UN Member States have arrived at consensus on the text of the declaration for the commemoration of the UN’s 75th anniversary (UN75). The silence procedure was used to finalize the declaration.

On 7 July 2020, UNGA President Tijjani Muhammad-Bande circulated a letter informing that consensus on the text of the declaration had been reached.

Following consultations on a draft that Co-facilitators Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani, Permanent Representative of Qatar, and Anna Karin Enestrom, Permanent Representative of Sweden, shared on 5 June 2020, further revisions were introduced. The Co-facilitators shared the revised draft on 17 June.

Among other changes, in the preambular section, instead of “Through its Charter, which is the cornerstone of international law, [the UN] has determined that all nations – whether large or small – should be treated with sovereign equality and with respect to their territorial integrity, political independence, and the right to self-determination of peoples,” the text was revised to read “The Charter of the United Nations, which is the cornerstone of international law, has declared the principle of sovereign equality of all States, and the right to self-determination of peoples.” The paragraph was also amended to include an additional sentence: “[The UN] has determined that all States shall refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.”

Under the commitment to promote peace and prevent conflicts, instead of “Rules governing the use of force must be respected,” the text was revised to read “We reiterate the importance of abiding by the Charter, principles of international law, and relevant resolutions of the Security Council.” Instead of “Terrorism is among the most critical threats to international peace and security,” the commitment was revised to read “Terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism are serious threats to international peace and security.”

The commitment to upgrade the UN was revised to include an additional sentence: “We reiterate our call for reforms of three of the principle organs of the United Nations.”

In the concluding section, instead of “We will work together with partners to strengthen coordination and global governance for the common good of present and future generations,” the text was amended to read “We will work together with partners to strengthen coordination and global governance for the common good of present and future generations and to realize our shared vision for a common future.” After silence was broken on this sentence, Muhammad-Bande proposed to substitute the sentence with “We will work together with partners to strengthen coordination and global governance for the common future of present and coming generations.”

On the commitment to protect our planet, “one Member State” expressed concern about the sentence “We need to immediately curb greenhouse gas emissions and achieve sustainable consumption and production patterns in line with the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda.” Following consultations, Muhammad-Bande proposed language incorporating “complementary factual information”: “We need to immediately curb greenhouse gas emissions and achieve sustainable consumption and production patterns in line with applicable State commitments to the Paris Agreement and in line with the 2030 Agenda.” Following this revision, the silence procedure concluded without objections.

In a statement, the UN Association – UK (UNA-UK) expressed concern about the new language referencing applicable State commitments under the Paris Agreement, warning that a focus on the State commitments element “gives the dangerous and erroneous impression that the Paris Agreement can be reduced to the self-defined commitments” of Member States.

Muhammad-Bande will transmit the final draft to the President of the 75th UNGA session – Volkan Bozkir of Turkey, who was elected on 17 June – to prepare the text for adoption at the high-level meeting of the Assembly to commemorate the UN’s 75th anniversary on 21 September 2020.