United Nations General Assembly Fourth Committee Explained

United Nations General Assembly Fourth Committee
Abbreviation:SPECPOL, C4
Leader Title:Head
Leader Name:Chair
Mohamed Al Hassan
Status:Active
Headquarters:New York, United States
Website:www.un.org/en/ga/fourth
Parent Organization:United Nations General Assembly

The United Nations General Assembly Fourth Committee (also known as the Special Political and Decolonization Committee or SPECPOL or C4) is one of six main committees of the United Nations General Assembly. It deals with a diverse set of political issues, including UN peacekeeping and peaceful uses of outer space. However, the issues of decolonization and the Middle East take up most of its time.

Mandate

When it was first created, the Fourth Committee was solely responsible for trusteeship- and decolonization-related matters. However, after independence was granted to all the United Nations trust territories on its agenda, the committee's workload decreased. Consequently, the Fourth Committee was merged with the Special Political Committee, which had been created as a seventh main committee to deal with certain political issues.[1]

The Fourth Committee deals with: items, the effects of atomic radiation, questions relating to information, a comprehensive review of the question of peacekeeping operations, review of special political missions, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East, the report of the Special Committee on Israeli Practices and international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space.[2]

Working Methods

The Fourth Committee meets every year from late September to mid-November, but also convenes briefly in the spring to adopt any resolutions and decisions relating to peacekeeping passed by the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations. All 193 member states of the UN can attend its meetings.

Unlike most other United Nations bodies, there is no general debate at the beginning of the committee's work. The committee also allows for petitioners, i.e. civil society representatives and other stakeholders, to address it on decolonization issues. Finally, the committee usually adopts about 30-35 draft resolutions and several draft decisions annually, usually by consensus.

Reporting Bodies

The following bodies report through the Fourth Committee to the General Assembly:[3]

Current state

In its 78th Session, the committee will focus on:

Bureau

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

NameCountryPosition
Mathu Joyini South AfricaChair
Sara Rendtorff-Smith DenmarkVice-chair
Patryk Jakub Woszczek PolandVice-chair
Joaquín Alberto Pérez AyestaránVice-chair
Mariska Dwianti Dhanutirto IndonesiaRapporteur

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Main Committees . . n.d. . Dag Hammarskjöld Library . United Nations . 8 March 2019.
  2. Web site: . n.d. . Special Political and Decolonization (Fourth Committee) . 1 December 2023 . United Nations General Assembly . United Nations.
  3. Book: . The GA Handbook: A Practical Guide to the United Nations General Assembly . 2nd . New York . Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations . 2017 . 978-0-615-49660-3 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181122005435/https://www.eda.admin.ch/dam/mission-new-york/en/documents/UN_GA__Final.pdf . 22 November 2018 . live.
  4. Web site: Bureau . Special Political and Decolonization (Fourth Committee): Bureau of the 77th Session . 2023-01-10 . General Assembly of the United Nations . United Nations.