GA/SM/118

GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT HOSTS WORKING LUNCHEON FOR CHAIRMEN OF MAIN COMMITTEES

Following is the statement of the President of the General Assembly, Theo Ben-Gurirab (Namibia), as he hosted the second working luncheon of the Chairmen of the Main Committees on 27 October:

I welcome you all to our second working luncheon. After our first luncheon, the Assembly considered, among others, the following items:

-- Report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization;

-- Follow-up to the International Year of Older Persons;

-- Report of the Security-Council;

-- Report of the International Court of Justice; and

-- Report of the Credentials Committee.

The General Assembly has considered some of the cooperation items on its agenda and the remaining ones will be considered during the month of November.

One commemorative meeting was held today marking the thirtieth anniversary of the operations of the United Nations Population Fund. Another commemorative meeting will take place on 11 November to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Convention of the Rights of the Child.

The Assembly elected the five non-permanent members of the Security Council (Bangladesh, Jamaica, Mali, Tunisia and Ukraine). Twenty members of the Committee for Programme and Coordination and 29 members of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme were also elected.

The Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization and the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries became the thirty-fourth and the thirty-fifth organizations granted observer status by the Assembly.

- 2 - Press Release GA/SM/118 28 October 1999

The General Assembly will elect 18 members of the Economic and Social Council on Friday, 29 October. Election of five members of the International Court of Justice will take place on 3 November.

Currently, I am consulting on the items on the reform of the Security Council as well as the Millennium Assembly and Summit. I intend to schedule those items for consideration at an appropriate time. This latter item is one on which the Secretary-General and the Presidents of the Principal Organs exchanged views yesterday, at a meeting he hosted. Also, consultations are under way concerning the establishment of an ad hoc working group on the causes of conflict in Africa.

The work of the General Assembly is progressing according to schedule.

I shall now call on the Committee Chairmen to give us their views on the schedule of work or related matters of their Committees, highlighting special issues, both substantive and procedural.

The following Committee Chairmen then briefed the gathering on their activities: Raimundo Gonzalez (Chile), Chairman of the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security); Sotirios Zackheos (Cyprus), Chairman of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee); Roble Olhaye (Djibouti), Chairman of the Second Committee (Economic and Financial); Vladimir Galuska (Czech Republic), Chairman of the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural); Penny Wensley (Australia), Chairman of the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary); Phakiso Mochochoko (Lesotho), Chairman of the Sixth Committee (Legal); and Conrad Mselle (United Republic of Tanzania), Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan took part in the discussion, as did the Under-Secretary-General for Administration and Management, Joseph Connor, and the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Bernard Miyet, who spoke about current and forthcoming peacekeeping operations.

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