Sixth Committee (Legal) — 80th session
Observer status for the Climate Vulnerable Forum in the General Assembly (Agenda item 176)
- Item proposed by Barbados: A/80/193
- List of speakers
Documentation
- A/80/193 — Letter dated 5 June 2025 from the Permanent Representative of Barbados to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General
- A/C.6/80/L.5 — Draft resolution
Summary of work
Background (source: A/80/250)
By the letter dated 5 June 2025 (A/80/193) addressed to the Secretary-General, the Permanent Representative of Barbados to the United Nations requested the inclusion of this item in the provisional agenda of the eightieth session.
Consideration at the eightieth session
The Sixth Committee considered the item at its 17th and 38th meetings, on 16 October and 21 November 2025 (see A/C.6/80/SR.17 and 38).
Statements were made by the representatives of Barbados and the United States of America.
The representative of Barbados spoke in the exercise of the right of reply.
Support was expressed for granting observer status to the Climate Vulnerable Forum, in view of its crucial role for climate vulnerable countries, harnessing the synergy between the objectives and activities of the CVF and the UN General Assembly. The view was expressed that the CVF met the criteria for observer status set forth in General Assembly decision 49/426.
An objection to the approval of any new requests for observer status was raised, and a more disciplined approach to observer status was called for.
Archived videos and summaries of plenary meetings
17th meeting (16 October 2025, 10:00am – 1:00pm) | Summary
38th meeting (21 November 2025, 10:30am – 1:00pm) | Summary
Action taken by the Sixth Committee
At the 17th meeting, on 16 October, the representative of Barbados introduced the draft resolution contained in document A/C.6/80/L.5 and announced that Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belgium, Belize, Guyana, Haiti, Maldives, Namibia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sudan and Suriname had joined as sponsors of the draft resolution.
At the 38th meeting, on 21 November 2025, the Chair of the Committee announced that the Bureau had been informed that the delegation of Barbados, on behalf of the sponsors, had requested that the Committee defer a decision on the request for observer status for the Climate Vulnerable Forum in the General Assembly until the eighty-first session of the Assembly.
At the same meeting, the Committee decided to recommend that the General Assembly defer a decision on the request for observer status for the Climate Vulnerable Forum in the General Assembly to the eighty-first session of the Assembly.
Subsequent action taken by the General Assembly
- Report of the Sixth Committee: A/80/463
- GA decision: 80/523 [for the text of the decision, see the Sixth Committee's report to the General Assembly]
This agenda item will be considered at the eighty-first session (2026).
