United Nations Credentials Committee

The United Nations Credentials Committee is a committee of the United Nations General Assembly whose main purpose is to report to the Assembly regarding the credentials of the body's representatives.

Background

Each year before the regular session begins, the Office of Legal Affairs recommends a group of candidates to the President of the General Assembly for the Credentials Committee. The President of the General Assembly then proposes nine candidates to the General Assembly, which then votes on the candidates.[1][2][3]

According to Rule 27 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly, Member States must send the credentials of their representatives to the Secretary-General of the United Nations more than one week before the opening of the regular session. When Members States send these credentials in, they are formally notifying the Secretary-General that these representatives are entitled to speak on their behalf. They must be sent by the head of state, head of government or by the minister for foreign affairs.[1][3]

Rule 25 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly also defines a "delegation" of a Member State as, "consist[ing] of up to five representatives, five alternate representatives, and as many advisers and experts as required."[1][3] The General Assembly formally acknowledges the representatives of the Member States by approving their credentials.

In cases of special or emergency sessions of the General Assembly, as well as any conferences convened under its authority, the credentials committee is reconvened with "the same composition as that of the Credentials Committee at its most recent regular session."[2]

The consideration of the credentials by the Credentials Committee is normally a formality. However, if a delegation's legitimacy is contested, its credentials may be challenged by another Member State. In these cases, the office of the President of the General Assembly is often called upon to help resolve the matter before a formal meeting of the Credentials Committee. Nonetheless, delegations whose credentials have been challenged retain all their rights until, and unless, they are revoked by the General Assembly.[1] An example is the Taliban government of Afghanistan. After having come to power in contested circumstances the month before, the new government sought to speak at the UN General Assembly before the close of its session in September 2021: the Credential Committee did not meet to agree to accept new Afghan appointments before the end of the session. This left Ghulam Isaczai of the ousted regime as the official representative to the UN, despite Taliban protestations that he "no longer represents Afghanistan".[4] On 1 December 2021, the Committee decided to reject recognition of UN seats for both Afghanistan's Taliban government and Myanmar's ruling Tatmadaw military junta.[5] On 16 December 2022, the Committee decided again to reject recognition of UN seats for Afghanistan's Taliban government, Myanmar's Tatmadaw military junta and Libya's rival eastern-based government.[6] On 6 December 2023, this was repeated for Afghanistan and Myanmar.[7] On 20 November 2024, this was again repeated for Afghanistan and Myanmar.[8] On 25 November 2025, this was again repeated for Afghanistan and Myanmar.[9] In all five years, the Chair of the committee has proposed these decisions with no objections (unanimous consent).[10][11]

Members

An asterisk (*) denotes the Chair of the committee. (The committee did not submit a report naming a Chair in 1964.[12])

