Member States have reached a preliminary agreement on the modalities for the MDG Review Conference in September 2010.  The resolution decides that the meeting will be held from 20 to 22 September 2010 in New York.  It also asks that Hearings with civil society be organized no later than June 2010.  Formal approval of the resolution should be expected in the coming couple of weeks.

3  December 2010

The General Assembly,

PP1 Recalling its resolutions 55/2 of 8 September 2000 and 60/1 of 16 September 2005, by which it adopted the United Nations Millennium Declaration and the 2005 World Summit Outcome, respectively;

PP2 Recalling also its resolution in 63/302 of 9 July 2009, by which it decided to convene in 2010, at the commencement of the sixty-fifth session of the General Assembly, a High-level Plenary Meeting of the Assembly;

PP3 Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General entitled “Scope, modalities, format and organization of the High-level Plenary Meeting of the sixty-fifth session of the General Assembly” (1)  requested in its resolution 63/302;

PP 4 Convinced that the High-Level Plenary Meeting will be a significant opportunity to galvanize commitment, rally support and spur collective action in order to reach the MDGs by 2015.

OP1 Decides that the High-level Plenary Meeting shall be held from Monday, 20 September 2010 to Wednesday, 22 September 2010 in New York;

OP2 Decides to hold the general debate at its sixty-fifth session from Thursday, 23 September 2010 on the understanding that these arrangements shall in no way create a precedent for the general debate at future sessions;

OP3 Decides also that the High Level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly will focus on accelerating progress towards the achievement of all the MDGs by 2015, taking into account the progress made with regard to the IADGs, through a comprehensive review of successes, best practices and lessons learned, obstacles and gaps, challenges and opportunities, leading to concrete strategies for action, and requests the SG to submit a comprehensive report in this regard in March 2010

OP4 Decides that the above mentioned report, together with the annual report on the Millennium Development Goals and the report by the Millennium Development Gap Task Force will serve as an input for the consultations leading to the High-level Plenary Meeting;

OP5 Reiterates that the High-level Plenary Meeting will be held with the participation of Heads of State and Government, and encourages all Member States to be represented at that level;

OP6 Decides that the High-level Plenary Meeting will be composed of six plenary meetings, on the basis of two meetings a day, and six interactive round-table meetings to be held in concurrence with plenary meetings;

OP7 Invites the President of the General Assembly at its sixty-forth session and the President of the General Assembly at its sixty-fifth session to jointly preside over the High-level Plenary Meeting;

OP 8 Decides that the Holy See, in its capacity as observer State, and Palestine, in its capacity as observer, shall participate in the High-level Plenary Meeting;

OP 9 Decides also that the plenary meetings shall be organized in accordance with the modalities set forth in annex I to the present resolution and that the list of speakers for the plenary meetings shall be established in accordance with the procedure set forth in that annex;

OP10 Emphasizes that the deliberations of ECOSOC in particular during its 2010 Substantive session, including the Development Cooperation Forum and Annual Ministerial Review, could provide valuable contribution to the preparations of the 2010 High Level Plenary Meeting

OP 11 Decides further that six round-table sessions shall be organized in accordance with the modalities set forth in annex II to the present resolution;

OP 12 alt Invites the United Nations funds and programmes, and the specialized agencies of the United Nations system, as well as the Bretton Woods institutions, the World Trade Organization, the regional development banks, the regional commissions of the United Nations, non-governmental organizations and civil society and the private sector to participate in the General Assembly High-level Plenary Meeting including in the roundtables, and in the preparatory process of the meeting, according to the modalities specified in the annexes to the present resolution, and encourages them to consider initiatives in support of the preparatory process and the Meeting.

OP 13 Invites the regional commissions with the support of the regional development banks and other relevant entities to hold regional consultations, as appropriate, during the first half of 2010 which will serve to provide inputs for the preparations of the High Level Plenary Meeting as well as the meeting itself.

OP 14  Invites the Interparliamentary Union as part of the preparatory process for the Third World Conference of Speakers of Parliaments, to develop and submit a contribution to the High-Level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly.

OP 15 Requests the President of the General Assembly to organize, in consultation with representatives of non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, civil society, and the private sector, to organize two days of informal interactive hearings no later than June 2010 with non-governmental organizations, civil society and the private sector to provide an input to the preparatory process of the High-level Plenary Meeting;

OP 16 Decides that the President of the General Assembly shall preside over the informal interactive hearings with representatives of non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations and the private sector, and that the hearings shall be organized in accordance with the modalities set forth in annex III to the present resolution, and requests the President of the General Assembly to prepare a summary of the hearings to be issued as an Assembly document prior to the High-level Plenary Meeting;

OP 17 Encourages Member States to actively participate in the hearings at the ambassadorial level to facilitate interaction between the Member States and the representatives of non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations and the private sector;

