Procedural Roles of the Chairman: A Step-by-Step
Procedural Roles of the PGA and Committee Chairs: Steps to Take During a Conference
Allocation of Work and Time Management
One of the first tasks of the GA General Committee is to decide what items to allocate to the GA Plenary, and what items to allocate to its various subsidiary bodies.
The allocation of time is a challenging task, and must be a constant preoccupation of the presiding officers. The Secretariat is likely to be able to give helpful advice in this regard, but developing a timetable remains with the presiding officer, whether it is the PGA or Committee Chairs. The timetable is outlined in the Programme of Work, which is distributed at the beginning of the first Plenary or Committee meeting.
Opening the Meeting
The presiding officer should arrive early, before the scheduled start of each meeting. Once there are enough delegates in the room, the presiding officer “calls the meeting to order,” greets the delegates, declares the meeting open, announces the purpose of the meeting and gives a brief oral introduction to the work at hand.
What a PGA/Chair would say to open a meeting:
PGA: “The first plenary meeting of the General Assembly is called to order.” [PGA bangs the gavel to mark the opening of the meeting]
Chair: “I call to order the 20th meeting of the Third Committee of the 60th session of the General Assembly.”
Announcing Each Phase of Committee Activity
At the beginning of a meeting, and as the meeting progresses, the presiding officer announces each procedural move. They explain any procedural matter that might be unclear, and foreshadow subsequent moves. Likewise, the Chair closes each phase of debate, and explains what has been done and what is to follow.
At the beginning of any meeting, a Chair clearly outlines to the delegates what will take place. They also remind delegates of important information they need to know.
This section will outline what a Chair might say when announcing each phase of a Committee’s activity.
General Debate
What a Chair might say at the beginning of the General Debate in a GA Main Committee:
Before opening the floor, I should like to remind all delegations once more that the rolling list of speakers for the General Debate will close today at 6 p.m. All delegations interested in speaking should make every effort to inscribe their names on the list before that deadline.” or “Distinguished delegates, this morning the Committee will continue its General Debate on agenda item 86 in accordance with its Programme of Work and timetable. The first speaker on my list is the distinguished ambassador of Nigeria. You have the floor.”
What a Chair might say at the beginning of a meeting that will conclude the General Debate:
“Today, the Committee will conclude the General Debate on items allocated to it, in accordance with the Programme of Work and timetable.
At the end of the General Debate on an agenda item, the Chair would say:
“We have heard the last speaker in the debate on this item. The Assembly (or Committee) has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 43 (or whichever agenda item is being considered).”
Introducing a Draft Resolution
After concluding the debate on an agenda item, the next step is to introduce a draft resolution on the agenda item that was debated. At this point the Chair would say:
“We have heard the last speaker on the debate of this item 43. The Committee will now proceed to consider draft resolution A/67/L.8. I give the floor to the representative of Country A to introduce the draft resolution.”
Taking Action on a Draft Resolution
The Chair will always know in advance whether a particular draft resolution will be adopted by consensus, or whether a recorded vote has been requested before action is taken. The delegation requesting a recorded vote on a draft resolution must do so in writing prior to the time action will be taken.
Introduction of Amendments
If delegates have not been able to reach consensus on a draft resolution, certain delegations might choose to introduce amendments before action is taken. All amendments have to be tabled in the same manner as a draft resolution. That is, the amendments must be deposited with, or given to, the Secretariat in advance so that they can be distributed to all delegates before action is taken.
What a Chair might say when amendments have been tabled:
“We will now move to the next phase of our proceedings, the introduction of amendments. I would ask those delegations that have submitted amendments to introduce them in the order in which they have been submitted. I call first on the distinguished delegate from Country B.”
“The next amendment will be introduced by Country C. I give the floor to the distinguished representative of Country C.”
Once all of the amendments have been introduced, action is taken on them individually in the order in which they have been submitted.
What a Chair might say to initiate action on the amendments that have been tabled:
“All the proposed amendments to draft resolution A/C.1/53/L.52 have now been introduced. We will take them up in the order in which they were introduced. We begin with Country B: amendment to draft resolution A/C.1/53/L.22.”
Once action has been taken on all of the amendments proposed, the Committee then takes action on the entire draft resolution.
What a Chair might say after taking action on the amendments and before taking action on the draft resolution:
“All the proposed amendments to draft resolution A/C.1/53/L.22 have thus been considered. We will therefore now proceed to consider draft resolution A/C.1/53/L.22. I call on those representatives who wish to explain their votes before voting.”
