Sixth Committee (Legal) — 70th session
Observer status for the Eurasian Economic Union in the General Assembly (Agenda item 169)
- Item proposed by Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and the Russian Federation (A/70/141)
Summary of work
Background (source: A/70/150 and A/70/100/Add.1)
By the letter dated 30 April 2015 (A/70/141) addressed to the Secretary-General, the Permanent Representatives of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and the Russian Federation to the United Nations requested the inclusion of this item in the provisional agenda of the seventieth session.
Consideration at the seventieth session
The Sixth Committee considered the item at its 11th and 29th meetings, on 19 October and 20 November 2015 (see A/C.6/70/SR.11 and 29).
At the 11th meeting, on 19 October, the representative of Belarus, on behalf of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and the Russian Federation, introduced a draft resolution entitled “Observer status for the Eurasian Economic Union in the General Assembly” (A/C.6/70/L.2), stating the view that the Eurasian Economic Union met the criteria for the granting of observer status in the General Assembly established in Assembly decision 49/426. Under this draft resolution, the Assembly would decide to invite the Eurasian Economic Union to participate in the sessions and the work of the General Assembly in the capacity of observer; and request the Secretary-General to take the necessary action to implement the resolution.
Statements were made by the representatives of Belarus, Georgia, the Syrian Arab Republic, Azerbaijan, Turkey, the Russian Federation, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
Some delegations opposed the granting of observer status to the Eurasian Economic Union in the General Assembly. It was stated that the Russian Federation remained in blatant violation of the Charter of the United Nations as an aggressor and occupying power and other Member States were urged to ensure that the Russian Federation would not use the Union for purposes that run counter to the principles and norms of the Charter. It was emphasized that more information was needed to establish whether the activities of the Union fell within matters of interest to the General Assembly. Serious reservations to granting observer status to the Union were expressed claiming a lack of respect for the principles of the Charter of the United Nations by Armenia as a member State of the Union. The importance of achieving consensus on this matter as a constructive working method was also stressed.
Some other delegations aligned themselves with the statement of Belarus. It was noted that the Union was mainly an economic organization open for all other States to join and that the aims of the Union clearly corresponded to the purposes of the United Nations in matters of international economic cooperation, as stated in Chapter IX of the Charter of the United Nations. It was pointed out that the implementation of the recently adopted Sustainable Development Goals also depended on giving regional organizations the possibility to take part in the work of the United Nations. Concerns and regret regarding comments politicizing the work of the Sixth Committee were expressed. It was emphasized that some political issues were raised without relation to the granting of observer status. It was stated that comments regarding Armenia had no legal merit.
The representatives of Azerbaijan and Armenia made statements in the exercise of the right of reply.
Action taken by the Sixth Committee
At the 29th meeting, on 20 November, statements were made by the representatives of Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, the Russian Federation and Turkey.
Some delegations reiterated the view that the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) met the criteria for the granting of observer status in the General Assembly established in Assembly decision 49/426. It was stated that there was a general understanding in the Sixth Committee that the EEU met the criteria for the granting of observer status and hope was expressed that such understanding would be taken into account in due course.
Some other delegations reiterated their reservations concerning the granting of observer status to the Union. A lack of respect for the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and gross violations of international law by Armenia as a member State of the Union was claimed. It was observed that more time was needed to examine various relevant EEU instruments and to establish whether the EEU, which had been only recently created, fulfilled the criteria for the granting of observer status.
The representatives of Azerbaijan and Armenia made statements in the exercise of the right of reply.
At the same meeting, the Chair of the Committee announced that the Bureau had been informed by the delegation of Belarus (also on behalf of co-sponsors) that, following consultations with interested delegations, the sponsors would accept to defer a decision on the request for observer status for the Eurasian Economic Union in the General Assembly to the seventy-first session of the Assembly. The coordinating delegation for this item observed that it had not insisted on the right to vote on the item as the principle of consensus was the natural working method of the Sixth Committee and expressed its concern that blocking the granting of observer status to the EEU based on considerations not related to the mandate of the Committee could be viewed as a negative precedent and should be avoided in the future work of the Committee.
At the same meeting, the Committee adopted, without a vote, a draft decision under which the General Assembly would decide to defer a decision on the request for observer status for the Eurasian Economic Union in the General Assembly to the seventy-first session of the Assembly.
Subsequent action taken by the General Assembly
- Report of the Sixth Committee: A/70/531
- GA decision: 70/524 [for the text of the decision, see the Sixth Committee's report to the General Assembly]
This agenda item will be considered at the seventy-first session (2016).
