⁃ Consideration of decolonization items (continues) ⁃ Joint general debate on decolonization items (concludes) ⁃ 18:00: Deadline for submission of proposals on "Effects of atomic radiation"
🇬🇧 United Kingdom, 🇮🇷 Islamic Republic of Iran, 🇦🇷 Argentina, 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates, European Union, 🇳🇿 New Zealand, 🇸🇻 El Salvador, 🇨🇭 Switzerland
Thank you, Chair. I'd like to exercise the right of reply in response to the statements from the distinguished representatives from Venezuela, Argentina for the Ibero American Conference, and Israel. As this committee has already heard during this session, the United Kingdom has no doubt over its sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, and surrounding maritime areas of both territories. The UK is steadfast in its support for the Falkland Islanders' right of self-determination, which is enshrined in the UN Charter and Article I of the two UN Covenants on Human Rights. The Falkland Islanders have as much right as any other peoples to determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development. Distinguished representatives have in their statements encouraged dialogue and negotiations between Argentina and the UK. The Falkland Islanders have made clear their overwhelming wish for the Falkland Islands to remain a self governing territory of the United Kingdom, including in the twenty thirteen referendum supervised by independent observers. Argentina's constitution means that the only outcome of any negotiations acceptable to the Argentine government is a full transfer of sovereignty. Negotiations on sovereignty would therefore be incompatible with the fundamental principle of self determination in the UN Charter. I reemphasise that there can be no dialogue on sovereignty unless the Falkland Islanders so wish. On points made about military presence, I want to stress that UK forces in the South Atlantic are there entirely defensively to ensure the defence of the Falkland Islands against any potential threat. We continue to keep force levels under review to ensure that we retain appropriate levels of defensive capabilities as we have done since the illegal Argentine invasion in 1982. To conclude, Chair, the United Kingdom will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Falkland Islands government and the Falkland Islanders. We will robustly defend their wishes, their economy, and their right to determine their own future. Thank you. Yeah.
In the name of God, compassionate and merciful, Madam Chair, my delegation exercises its right of reply to the statements delivered by the distinguished representatives of the United Arab Emirates and Morocco concerning the three Iranian islands Bumusa, Greater Tom, and Lesser Tomb. These statements once again introduced a baseless and unilateral claim to sovereignty over our countries. Treachery into a debate on decolonization without demonstrating any relevance to the agenda items before us. The Islamic Republic of Iran remains committed to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, including respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states and the promotion of good neighborliness. At the same time, we underscore that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran, including over the aforementioned islands, cannot be subject to any negotiation. While categorically rejecting all negotiations against it, my delegation reiterates that the three islands, Bumusa, Greater Tom, and Lesser Tom, are an integral part of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iran's title rests undocumented historical continuity predating the establishment of the UAE, supported by official records and maps. Measures undertaken on the islands by our competent authorities constitute an exercise of Iran's sovereignty and fall within its exclusive competence. I thank you, Madame Chair.
