General Assembly to Elect and Appoint Members to UN Development Programme, Appeals and Dispute Tribunals, Fifth Committee Subsidiary Bodies
The General Assembly today elected Alexander De Croo of Belgium as the next Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for a four-year term. The Russian Federation objected to confirming the appointment by acclamation and requested a recorded vote. The Assembly approved the nomination with 172 votes in favour to none against, with 1 abstention (Russian Federation). Mr. De Croo will serve from 2 December 2025 to 1 December 2029.
The delegate of the Russian Federation explained that it opposed the long-standing practice of appointing only Western nationals to lead UNDP, arguing that this undermines trust and legitimacy and questioning Mr. De Croo’s impartiality based on public statements.
Ecuador, President of the UNDP Executive Board, recalled that the selection is the Secretary-General’s prerogative and noted that the process was transparent and consistent with procedures used in 2017 and 2021. Uruguay highlighted UNDP’s global role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The delegate of Ireland, speaking on behalf of the European Union, emphasized the importance of protecting the neutrality of the UN system and noted Mr. De Croo’s two decades of international experience. Haoliang Xu has served as Acting Administrator since 17 June 2025.
Judges Elected to the UN Appeals Tribunal, Dispute Tribunal
The Assembly elected new judges to the United Nations Appeals Tribunal to replace those whose terms end in June 2026. Lingling Zhang (China) and Richard Buteera (Uganda) were elected in the first round, and Roberto da Silva Fragale Filho (Brazil) in the second round. Candidates from Greece, Canada, United States, Poland and Georgia participated in earlier rounds.
For the United Nations Dispute Tribunal, Adina Elvira Ghita (Romania) was elected in the second round to replace a resigning judge and again for a new seven-year term beginning 1 July 2026.
Five part-time judges were also elected for seven-year terms starting 10 July 2026: Elda Vrioni (Albania), Martin Musaluke (Zambia), Mira Mihaylova Raycheva-Shekerdzhieva (Bulgaria), Aikaterini Koutsopoulou (Greece) and Anatole Kabore (Burkina Faso).
Elections, Appointments in Subsidiary Bodies
The Assembly filled several seats in UN subsidiary bodies. China, Cuba, Egypt, Indonesia, Nigeria, the Republic of Korea and Senegal were elected to the Committee for Programme and Coordination for three-year terms beginning 1 January 2026. Six States — Austria, China, United States, Japan, Kenya and Libya — joined the Committee on Conferences. One Latin American and Caribbean seat remains vacant.
The Assembly took note of candidates from Mexico and the United States to fill vacancies in the Joint Inspection Unit. It also approved appointments to the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), the Committee on Contributions and the Investments Committee, and confirmed an ad hoc member to the latter.
Additional Appointments
The President of Indonesia’s Supreme Audit Institution was appointed to the Board of Auditors for a six-year term beginning 1 July 2026.
Five members were appointed to the International Civil Service Commission for four-year terms starting 1 January 2026, and Bogusław Winid (Poland) was confirmed as Vice-Chair pending extension of his membership.
The Assembly also appointed Sylvia Paola Mendoza Elguea (Mexico), Suresh Raj Sharma (Nepal) and Denis S. Strizheusov (Russian Federation) to the Independent Audit Advisory Committee for three-year terms beginning 1 January 2026.
Complete Live Blog coverage of today's meeting can be found here .