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Group of Asia and the Pacific Small Island Developing States

The Group of Asia and the Pacific Small Island Developing States (often shortened as Asia and the Pacific or Asia–Pacific Group) is one of the five United Nations regional groups and is composed of 53 Member States from Asia and Oceania.[1]

Group of Asia and the Pacific Small Island Developing States
Formation1964; 60 years ago (1964)
TypeRegional group
Legal statusActive
icon Politics portal
The Asia and the Pacific Group Member States.

The Group, as with all the regional groups, is a non-binding dialogue group where subjects concerning regional and international matters are discussed. Additionally, the Group works to help allocate seats on United Nations bodies by nominating candidates from the region.[2][3]

Member States

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The following are the Member States of the Asia and the Pacific Group:[4][5]

History

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Initially, the Group was known as the Asian Group.[7] However, by the 1970s, Pacific island nations were gaining independence and joining the group. By the mid-2000s the number of Pacific island nations in the group had reached over one fifth of the membership, so they began to advocate for a change of name of the Group.[8]

These efforts were met with success in 2011 when the United Nations agreed to include "Pacific" in the name of the Group, changing it to the Group of Asia and the Pacific Small Island Developing States at China's insistence. This change in name recognises the growing role Pacific island nations play in the United Nations System.[9]

Representation

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Security Council

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The Asia and the Pacific Group holds 3 seats on the Security Council, 2 non-permanent and 1 permanent. The current members of the Security Council from the Group are:[10][11]

Country Term
  China Permanent
  Republic of Korea 1 January 2024 – 31 December 2025
  Japan 1 January 2023 – 31 December 2024

Economic and Social Council

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The Asia and the Pacific Group holds 11 seats on the United Nations Economic and Social Council. The current members of the Economic and Social Council from the Group are:[12][13]

Country Term
  Indonesia 1 January 2021 – 31 December 2023
  Japan
  Solomon Islands
  Afghanistan 1 January 2022 – 31 December 2024
  India
  Oman
  Kazakhstan
  Bangladesh 1 January 2020 – 31 December 2022
  China
  Republic of Korea
  Thailand

Human Rights Council

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The Asia–Pacific Group holds 13 seats on the United Nations Human Rights Council. The current members of the Economic and Social Council from the Group are:[14][15]

Country Term
  China 1 January 2021 – 31 December 2023
    Nepal
  Pakistan
  Uzbekistan
  Bahrain 1 January 2019 – 31 December 2021
  Bangladesh
  Fiji
  India
  Philippines
  Indonesia 1 January 2020 – 31 December 2022
  Republic of Korea
  Japan
  Marshall Islands

Presidency of the General Assembly

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Every five years in the years ending in 1 and 6, the Asia–Pacific Group is eligible to elect a president to the General Assembly.[1]

The following is a list of presidents from the region since its official creation in 1963:[16]

Year Elected Session Name of President Country Note
1966 21st Abdul Rahman Pazhwak   Afghanistan Also chaired the 5th and 6th emergency special sessions of the General Assembly
1971 26th Adam Malik   Indonesia
1976 31st H. S. Amerasinghe   Sri Lanka
1981 36th Ismat T. Kittani   Iraq Also chaired the 7th and 9th emergency special sessions and the 12th special session of the General Assembly
1986 41st Humayun Rasheed Choudhury   Bangladesh Also chaired the 14th special session of the General Assembly
1991 46th Samir S. Shihabi   Saudi Arabia
1996 51st Razali Ismail   Malaysia Also chaired the 10th emergency special and 19th special sessions of the General Assembly
2001 56th Han Seung-soo   Republic of Korea Also chaired the 10th emergency special session of the General Assembly
2006 61st Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa   Bahrain Also chaired the 10th emergency special session of the General Assembly
2011 66th Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser   Qatar
2016 71st Peter Thomson   Fiji
2021 76th Abdulla Shahid   Maldives
Future
2026 81st TBD TBD
2031 86th TBD TBD
2036 91st TBD TBD

Timeline of membership

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As the Group of Asia and The Pacific Small Island Developing States changed significantly over time, the number of its members had also changed.