A delegation can decide to withdraw an amendment any time before action is taken on it. A delegation wishing to do so might say:
“Country A will not be seeking action on the draft amendment submitted by us in document …”
When this occurs, the Chair would confirm this decision by saying:
“The draft amendments in documents … are therefore withdrawn.”
Voting on One Part of a Draft Resolution Before Voting on the Entire Resolution
Sometimes a delegation requests a separate vote on just one part of a draft resolution. This takes precedence over voting on the entire draft resolution.
What a Chair might say when a request for a separate vote on one paragraph of a draft resolution is made:
“The Committee will now proceed to take action on draft resolution A/C.1/60/L.4. A recorded vote has been requested. A separate vote has been requested on operative paragraph 4. I give the floor to the Secretary of the Committee to conduct the voting.”
Taking Action on the Whole Resolution
After the results of the vote on the amendments are completed, or if there are no amendments, the Chair proceeds to take action on the whole resolution. Before doing so, the Chair gives all delegations an opportunity to explain their position or their vote before taking action.
Here a Chair might say:
“All proposed amendments to draft resolution A/C.1/53/L.22 have thus been considered. We will now proceed to consider the draft resolution A/C.1/53/L.22 as a whole. I first call on those representatives who wish to explain their vote before a decision is taken.”
If no amendments were proposed and a draft resolution will be adopted by consensus, the Chair would say:
“We will now proceed to consider the draft resolution A/C.1/53/L.22 as a whole. I first call on those representatives who wish to explain their position before a decision is taken.”
Explanation of Position Before Action Is Taken or Explanation of Vote Before Voting
After a draft resolution is introduced, Member States have an opportunity to explain their position before action is taken (if it will be adopted by consensus). They also have an opportunity to explain their vote (if a recorded vote has been requested). Unlike the General Debate, there is no list of speakers. Delegates raise their placards to indicate that they want to speak, and the Chair calls on them in whatever order the Chair chooses. Sponsors of the draft resolution cannot explain their position or vote.
The phrase “explanation of position before action is taken” is used when a draft resolution will be adopted by consensus. The phrase “explanation of vote before voting” is used when a recorded vote has been requested in advance.
Once all the delegations who wish to explain their vote or position have spoken—but before action is taken—the Secretary reads the title of the draft resolution. The Secretary also reads which Member State introduced it, and which Member States added their names to the list of co-sponsors.
Concluding the Decision-Making Process
If the resolution is to be adopted by consensus, the Secretary or Chair mentions that “the sponsors hope that the draft resolution will be adopted by consensus.”
What a Chair might say:
“The sponsors of the draft resolution have expressed the wish that it be adopted by the Committee without a vote. If I hear no objection, I shall take it that the Committee wishes to act accordingly. It is so decided.”
If this is not the case, then the Secretary or Chair announces that “a recorded vote has been requested,” and the Secretary proceeds to conduct a vote. Once the voting process has started, it cannot be interrupted. After the voting process is completed, the results of a vote are announced.
Sponsors cannot be added to a resolution once action has been taken on a draft resolution.
Explanation of Position After Action Is Taken or Explanation of Vote After Voting
Once action is taken, delegations have one last chance to put their points of view on the record. Those delegations that are not sponsors of the resolution are given an opportunity to explain their position if it is has been adopted by consensus. Alternatively, they may explain their vote after voting.
When the last speaker has finished, the Chair may conclude by saying:
“May I thus take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly [or Committee] to conclude its consideration of agenda item 58? It is so decided.”
Decision Making
The action phase is a particularly sensitive component of a Committee’s activity. The Chair pays particular attention during this phase. In the case of written draft proposals, the Chair explains the procedural situation to make sure that all delegations fully understand it. They make every effort to ensure that the decision-making process is fully transparent, and that the wishes of delegations are accurately reflected. The most common mode of making decisions is for the Chair to declare that a resolution has been adopted by consensus. This requires the Chair to have a good sense of the wishes of delegations because the resolution is subject to its being accepted by the entire Committee.
An important part of the Chair’s responsibilities is to ensure that all requisite decisions are taken and duly recorded.
Overnight
Each evening, after closing the meeting, the Chair starts to plan the next day’s work. It is important to make sure that the Chair is informed of what has happened in the consultations and other meetings at which they were not present. The Chair also needs to make sure they are informed of likely developments in coming meetings. For this purpose, a meeting of the Bureau in the morning before the day’s session is often necessary. As appropriate, the Chair prepares the interventions they will make in advance of the meetings. At times, they may see advantage in meeting with some delegations and/or arrange to forewarn delegations of impending developments.
Closing the Conference
Finally, it is the PGA’s role to declare the conference closed. Before doing so, the PGA usually thanks delegates and the Secretariat. They may also make some observations on the outcome of the conference.