I have the honour to deliver this explanation of position on behalf of the European Union (EU) and its member States. 

The European Union and its member States continues to support cooperation between regional organizations and the UN and encourages further cooperation, in line with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations. 

However, the resolution “Cooperation between the United Nations and the Economic Cooperation Organization” before us today continues to contain problematic language to our group. In reference to language concerning the ‘Baku Declaration’, the EU reiterates that the references related to Cyprus in this document are not consistent with existing Security Council and General Assembly Resolutions on the same issue, neither with international law and the UN Charter. 

Considering how constructive our approach has been in previous and current consultations, and despite our concerns, we had expected more thorough consultations and attempts to address those concerns when considering the draft resolution. Unfortunately, that has not happened. 

In addition, new language has been introduced, falling beyond the scope of cooperation between the UN and regional organizations, which has exacerbated our concerns. 

With regard to the resolution’s language concerning the Baku Declaration, the EU stresses that the references to Cyprus in those documents are not consistent with existing Security Council and General Assembly resolutions on that issue and therefore also run counter to international law and the Charter. We therefore once again urge the Economic Cooperation Organization to refrain from adopting positions that undermine international law and the Charter of the United Nations. The adoption of this resolution does not amount to the General Assembly’s endorsement of those documents. 

Against this background we cannot vote in favour of this resolution and we invite all UN Member States to consider taking the same approach in this regard.