The Group of Asia and the Pacific Small Island Developing States (often shortened as Asia and the Pacific or Asia–Pacific Group) is one of the five United Nations regional groups and is composed of 54 Member States from Asia and Oceania.

The Group, as with all the regional groups, is a non-binding dialogue group where subjects concerning regional and international matters are discussed. Additionally, the Group works to help allocate seats on United Nations bodies by nominating candidates from the region.

Member States

The following are the Member States of the Asia and the Pacific Group:

History Initially, the Group was known as the Asian Group. However, by the 1970s, Pacific island nations were gaining independence and joining the group. By the mid-2000s the number of Pacific island nations in the group had reached over one fifth of the membership, so they began to advocate for a change of name of the Group.

These efforts were met with success in 2011 when the United Nations agreed to include "Pacific" in the name of the Group, changing it to the Group of Asia and the Pacific Small Island Developing States at China's insistence. This change in name recognizes the growing role Pacific island nations play in the United Nations System.

Representation Security Council The Asia and the Pacific Group holds 3 seats on the Security Council, 2 non-permanent and 1 permanent. The current members of the Security Council from the Group are: Country Term Permanent Republic of Korea 1 January 2024 – 31 December 2025 1 January 2025 – 31 December 2026

Economic and Social Council

The Asia and the Pacific Group holds 11 seats on the United Nations Economic and Social Council. The current members of the Economic and Social Council from the Group are: Country Term 1 January 2021 – 31 December 2023 1 January 2022 – 31 December 2024 1 January 2020 – 31 December 2022 Republic of Korea

Human Rights Council

The Asia–Pacific Group holds 13 seats on the United Nations Human Rights Council. The current members of the Economic and Social Council from the Group are: Country Term 1 January 2021 – 31 December 2023 1 January 2019 – 31 December 2021 1 January 2020 – 31 December 2022 Republic of Korea

Presidency of the General Assembly Every five years in the years ending in 1 and 6, the Asia–Pacific Group is eligible to elect a president to the General Assembly.

The following is a list of presidents from the region since its official creation in 1963: Year Elected Session Name of President Country Note 1966 21st Abdul Rahman Pazhwak Also chaired the 5th and 6th emergency special sessions of the General Assembly 1971 26th Adam Malik 1976 31st H. S. Amerasinghe 1981 36th Ismat T. Kittani Also chaired the 7th and 9th emergency special sessions and the 12th special session of the General Assembly 1986 41st Humayun Rasheed Choudhury Also chaired the 14th special session of the General Assembly 1991 46th Samir S. Shihabi 1996 51st Razali Ismail Also chaired the 10th emergency special and 19th special sessions of the General Assembly 2001 56th Han Seung-soo Republic of Korea Also chaired the 10th emergency special session of the General Assembly 2006 61st Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa Also chaired the 10th emergency special session of the General Assembly 2011 66th Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser 2016 71st Peter Thomson 2021 76th Abdulla Shahid 2026 81st Khalilur Rahman Future 2031 86th TBD TBD 2036 91st TBD TBD

Timeline of membership As the Group of Asia and The Pacific Small Island Developing States changed significantly over time, the number of its members had also changed.

YearsNumber of membersNotes1966-196725Afghanistan, Burma (now Myanmar), Cambodia, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Cyprus, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Syria, Thailand, Yemen1967-197026South Yemen1970-197127Fiji197128China1971-197433Bahrain, Bhutan, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates1974-197534Bangladesh1975-197635Papua New Guinea1976-197736Samoa1977-197837Vietnam1978-198138Solomon Islands1981-198439Vanuatu1984-199040Brunei1990-199139Yemeni unification1991-199243Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Korea1992-199448Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan1994-199949Palau1999-200051Nauru, Tonga2000-202452Tuvalu2024-present53Kiribatihttps://web.archive.org/web/20240107065759/https://www.un.org/dgacm/en/content/regional-groupshttps://web.archive.org/web/20241213223134/https://www.un.org/dgacm/en/content/regional-groups

See also United Nations Regional Groups Small Island Developing States List of members of the United Nations Security Council List of members of the United Nations Economic and Social Council

References

Notes

External links Records of the Department of General Assembly and Conference Management (DGACM) (2002-present) at the United Nations Archives The Regional Groups via the Department of General Assembly and Conference Management