of the United. GA 1st Committee · Chair [1:03:12]: States. United States is not in the room. United States of America [1:03:20]: Good morning, colleagues and ambassadors. And congratulations, Mr. Chair, on your election. Consolidating the number of annual resolutions is a priority for the United States for this year's first committee and a key aspect of our broader UN General Assembly 80 efficiency efforts. We are therefore supportive of penholders, as appropriate, shifting annual resolutions to biennial or triennial schedules for this year or future years. We recognize the importance many countries attach to the issues in their resolutions and share an interest in addressing many of the threats and challenges addressed in them. However, as others have mentioned, far too many resolutions run annually without any substantive updates from year to year, while still consuming valuable time and resources, including for meeting space, voting, printing and translation. Some of these resolutions also contain specific requests to the Secretary General, including to submit annual reports which have additional resource implications. We are encouraged to hear support in this room for reviewing periodicity and hope others will soon join us in supporting these efforts. Thank you. GA 1st Committee · Chair [1:04:43]: I thank the distinguished representative of the United States for her statement and give now the floor to His Excellency. Sorry. The distinguished representative of Venezuela. Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) [1:05:02]: Gracias, Presidente. Thank you. Chairman. The delegation of Venezuela congratulates you on your election to chair the First Committee of the UN that you can to you and your entire team. We wish you success in carrying out this function. You can count on our support for that purpose. Mr. Chairman. The delegation of Venezuela considers that the world is increasing growing tensions that threaten international peace and security. In this context, the United nations must be a platform for dialogue and bridging positions for peaceful solutions. This is why we support the statement made by the delegation of Cuba. Cuba regarding the methods of work in current conditions. The world requires more multilateralism. This is a matter that should not be subordinated to the liquidity crisis. At the same time, my delegation would like to express its regret for the fact that during the current session the Committee will not have the press reports that will were usually published to report on its deliberations. The webcast recordings and verbatim records are not a substitute for press releases. The absence of this resource on the website of the UN weakens the promotion of a public informed context for all those who are following with great interest all around the world def. Debates on international disarmament of the first committee. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. GA 1st Committee · Chair [1:06:50]: I thank the distinguished representative of Venezuela for his statement. His Excellency, the Permanent representative of Mozambique. Mozambique · Permanent Representative [1:07:04]: Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair. Mozambique congratulates and the Bureau on assuming the leadership of the first committee at this historic 80th session of the General Assembly. You may count with our support, Mr. Chair. Mozambique calls for a systematic review of the First Committee's agenda with a view to clustering recurring resolutions and consolidating them into fever more impactful tests that genuinely advance our examinement objectives. The imperative for reform is evident each year this committee considers over 60 draft resolutions. More than 7% remain virtually identical to previous years, while fewer than 15% contain substantive updates or respond to evolving security challenges. Such institutional duplication drain resource unnecessary burden delegations, particularly smaller missions, and critically diminish the political impact and relevance of our collective work. Therefore, Mr. President, Mozambique propose implementing parallel evidence measures within the First Committee itself, including pre identifying resolution likely to achieve consensus approval without a vote, streamlining explanation of vote in line with paragraph 23 of the resolution and clustering adoptions by thematic area to enhance coherence and reduce procedural time. Furthermore, genuine digitalization must be intrinsically linked to comprehensive mandate review as explicitly called for in paragraph 27 of resolution 79 327. Mozambique strongly supports establishing an evidence based process informed by practical experience and institution Institutional knowledge of this Committee to systematically identify updated, redundant or duplicative mandates and ensure that our work accurately reflects current disarmament and security priorities rather than legacy structures. This Committee must deliver outcomes that are not only leaner and more streamlined on, but much stronger in their practical impact on global peace and security. We owe nothing less to the communities whose security depends on our collective action. I thank you. GA 1st Committee · Chair [1:10:00]: I thank His Excellency the Permanent Representative of Mozambique for his statement. We have heard the last speaker in the debate on agenda items 1, 21 and 13 7. I will share with the delegations my summary of today's discussions and I give now the floor to the Secretariat to respond to the question posed by Mexico. UN Secretariat · Secretariat [1:10:30]: Thank you Mr. Chair and good afternoon everyone. With respect to the implementation of the one Gavel provision for the information of all delegations in operative paragraph 28 of GA Resolution 79327 of 5 September 2025 entitled Revitalization of the work of the General assembly, the assembly decided to simplify the adoption of draft resolutions and decisions recommended by a Main Committee in the General Assembly Plenary. The one Gavel approach would not have any impact on how the Main Committees do their work. They would continue to adopt their draft resolutions and decisions in their traditional way. That is One by one. The one gavel approach would apply only to the General Assembly. Please Plenary and how exactly that will apply? Basically, it will be as follows. When the proposals of the First Committee are before the General Assembly Plenary, the Plenary shall first take all votes one by one on draft resolutions and decisions and or parts thereof where such votes were taken in the First Committee. The plenary shall subsequently adopt without a vote in one gavel all other draft resolutions and decisions adopted by the First. Committee without a vote. The resolutions and decisions shall be numbered in the order listed in the report of the Main Committee regardless of whether they were adopted with or without a vote but excluding proposals with program budget implications. The procedure for action on proposals with program budget implications shall remain unchanged with action taken when the report of the Fifth Committee is available pursuant to Rule 153 of the Rules of Procedure of the General assembly with all separate and recorded votes taken as applicable. I hope that clarifies the procedure and thank you, Mr. Chair. GA 1st Committee · Chair [1:13:05]: I thank the Secretariet and in accordance with our program work and timetable, the Committee will meet again on Wednesday, October 8th at 10am sharp in this conference room to begin its substantive work with the general debate. I look forward to working closely with all of you in the coming weeks. The meeting is adjourned.