VZCZCXYZ0376
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUCNDT #1125 3511323
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 171323Z DEC 09
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 7815

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 001125 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL AORC UNGA
SUBJECT: SIXTH COMMITTEE CONCLUDES DEBATE FOR THE 64TH 
SESSION...AGAIN 
 
REF: USUN NEW YORK 1114 
 
¶1.  Summary:  On December 14, the Sixth Committee concluded 
debate on agenda items 169: Observer status for the 
Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) in the 
General Assembly and 171: Observer status in the General 
Assembly for the Council of Presidents of the General 
Assembly.  Saudi Arabia, on behalf of the cosponsors of 
resolution A/C.6/64/L.20 on granting Observer status to the 
Council of Presidents of the General Assembly, withdrew the 
resolution and noted that a letter would be sent from the 
Chairman of the Sixth Committee to President of the General 
Assembly Ali Treki recommending that the General Assembly 
identify appropriate ways of making use of the expertise of 
the Council.  As regards resolution A/C.6/64/L.19 on granting 
Observer status to the PAM, it was adopted without a vote 
after several interventions by Iran.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  The Chairman began the debate by explaining that after 
informal consultations, the cosponsors of the Council of 
Presidents of the General Assembly resolution had agreed to 
withdraw their resolution, on the understanding that the 
Chairman would send a letter to the President of the General 
Assembly.  Saudi Arabia took the floor to confirm this 
understanding.  The Chairman read the letter which noted that 
"during the debate, several delegations(suggested that 
appropriate ways of making the unique expertise and 
institutional memory of the former Presidents of the General 
Assembly be identified, during the 64th session, in order to 
assist the Organization in meeting new challenges facing the 
international community."  There was no objection to the 
Chair sending this letter to the President of the General 
Assembly.  Consequently, the Sixth Committee finished 
consideration of the agenda item. 
 
¶3.  Debate then shifted to consideration of resolution 
A/C.6/64/L.19 on granting Observer status to the PAM.  Iran 
took the floor, in the first of many interventions, to urge 
the deferral of the agenda item to the 65th session.  It 
commented that the review of the Sixth Committee when 
granting Observer status should not be a "rubber stamp" and 
noted that its position had not changed since last week.  It 
characterized the reopening of the Sixth Committee as an 
"unprecedented move."  Malta, the chief cosponsor of the 
resolution, acknowledged that the Sixth Committee was 
reviewing the issue late in the session but argued that it 
had submitted the agenda item over two months ago, blaming 
the General Committee for the delay. 
 
¶4.  Several delegations (Libya, Egypt, France, Tunisia, and 
Colombia) expressed support for the resolution stating that 
Iran only had procedural objections to the resolution, not 
substantive ones.  Iran quickly responded that it had 
intentionally omitted substantive arguments but that it 
believed that the PAM did not meet the criteria for observer 
status set forth in General Assembly decision 49/426, 
particularly its limitation to intergovernmental 
organizations.  Iran stated that the PAM should not be 
compared to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), noting that 
the IPU was granted Observer status "as an exception to the 
criteria of resolution 49/426," and that it took several 
years for it to even obtain it. 
 
¶5.  The Chairman concluded debate on the topic and asked the 
Committee if there were any objections to adopting the 
resolution without a vote.  Iran objected to the Committee's 
taking action on the resolution without further consideration 
of whether PAM met the criteria, but declined to call for a 
vote.  The Committee adopted the resolution without a vote. 
Iran disassociated itself from the adoption of the resolution 
while Argentina explained its position noting that it did not 
regard the PAM as an intergovernmental organization. 
RICE