UN committee backs food-security group’s observer-status bid, defers 11 others

The UN General Assembly’s Sixth Committee has agreed to send a request for observer status by the Islamic Organization for Food Security to the Assembly for formal adoption in December, while postponing decisions on 11 other organisations’ requests until its next session.

The committee approved the food-security organisation’s draft resolution without a vote at its penultimate meeting of 2026. Kazakhstan’s representative said it had supported about 10,000 people and households in 2025 through food assistance, agricultural projects, training and technical support. The UN meeting account does not independently detail those activities.

The committee deferred the Climate Vulnerable Forum’s request, along with those of 10 other organisations, to its 82nd session. The Forum represents 77 countries, according to Barbados’s representative, who said members were increasingly facing the effects of climate change. Bhutan told the committee it no longer wished to pursue an observer-status request for the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, bringing that case to a close.

Delegates also debated a separate draft decision on the committee’s working methods. It proposes two informal consultations in 2027 and a review of how often the committee considers recurring draft resolutions. Qatar’s representative said the proposal would help improve the committee’s methods; the European Union’s representative described the effort as a search for greater efficiency and effectiveness, not a judgement on how the committee works.

Views differed over how the process should proceed. Mexico’s representative said consensus was valuable but did not amount to an established requirement or give individual delegations an informal veto. Cuba’s representative argued decisions should be made by consensus and said member states should debate before deciding. Russia favoured informal decision-making on the issue but welcomed further discussion.

The United States called for a more disciplined approach to observer-status requests, noting that they had at one point made up more than 40 per cent of the committee’s agenda. It proposed that requests deferred for three consecutive years should no longer be automatically deferred, while allowing organisations to resubmit them. The US nevertheless supported the food-security organisation’s request.

The Sixth Committee is due to reconvene on 20 November to consider remaining agenda items and draft resolutions. The UN account is meeting coverage, not an official record.