Thank you very much. In response to the statement by the delegation of the United Kingdom on the question of the Malvinas Islands, the Argentine delegation would like to reiterate in all of the terms the statements made by the representatives of the Republic of Argentine Republic at the General Assembly regarding the consideration of the Special Committee on Decolonization of the Fourth Committee as well. We recall that the Malvinus, South Georgian, and South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime areas are an integral part of Argentine territory and that they are legally occupied by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. They are subject to a sovereignty dispute between both countries, which is recognized by various international organizations. The the illegal occupation by the United Kingdom according to the United Nations General Assembly which has adopted various resolutions on this, including twenty twenty-five, which recognizes the existence of a sovereignty dispute that refers to the question of the Malvinus Islands and urges the governments of the Argentine Republic and the United Kingdom to resume negotiations in order to, as quickly as possible, find a peaceful solution and a lasting solution to the dispute. For its part, the Fourth Committee has repeatedly spoken out similarly most recently through the resolution adopted on the twenty fifth of June 2026. Madam Chair. The Argentine Republic Is aware a notebook has been said by the countries of the region, represented by various groups, and reiterates that the twenty thirteen situation in the Malvinus Islands, with the the referendum that was carried out without the authorization of the United Nations, in which no state or international mechanism sent official representatives as uh electoral observers, it is a simple unilateral British act without any legal value and in no way alters the nature of the Malvinus Islands. It does not put an end to the sovereignty dispute, nor does it affect the legitimate Argentine rights. Indeed. In its recent advisory opinions on the legal consequences of the separation of the Chagas archipelago from Mauritia in 2025, the International Court of Justice indicated that it is the power of the General Assembly to pronounce itself on the modalities of the free and authentic possession expression of an autonomous territory, non-autonomous, non-self governing territory. As a consequence, the realization of a referendum that does not include its approval lacks any legal value. Proof of this is that the vote did not modify the sessions of the C 24 that continue to, by consensus, adopt resolutions on the question of the Malvinus Islands in the usual terms. The solution to the sovereignty dispute does not depend on a vote in which British citizens manifest their desire to continue to be British. They are subject to a dispute of which its own uh country is a party to. The right of self-determination does not exist, therefore, in the question of the Malvinus, because there is not a people in the sense of international law. Madam Chair, the Argentine Republic categorically rejects all characterization according to which it would be exerting pressure or hindering the lives of the people of the Malvinus. Within the framework of international law, our actions constitute the legitimate exercise of our sovereign rights in the face of unilateral exploration and exploitation activities of non-renewable natural resources, which are incompatible with these settlements and the resolutions of international law, the General Assembly, and the United Nations Commission on the law of the Convention on the Law of the Sea. Far from hindering the lives of the inhabitants of the islands, Argentina has respected their way of life and their interest in accordance with the mandate established in its national constitution and the Convention of the United Nations. Prosperity, however, cannot be rooted in the appropriation and illegitimate exploitation of natural resources which belong to the Argentine people as a whole. To conclude, Madam Chair, the Argentine Republic reaffirms its legitimate rights of sovereignty over the Malvinus Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime areas, which are an integral part of the national territory of Argentina. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Madam Chair. My delegation has requested the right to reply, the right of reply to the right of reply by the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding the statements delivered by the UAE and the Kingdom of Morocco. We reiterate our rejection of the false statements made by the representative of Iran. We reiterate that the three islands, Greater Tomb, Lesser Tomb, and Abu Musa, which are in the Arab Gulf, are islands belonging to the UAE and are occupied by Iran. We categorically reject the continuation of the Iranian occupation of these islands. We reaffirm that any attempt to categorize this as an internal Iranian issue does not change the legal status of these islands. It is a violation of our sovereignty over these islands and a violation of the UN Charter, international law. We continue to call on Iran to go back to the international law and the Charter of the United Nations to solve this issue through bilateral negotiations or to resort to the ICJ. Thank you, Madam Chair. I see the distinguished representative of Iran, you now have three minutes. Thank you, Madame Chair, for giving me the floor. My