SPECIAL UNCPGA MEETING ON THE UN SUMMIT OF THE FUTURE
New York, 21 September 2024
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL ON THE WORK OF THE
UNCPGA
I. Introduction
The Council of Presidents of the United Nations General Assembly (UNCPGA) was founded in 1997 with the purpose of advising the President of the General Assembly (PGA), strengthening the Office of the President of the General Assembly (OPGA), and advancing multilateralism through a revitalized General Assembly. It serves as a repository of diplomatic expertise and a platform of support for the OPGA. The UNCPGA endeavors to promote recognition of the principles outlined in the United Nations Charter and strengthen the work of the General Assembly with a view to fostering greater understanding, cooperation, and consensus. The UNCPGA is composed of all living former PGAs. The UNCPGA is chaired by the former Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea, H.E. Dr. Han Seung-Soo, who also served as the President of the 56th session of the UN General Assembly. H.E. Mr. Jan Kavan, former Deputy Prime Minister of the Czech Republic and President of the 57th Session of the GA serves as the Vice Chairman.
II. Work of the UNCPGA Secretariat
Since the UNCPGA Secretariat was established in June 2023 in New York, its Secretary-General, Dr. Jehangir Khan, has been leading a small team in supporting the work of the President of the General Assembly in mutually identified priority areas, and through him, the UNCPGA works towards advancing multilateralism and supporting the revitalization of our General Assembly. The UNCPGA Secretariat has been particularly working to increase its visibility towards the realization of its goals. Its activities range from highly visible diplomatic engagements, the institutionalization of the UNCPGA, to the establishment of the “Group of Friends of the PGA” and the UNCPGA Foundation. Other activities include building partnerships with other Global Leadership Forums and special projects.
III. UNCPGA Meetings
Since the revitalization of the UNCPGA at its meeting at UN Headquarters in New York in October 2022, the Secretariat has organized three formal meetings of the UNCPGA in Bahrain in March 2023, and in Republic of Korea in October 2023, and the most recent one in Doha, Qatar in May 2024. These meetings have been attended by the largest number of former PGAs in UNCPGA’s history and in the case of Seoul, the current PGA attended our meeting overseas for the first time and will be doing so again in Doha. These meetings achieved high visibility and resulted in concrete Political Declarations on major world issues.
IV. Institutional relations between UNCPGA and the current President of the 78th UNGA
1. The establishment of strong institutional relations between UNCPGA and the President UN General Assembly (H.E. President Dennis Francis) and his team was warmly acknowledged in a letter sent by the PGA to the Chairman of the UNCPGA at the beginning of this year. The UNCPGA Secretary-General and his team continue to have periodic meetings with the PGA and his team on a regular basis, especially during visits of former PGAs to UN Headquarters.
2. In his inaugural Address to the opening Session of the UNGA High-Level Debate in September last year, the PGA specifically welcomed the presence of the UNCPGA Chairman and 5 former PGAs who were given special VIP seats, and he further thanked UNCPGA for supporting his transition to the Presidency.
3. The President of the 78th session of the UN GA undertook his first Official visit to any member state by attending the Annual UNCPGA Meeting in Korea in October last year which included a full bilateral program of high-level meetings with the President, Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, and other senior Korean Officials. The UNCPGA organized this successful PGA visit in close co-ordination with the PGA Office and with the Korean Authorities.
4. The UNCPGA Secretariat also organized the media meeting of the UNCPGA in Doha, Qatar, from 2-3 May 2024. This meeting was attended by the President of the 78th Session together with 11 former Presidents, which constituted the largest gathering since the UNCPGA was established. This meeting included a full bilateral program of meetings with HH Emir of Qatar, H.E. the Prime Minister of Qatar and other senior Qatari officials. It concluded with the adoption of a consensus Doha Declaration that was subsequently circulated as an official document of the UN General Assembly.
V. Activities of the “Group of Friends of the President of the General Assembly”
1. In September 2022, the UNCPGA Secretariat established the “Group of Friends of the PGA” composed of Ambassadors of all living former PGA member states, in close collaboration with the President of the UN General Assembly and the Ambassadors of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain who each hosted working luncheons for the Group of Friends, together with the President of the UN General Assembly in September 2023 and December 2023.
