Group of Asia and the Pacific Small Island Developing States

Last updated
Group of Asia and the Pacific Small Island Developing States
Formation1964;60 years ago (1964)
Type Regional group
Legal statusActive
A coloured voting box.svg Politicsportal
The Asia and the Pacific Group Member States. Asia-Pacific Group Member States.svg
The Asia and the Pacific Group Member 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]

Contents

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

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

History

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

Security Council

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]

CountryTerm
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China Permanent
Flag of South Korea.svg Republic of Korea 1 January 2024 – 31 December 2025
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 1 January 2023 – 31 December 2024

Economic and Social Council

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]

CountryTerm
Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia 1 January 2021 – 31 December 2023
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan
Flag of the Solomon Islands.svg  Solomon Islands
Flag of the Taliban.svg  Afghanistan 1 January 2022 – 31 December 2024
Flag of India.svg  India
Flag of Oman.svg  Oman
Flag of Kazakhstan.svg  Kazakhstan
Flag of Bangladesh.svg  Bangladesh 1 January 2020 – 31 December 2022
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China
Flag of South Korea.svg Republic of Korea
Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand

Human Rights Council

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]

CountryTerm
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 1 January 2021 – 31 December 2023
Flag of Nepal.svg    Nepal
Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan
Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Uzbekistan
Flag of Bahrain.svg  Bahrain 1 January 2019 – 31 December 2021
Flag of Bangladesh.svg  Bangladesh
Flag of Fiji.svg  Fiji
Flag of India.svg  India
Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines
Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia 1 January 2020 – 31 December 2022
Flag of South Korea.svg Republic of Korea
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan
Flag of the Marshall Islands.svg  Marshall Islands

Presidency of the General Assembly

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 ElectedSessionName of PresidentCountryNote
196621st Abdul Rahman Pazhwak Flag of Afghanistan (1931-1973).svg  Afghanistan Also chaired the 5th and 6th emergency special sessions of the General Assembly
197126th Adam Malik Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia
197631st H. S. Amerasinghe Flag of Sri Lanka.svg  Sri Lanka
198136th Ismat T. Kittani Flag of Iraq (1963-1991).svg  Iraq Also chaired the 7th and 9th emergency special sessions and the 12th special session of the General Assembly
198641st Humayun Rasheed Choudhury Flag of Bangladesh.svg  Bangladesh Also chaired the 14th special session of the General Assembly
199146th Samir S. Shihabi Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia
199651st Razali Ismail Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia Also chaired the 10th emergency special and 19th special sessions of the General Assembly
200156th Han Seung-soo Flag of South Korea.svg Republic of Korea Also chaired the 10th emergency special session of the General Assembly
200661st Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa Flag of Bahrain.svg  Bahrain Also chaired the 10th emergency special session of the General Assembly
2011 66th Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser Flag of Qatar.svg  Qatar
2016 71st Peter Thomson Flag of Fiji.svg  Fiji
2021 76th Abdulla Shahid Flag of Maldives.svg  Maldives
Future
202681stTBDTBD
203186thTBDTBD
203691stTBDTBD

Timeline of membership

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

YearsNumber of membersNotes
1966-196725Afghanistan, 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
1967-197026South Yemen
1970-197127Fiji
197128China [lower-alpha 5]
1971-197433Bahrain, Bhutan, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates
1974-197534Bangladesh
1975-197635Papua New Guinea
1976-197736Samoa
1977-197837Vietnam
1978-198138Solomon Islands
1981-198439Vanuatu
1984-199040Brunei
1990-199139Yemeni unification
1991-199243Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Korea
1992-199448Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
1994-199949Palau
1999-200051Nauru, Tonga
2000-200252Tuvalu
2002–present53Timor-Leste

See also

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Notes

  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]