UNGA-ECOFIN

The Economic and Financial Committee, also known as ECOFIN is the second of the six committees of the United Nations General Assembly. It was formed with the rest of the General Assembly when the UN was established after the Second World War in 1945. The committee first met in London in January 1946. Since then, the committee meets once every year in October for a 4-5 week session. Its primary roles include addressing issues related to economic growth and development with specific regard to macroeconomic policy on international trade and external debt sustainability, securing financing for sustainable development, poverty eradication and globalization and interdependence.

In recent times, the Millennium Development Goals and special situations related to Least Developed Countries and Landlocked Developing Countries, as well as recovery and restructuring in the aftermath of the 2008 Financial Crisis has been focused on increasingly. The 68th session of the will start in September 2013. The ECOFIN is open to all 193 member nations of the UN, each of which has equal representation and voting rights. Though resolutions adopted by the committee are not enforceable, they carry the weight of the international community’s will. The GA also has the power to convene an emergency special session and act to ensure peace security. The ECOFIN is administrated by one chairperson, three vice-chairpersons and one rapporteur.

The ECOFIN regularly updates its working methods and practices to enable deeper debate and greater impact of the committee’s deliberations and decisions. These efforts include streamlining the agenda, holding “question time” sessions with secretariat officials after the presentation of substantive reports and reducing the number and length of draft resolutions adopted. The Committee currently holds a dialogue with the Executive Secretaries of the Regional Commissions as well as a number of side events as part of its programme of work.