2. The next working luncheon of this “Group of Friends” will be hosted by the Ambassador of Qatar in the near future and will focus on the UNCPGA Chairman’s initiative to a permanent observer status for the UNCPGA in the UN General Assembly during its forthcoming 79th session.
VI. Foundation of the role of the UNCPGA in Revitalization of the GA
Three General Assembly resolutions (resolutions A/RES/68/307 (paragraph 33), A/RES/69/321 (paragraph 48), A/RES/70/305 (paragraph 51) contain references to the UNCPGA. They read as follows: “Encourages exchanges between the President-elect of the General Assembly and the Council of Presidents so that Presidents-elect may benefit from the experiences of former Presidents in terms of best practices and lessons learned, as part of strengthening the institutional memory of the Office of the President of the Assembly.” These resolutions are also referenced in the inventory of GA resolutions on revitalization annexed to the report of the Ad Hoc Working Group (A/77/942, page 88) at the seventy-seventh session. The resolution on Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly is contained in the report of the Ad Hoc Working Group (A/77/942, section IV) adopted on 1 September 2023. Paragraph 24 of the report states that "Emphasizing the importance of institutional memory, delegations appreciated the efforts made by the Office of the President in that regard, such as the annual retreat between Presidencies... Others commended the convening of the informal dialogue with former Presidents of the General Assembly held on 22 February 2023." Paragraph 5 of the revitalization resolution contained in section IV of the report reads: "Welcomes the efficiencies of the biennialized format and recent innovations in the working methods of the Ad Hoc Working Group, including informal interactive dialogues with former Presidents of the General Assembly, and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research workshops for Member States, and encourages further efforts to improve the Working Group with a view to enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of the General Assembly."
VII. Ad Hoc Working Group on the Revitalization of the UNGA
1. Since 2016, the UN General Assembly has adopted several Resolutions calling on the UNCPGA to engage with this Ad Hoc Working Group composed of all member states. To this end the Ambassadors of Romania and Saint Lucia were appointed by the PGA as Co-Chairs of this Ad Hoc Working Group and briefed the UNCPGA’s newly established “Group of Friends of the PGA” at a working luncheon hosted by the Ambassador of Saudi Arabia. The UNCPGA has been invited by the two Co-Chairs to engage with the Ad Hoc Working Group over the course of its 2 years mandate from the UN General Assembly, particularly with regard to the issues pertaining to the strengthening of the Office of the President of the UN General Assembly.
2. In February 2024, the UNCPGA Secretary-General and his team met with the Ambassador of Romania and his team to discuss the modalities of UNCPGA’s engagement with the Ad Hoc Working Group as mandated by the UNGA resolutions. The Co-Chairs subsequently invited the UNCPGA to participate in the hearings being planned by the Ad Hoc Working Group with Member States and other interested stakeholders in May 2024.
VIII. Establishment of the UNCPGA Trust Fund
1. The UNCPGA Secretariat is currently finalizing a White Paper on the establishment of a Trust Fund to provide a predictable source of funding to ensure that the UNCPGA can properly implement the growing number of its activities.
IX. Representational functions
1. UNCPGA hosted a large diplomatic reception to celebrate the inauguration of the new PGA in September 2023. This was attended by Ambassadors of over 120 member states - as well as the UN Deputy Secretary General (on behalf of Secretary General who was travelling) and many senior UN Officials.
2. The UNCPGA Chairman also hosted a dinner for the PGA and his senior Cabinet team - together with 6 former PGAs - on the eve of the UNGA High level session in September 2023. The UNCPGA Secretary-General also hosted several dinners and working lunches - including in honour of the UNCPGA Chairman in September and in honour of the President of the UN General Assembly. The UNCPGA SG also hosted working lunches and organized meetings for visiting former PGAs with the President of the UN General Assembly.
X. Outreach activities
The UNCPGA Secretariat sent letters from the UNCPGA Chairman to Foreign Ministers of all the living former PGAs through their Permanent Representatives in New York to inform them about the UNCPGA and its work in order to mobilize support at the highest level of Governments in Capitals.
XI. Partnership with other Global Leadership Forums
1. Both the President and Secretary General of the Club de Madrid attended a working dinner hosted by the Secretary-General of UNCPGA in honour of the UNCPGA Chairman (who is also the Vice Chair of the Club de Madrid) during which it was agreed that the 2 sides would explore opportunities for collaborative initiatives on major Global issues on the UNGA Agenda.