OP 18 Requests the Secretary-General to establish a trust fund to enhance the participation in the hearings of representatives of non-governmental organizations and civil society organizations from developing countries, and calls upon Member States and others to support the trust fund generously and speedily;

OP19 Requests the President of the General Assembly to continue to hold open, inclusive, timely and transparent consultations with all Member States with a view to reaching the broadest possible agreement on all major issues related to the High-Level Plenary Meeting, including the adoption of a concise and action-oriented outcome to be agreed by Member States

OP20 Strongly urges all Member States to actively engage in the process of formal and informal consultations leading to the High-level Plenary Meeting with a view to reaching a successful outcome of the meeting;

Annex I

Organization of the plenary meetings and establishment of the list of speakers for the High-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly

1.    The High-level Plenary Meeting will consist of a total of eight meetings, on the basis of three meetings a day, as follows:
Day, 20 September 2010, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Day, 21 September 2010, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Day, 22 September 2010, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

2.    The podium in the General Assembly Hall will have three seats to accommodate the two Co-Chairpersons and the Secretary-General.

3.    At the opening plenary meeting, morning, on Monday, 20 September 2010, the initial speakers will be the two Co-Chairpersons, the Secretary-General, the head of the delegation of the host country of the Organization, the President of the Economic and Social Council, the President of the World Bank, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, the  Director-General of the World Trade Organization, the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, as the Chairman of the United Nations Development Group will be invited to make statements.

4.    The list of speakers for the High-level Plenary Meeting will therefore be established on the basis of six meetings. The morning meeting on Monday, 20 September 2010 following the opening of the meeting will have 20 speaking slots. The morning meetings on Tuesday, 21 September 2010 and Wednesday, 22 September 2010 will each have 30 speaking slots. The afternoon meetings on Monday, 20 September 2010 and Tuesday, 21 September 2010 will each have 50 speaking slots. The afternoon meeting on Wednesday, 22 September 2010 will have 20 speaking slots since the last hour will be devoted to the closing of the High-level Plenary Meeting.

5.    The list of speakers for the High-level Plenary Meeting will be established initially as follows:
(a)    The representative of the Secretary-General will draw one name from a first box containing the names of all Member States that will be represented by Heads of State, Heads of Government, vice-presidents, crown princes/princesses, and of the Holy See, in its capacity as observer State, and Palestine, in its capacity as observer, should they be represented by their highest-ranking officials. This procedure will be repeated until all names have been drawn from the box, thus establishing the order in which participants will be invited to choose their meetings and select their speaking slots. The representative of the Secretary-General will then draw from a second box the names of those not contained in the first box in accordance with the same procedure;
(b)    Six boxes will be prepared, each one representing a meeting and each one containing numbers corresponding to speaking slots at that meeting;
(c)    Once the name of a Member State, the Holy See, in its capacity as observer State, or Palestine, in its capacity as observer, has been drawn by the representative of the Secretary-General, that Member State, the Holy See, in its capacity as observer State, or Palestine, in its capacity as observer, will be invited first to choose a meeting and then to draw from the appropriate box the number indicating the speaking slot in the meeting.

6.    The initial list of speakers for the High-level Plenary Meeting as outlined in paragraph 5 above will be established at a meeting to be scheduled in the month of May 2010.

7.    Subsequently, when each category of speakers is organized following the order resulting from the selection process outlined in paragraph 5 above, the list of speakers for each meeting will be rearranged in accordance with the established practice of the General Assembly:
(a)    Heads of State will thus be accorded first priority, followed by Heads of Government; vice-presidents, crown princes/princesses; the highest-ranking official of the Holy See, in its capacity as observer State, and of Palestine, in its capacity as observer; ministers; and permanent representatives;
(b)    In the event that the level at which a statement is to be made is subsequently changed, the speaker will be moved to the next available speaking slot in the appropriate category at the same meeting;
(c)    Participants may arrange to exchange their speaking slots in accordance with the established practice of the General Assembly;
(d)    Speakers who are not present when their speaking turn comes will be automatically moved to the next available speaking slot within their category.

8.    In order to accommodate all speakers at the High-level Plenary Meeting, statements will be limited to five minutes, on the understanding that this will not preclude the distribution of more extensive texts.

9.    Without prejudice to other organizations which have observer status in the General Assembly, a representative of each of the following may also be included in the list of speakers for the plenary meetings of the High-level Plenary Meeting:
League of Arab States
African Union
European Union
Organization of the Islamic Conference
World Conference of Speakers of Parliament of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

11.    Other than for Member States, the list of speakers for the plenary meetings of the High-level Plenary Meeting will be closed on Monday, 1 August 2010.

