The United Nations General Assembly Fourth Committee (also known as the Special Political and Decolonization Committee or SPECPOL or C4) is one of six main committees of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presb ...

. It deals with a diverse set of political issues, including

UN peacekeeping Peacekeeping by the United Nations is a role held by the Department of Peace Operations as an "instrument developed by the organization as a way to help countries torn by conflict to create the conditions for lasting peace". It is distinguished ...

and peaceful uses of outer space. However, the issues of

decolonization Decolonization or decolonisation is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. Some scholars of decolonization focus especially on separatism, in ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

take up most of its time.

Mandate

When it was first created, the Fourth Committee was solely responsible for trusteeship- and decolonization-related matters. However, after independence was granted to all the

United Nations trust territories United Nations trust territories were the successors of the remaining League of Nations mandates and came into being when the League of Nations ceased to exist in 1946. All of the trust territories were administered through the United Nati ...

and the subsequent dismantling of the trusteeship system, the committee's workload decreased. Consequently, the Fourth Committee was merged with the Special Political Committee, which had been created as a seventh main committee to deal with certain political issues. The Fourth Committee deals with: decolonization-related items, the effects of atomic radiation, questions relating to information, a comprehensive review of the question of peacekeeping operations, review of special political missions, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East, the report of the Special Committee on Israeli Practices and international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space.

Working Methods

The Fourth Committee meets every year from late September to mid-November, but also convenes briefly in the spring to adopt any resolutions and decisions relating to peacekeeping passed by the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations. All 193 member states of the UN can attend its meetings. Unlike most other United Nations bodies, there is no general debate at the beginning of the committee's work. The committee also allows for petitioners, i.e. civil society representatives and other stakeholders, to address it on decolonization issues. Finally, the committee usually adopts about 30-35 draft resolutions and several draft decisions annually, usually by consensus.

Reporting Bodies

The following bodies report through the Fourth Committee to the General Assembly: * Committee on Information * Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) * Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations (C-34) * Special Committee on Decolonization (C-24) * Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and other Arabs of the Occupied Territories * United Nations Relief and Works Agency for State of Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) * United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR)

Current state

In its 75th Session, the committee will focus on: * Maintenance of international peace and security ** Effects of atomic radiation ** International cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space ** United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East ** Report of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories ** Comprehensive review of the whole question of peacekeeping operations in all their aspects ** Comprehensive review of special political missions ** Questions relating to information ** Information from Non-Self-Governing Territories transmitted under Article 73 ''e'' of the Charter of the United Nations ** Economic and other activities which affect the interests of the peoples of the Non-Self-Governing Territories ** Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples by the specialized agencies and the international institutions associated with the United Nations ** Offers by Member States of study and training facilities for inhabitants of Non-Self-Governing Territories ** Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples

Bureau

The following will make up the bureau of the Fourth Committee for the 77th Session of the General Assembly:

References

External links

United Nations Fourth Committee
{{authority control 4 Decolonization