On 6th April 2023, India was elected to the United Nations (UN) Statistical Commission and 3 other key subsidiary bodies of the United Nations (UN) Economic and Social Council(ECOSOC).
- During the elections held for the membership of 14 subsidiary bodies of ECOSOC, India was elected as a member of the UN Statistical Commission.
- India was elected unopposed (elected by acclamation) to the Commission on Narcotic Drugs for a term of 4 years starting from 1st January 2024 and Committee for Programme and Coordination for a term of 3 years beginning on 1st January 2024.
- India was also elected to the Programme Coordinating Board of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).
Election to UN Statistical Commission:
i.India was elected as a member of UN Statistical Commission for a 4-year term of office beginning January 1, 2024.
ii.India has participated in the election to the Statistical Commission along with South Korea, UAE (United Arab Emirates), and China for two seats from the Asia Pacific States category.
iii.India secured 46 out of 53 votes in a secret ballot and outpaced South Korea (23), China (19), and the UAE (15).
- Previously, India served as a member of the Statistical Commission until 2004 and the country is now returning to the UN Statistical body after a gap of two decades.
Key Points:
South Korea won over China for the other seat in the election, for the Asia Pacific States category.
- In the second round, China and South Korea each got 25 votes.
- Finally, as per the Council’s rules of procedure, South Korea was elected for the second seat by drawing lots following two inconclusive rounds of secret-ballot voting.
Additional info: Argentina, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Ukraine, the United Republic of Tanzania and the US were elected by acclamation to the Statistical Commission for a four-year term of office beginning January 1, 2024.
Note – External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar stated that India’s expertise in statistics, diversity & demography has earned it a seat on the UN Statistical Commission.
-ECOSOC Elected India for the Board of UNAIDS
To fill the outstanding vacancies from the Asia-Pacific States in the Programme Coordinating Board of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) (UNAIDS), India was elected for a term of office beginning on 5th April 2023 and expiring on 31st December 2025.
- UNAIDS is an important subsidiary body of the UN organ focussed on economic, social and environmental issues.
- Cambodia is also elected along with India to fill the Asia-Pacific States vacancies.
About UN Statistical Commission:
i.The United Nations Statistical Commission, established in 1947, is the highest body of the global statistical system bringing together the Chief Statisticians from member states from around the world.
ii.It is the highest decision-making body for international statistical activities, responsible for setting statistical standards and the development of concepts and methods, including their implementation at the national and international level.
iii.The Statistical Commission oversees the work of the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), and it is a Functional Commission of the UN Economic and Social Council.
iv.Membership: The Commission consists of 24 member countries of the United Nations elected by the United Nations Economic and Social Council on the basis of an equitable geographical distribution according to the following pattern:
- 5 members from African States;
- 4 members from Asia-Pacific States;
- 4 members from Eastern European States;
- 4 members from Latin American and Caribbean States;
- 7 members from Western European and other States.
v.The term of office of members is 4 years.
Note – The current members from the Asia-Pacific States are Japan (2024), Samoa (2024) as well as Kuwait and South Korea, whose terms are ending in 2023.
The chairperson of UN Statistical Commission for the year 2023 is Ms. Gabriella Vukovich (Hungary).