12.    The arrangements set out above shall in no way create a precedent.

Annex II

Organization of the interactive round-table sessions for the High-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly

1.    The High-level Plenary Meeting will hold six interactive round-table sessions, as follows:
Monday, 20 September 2010, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.;
Tuesday, 21 September 2010, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Wednesday, 22 September 2010, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

2.    The six round-table sessions will have at least 50 seats each and will be co-chaired by two Heads of State or Government.

3.    The chairpersons of the six round-table sessions will be from the African States, the Asian States, the Eastern European States and the Latin American Caribbean States and Western European and Others States. Those twelve chairpersons will be selected by their respective regional groups in consultation with the President of the General Assembly.

4.    Following the selection of the co-chairpersons of the round-table sessions, the participation of the members of each group will be determined on a first come first served basis, ensuring that equitable geographical distribution will be maintained, allowing for some flexibility. Member States are encouraged to be represented at the round tables at the level of Head of State or Government.

5.    The six round-table meetings would have the overarching objective of, “Making it happen by 2015” and each one will focus on one of the following themes:
Roundtable 1 - Addressing the challenge of poverty, hunger and gender equality
Roundtable 2 - Meeting the goals of health and education
Roundtable 3 - Promoting sustainable development
Roundtable 4 - Addressing emerging issues and evolving approaches
Roundtable 5 - Addressing the special needs of the most vulnerable
Roundtable 6 - Widening and strengthening partnerships

6.    Each Head of State or Government or head of delegation attending the round-table sessions may be accompanied by one adviser.

7.     The composition of the six round-table sessions will be subject to the principle of equitable geographical distribution. Thus, for each regional group, the distribution of its members for participation in each round-table session will be as follows:
(a)    African States: ten Member States;
(b)    Asian States: ten Member States;
(c)    Eastern European States: five Member States;
(d)    Latin American and Caribbean States: seven Member States;
(e)    Western European and other States: six Member States.
(f)     Other organisations with observer status in the General Assembly: two representatives, in addition to those mentioned in paragraph 9 of Annex 1.
(g)    United Nations System entities: four UN System representatives
(h)     Civil society and NGO representatives: four representatives
(i) Private sector: four  representatives

8.    A Member State that is not a member of any of the regional groups may participate in a round-table session to be determined in consultation with the President of the General Assembly. The Holy See, in its capacity as observer State, and Palestine, in its capacity as observer, as well as the organisations listed in paragraph 9 of Annex I to the present resolution, may also participate in different round-table sessions to be determined also in consultation with the President of the Assembly.

9. The list of participants in each roundtable session will be made available prior to the meeting.

10.    The round-table sessions will be closed to the media and the general public. Accredited delegates and observers will be able to follow the proceedings of the round-table sessions via a closed-circuit television in the overflow room.

11.    Summaries of the deliberations of the six round-table sessions will be presented orally by the chairpersons of the round-table sessions or their representatives during the concluding plenary meeting of the High-level Plenary Meeting.

Annex III

Organization of the informal interactive hearings

1.    The President of the General Assembly will preside over the informal interactive hearings to be no later than June 2010. The hearings shall consist of a brief opening plenary meeting followed by four sequential sessions of the hearings on the basis of two sessions a day, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Each session will consist of presentations by invited participants from non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, civil society organizations and the private sector and an exchange of views with Member States.

2.    The hearings will be attended by representatives of non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, civil society organizations, the private sector, Member States and observers.

3.    The President of the General Assembly will determine the list of invited participants and the exact format and organization of the hearings, in consultation with Member States and representatives of non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, civil society organizations and the private sector.

4.    The themes for the hearings will be based on the comprehensive report of the Secretary-General.

5.The President of the General Assembly will consult with representatives of non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, civil society organizations and the private sector, and with Member States, as appropriate, on the list of representatives of non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations and the private sector that may participate in the plenary meetings of the High-level Plenary Meeting of September 2010.

Annex IV. Other participants

1. On the understanding that the principle of precedence will be strictly applied, to allow participation at the Heads of State and Government level, the Secretary-General, the head of the delegation of the host country of the Organization, the President of the Economic and Social Council, the President of the World Bank, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, the  Director-General of the World Trade Organization, the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, as the Chairman of the United Nations Development Group, will be invited to make a statement in the plenary meeting;

2. The President of the General Assembly will consult with representatives of non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, civil society organizations and the private sector, and with Member States, as appropriate, on the list of representatives of non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations and the private sector that may participate in the plenary meetings and the roundtables of the High-level Plenary Meeting of September 2010.

3. Representatives of non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, civil society organizations and the private sector, one from each grouping, selected during the informal interactive hearings, may also be included in the list of speakers for the plenary meetings of the High-level Plenary Meeting in consultation with the President of the General Assembly

4. In addition, interested non-governmental organizations that are not in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council and private sector representatives may apply to the General Assembly for accreditation following the established accreditation procedure.

5. The arrangements set out above shall in no way create a precedent.

(1)  A/64/263

MDGs, United Nations