Group of Asia and the Pacific Small Island Developing States


The Group of Asia and the Pacific Small Island Developing States 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 recognises 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:
CountryTerm
China

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:
CountryTerm
Indonesia

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:
CountryTerm
China

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:

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 membersNotes
1966-196725Afghanistan, Burma, Cambodia, Ceylon, Cyprus, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Syria, Thailand, Yemen
1967-197026South Yemen
1970-197127Fiji
197128China
1971-197433Bahrain, Bhutan, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates
1974-197534Bangladesh
1975-197635Papua New Guinea
1976-197736Samoa
1977-197837Vietnam
1978-198138Solomon Islands
1981-198439Vanuatu
1984-199040Brunei
1990-199139Yemeni unification
1991-199243Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Korea
1992-199448Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
1994-199949Palau
1999-200051Nauru, Tonga
2000-200252Tuvalu
2002-202453Tuvalu
2024-present54Kiribati