United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/69/13

Sixty-ninth session

Agenda item 123 (g)

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolution 54/5 of 8 October 1999, by which it granted observer status to the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization, as well as its previous resolutions on cooperation between the United Nations and the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization, including resolution 67/13 of 19 November 2012,

Recalling also that one of the purposes of the United Nations is to achieve international cooperation in solving international problems of an economic, social or humanitarian nature,

Recalling further the Articles of the Charter of the United Nations that encourage activities through regional cooperation for the promotion of the purposes and principles of the United Nations,

Recalling its Declaration on the Enhancement of Cooperation between the United Nations and Regional Arrangements or Agencies in the Maintenance of International Peace and Security of 9 December 1994,

Recognizing that any dispute or conflict in the region impedes cooperation, and stressing the need to solve such a dispute or conflict on the basis of the norms and principles of international law,

Convinced that the strengthening of cooperation between the United Nations and other organizations contributes to the promotion of the purposes and principles of the United Nations,

Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General submitted pursuant to resolution 67/13,

1. Recalls the Declaration adopted by the Heads of State and Government of the States members of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization on the occasion of the Twentieth Anniversary Summit of the Organization, held in Istanbul, Turkey, on 26 June 2012;

2. Reiterates the conviction that multilateral economic cooperation contributes to enhancing peace, stability and security to the benefit of the wider Black Sea area;

3. Welcomes the commitment of the States members of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization to the implementation of its economic agenda, “Towards an enhanced Black Sea Economic Cooperation Partnership”, endorsed by the Heads of State and Government of the States members of the Organization at its Twentieth Anniversary Summit, in which the member States reiterated their commitment to enhancing the economic mission and the project-oriented character of the Organization;

4. Values the activities of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization aimed at strengthening regional cooperation in such fields as energy, including renewable energy and energy efficiency, transport, institutional renewal and good governance, trade and economic development, banking and finance, environmental protection, sustainable development and entrepreneurship, communications, agriculture and agro-industry, health care and pharmaceutics, culture, education, youth and sports, tourism, science and technology, exchange of statistical data and economic information, collaboration among customs authorities and combating organized crime and trafficking in drugs, weapons and radioactive material, acts of terrorism and illegal migration and in other related spheres;

5. Welcomes the efforts of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization to elaborate and realize concrete joint regional projects, particularly in the field of transport, which will contribute to the development of Euro-Asian transport links, and recalls, within this framework, the Memorandum of Understanding for the Coordinated Development of the Black Sea Ring Highway and the Memorandum of Understanding on the Development of Motorways of the Sea in the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization region, which entered into force in late 2008;

6. Appeals for greater cooperation between international financial institutions and the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization in co-financing feasibility and pre-feasibility studies for projects in the wider Black Sea area, where economically prudent and within their respective mandates;

7. Notes the contributions of the bodies related to the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization, namely, the Parliamentary Assembly, the Business Council, the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank and the International Centre for Black Sea Studies, to the strengthening of multifaceted regional cooperation in the region;

8. Welcomes the commitment of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization to promoting fruitful cooperation with the United Nations and the specialized agencies, in particular to developing practical and results-oriented projects, in areas of common interest, as reiterated in the Declaration and the new economic agenda endorsed at the Twentieth Anniversary Summit of the Organization;

9. Also welcomes the increased cooperation between the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization and the United Nations Development Programme, the Economic Commission for Europe, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the International Organization for Migration, the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the World Health Organization, the World Tourism Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, as well as the working contacts of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization with the World Bank aimed at promoting sustainable development in the Black Sea region;

10. Acknowledges the interest of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization in contributing to the post 2015 development agenda;

11. Welcomes efforts to increase capacity-building in the Permanent International Secretariat of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization by establishing a project management unit to support projects for the sustainable development of the Black Sea region, in turn contributing to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals in the wider Black Sea area;

12. Notes the willingness of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization to continue to implement sustainable development strategies based on a balanced and harmonious relationship between social needs, economic activities and environmental protection;

13. Also notes the efforts of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization to take measures to rehabilitate, protect and preserve the environment in the Black Sea region, and in this regard welcomes its cooperation with the World Wide Fund for Nature;

14. Further notes the increased cooperation between the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and within this framework welcomes the positive results of the ongoing joint project to strengthen the criminal justice response to trafficking in persons in the Black Sea region, launched on 1 September 2007;

15. Welcomes the multifaceted and fruitful cooperation between the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization and the Economic Commission for Europe, especially in the area of transport, within the framework of the Cooperation Agreement signed by the two organizations on 2 July 2001;

16. Encourages the full implementation of the Cooperation Agreement between the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme of 20 February 2002 and the Relationship Agreement between the Organization and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization of 8 September 1997;

17. Notes that the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization became a member of the Group of Friends of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations in 2009 in order to contribute to the fulfilment of the objectives of the Alliance by promoting projects aimed at building bridges between diverse cultures and communities and fostering cross-cultural exchange and cooperation, and welcomes the intention of the secretariats of the two organizations to sign a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the near future;

18. Also notes the potential for cooperation between the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization and the European Union in the interest of realizing the Organization’s goals beneficial to both sides;

19. Further notes the cooperation established between the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization and other regional organizations and initiatives;

20. Invites the Secretary-General to strengthen dialogue with the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization with a view to promoting cooperation and coordination between the secretariats of the two organizations;

21. Invites the specialized agencies and other organizations and programmes of the United Nations system to cooperate with the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization in order to continue programmes with the Organization and its associated institutions for the achievement of their objectives;

22. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its seventy-first session a report on the implementation of the present resolution;

23. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its seventy-first session, under the item entitled “Cooperation between the United Nations and regional and other organizations”, the sub-item entitled “Cooperation between the United Nations and the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization”.

48th plenary meeting 11 November 2014