The main job of the 3rd Committee is to pass resolutions to do with Social Cultural and Humanitarian issues. Resolutions are pieces of writing that outline what the 191 member nations have agreed on a certain issue for that particular year. Although the resolutions are non-enforceable (countries don’t HAVE to abide by them, and there is no real punishment to not abiding by it), if you do not abide by the resolutions you lose ‘face’ amongst the international community. So countries tend to take them very seriously.

So to find agreeable text, countries ‘negotiate’ (their words not mine) what the text should say. With consensus always being sought, it can get rather heated in ‘Informal meetings’.

‘Informals’ (as they are called) are held in rooms not dissimilar to your year 10 English classroom. Usually 2-3 informals are held for every resolution. They are small rooms, with lino floor and plastic chairs places around dirty, moveable wooden desks. It’s not terrible by any stretch, it’s just not the UN you expect. Not very glamorous at all.

They are considered informal meetings, because no minutes are taken. What happens in the informal rooms, stay there.

The reason that consensus is always sought, and resolutions are simply not voted for straight away, is that the UN always likes to act on consensus. That is, all countries, either agree with something, or they all disagree. Unfortunately, what this often means is that innovative parts of the resolutions often get debated out of existence in order to get all countries to agree to something.

I can see the theory behind consensus, but seeing what happens to most new initiatives, can be a good case for just taking votes on things.

Having said that, if consensus can not be reached and 2 or more states persist in disagreeing with each other on a draft resolution, a country can (and will) call a vote. Voting occurs in the Formal Meeting room I described in the last post. Countries press a coloured button according to how you are voting, which corresponds with a coloured light next to a big board at the front of the room with every countries name on it. When voting you can either agree (green), disagree (red), or abstain (orange).

During this year’s 3rd Committee sittings, there are about 70 resolutions being debated. To give you an idea of some of the resolutions; today I attended an informal on a draft Resolution on Violence against Women Migrant Workers; and a Draft Resolution of UNIFEM (a UN agency).

Informals are long, and have the potential to be very repetitive as countries try to invent different way to explain their same point. Likewise, despite being considered an ‘Informal meeting’, every time a delegate speaks they start off the sentence with “Thankyou Mr/Ms Chairperson for convening this meeting, and also thankyou for giving me the floor on this occasion.” It can get a bit repetitive.

But they are very powerful moments, when you see incredibly intelligent and passionate diplomats, trying to carve out a resolution that balances the best interests of their country with the best interests of the global village. It is hard and frustrating work.

There is one saving grace. One person explained to me that the reason he believes in this work so much is that he doesn’t know where the reach (influence) of his work ends. What they are arguing over in the Informal may have no effect on anyone, anywhere in the world. But maybe, just maybe, it changes the opinion and decision of a government that affects thousands, maybe millions of people. It’s better to live with the mystery.