# Group of Asia and the Pacific Small Island Developing States

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:
* Afghanistan
* Bahrain
* Bangladesh
* Bhutan
* Brunei
* Cambodia
* China
* Cyprus
* Fiji
* India
* Indonesia
* Iran
* Iraq
* Japan
* Jordan
* Kazakhstan
* Kiribati
* Kuwait
* Kyrgyzstan
* Laos
* Lebanon
* Malaysia
* Maldives
* Marshall Islands
* Micronesia
* Mongolia
* Myanmar
* Nauru
* Nepal
* North Korea
* Oman
* Pakistan
* Palau
* State of Palestine
* Papua New Guinea
* Philippines
* Qatar
* Samoa
* Saudi Arabia
* Singapore
* Solomon Islands
* South Korea
* Sri Lanka
* Syria
* Tajikistan
* Thailand
* Timor-Leste
* Tonga
* Turkey
* Turkmenistan
* Tuvalu
* United Arab Emirates
* Uzbekistan
* Vanuatu
* Viet Nam
* Yemen

## 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:
| Country | Term |
| China | Permanent |
| Republic of Korea | 1 January 2024 – 31 December 2025 |
| Japan | 1 January 2023 – 31 December 2024 |

### 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 |
| Indonesia | 1 January 2021 – 31 December 2023 |
| Japan | 1 January 2021 – 31 December 2023 |
| Solomon Islands | 1 January 2021 – 31 December 2023 |
| Afghanistan | 1 January 2022 – 31 December 2024 |
| India | 1 January 2022 – 31 December 2024 |
| Oman | 1 January 2022 – 31 December 2024 |
| Kazakhstan | 1 January 2022 – 31 December 2024 |
| Bangladesh | 1 January 2020 – 31 December 2022 |
| China | 1 January 2020 – 31 December 2022 |
| Republic of Korea | 1 January 2020 – 31 December 2022 |
| Thailand | 1 January 2020 – 31 December 2022 |

### 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 |
| China | 1 January 2021 – 31 December 2023 |
| Nepal | 1 January 2021 – 31 December 2023 |
| Pakistan | 1 January 2021 – 31 December 2023 |
| Uzbekistan | 1 January 2021 – 31 December 2023 |
| Bahrain | 1 January 2019 – 31 December 2021 |
| Bangladesh | 1 January 2019 – 31 December 2021 |
| Fiji | 1 January 2019 – 31 December 2021 |
| India | 1 January 2019 – 31 December 2021 |
| Philippines | 1 January 2019 – 31 December 2021 |
| Indonesia | 1 January 2020 – 31 December 2022 |
| Republic of Korea | 1 January 2020 – 31 December 2022 |
| Japan | 1 January 2020 – 31 December 2022 |
| Marshall Islands | 1 January 2020 – 31 December 2022 |

### 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 | Afghanistan | Also chaired the 5th and 6th emergency special sessions of the General Assembly |
| 1971 | 26th | Adam Malik | Indonesia | |
| 1976 | 31st | H. S. Amerasinghe | Sri Lanka | |
| 1981 | 36th | Ismat T. Kittani | Iraq | Also chaired the 7th and 9th emergency special sessions and the 12th special session of the General Assembly |
| 1986 | 41st | Humayun Rasheed Choudhury | Bangladesh | Also chaired the 14th special session of the General Assembly |
| 1991 | 46th | Samir S. Shihabi | Saudi Arabia | |
| 1996 | 51st | Razali Ismail | Malaysia | 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 | Bahrain | Also chaired the 10th emergency special session of the General Assembly |
| 2011 | 66th | Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser | Qatar | |
| 2016 | 71st | Peter Thomson | Fiji | |
| 2021 | 76th | Abdulla Shahid | Maldives | |
| Future |||||
| 2026 | 81st | TBD | TBD | |
| 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.
| Years | Number of members | Notes |
| 1966-1967 | 25 | Afghanistan, 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, Yemen |
| 1967-1970 | 26 | South Yemen |
| 1970-1971 | 27 | Fiji |
| 1971 | 28 | China |
| 1971-1974 | 33 | Bahrain, Bhutan, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates |
| 1974-1975 | 34 | Bangladesh |
| 1975-1976 | 35 | Papua New Guinea |
| 1976-1977 | 36 | Samoa |
| 1977-1978 | 37 | Vietnam |
| 1978-1981 | 38 | Solomon Islands |
| 1981-1984 | 39 | Vanuatu |
| 1984-1990 | 40 | Brunei |
| 1990-1991 | 39 | Yemeni unification |
| 1991-1992 | 43 | Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Korea |
| 1992-1994 | 48 | Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan |
| 1994-1999 | 49 | Palau |
| 1999-2000 | 51 | Nauru, Tonga |
| 2000-2002 | 52 | Tuvalu |
| 2002-2024 | 53 | Tuvalu |
| 2024-present | 54 | Kiribati |