1946[13] Turkey Saudi Arabia Philippines Republic of China Byelorussian SSR Haiti Paraguay France Denmark*
1947[14] Iran* Thailand New Zealand Czechoslovakia Poland Bolivia Honduras United Kingdom Norway
1948[15] Iran Burma Canada Yemen Ukrainian SSR* Brazil Ecuador France Sweden
1949[16] Iran Uruguay South Africa Byelorussian SSR Soviet Union Brazil Cuba* Belgium United States
1950[17] Turkey United Kingdom India Thailand Mexico Chile Belgium*
1951[18] Iraq Norway Indonesia New Zealand Byelorussian SSR Bolivia* France
1952[19] Lebanon* Sweden Burma New Zealand Panama Paraguay Belgium
1953[20] Syria United Kingdom Indonesia New Zealand* Cuba Peru Iceland
1954[21] Lebanon Pakistan Burma New Zealand El Salvador* Uruguay France
1955[22] Iraq* Afghanistan Indonesia Australia Dominican Republic Colombia France
1956[23] Iraq Spain Burma New Zealand* Brazil Argentina Netherlands
1957[24] Liberia United Kingdom Burma Canada Panama Nicaragua Iceland*
1958[25] Tunisia Union of South Africa   Nepal Turkey Chile Argentina* France
1959[26] Afghanistan Italy Pakistan Australia Honduras Ecuador* France
1960[27] United Arab Republic Morocco Philippines New Zealand* Haiti Costa Rica Spain
1961[28] Mali Italy Burma Australia Nicaragua Peru Iceland*
1962[29] Nigeria Guinea Indonesia Canada El Salvador Mexico Greece*
1963[30] Liberia* Algeria   Nepal Ireland Panama Ecuador Belgium
1964[31] United Arab Republic Madagascar Cambodia Australia Costa Rica Guatemala Iceland
1965[32] United Arab Republic Madagascar Syria Australia Costa Rica Guatemala Iceland*
1966[33] Ivory Coast Guinea   Nepal Japan El Salvador Nicaragua Austria*
1967[34] Mali Madagascar Ceylon Japan Mexico Paraguay Ireland*
1968[35] Liberia Tanzania Mongolia New Zealand Costa Rica Brazil Austria*
1969[36] Togo Sudan Mongolia Thailand Nicaragua Bolivia Iceland*
1970[37] Liberia Mauritania Poland Australia Ireland* Ecuador Greece
1971[38] Liberia Somalia Mongolia Australia Ireland* Colombia France
1972[39] Senegal Tanzania Japan China Costa Rica* Uruguay Belgium
1973[40] Senegal Tanzania Japan Nicaragua Uruguay* Greece
1974[41] Senegal Tanzania Philippines* Costa Rica Venezuela Belgium
1975[42] Libyan Arab Republic Mali Mongolia Costa Rica Venezuela Belgium*
1976[43] Ivory Coast* Zambia Malaysia El Salvador Ecuador Netherlands
1977[44] Nigeria Madagascar   Nepal* Fiji Ecuador Canada
1978[45] Sierra Leone Zaire India Thailand Suriname* Denmark
1979[46] Senegal Congo Pakistan Panama Ecuador Belgium*
1980[47] Angola Kenya Singapore Haiti Costa Rica* Spain
1981[48] Niger* Ghana Papua New Guinea Panama Paraguay Netherlands
1982[49] Nigeria Seychelles   Nepal Bahamas* Dominican Republic New Zealand
1983[50] Algeria Colombia Gabon Jamaica Sri Lanka* Zambia
