9 October 2013: The UN General Assembly’s Second Committee (Economic and Financial) held its organizational meeting for the 68th Session, electing the Vice-Chairs and Rapporteur, reviewing and approving the calendar of meetings, and discussing proposed changes to the Committee’s working methods.

Opening the meeting on 9 October 2013, at UN Headquarters in New York, US, Second Committee Chair Abdou Salam Diallo announced regional groups’ candidates for the Committee Bureau, who then were elected: for vice-chairs, Waruna Sri Dhanapala of Sri Lanka, Oana Maria Rebedea of Romania, and Farrah Brown of Jamaica. Juliet Hay of New Zealand will serve as rapporteur.

Diallo highlighted that six side events were being organized by the Committee, including a briefing on biodiversity on 30 October, an event on strengthening vulnerability resilience of small island developing States in the context of sustainable development on 1 November, and a joint event of the Second Committee and ECOSOC on finding solutions to sustainable development challenges and acceleration to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on 6 November.

The Committee approved the Committee’s organization of work as orally amended in the meeting.

Finally, the Chair highlighted a Reflections Paper on the Committee’s working methods provided by the Bureau of the 67th Session, and invited comments from the floor.

Several delegations expressed interest in further discussion of working methods and suggestions raised in the paper, particularly in light of changes to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The EU invited the Committee’s Bureau to work with ECOSOC’s Bureau to identify areas where duplication needs to be avoided, while others emphasized the particular importance of the Second Committee in the context of ongoing ECOSOC reforms.

Some delegations expressed concern about a suggestion to reduce the number of agenda items before the Committee, to combine agenda items, and/or to consider them less frequently. Several delegates supported the reflection paper’s proposal to standardize the approach to facilitating negotiations within the Committee’s work.

Egypt noted its forthcoming concept note on the Committee’s sustainable development cluster, in consideration of the need to integrate the three dimensions of sustainable development. This was welcomed by other delegations. [Webcast of Meeting] [Organization of Work] [Calendar of Meetings] [IISD RS Story on Election of Chair]