United Nations General Assembly Second Committee

The United Nations General Assembly Second Committee (also known as the Economic and Financial Committee or ECOFIN or C2) is one of the six main committees of the United Nations General Assembly. It deals with global finance and economic matters.

United Nations General Assembly Second Committee
AbbreviationECOFIN, C2
Legal statusActive
HeadquartersNew York, United States
Head
Chairperson
Vanessa Frazier[1]
Parent organization
United Nations General Assembly
Websitewww.un.org/en/ga/second
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The Second Committee meets every year in early October and aims to finish its work by the end of November. All 193 member states of the UN can attend.

Mandate

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The work of the committee falls under eleven thematic clusters:[2]

  1. Macroeconomic policies
  2. Operational activities for development
  3. Financing for development
  4. Groups of countries in special situations
  5. Globalization and interdependence
  6. Eradication of poverty
  7. Sustainable development
  8. Information and communication technologies for development
  9. Agriculture development, food security and nutrition
  10. Human settlements and sustainable urban development
  11. Sovereignty of the Palestinian people over their natural resources

Current state

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In its 76th Session, the committee will focus on:[3]

  • Promotion of sustained economic growth and sustainable development in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and recent United Nations conferences
    • Information and communications technologies for sustainable development
    • Macroeconomic policy questions
    • Follow-up to and implementation of the outcomes of the International Conferences on Financing for Development
    • Sustainable development
    • Globalization and interdependence
    • Groups of countries in special situations
    • Eradication of poverty and other development issues
    • Operational activities for development
    • Agriculture development, food security and nutrition
    • Towards global partnerships
  • Maintenance of international peace and security
    • Permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources

Reporting bodies

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The committee has five main bodies that report through it to the General Assembly. Two programmes: the United Nations Environment Programme and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, as well as the governing bodies of the three Rio conventions: the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).[2]

Working methods

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The work of the committee usually begins in early October and ends sometime by the end of November, though extensions are often granted to allow the committee to continue its work until early to mid-December.[2] Its work is split into two main stages: (1) general debate and (2) action on individual items. The first stage, the general debate, lasts up to one week and begins with a keynote address by an invited speaker. The second stage lasts around four weeks, and is usually when negotiations on draft proposals are conducted.

The committee also meets annually in a joint meeting with the Economic and Social Council.[2]

Bureau

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The following make up the bureau of the Second Committee for the 78th Session of the General Assembly:[4][5]

Name Country Position
H.E. Carlos Amorin   Uruguay Chairperson
Diego Cimino   Italy Vice-Chair
Jeswuni Abudu-Birresborn   Ghana Vice-Chair
Nichamon May Hsieh   Thailand Vice-Chair
Ivaylo Gatev   Bulgaria Rapporteur

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Economic and Financial Committee (Second Committee) - UN General Assembly".
  2. ^ a b c d The GA Handbook: A Practical Guide to the United Nations General Assembly (PDF) (2nd ed.). New York: Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations. 2017. ISBN 978-0-615-49660-3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 November 2018.
  3. ^ United Nations General Assembly Session 76 Annex 1. Allocation of agenda items to the Second Committee A/C.2/76/1 20 September 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  4. ^ "Bureau of the 78th Session". General Assembly of the United Nations. United Nations. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  5. ^ Manhire, Vanessa, ed. (2021). "United Nations Handbook 2021–22" (PDF). United Nations Handbook:: An Annual Guide for Those Working within the United Nations (58th ed.). Wellington: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of New Zealand. ISSN 0110-1951. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 October 2019.
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