delegation takes the floor once more in response to the representative of the United Arab Emirates. No amount of repetition can confer legitimacy on a territorial assertion unsupported by the historical record. Long before UAE came into being, official documents and maps identified these three islands as belonging to the Islamic Republic of Iran. The latest intervention by my colleague, the representative of the UAE, has offered nothing that changes the record. Honestly, that intervention leaves the central question unanswered. How does this claim concerning the three Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf relate to these decolonization items? Madam Chair, our people have demonstrated steadfastness through past challenges. We speak with that same sense of continuity and responsibility today. Our country's sovereignty over any part of its territory, including these three islands in the Persian Gulf, is not and never be negotiable. Any assertion from any country does not alter this position and is firmly rejected. Last but not least, as recalled in previous meetings, Persian Gulf is the correctly established designation in United Nations terminology. All delegations, including UAE's delegation, should respect that usage rather than substitute political preferences for accurate reference. I thank you, Madame Chair.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to reiterate once again the position of the UAE, their steadfast position regarding their sovereignty over these three islands, Greater Tomb, Lesser Tomb, and Abu Musa, which are positioned located in the Arabian Gulf. We reject the Iranian occupation of these islands. These islands are an integral part of the territory of the UAE. We reiterate our genuine call to Iran to settle this dispute using peaceful methods in line with international law and the Charter of the United Nations. We hope that Iran will deal with this conflict with responsibility and in line with good neighbourliness and the respect for the sovereignty of states. Thank you, Madam Chair. Yeah. Distinguished delegates, I do not see any further requests for the right of reply. Before proceeding further, I would like to remind the committee that we will be taking action on the draft proposals submitted under agenda items fifty two to fifty seven on Thursday, fifteenth of October. Action on the drafts will follow the sequence listed of the non paper listing those proposals distributed last Friday via a delegate. In line with the committee's decision taken at its seventh meeting on 9th of October, the Committee will now consider Agenda Item 124 entitled Revitalization of the Work of the General Assembly. The General Assembly has assigned this agenda item to all main committees for the purpose of discussing their respective working methods. In connection with the discussion of our working methods, the committee's attention is drawn to the document A slash C.4 slash 81 slash INF slash 4, which highlights the still applicable provisions of General Assembly resolutions and to the summary of the committee's discussion on its working methods at its last session circulated via eDelegate. I invite delegations to share their views on the best practices the committee could adopt, as well as on ways to further improve our working methods. The floor is now open for our discussion. Delegations wishing to intervene are invited to request the floor by pressing the microphone button.
Thank you, Chair. Steam colleagues, I take the floor on behalf of the European Union and its member states. We thank the Chair for convening this discussion on the working methods of the Fourth Committee, as we consider this an important opportunity to take stock of existing practices and identify practical ways to make our work more effective and efficient. The revitalization of the work of the General Assembly, as set out in Resolution 79327, calls on all of us to ensure that the Assembly and its main committees fulfill their mandates effectively. This is particularly relevant in the broader context of the UN80 initiative and our collective efforts to make the United Nations more fit for purpose. The European Union believes that improving our working methods should build on practices that have already demonstrated their value while supporting practical improvements. In this regard, we would like to highlight a number of points. First, we should preserve and consolidate established good practices. We welcome the practices that have contributed to the efficient functioning of this committee, including the punctual start of meetings, adherence to speaking time limits, the use of the flashing light system. Timely availability of documentation and the effective use of digital tools, particularly eDelegate. We particularly value the flexibility to move agenda items forward as the program of work progresses, as well as timely and transparent communication of changes to the schedule. These practices allow delegations and the secretariat to plan their work and make the best use of available meeting time. We would also underline the importance of maintaining close coordination between the main committees, particularly the fourth and first committees, to avoid parallel meetings and minimize the burden on delegations, especially smaller ones. And on coordination, we also would like to welcome the new initiative by the PGA to meet regularly with the chairs of the main committees, including the fourth committee, to discuss GA