10 July 2018: UN General Assembly (UNGA) President Miroslav Lajcak has announced that no UN Member State broke the silence procedure related to the final draft of the resolution on the review of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Following this informal agreement process, the draft resolution will be considered at a plenary meeting of the UNGA, Lajcak notes in his letter to Member States.

The final draft of the resolution on ‘Review of the implementation of General Assembly resolution 68/1 on the strengthening of the Economic and Social Council’ was circulated by the co-facilitators from Qatar and Iceland on 6 July 2018, and placed under silence procedure until 10 July at 5 pm, New York time. The co-facilitators stressed that the 6 July draft represented their “last attempt” to bridge remaining differences on the text.

The resolution notes that the UNGA will adopt one main theme for ECOSOC and the HLPF.

The resolution includes an annex with elements related to the main theme of ECOSOC and the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), the structure of the ECOSOC cycle, the Integration Segment, the ECOSOC High-level Segment (HLS) and the HLPF, operational activities for development, the Humanitarian Affairs Segment, stakeholder engagement, coordination and management, and ECOSOC subsidiary bodies. Among other provisions, the resolution notes that the UNGA will adopt one main theme for ECOSOC and the HLPF, “bearing in mind” the provisions of UNGA resolution 70/299 on follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the global level.

The resolution also notes that ECOSOC should seek to promote the “active participation” of major groups, NGOs, the private sector, youth and other relevant stakeholders and regional organizations in its activities, and states that the outcome of the HLPF and the HLS will continue to be a negotiated ministerial declaration. It reaffirms the role of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), and looks forward to an update from the UN Secretary-General on aligning DESA with the 2030 Agenda.

Through the text, the UNGA would decide that the arrangements contained in the resolution, including its annex, will be reviewed at its 74th session and at subsequent review cycles in conjunction with the review process of the HLPF. The modalities of the HLPF as outlined in UNGA resolutions 67/290 and 70/299 are expected to be reviewed during the 74th session of the UNGA (2019-2020). [UNGA President’s letter on agreement on final text] [SDG Knowledge Hub story on final draft under silence procedure]