1984[51] Ivory Coast Equatorial Guinea Bhutan* Cuba Paraguay Italy
1985[52] Burundi Botswana Papua New Guinea Suriname Brazil Canada*
1986[53] Rwanda Ghana Fiji Bahamas Venezuela* Netherlands
1987[54] Cape Verde Kenya Singapore Barbados Argentina* West Germany
1988[55] Togo Zimbabwe Thailand Trinidad and Tobago Bolivia Luxembourg*
1989[56] Malawi Zaire* Philippines Antigua and Barbuda Colombia Australia
1990[57] Ivory Coast Botswana   Nepal* Jamaica Uruguay Ireland
1991[58] Togo Lesotho Singapore Belize Chile Belgium*
1992[59] Kenya Burundi Papua New Guinea Russia Barbados* Argentina New Zealand
1993[60] Ivory Coast Mauritius Thailand* Bahamas Ecuador Austria
1994[61] Togo Namibia Fiji Suriname Honduras Portugal*
1995[62] South Africa Mali Marshall Islands Trinidad and Tobago* Venezuela Luxembourg
1996[63] Sierra Leone Gabon* Philippines Dominican Republic Paraguay Netherlands
1997[64] Ivory Coast Zambia Bhutan Barbados* Argentina Norway
1998[65] Mali Zimbabwe Fiji Jamaica Venezuela New Zealand*
1999[66] Togo South Africa Philippines* Trinidad and Tobago Bolivia Austria
2000[67] Mauritius Gabon* Thailand Bahamas Ecuador Ireland
2001[68] Senegal Lesotho Singapore Jamaica Uruguay* Denmark
2002[69] Mali Namibia Papua New Guinea Barbados Argentina Belgium*
2003[70] Cape Verde Ethiopia Fiji* Antigua and Barbuda Costa Rica New Zealand
2004[71] Benin Ghana* Bhutan Trinidad and Tobago Uruguay Liechtenstein
2005[72] Sierra Leone Cameroon Samoa Saint Lucia Panama* Portugal
2006[73] Kenya Madagascar Tonga Guyana Peru Monaco*
2007[74] Angola Namibia Singapore* Suriname Chile  Switzerland
2008[75] Mozambique Botswana* Cyprus Saint Kitts and Nevis Mexico Luxembourg
2009[76] Tanzania Zambia Philippines* Jamaica Brazil Spain
2010[77] Kenya Gabon Singapore* Bahamas Guatemala Finland
2011[78] Senegal Egypt Maldives Panama* Costa Rica Italy
2012[79] Angola Seychelles Thailand Trinidad and Tobago* Peru Sweden
2013[80] Tanzania Gabon Singapore Guyana* Colombia Belgium
2014[81] Namibia Senegal Bangladesh* Jamaica Brazil Denmark
2015[82] Ivory Coast South Africa Kazakhstan Barbados Argentina Austria*
2016[83] Malawi* Cameroon South Korea Saint Lucia Paraguay Netherlands
2017[84] Cape Verde Uganda Indonesia Dominica Uruguay Ireland*
2018[85] Sierra Leone Ghana Palau* Antigua and Barbuda Chile Finland
2019[86] Mauritius Botswana   Nepal Barbados* Uruguay San Marino
2020[87] Tanzania* Cameroon Papua New Guinea Trinidad and Tobago Uruguay Iceland
2021 Namibia Sierra Leone Bhutan Bahamas Chile Sweden*
2022 Angola Zambia Maldives Guyana* Uruguay Austria
2023 Nigeria Togo Solomon Islands* Grenada Suriname Andorra
2024 Cabo Verde Liberia Laos Antigua and Barbuda* Dominica Monaco
2025 Botswana Senegal* Malaysia Dominican Republic Trinidad and Tobago Andorra