revitalization, discussions which will hopefully translate soon into concrete outcomes. At the same time, efficiency must go hand in hand with multilingualism. The timely availability of documentation in all six official languages, including draft resolutions, is essential to ensuring the equal participation of all Member States. Efficiency measures, therefore, should not come at the expense of the multilingual character of our organization. We also regret the discontinuation of press releases covering the committee's work. These provide an important record of its discussions and help make its work accessible to a wider audience. We encourage exploring ways to ensure their continuation. Second, we should build on the positive new practices introduced in recent sessions. We welcome the chair's initiative to circulate a non paper ahead of the discussion on working methods, providing delegations with a structured basis for reflection. We also consider the immediate consideration of substantive agenda items following the organizational meeting, as well as the circulation of the program of work in a table format, useful practices that should be maintained in future sessions. We encourage the regular updating of the program of work on the committee's website. In addition, we see merit in strengthening institutional memory through a digital repository of the committee's working methods and established practices, including contributions from outgoing bureaus. This could facilitate continuity between successive bureaus and provide delegations with an accessible reference. Third, we support further practical improvements. In this regard, we would like to offer a few suggestions for consideration. On the consideration of decolonization items, the European Union attaches great importance to the participation of petitioners and to ensuring that their perspectives are heard and meaningfully reflected in our deliberations. We will therefore suggest exploring the possibility of holding an uninterrupted joint general debate on the decolonization items with petitioners heard before member states take the floor. This will allow delegations to take their perspectives into account when preparing their interventions, contributing to a more coherent and substantive discussion. It could also facilitate better planning by delegations and more efficient arrangements by the Bureau and Secretariat, including with regard to interpretation. We will also be open to further considering the proposed one step approach to the consideration of requests for hearings by petitioners, provided that it allows delegations sufficient opportunity to raise questions and address any concerns before decisions are taken. We must particularly insist on our encouragement to delegations to exercise restraint in proposing additional agenda items. Focus and prioritization are essential if we are to avoid overburdening the committee and ensure that sufficient time and attention are devoted to its substantive work. We also see value in continuing discussions on how to make better use of our meeting time, including the organization of explanations of vote and statements before and after action, to ensure the ability of all member states to participate in the work of the committee. Chair, colleagues, revitalization is about ensuring that our working methods allow this committee to fulfill its responsibilities effectively, make the best use of our collective resources, and deliver meaningful outcomes. We stand ready to engage constructively in this process. And I thank you.
With uh thanks to you, Chair including for your leadership of our work and convening this discussion. Chair, the case for revitalization and for practical improvements of working methods has never been stronger. Strengthening the UN's ability to deliver and ensuring its effectiveness, credibility, and sustainability requires Member States to redouble their efforts to achieve progress now. In this regard, I offer the following three reflections. First, we must implement reform and revitalization commitments that have already been agreed. New Zealand, along with CANZ partners, Canada and Australia, made this call at the recent General Assembly debate on revitalization, and I reiterate it here. In line with Resolution 80 251, New Zealand calls on all Member States to exercise greater discipline in creating and renewing mandates supported by concept notes as appropriate to avoid duplication. To move towards biennial and triennial resolutions and reporting cycles where appropriate. To ensure that any new requirements deliver clear and demonstrable value. To include clear review mechanisms in all new and renewing mandates. Review clauses mean that work to actually progress a mandate is evaluated, supporting better accountability for the promises we make, and, importantly, that we take practical actions to meet the promise. Second, this session also marks the commencement of the moratorium on new international days, weeks, months, and years agreed in Resolution 79327. We call on all Member States to respect both the letter and spirit of this measure. Third, General Assembly revitalization and UN80 reform must be mutually reinforcing to foster a system wide approach, including across all committees and pillars of the UN. Our goal needs to be a culture of continuous improvement, a consistent practice of translating our commitments into action, and a focus on the real world impact in everything we do. I thank you.
