EU Statement – UN General Assembly 6th Committee: Revitalisation of the work of the GA

EU Statement - UN General Assembly 6th Committee: Revitalisation of the work of the GA

6 October 2025, New York - Statement on behalf of the European Union and its Member States by Mr. Thomas Ramopoulos, Counsellor, Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations, at the 80t Session of the United Nations General Assembly Sixth Committee on the Agenda item 121: "Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly"

- CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY -

Mr. /Madam Chair,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

The Candidate Countries North Macedonia*, Montenegro*, Serbia*, Albania*, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina* as well as, Armenia, Monaco and San Marino align themselves with this statement

As this is our first statement in the Sixth Committee this year, let me take this opportunity to congratulate you and the Bureau on your appointments. We look forward to working with you and rely on your leadership. You have our full support in your work.

The EU and its Member States welcome the adoption of resolution 79/327 on the revitalization of the work of the General Assembly. That resolution tasked all Main Committees of the General Assembly to review their working methods and provide recommendations to the General Committee. Our intervention today aims to provide our constructive input in the work of the 6^th Committee to fulfil this task. We consider that the practice of designating a focal point for this agenda item is useful and invite the focal point to synthesise proposals in order to make meaningful progress in our work.

We will focus on four clusters of proposals.

First, we support efforts to strengthen the efficiency of the work of the 6^th Committee. These include improved time management on the basis of rules on shorter statements agreed by the Bureau at the start of each session. At the same time, informal consultations on topics where divergences arise may start earlier to allow for sufficient time to address concerns and build consensus. Likewise, we consider that the time is right to discuss the possible biennialisation or triennialisation of some resolutions. The significance of resolutions is not determined by the regularity of their update but by their impact and implementation. This would lighten the agenda, allowing for more time to have in-depth debates on the plethora of complex legal issues before us. In this vein, we note the growing number of unresolved requests for observer status. During the 79^th Session alone, the Committee recommended to defer the decision for observer status to the 80^th Session in 10 instances, and only one recommendation to grant observer status. This year's agenda contains 16 such requests. We are open to establishing criteria whereby requests deferred for a number of years are not reintroduced at each session. Lastly, we support the simplification of the adoption of draft resolutions by the 6^th Committee along the lines provided in paragraph 28 of Resolution 79/327 for the plenary. All resolutions that are adopted without a vote will thus be adopted in one gavel.

1. Secondly, the EU and its Member States consider that there is ample scope to increase the interaction with the International Law Commission through a structured, regular and active dialogue. One step to achieve that is to restructure the International Law Week allotting more time to informal exchanges between Member States and Observers of the General Assembly and members of the ILC. It is paramount that all delegations have the opportunity to engage in-depth on the ongoing work and final products of the ILC as well as on the selection of topics to be added on its long-term programme of work. Equally, we need sufficient time to discuss in order to take informed positions on the necessary resources for the ILC to fulfil its mandate.

2. Thirdly, the EU welcomes the language amendments to the rules of procedure of the General Assembly reflecting gender equality. Gender equality of course does not end there but must be fostered and reflected continuously in the work of the Committees of the GA too. Practically-speaking, this concerns, but is not limited to, the composition of the Bureau and the ILC as well as the selection of facilitators.

Fourthly, we believe that safeguarding multilingualism in our work is of added-value increasing inclusivity and accessibility. We recall that resolution 79/327 recognised it as an indispensable driver for international diplomacy. In this regard, we also underscore the orientations and achievements of the United Nations Strategic Framework on Multilingualism, as well as the Multilingualism Action Plan elaborated by the President of the General Assembly. Multilingualism cannot be an adjustment variable in the context of the ongoing liquidity crisis, given that it plays a central role in ensuring inclusivity and respect of linguistic and cultural diversity - values described as fundamental by the Pact for the Future and the Declaration on Future Generations. Thus, we encourage making readily available documentation and information on the work of the 6^th Committee in all of the official languages. To achieve that, we suggest in line with paragraph 27 of Resolution 78/330 to explore the implementation of cutting-edge technology in an effort to accelerate the access to documents and information in all of the official UN languages.

Mr. /Madam Chair,

Let me conclude by emphasising the strong support and commitment of the EU and its Member States to the revitalisation of the General Assembly. This is a continuous and indispensable effort for the GA, and specifically the 6^th Committee, to improve its efficiency, increase its effectiveness and, ultimately, safeguard its relevance. Specifically with regard to the 6^th Committee, we consider that revitalisation should aim to create the conditions for the fulfilment of its multifaceted role as the Legal Committee of the General Assembly. We look forward to listening to the views and engaging with other delegations on this matter.

Thank you, Mr. /Madam Chair.

* North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.