Summary Outcomes of the 39th Plenary Assembly

Overview:

Held in Seoul, hosted by the UNA-Republic of Korea, from 10-12 August 2009 on the theme “Global Citizens for the United Nations”.
122 participants from 49 UNAs, representing every region of the world, attended.
At the Opening Ceremony, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was the keynote speaker, and addresses were made by the President of the UNA-Republic of Korea, Kim Seung Youn, the outgoing President of WFUNA Hans Blix, and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea Han Seung-soo.
Dr. Hans Blix chaired the Plenary Assembly.
The following 8 UNAs were welcomed as new members of WFUNA: Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Croatia, Mauritania, Morocco, Portugal, Rwanda and Togo. The following UNAs were disaffiliated with the contingency that, if they are proven by the Secretariat to be active within 6 months after the Plenary, they will retain their membership: Cambodia, Cameroon, Guinea, Guyana, Indonesia, Latvia, Mozambique, Poland, Slovakia, and Yemen.
The 2nd WFUNA-youth Plenary Meeting was held parallel to the Plenary Assembly, with the participation of 43 delegates from 24 UNAs – more then double the number of participants since the 38th Plenary Assembly. For the first time, a representative of WFUNA-youth participated in the WFUNA Plenary Assembly as a voting member.

Policy:

The Plenary Assembly issued the “Seoul Declaration: the UN’s agenda is our agenda”, which adopts the overall strategic framework for WFUNA for the period 2009-12. The main goals are: working for peace and security, promoting sustainable development, securing human rights, and furthering international co-operation.
The Plenary issued Resolutions on: the Responsibility to Protect, Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament, Nuclear Testing by the DPRK, International Peace Operations, the situation in Sudan, Climate Change, Desertification, Gender Equality Architecture Reform (GEAR), Invigorating the United Nations through better management and a revitalized General Assembly, and on Promotion and Reporting by Governments to their People.
A Panel of speakers presented on the policy issues of sustainable development, peace and disarmament, human rights and UN reform, and was followed by informal workshops on the same topics.

Programmes, Membership and Budget:

The World Federation’s Constitution was amended to delete any reference to International Associates, Individual Associates or Nonvoting Associates.
The Plenary issued a resolution on Harnessing Information and Communication Technologies for more effective collaboration between the United Nations and WFUNA.
The Global Citizen Campaign was presented, including summaries of programs planned by the Secretariat in the context of this campaign.
To facilitate capacity-building and effective communication, it was agreed that an online toolkit for new UNAs should be developed by the Secretariat.
A revised membership dues schedule that is more reflective of the realities in UNAs was accepted.
The three-year budget for 2010-2012 and the Audited Accounts were approved.

Leadership:

Park Soo Gil, former Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations, was elected as President.
Bonian Golmohammadi from Sweden was elected as Secretary-General.
Sundeep Bhutoria from India was elected as Treasurer.
Ervin Gombos (UNA-Hungary), Rena Shashua-Hasson (UNA-Israel) and Mohammad Rashad Daureeawo (UNA-Mauritius) were elected as Vice Presidents.
Eight new members were elected to the Executive Committee:
Jay Jethwa (UNA-Australia)
Carlos Amat Fores (UNA-Cuba)
Christos Theodoulou (UNA-Cyprus)
Helena Laukko (UNA-Finland)
Ramaz Aptsiauri (UNA-Georgia)
Kwang Boon Lee (UNA-Singapore)
Eduard Sagarra Trias (UNA-Spain)
Aleksander Gabelic (UNA-Sweden)
Sam Daws (UNA-UK) and Thomas Miller (UNA-USA) were appointed by the ExCo to fill the vacancies left by Rodney Fielding and Irving Stolberg.
The Executive Committee elected as its Chair Kathryn White (UNA-Canada) and as Vice Chairs Alexei Borisov (UNA-Russia) and Suresh Srivastava (UNA-India).
The Plenary bestowed the title of Honorary President on Dr. Hans Blix.
WFUNA-Youth elected a 9 member Coordinating Committee with representation of youth from the UNAs of: Argentina, Australia, Germany, Guatemala, Kenya, Republic of Korea, Nepal, Spain, and Switzerland.

Special events:

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Yu Myung-hwan spoke at the opening night dinner hosted by the UNA-Republic of Korea for all delegates.
The Friends of WFUNA hosted a reception for all delegates on the second evening of the Plenary. Gillian Sorensen, Friends of WFUNA Board Member and Senior Advisor for the UN Foundation, addressed the participants.
A private tree planting ceremony was held at Namsan Park where a Korean Pine was dedicated to the memory of the late Mr. Arthur Ross, the founder of the Friends of WFUNA and long-time patron and supporter of the organization.