muchas gracias Thank you very much, Madam Chair. We are grateful for the convening of this meeting, which gives us an opportunity to reflect on the working methods of the Fourth Committee and its contribution to the broader process of revitalizing the General Assembly. From El Salvador's point of view, this discussion is particularly relevant in the context of implementing the UN80 initiative and the commitments made in resolution 79327, which Stipulate our shared responsibility to review our institutional practices, identify opportunities for improvement, and ensure the more efficient use of available resources. This exercise should be based on a fundamental premise, which is that revitalization is not an end in and of itself, it is a means for strengthening the ability of the General Assembly and of its main committees to fulfill their mandates. In that regard, we would like to share some considerations. First of all, we recognize the importance of moving towards more efficient, coherent and results-oriented working methods. The rationalization of procedures, reducing duplication, and greater institutional coordination are goals that we share, particularly in light of the current financial restrictions of the organization. However, we feel it is essential for these efforts to develop with full respect for the prerogatives of member states. Any amendment to the working methods or the program of this committee must result from consensus through transparent, broad and inclusive consultations. The pursuit of efficiency should not lead to an automatic reduction in deliberation spaces, nor in the application of one size fits all criteria to mandates which address different needs and realities. Similarly, we believe it is essential to make sure that negotiation processes, particularly those relating to draft resolutions that are particularly cross cutting, have sufficient time for informal consultations and substantive deliberations. Allocating enough time for negotiations is an essential condition to facilitate consensus building, to allow for different positions to be considered and to make sure that the decisions that are adopted are the result of inclusive processes that are duly substantiated. Moreover, although we recognize that the adoption of some resolutions by a vote has been the common practice of this committee, we note that during the previous session there was an increase in the number of drafts that were put to a vote. Without ignoring the different positions that naturally exist between member states, we believe it is important to continue as much as possible to promote consensus building as a practice that strengthens the legitimacy of our decisions and that reflects the spirit of cooperation that has characterized the work of this committee. Second, we feel that there are concrete opportunities to strengthen the organization and predictability of our work. In particular, we reiterate the importance of improving coordination with the first committee in accordance with resolution 51241, both when it comes to the planning of meetings and in negotiations of resolutions on related questions, in order to avoid overlap and to reduce the workload of delegations. Moreover, we consider it necessary to ensure the timely availability of up-to-date information on the practices, procedures and decisions of this committee. In this regard, we reiterate our proposal to establish a compendium or digital repository that would help preserve its institutional memory, facilitate the transition between sessions, and strengthen the transparency of our work. Equally, we wish to highlight the importance of ensuring the availability and accessibility of the records of previous sessions as essential instruments to ensure that there is follow-up to deliberations, to preserve the precedence for decisions and to facilitate the continuity of work of delegations. Third, we wish to underscore that institutional efficiency should advance hand in hand with the principles of inclusion and equitable participation. In this context, we express our profound concern over the repercussions that the current budget cuts could have on multilingualism, particularly when it comes to the availability of interpretation, translation, and documentation services in the six official languages. For El Salvador, multilingualism is not a secondary administrative consideration. It is an essential condition for guaranteeing equality among the member states and their effective participation in intergovernmental processes. Therefore, we reiterate our firm opposition to any practice which, under criteria based on achieving budgetary economies or administrative efficiency, leads to a restriction in language services or to the establishment of working mechanisms that operate exclusively in English. The financial difficulties of our organization must not be resolved at the expense of one of the fundamental principles upon which its universal and inclusive nature is based. We would also like to recall the amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly through Resolution 79327, which incorporated the use of feminine pronouns, adjectives and nouns in the six official languages. Although we recognize that adapting institutional practices requires collective effort, we consider it important to ensure the consistent application of these provisions, particularly in references to offices and functions held by women, as part of our commitment to a more inclusive and representative organization. Finally, We would like to refer to the decolonization items which constitute a central responsibility of this committee. El Salvador reaffirms the importance of preserving spaces for participation for petitioners of the non self governing territories, whose testimony represents a fundamental contribution for the consideration of each and every one of these questions. At the same time, We believe it is the right time to keep thinking about how we can strengthen the substantive nature and the impact of these exchanges so that they can more effectively contribute to following up on decolonization mandates and to the identification of concrete ways to make progress on meeting outstanding goals. Madam Chair, the Fourth Committee plays an essential role in examining questions that have a direct impact on peace, uh international peace and security and the implementation of important United Nations commitments. We will continue to participate constructively in these efforts with the conviction that the true value of revitalization lies in our ability to turn better working methods into better results for the United Nations and its member states. Thank you very much.
