For information only - not an official document

UNIS/L/135rev
28 April 2010

United Nations General Assembly Elects New UNCITRAL Members

VIENNA, 16 April (UN Information Service) - The General Assembly on 15 April held elections to fill the remaining two vacancies in the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). The Assembly elected the following additional two States members of UNCITRAL: Botswana and Paraguay - for a six-year term beginning on 21 June 2010.

On 3 November 2009, the General Assembly had held elections to fill the vacancies in UNCITRAL. At that time, the General Assembly elected the following 24 State members for a six-year term beginning on 21 June 2010 and expiring on the last day prior to the beginning of the forty-ninth session of the Commission, in 2016: Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Botswana, Brazil, Colombia, Fiji, Gabon, India, Iran, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, Pakistan, Paraguay, Philippines, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, United States and Venezuela. At that time, the following 6 State members were also elected to alternate their membership during the same period: Belarus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Georgia, Poland and Ukraine. At the forty-third session of the Commission, in 2010, Belarus, Czech Republic, Poland and Ukraine will serve as members of the Commission.

On 21 June 2010, UNCITRAL will be composed of the following 60 member States: Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belarus, Benin, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Fiji, France, Gabon, Germany, Greece, Honduras, India, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Latvia, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Senegal, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States and Venezuela.

The term of the following 30 State members of the Commission will expire on the last day prior to the beginning of the forty-sixth session of the Commission, in 2013: Armenia, Bahrain, Benin, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Egypt, El Salvador, France, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Japan, Latvia, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia, Norway, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Senegal, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka and United Kingdom.

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The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) is the core legal body of the United Nations system in the field of international trade law. Its mandate is to remove legal obstacles to international trade by progressively modernizing and harmonizing trade law. It prepares legal texts in a number of key areas such as international commercial dispute settlement, electronic commerce, insolvency, international payments, sale of goods, transport law, procurement and infrastructure development. UNCITRAL also provides technical assistance to law reform activities, including assisting Member States to review and assess their law reform needs and to draft the legislation required to implement UNCITRAL texts. The UNCITRAL Secretariat is located in Vienna and maintains a website at www.uncitral.org

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For further information please contact:


 Jenny Clift
Senior Legal Officer
UNCITRAL Secretariat
Email: jenny.clift@uncitral.org