24 July 2015: The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) has elected Oh Joon, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea, as its 71st President. It also elected members of the ECOSOC Bureau for the July 2015 to July 2016 cycle.

The ECOSOC handover ceremony took place in New York, US, on 24 July 2015. Incoming President Oh stated that ECOSOC “must rise to the expectation” of Member States to “lead in the global implementation and review of the post-2015 development agenda.” He also said a renewed global partnership for sustainable development will be key to mobilizing the necessary means to implement the post-2015 development agenda and to create a “truly enabling environment.”

Oh outlined his four priorities for the next 12 months, namely: making ECOSOC more flexible in its agenda and its coverage of issues to keep the Council “up-to-date to this fast changing world,” and ensuring that ECOSOC is ready to tackle emerging and pressing issues such as inequality; strengthening the coordinating role of ECOSOC in the context of the high-level political forum on sustainable development (HLPF), especially with regards to the implementation of the post-2015 development agenda and the establishment of an effective review and follow-up mechanism; strengthening and harmonizing the work of the ECOSOC system as a whole and “rationalizing the agendas” of the Council and its functional commissions; and building an “inclusive and engaging” global partnership particularly through the Development Cooperation Forum (DCF) and multistakeholder partnerships.

ECOSOC also elected incoming ECOSOC Bureau members. In addition to Oh Joon, the Bureau will comprise the following Vice-Presidents: Maria Cristina Perceval (Argentina); Paul Seger (Switzerland); Vladimir Drobnjak (Croatia); and Frederick Musiiwa Makamure Shava (Zimbabwe).

Oh Joon replaces Martin Sajdik (Austria), who was President of ECOSOC from January 2014 to July 2015. [ECOSOC President Webpage] [Incoming ECOSOC President Remarks at the ECOSOC Handover Ceremony] [ECOSOC Bureau Webpage] [UN Press Release] [DESA Press Release]