The rules of the General Assembly do not list any regional groups or permanent members for the committee (only stating that the committee has nine members), but the General Assembly has always appointed the above permanent members and regional groups (e.g. two members from the African Group) since 1972.[1][88][89]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e 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.
  2. ^ a b "Credentials Committee". General Assembly of the United Nations. United Nations. n.d. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  3. ^ a b c United Nations General Assembly Document 520/Rev.18. Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly A/520/Rev.18 September 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  4. ^ "Taliban ask to speak at UN General Assembly in New York". BBC News. 2021-09-22. Retrieved 2021-09-24.
  5. ^ Gladstone, Rick (2021-12-01). "U.N. Seats Denied, for Now, to Afghanistan's Taliban and Myanmar's Junta". New York Times. Retrieved 2021-12-02.
  6. ^ Lederer, Edith M. (December 16, 2022). "UN rejects seats for Myanmar junta, Taliban, Libya's east". Associated Press. Retrieved 2023-03-23.
  7. ^ "Report of the Credentials Committee: General Assembly, 78th session".
  8. ^ "Report of the Credentials Committee : General Assembly, 79th session".
  9. ^ "Report of the Credentials Committee : General Assembly, 80th session".
  10. ^ "Report of the Credentials Committee : General Assembly, 76th session".
  11. ^ "Report of the Credentials Committee : General Assembly, 77th session".
  12. ^ General Assembly, 19th session : 1331st plenary meeting (closing meeting), Wednesday, 1 September 1965, New York
  13. ^ General Assembly, 1st session : 41st plenary meeting, held on Tuesday, 29 October 1946
  14. ^ 81st plenary meeting meeting, held in the General Assembly Hall at Flushing Meadow, New York, on Tuesday, 16 September 1947 : [General Assembly, 2nd session]
  15. ^ 139th plenary meeting, held at held at the Palais de Chaillot, Paris, on Thursday, 23 September 1948 : [General Assembly, 3rd session]
  16. ^ General Assembly, 4th session : 226th plenary meeting, held at Flushing Meadow, New York, on Friday, 23 September 1949
  17. ^ General Assembly, 5th session : 281st plenary meeting, Saturday, 23 September 1950, Flushing Meadow, New York
  18. ^ Report of the Credentials Committee A/1983
  19. ^ 1st report of the Credentials Committee A/2234
  20. ^ First Report of the Credentials Committee A/2490
  21. ^ First Report by the Credentials Committee A/2752
  22. ^ 1st report of the Credentials Committee A/3027
  23. ^ Report of the Credentials Committee A/3536
  24. ^ Report of the Credentials Committee A/3773
  25. ^ Report of the Credentials Committee A/4074
  26. ^ Report of the Credentials Committee A/4346
  27. ^ Credentials of representatives to the 15th session of the General Assembly. 2nd report of the Credentials Committee A/4743
  28. ^ Credentials of representatives to the 16th session of the General Assembly : report of the Credentials Committee A/5055
  29. ^ Report of the Credentials Committee A/5395
  30. ^ Credentials of representatives to the 18th session of the General Assembly : report of the Credentials Committee A/5676
  31. ^ General Assembly, 19th session : 1286th plenary meeting (opening meeting), Tuesday, 1 December 1964, New York A/PV.1286
  32. ^ Credentials of representatives to the 19th and 20th sessions of the General Assembly : report of the Credentials Committee A/6208
  33. ^ Credentials of representatives to the 21st session of the General Assembly : report of the Credentials Committee A/6620
  34. ^ Report of the Credentials Committee A/6990
  35. ^ Credentials of representatives to the 23rd session of the General Assembly : report of the Credentials Committee A/7228
  36. ^ Credentials of representatives to the 24th session of the General Assembly : report of the Credentials Committee A/7634
  37. ^ 1st report of the Credentials Committee A/8142
  38. ^ Report of the Credentials Committee A/8625
  39. ^ Report of the Credentials Committee A/8921
  40. ^ Credentials of representatives to the 28th session of the General Assembly. First report of the Credentials Committee. A/9179
  41. ^ First report of the Credentials Committee A/9779
  42. ^ First report of the Credentials Committee A/10270
  43. ^ First report of the Credentials Committee A/31/308
  44. ^ First report Of the Credentials Committee A/32/336
  45. ^ Credentials of representatives to the 33rd session of the General Assembly : Report of the Credentials Committee A/33/350
  46. ^ First report of the Credentials Committee A/34/500
  47. ^ 1st report of the Credentials Committee A/35/484
  48. ^ First report of the Credentials Conmittee A/36/517
  49. ^ First report of the Credentials Committee A/37/543
  50. ^ "First report of the Credentials Committee 22 C/109 + CORR". unesco.org. 1983.
  51. ^ 1st report of the Credentials Committee A/39/574
  52. ^ First report of the Credentials Committee A/40/747
  53. ^ First report of the Credentials Committee A/41/727
  54. ^ First report of the Credentials Committee A/42/630
  55. ^ 1st report of the Credentials Committee A/43/715
  56. ^ First report of the Credentials Committee A/44/63
  57. ^ 1st report of the Credentials Committee.A/45/674
  58. ^ 1st report of the Credentials Committee A/46/563
  59. ^ First report of the Credential s Committee A/47/517
  60. ^ First report of the Credentials Committee A/48/512
  61. ^ First report of the Credentials Committee A/49/517
  62. ^ First report of the Credentials Committee A/50/559
  63. ^ First report of the Credentials Committee A/51/548
  64. ^ Report of the Credentials Committee A/52/719
  65. ^ First report of the Credentials Committee A/53/556
  66. ^ First report of the Credentials Committee A/54/475
  67. ^ First Report of the Credentials Committee A/55/537
  68. ^ Report of the Credentials Committee A/56/724
  69. ^ Report of the Credentials Committee A/57/634
  70. ^ Report of the Credentials Committee A/58/625
  71. ^ Report of the Credentials Committee A/59/602
  72. ^ Report of the Credentials Committee A/60/595
  73. ^ Report of the Credentials Committee A/61/648
  74. ^ Report of the Credentials Committee A/62/596
  75. ^ Report of the Credentials Committee A/63/633
  76. ^ Report of the Credentials Committee A/64/571*
  77. ^ Report of the Credentials Committee A/65/583
  78. ^ Report of the Credentials Committee A/66/360
  79. ^ Report of the Credentials Committee A/67/611
  80. ^ Report of the Credentials Committee A/68/630
  81. ^ Report of the Credentials Committee A/69/617
  82. ^ Report of the Credentials Committee A/70/573
  83. ^ Report of the Credentials Committee A/71/670
  84. ^ Report of the Credentials Committee A/72/601
  85. ^ Report of the Credentials Committee A/73/600
  86. ^ Report of the Credentials Committee A/74/572
  87. ^ Report of the Credentials Committee A/75/606
  88. ^ "A/PV.1934".
  89. ^ "A/PV.2032".
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