2. The UNCPGA Secretary-General subsequently hosted a follow-up working dinner with the President and the Secretary General of the Club de Madrid in February 2024 and discussed the development of a possible MoU between the UNCPGA and the Club de Madrid to be finalized between the two sides on the sidelines of the forthcoming UNGA session in September 2024.
XII. Special Projects
1. At the initiative of the UNCPGA Chairman, 2 Fellows have undertaken substantive work on Cyber Security issues and their findings have been presented to both UNCPGA meetings in Bahrain and Seoul, and a further briefing will be giving to the forthcoming meeting in Doha.
2. The President of the UN General Assembly has also requested a study by the UNCPGA Secretariat on the Scope and Authority of the PGA drawing on the institutional memory and experiences of former PGAs. To this end, the UNCPGA Secretariat has initiated a research project with the Seton Hall University School of Diplomacy.
XIII. Collaboration with the Office of the PGA
1. The President of the UN General Assembly has appointed a senior level Focal Point in his Cabinet to facilitate regular collaboration with the UNCPGA Secretariat. Discussions are also ongoing with regard to the establishment of a small UNCPGA Office at UN Headquarters, which could be further facilitated in the event that the UNCPGA secures permanent observer status in the General Assembly in the near future.
2. The PGA has also warmly welcomed a proposal by the UNCPGA Chairman to initiate work towards the UNCPGA being accorded Permanent Observer Status in the UN General Assembly.
3. On 10 May 2024, the UNCPGA Secretary General met the PGA-elect for the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, H.E. Mr. Philemon Yang, and briefed him on the activities of the UNCPGA, and discussed how it could support its forthcoming presidency of the General Assembly, including with regard to the UN Summit of the Future in September 2024. The PGA-elect warmly welcomed the support of the UNCPGA and expressed great interest in furthering the institutional collaboration between the Office of the President and the UNCPGA, as the highest leadership Forum of the United Nations.
XIV. Legal incorporation
The UNCPGA has recently been legally incorporated in New York State as “Council of Presidents of the General Assembly”- which has enabled it to open a Bank Account at Dime Savings Bank to receive funds from Donors.
XV. Financial matters
1. Thanks to the efforts of the Chairman, the Government of the Republic of Korea (ROK) allocated $3000 monthly - for a period of 7 months from June 1, 2023- December 31, 2023 - totaling $21000 to support the expenses of the UNCPGA Secretariat in New York. Despite its many aforementioned activities, the UNCPGA Secretariat spent less than $9000 out of the $21000 allocation during this 7-month period, representing a saving of over $12000 or 60 per cent. This demonstrates the efficiency with which the UNCPGA Secretariat has undertaken its substantial work with minimal staff, all of whom have worked unpaid on a pro bono and “as needed” voluntary basis.
2. The Governments of Bahrain, the Republic of Korea, and Qatar also generously funded the 3 major UNCPGA meetings in Bahrain in March 2023, in Seoul in October 2023, and in Doha in May 2024, including travel and accommodation of all UNCPGA members - as well as of the President of the UN General Assembly and his delegation.
XVI. Website development and visibility
1. With the support of a Professional Consultant, a completely revamped new UNCPGA website has been launched and continues to be developed. The Chairman and members of the UNCPGA have also engaged the National and International Media, especially during major UNCPGA meetings in Bahrain and Seoul, as well as during the opening Session of the UN General Assembly which has given UNCPGA high visibility during these occasions.
2. The diplomatic receptions and other functions organized by the UNCPGA Secretariat in New York have also given it increasing visibility and recognition at UNHQ in New York.
XVII. Conclusion
Thanks to the dynamic leadership of the UNCPGA’s Chairman and Vice Chairman - and the active participation of a growing number of former PGAs - as well as the strong engagement of the President of the UN General Assembly - the UNCPGA has now established strong institutional foundations for the first time in its 26-year history. One of the primary objectives of the UNCPGA - as envisaged in its Charter- is to harness the wisdom, experience, and institutional memory of all former PGAs to support the serving President of the UN General Assembly as well as to strengthen the role of the PGA’s Office and to thereby contribute to the revitalization of the UN General Assembly. This has been warmly acknowledged by the President of the 78th session UN General Assembly to the UNCPGA Chairman.