Fourth Committee, 30th plenary meeting - General Assembly, 80th session

Please take your seats. We will start momentarily. Thank you very much. Good morning to all. Just to let you know, we will take another 5 minutes just to for some technical issues. Thank you. Apologies for the delayed start. We're ready now. Declaro abierta la trigésima sesión de la Comisión de Política Especial y Decolonización.

I call to order this session of the Special Political and Decolonization Commission. Anunció a través del portal eDelegate y en el Diario de las Naciones Unidas In the UN Journal, I would like to recall that following the 30th Plenary Mission, the Commission will begin its annual informal talks on special political missions in accordance with this agenda item. The Commission will begin its consideration of the agenda entitled Consideration of the Special Political Missions in All Aspects. The members will recall that during the main part of the session of the General Assembly, the Commission considered item 51 of the agenda in its plenary session held on the 10th and the 11th of November, 2025. During this session, the committee heard introductory remarks and held an interactive dialogue with the Assistant Secretary General, political strategies. After this, we had a general debate. The special committee held this session, held a session in 2026 from the 16th of February to the 13th of March and adopted its report, which is contained in document A/80/19 and which is present before the Fourth Committee today. The committee also has before it a draft resolution submitted under this item contained in document A/C4/80/ L22. I now give the floor to the rapporteur of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations, Mr. Mohamed Soliman, First Secretary at the Permanent Mission of Egypt to the United Nations, to introduce these two documents.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, for giving me the floor. Mr. Chair, distinguished delegates, I have the honor to introduce to the Special Political and Decolonization Committee the report of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations on its 2026 session, contained in Document A/80/19, as well as the related draft resolution entitled Comprehensive Review of the whole question of peacekeeping operations in all their aspects, contained in Document A/C4/80/L22. The Special Committee held its substantive session from 16 February to 13 March. On the first day of its work, the Special Committee heard statements by the Vice-President of the General Assembly and the Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, adopted a decision on its working methods and established a Working Group of the Whole. On the same day, the Special Committee commenced its general debate and concluded it on the following day with 57 speakers heard. The Working Group of the Whole convened informal in-session briefings by senior Secretariat officials on 19 February. The Working Group and its two sub-working groups met from 20 February to 13 March to discuss and finalize proposals and recommendations of the Special Committee. On 13 March, the Special Committee adopted these proposals and recommendations. They are contained in the Annual Report of the Special Committee. At its 2026 session, the membership of the Special Committee stood at 157 Member States, with 7 additional States and organizations participating in its work as observers. On behalf of the representatives of Argentina, Canada, Japan, Nigeria, Poland, and my own delegation, Egypt, I have the honor to present the draft resolution on the report of the Special Committee entitled Comprehensive Review of the Whole Question of Peacekeeping Operations in All Their Aspects, contained in document A/C4/80/L22, for the consideration of the Fourth Committee. This draft resolution is largely based on those adopted in previous years with technical updates and also takes account of the agreements reached this year on proposals and recommendations, including the decision on the Committee's working methods. I thank you, Mr. Chair.

Doy las gracias al—

I thank the distinguished rapporteur of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations. The committee will now proceed to take a decision on draft resolution A/C4/80/L22 entitled Comprehensive Review of the Whole Question of Peacekeeping Operations in All Their Aspects. And I give the floor now to the Secretary.

Grazie, Signor Presidente. The present oral statement is made in the context of Rule 153 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly. The present statement was also distributed to Member States. Under the terms of operative paragraphs 1 and 2 of the draft resolution, the General Assembly would: a) welcome the report of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations, operative paragraph 1; and b) endorse the proposals and recommendations of the Special Committee contained in Chapter V of its report, operative paragraph 2. The request contained in operative paragraph 2 of the draft resolution would entail additional workload for the Department of Peace Operations, Section V. The additional workload would arise from the implementation of the working methods in relation to the annual report of the Special Committee as set out in Draft Decision A/AC.121/2026/L.4, which was adopted by the Special Committee. Under the terms of its operative paragraphs 15 and 16 of its Draft Decision A/AC.121/2026/L.4, the Special Committee A requested the Secretariat to assess the feasibility of using digital tools to enable the inclusion of all previous recommendations, including those adopted prior to 2023, in the online repository within existing resources , and decided that, pending changes to the online repository, the Special Committee will consider whether the addendum to the report of the Secretary-General may be replaced by the online repository, either in printed form or via a virtual link. Operative paragraph 16. Fifth, with regard to the request contained in operative paragraph 15 of the draft decision, additional resources would be required in 2027 and subsequent years for one general service, other level, data analyst assistant post to ensure the sustained management, updating, and quality control of the dataset and related digital outputs, and to provide ongoing analytical and administrative support to the Associate Political Affairs Officer. The additional resource requirements are estimated at $56,500 in 2027 and $99,800 US dollars in 2028 and subsequent years, excluding staff assessment. 6. With regard to the decision contained in operative paragraph 16 of the draft decision, additional non-standard ICT resources would be required, subject to confirmation by the Bureau of the Special Committee of the required functionalities. In that regard, it is not possible to estimate at the present time the potential cost implications of these requirements. Once the required functionalities have been determined, The Secretary-General would assess the associated budgetary implications and report thereon to the General Assembly in accordance with Rule 153 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly. Accordingly, should the General Assembly adopt Draft Resolution A/C.4/80, the Secretariat will, to the extent possible, seek to absorb these requirements within the overall approved regular budget resources for 2027, with any portion that cannot be absorbed to be reported in the context of the financial performance report for the year. The Secretariat also wishes to inform the General Assembly that its ability to implementate the mandate will depend on the availability of adequate liquidity resources. Requirements for 2028 and thereafter would be presented in the proposed program budget for consideration by the General Assembly. Gracias, señor presidente.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Las gracias.