Years Number of members Notes
1966-1967 25 Afghanistan, Burma (now Myanmar), Cambodia, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Cyprus, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Syria, Thailand, Yemen
1967-1970 26 South Yemen
1970-1971 27 Fiji
1971 28 China[e]
1971-1974 33 Bahrain, Bhutan, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates
1974-1975 34 Bangladesh
1975-1976 35 Papua New Guinea
1976-1977 36 Samoa
1977-1978 37 Vietnam
1978-1981 38 Solomon Islands
1981-1984 39 Vanuatu
1984-1990 40 Brunei
1990-1991 39 Yemeni unification
1991-1992 43 Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Korea
1992-1994 48 Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
1994-1999 49 Palau
1999-2000 51 Nauru, Tonga
2000-2002 52 Tuvalu
2002–present 53 Timor-Leste

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Wanza, Serah N. (27 November 2017). "What Are The Five Regional Groups of the United Nations?". Worldatlas. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  2. ^ "Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia. n.d. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  3. ^ Agam, Hasmy; Sam Daws; Terence O'Brien; Ramesh Takur (26 March 1999). What is Equitable Geographic Representation in the Twenty-First Century (PDF) (Report). United Nations University. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  4. ^ "Regional groups of Member States". United Nations Department for General Assembly and Conference management. United Nations. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  5. ^ United Nations Handbook 2018–19 (PDF) (56 ed.). Wellington: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of New Zealand. 2018. pp. 15–17. ISSN 0110-1951. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-01-25. Retrieved 2019-02-27.
  6. ^ Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations. "Status of Palestine at the United Nations". United Nations. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 9 December 2010.: "On 2 April 1986, the Asian Group of the U.N. decided to accept the PLO as a full member."
  7. ^ "A/RES/60/251".
  8. ^ "Asian group of nations at UN changes its name to Asia-Pacific group". Radio New Zealand. Wellington. 1 September 2011. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  9. ^ "UN Recognises The Pacific With Name Change". Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme. 3 September 2011. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  10. ^ "Current Members". United Nations Security Council. United Nations. n.d. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  11. ^ "General Assembly Elects Estonia, Niger, Saint Vincent and Grenadines, Tunisia, Viet Nam as Non-Permanent Members of Security Council for 2020-2021". United Nations Meetings Coverage & Press Releases. United Nations. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  12. ^ "Members". United Nations Economic and Social Council. United Nations. n.d. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  13. ^ "General Assembly Elects 19 Economic and Social Council Members to Terms Beginning 1 January 2020, Adopts Resolution Commemorating Signing of United Nations Charter". United Nations Meetings Coverage & Press Releases. United Nations. 14 June 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  14. ^ "Current Membership of the Human Rights Council, 1 January - 31 December 2019 by regional groups". United Nations Human Rights Council. United Nations. n.d. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  15. ^ "General Assembly Elects 14 Member States to Human Rights Council, Appoints New Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services". United Nations Meetings Coverage & Press Releases. United Nations. 17 October 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  16. ^ "Past Presidents". United Nations General Assembly. United Nations. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  17. ^ Agam, Hasmy; Sam Daws; Terence O'Brien; Ramesh Takur (26 March 1999). What is Equitable Geographic Representation in the Twenty-First Century (PDF) (Report). United Nations University. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  18. ^ Padelford, Norman J. “Politics and the Future of ECOSOC.” International Organization, vol. 15, no. 4, 1961, pp. 564–80. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/2705552. Accessed 24 Mar. 2024.
  19. ^ Bailey, Sydney D. “China and the United Nations.” The World Today, vol. 27, no. 9, 1971, pp. 365–72. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40394545. Accessed 28 Apr. 2024.

Notes

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  1. ^ Permanent member of the United Nations Security Council
  2. ^ Formerly known as Burma until 1989.
  3. ^ While the State of Palestine is only a non-member observer state in the General Assembly, it has participated fully in the Asia Group since 2 April 1986 as the Palestine Liberation Organization.[6]
  4. ^ Turkey participates the Western European And Others Group, as well as the Asian Group, but for electoral purposes it is considered a member of Western European And Others Group.
  5. ^ The Republic of China never joined the Asian Group.[17][18][19]
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