United Nations A/C.3/68/SR.51 General Assembly Distr.: General Sixty-eighth session 16 January 2014 Official Records Original: English Third Committee Summary record of the 51st meeting Held at Headquarters, New York, on Tuesday, 26 November 2013, at 10 a.m. Chair: Mr. Tafrov.....................................................(Bulgaria) Contents Agenda item 27: Social development (continued) (a) Implementation of the outcome of the World Summit for Social Development and of the twenty-fourth special session of the General Assembly (continued) Agenda item 28: Advancement of women (continued) (a) Advancement of women (continued) Agenda item 65: Promotion and protection of the rights of children (continued) (a) Promotion and protection of the rights of children (continued) Agenda item 66: Rights of indigenous peoples (continued) (a) Rights of indigenous peoples (continued) Agenda item 69: Promotion and protection of human rights (continued) (b) Human rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms (continued) Agenda item 68: Right of peoples to self-determination (continued) Agenda item 69: Promotion and protection of human rights (continued) (b) Human rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms (continued) This record is subject to correction. Corrections should be sent as soon as possible, under the signature of a member of the delegation concerned, to the Chief of the Documents Control Unit ([email protected]), and incorporated in a copy of the record. Corrected records will be reissued electronically on the Official Document System of the United Nations (http://documents.un.org/). 13-58257 (E) *1358257* A/C.3/68/SR.51 The meeting was called to order at 10.35 a.m. and agreed that Governments must respect human rights as they formulated and implemented food, Agenda item 27: Social development (continued) education, labour and health policies. While external economic factors — such as official development (a) Implementation of the outcome of the World assistance, energy price fluctuations, or global Summit for Social Development and of the economic trends — could affect development, twenty-fourth special session of the General domestic policies also played a critical role in helping Assembly (continued) (A/C.3/68/L.15/Rev.1) to provide opportunities, remove obstacles to broad- Draft resolution A/C.3/68/L.15/Rev.1: Implementation based economic growth and address the population’s of the outcome of the World Summit for Social needs. While the draft resolution once again called for Development and of the twenty-fourth special session of action by external institutions and advocated policy the General Assembly space, it seemed to underplay the importance of country-level commitments, and made requests on 1. The Chair said that the draft resolution had no broad debt relief and other economic issues which programme budget implications. would be more appropriately addressed in the Second 2. Ms. Rokovucago (Fiji), speaking on behalf of the Committee. Its references to the global financial and Group of 77 and China, said that Mexico, the Republic other crises were out of date. Her delegation had not of Korea and Turkey had joined the sponsors. The draft blocked the consensus on the draft resolution, but resolution contained two new elements: a reference to hoped for a genuine debate on social inclusion in the access to affordable and quality health-care services, future, involving all regions and addressing the and a reference to the 2013 special event to follow up challenges that countries faced in that regard. efforts made towards achieving the Millennium 7. Ms. Hampe (Lithuania), speaking on behalf of Development Goals. It also included a paragraph the European Union and its member States, said that whereby the Assembly would decide to include in the the draft resolution referred to a number of important provisional agenda of its sixty-ninth session the elements related to social development, such as the consideration of an appropriate celebration of the interrelated and mutually reinforcing nature of poverty twentieth anniversary of the World Summit, in 2015. eradication and social integration, full and productive 3. She drew the Committee’s attention to minor employment and decent work for all, and the drafting changes in paragraphs 20 and 35 of the draft commitment to gender equality and the empowerment resolution. of women. Nevertheless, it was regrettable that negotiations on the draft resolution had failed to 4. Draft resolution A/C.3/68/L.15/Rev.1, as orally adequately address a number of important concepts revised, was adopted. related to macroeconomic and financial issues. For the 5. Ms. Robl (United States of America) said that her draft resolution to be relevant and useful to country had been engaging bilaterally and policymakers, it must accurately reflect the global multilaterally on the goals set out in the draft economic situation and its implications for social resolution, namely poverty eradication, full and development. By simply reproducing language from productive employment for all and social inclusion. the previous year’s resolution, the draft resolution Nevertheless, the draft resolution appeared to be failed to capture the full debate on those important outdated, and its real contribution to the realization of issues. The European Union and its member States those important goals was somewhat unclear. looked to the Second Committee — which was the appropriate body for addressing financial and 6. Her Government was committed to accelerating economic issues — for guidance on those matters, and progress towards the Millennium Development Goals, hoped that, in the future, more concerted efforts could including by investing in national plans to boost be made by all Member States to reflect accurately the agricultural development, and supported the draft current understanding of those issues and the impact resolution’s continued attention to the rights of they had on the core work of the Third Committee. indigenous peoples. It also strongly endorsed the need to promote respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms in the context of development, 2/12 13-58257 A/C.3/68/SR.51 Agenda item 28: Advancement of women (continued) 13. Mr. Gustafik (Secretary of the Committee) announced that Cameroon, Ethiopia, Grenada and (a) Advancement of women (continued) Namibia had also joined the sponsors. (A/C.3/68/L.22/Rev.1) 14. Draft resolution A/C.3/68/L.22/Rev.1, as orally Draft resolution A/C.3/68/L.22/Rev.1: Violence against revised, was adopted. women migrant workers 8. The Chair said that the draft resolution had no Agenda item 65: Promotion and protection of the programme budget implications. rights of children (continued) 9. Ms. Hernando (Philippines), speaking on behalf (a) Promotion and protection of the rights of of the sponsors, said that Belarus, Belize, Benin, children (continued) (A/C.3/68/L.27/Rev.1) Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Brazil, Burkina Faso, Draft resolution A/C.3/68/L.27/Rev.1: The girl child Chile, Colombia, the Comoros, the Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Iran 15. The Chair said that the draft resolution had no (Islamic Republic of), Japan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, programme budget implications. Liberia, Madagascar, Mexico, Nicaragua, Papua New 16. Mr. Msosa (Malawi), speaking on behalf of the Guinea, Senegal, Seychelles, Swaziland, Timor-Leste, Southern African Development Community (SADC), Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, the United said that Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, States of America and Zambia had joined the sponsors. Belgium, Bulgaria, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, 10. She drew attention to minor drafting changes that Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Greece, should be made to the third and fifth preambular Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, paragraphs in order to reflect accurately the language Norway, the Philippines, Poland, the Republic of Korea, that had been agreed upon in informal consultations. the Republic of Moldova, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand and Togo had joined the sponsors of the draft resolution. 11. The migration of women was a significant global In comparison to the previous year’s text, the draft phenomenon, as women migrant workers were one of the resolution had been streamlined to focus in particular on most vulnerable and excluded groups and accounted for child-headed households, while also touching on other about half the people who lived outside their countries of important themes such as child, early and forced birth, as well as a large share of those who migrated marriages, female genital mutilation and the risk of within their countries. Migration could serve to empower obstetric fistula. women, as it broadened their economic opportunities and promoted their financial independence, and could also 17. Mr. Gustafik (Secretary of the Committee) foster the equitable, inclusive and sustainable announced that Albania, Andorra, Belize, Benin, enhancement of human development for migrants, their Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Bosnia and families, their communities and their countries of origin Herzegovina, Cameroon, Canada, Croatia, the Czech and destination. Nevertheless, migration could also have Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Gabon, Germany, adverse consequences: migrant women, especially those Grenada,