I thank the Secretary. Does any delegation wish to make a general statement or explain their position before we take a decision on the draft resolution? I see none. The sponsors of draft resolution L22 have expressed the wish that it be adopted without a vote. May I take it that the committee wishes to adopt draft resolution AC4/80/L22 without a vote? It is so decided. I now open the floor to the delegations wishing to explain their vote after the vote or make general statements. I give the floor to Canada.

Gracias, señor presidente.

Thank you, Chair.

Of the C-34 Working Group of the Whole, I would like to take this opportunity to once again congratulate all negotiators, regional coordinators, and facilitators on the adoption of this year's C-34 report. At this time of significant challenge for the organization, this achievement should make us all proud. It reflects Member States' shared commitment to UN peacekeeping and makes a meaningful contribution to supporting peacekeepers in the field. I would also like to take this opportunity to reiterate our thanks to the Secretariat, for the logistical and substantive support provided during the 2026 cycle, including with the informal briefings, the preparation of the Secretary-General's report, the updates to the online repository, the field visit to UNIFIL and ANFISIP, and all technical services and interpretation. Chair, the adoption of this report marks more than the conclusion of another C34 cycle. In accordance with the decision of the Special Committee, it is also an important milestone that enables us to move forward with implementing our renewed working methods. As you know, we will not negotiate new recommendations during the 2027 substantive year. Instead, we will have the opportunity to devote the session to dialogue with the Secretariat and among Member States. Together, we will reflect on past recommendations, assess progress in their implementation, and examine thematic issues of importance to the Committee. During the coming weeks, the Bureau will develop a proposed program of work for 2027 in consultation with the Secretariat. With your support, we intend to share this proposal with all C34 members through the regional coordinators in early August. This will provide an opportunity for you to offer feedback and suggestions, helping us ensure that the 2027 session is substantive, engaging, and responsive to the priorities and views of our membership. As we shape the programme of work, we encourage you to share the ideas and proposals directly with Sophie and me—any ideas that you might have—or through your respective regional coordinators. I look forward to hearing from you and to collaborating on another successful cycle of the C34. I thank you.

I thank the distinguished delegate of Canada, and I now give the floor to Tunisia.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Tunisia welcomes the adoption by the C-34 its reported report on recommendations for PKOs. My country facilitated reaching this consensus, especially on women, peace and security and PKO policies. We thank the Secretariat for the support provided over 3 weeks of negotiations. The adoption of this report comes at a time when there are increasing calls to revive multilateralism. This sends a positive message that restores trust in multilateralism. It is noteworthy that the adoption of the report of this year and avoiding Failure to reach consensus is attributed to political will demonstrated by all participants. Delegations have demonstrated flexibility, understanding, and gave precedence to common interests while maintaining the gains as much as possible, the gains of past sessions. Mr. Chair, in conclusion, Tunisia stresses the need to mobilize the efforts by all countries and donor countries to continue to provide financial support to the peacekeeping budget so that peacekeeping operations can fulfill their mandates and to provide the necessary protection to peacekeepers. I would like to thank Denmark and Pakistan for providing the suggestion on accountability for attacks against peacekeepers. I'm talking about Resolution 2823 of Security Council. I thank you.

I thank the distinguished delegation of Tunisia. I do not see any further requests for the floor. The Committee has concluded its consideration of Agenda Item 51. I would like to remind delegates that after concluding the Plenary Meeting, we will proceed immediately to hold our informal Annual Dialogue in closed setting. I kindly request delegates to please remain seated while we arrange the codium setup. The plenary meeting is adjourned.