Madam Chair, at the outset, my delegation wishes to express its um to express its appreciation to you and the members of the Bureau, especially His Excellency Permanent Representative of Senegal, for your leadership and efforts to facilitate the work of the Fourth Committee during this session. We also thank the Secretariat and the interpreters for their continued support. We welcome this opportunity to exchange views on the committee's working methods in the context of the revitalization of the work of the General Assembly. My delegation attaches Importance to ensuring that the committee conducts its work effectively and efficiently while preserving the inclusive character of its deliberations and the ability of all Member States to contribute meaningfully. Improvements in working methods should advance these objectives together without compromising participation in the pursuit of efficiency. In this regard, We commend the good practices observed during previous sessions, including the technical briefing held prior to the start of the session, the continuation of direct dialogue with representatives of United Nations bodies and entities, as well as with senior United Nations officials, the timely and transparent communication of changes to the program of work, and the timely availability of documentation. We also appreciate the effective use of digital tools, particularly the timely availability of meeting transcripts on UN Web TV, which facilitates access to the committee's proceedings. We emphasize that any changes to the committee's working methods must be guided by the principle of consensus. The process of considering and formulating recommendations should be inclusive, transparent, and member state driven with due regard for the views and practical needs of all delegations. Madam Chair, against this background, my delegation must draw the committee's attention to a serious and continuing impediment to our full participation. The refusal of the host country to issue visa to our representatives who have applied to travel from our capital to New York to participate in the work of the General Assembly's main committees. The credibility of our collective efforts in the debates and discussions of this committee also depends on ensuring the equal and unhindered participation of all member states. Each member state must be able to participate fully through its designated representatives. The continuing failure of the host country to issue visas to our representatives obstructs that participation and must be rectified without delay. Despite our repeated efforts and recourse to the appropriate channels to resolve this matter, the situation remains unresolved. To date, none of those designated to travel from our capital to participate in the work of the Fourth Committee or other main committees has been issued a visa. Their absence restricts our delegation's ability to contribute fully to the work of these committees. We respectfully request that our delegation's objection to this continuing impediment to its full participation be duly reflected in the committee's report to the General Assembly. We further request that this matter receive due consideration in subsequent discussions on the Committee's working methods, including through follow-up by the chair and the Bureau with the Secretariat and the host country, with a view to securing its prompt resolution. Madam Chair, in conclusion, despite these constraints, my delegation remains committed to constructive engagement in efforts to improve the committee's working methods. Such efforts must rest on a fundamental premise. All Member States must be able to participate fully, equally, and without hindrance. We therefore call upon the host country to issue results to our representatives without further delay, thereby enabling our delegations full participation and giving practical effect to the principles of inclusivity and equal participation that should guide the committee's work. I thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Switzerland thanks you for convening this meeting. As this is the first time we're taking the floor, I would like to congratulate you and the Bureau on your election and assure you of Switzerland cooperation and success. We consider it important to continue our discussions on the committee's working methods, building on the achievements of the previous session to make better use of our time and resources, while ensuring the full participation of all relevant stakeholders. We welcome the early planning of the work of the Fourth Committee and encourage this practice to continue. Allow me to highlight three points. First, Switzerland supports shorter, clearly defined speaking times. We welcome their strict enforcement, including by switching off the microphone once the allotted time has expired, to ensure concise statements. For its part, Switzerland aims to limit its national statements to three minutes. Second, we should focus our time on issues that require our collective attention. We therefore support the call by the co chairs of the Ad hoc working group on revitalization in their letter of three September for shorter, fewer and less frequent resolutions and decisions. Thirdly, the principles set out in resolution eighty two five one on the creation of Implementation and review of mandates remind us of the importance of adopting clear, concise, and impact oriented resolutions that include review clauses. It is now up to us to translate these principles into practice. Thank you. Je vous remercie aussi. I thank you as well.
Verbatim from the transcript. A reply is identified from its own words, the Chair's grant, or its place in the right-of-reply sequence; delegations and addressees follow the transcript's attribution.