General Assembly Session 54 meeting 83

The President

This morning, the General Assembly will consider the reports of the Third Committee on agenda items 106 to 116 and 12.

I request the Rapporteur of the Third Committee, Mr. Naif Bin Bandar Al-Sudairy of Saudi Arabia, to introduce in one intervention the reports of the Third Committee.

Mr. Al-Sudairy (Saudi Arabia)

I have the honour to present for consideration the following reports of the Third Committee on the agenda items allocated to it by the General Assembly.

Under agenda item 106, entitled "Social development, including questions relating to the world social situation and to youth, ageing, disabled persons and the family", the Third Committee recommends in document A/54/595, paragraph 27, the adoption of five draft resolutions and, in paragraph 28, the adoption of one draft decision.

Under agenda item 107, entitled "Crime prevention and criminal justice", the Third Committee recommends in document A/54/596, paragraph 31, the adoption of seven draft resolutions and, in paragraph 32, the adoption of one draft decision.

Under agenda item 108, entitled "International drug control", the Committee recommends in document A/54/597, paragraph 7, the adoption of one draft resolution.

Under agenda item 109, entitled "Advancement of women", the Committee recommends in document A/54/598 and Corr. 1 and 2, paragraph 34, the adoption of eight draft resolutions.

Under agenda item 110, entitled "Implementation of the outcome of the Fourth World Conference on Women", the Third Committee recommends in document A/54/599 and Corr. 1, paragraph 11, the adoption of two draft resolutions.

Under agenda item 111, entitled "Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, questions relating to refugees, returnees and displaced persons and humanitarian questions", the Committee recommends in document A/54/600, paragraph 19, the adoption of five draft resolutions.

I would like to draw the attention of the Assembly to paragraph 7 of the report, which concerns draft resolution A/C.3/54/L.91, entitled "Follow-up to the Regional Conference to Address the Problems of Refugees, Displaced Persons, Other Forms of Involuntary Displacement and Returnees in the Countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States and Relevant Neighbouring States". The name of Georgia should be deleted from the list of sponsors.

Under agenda item 112, entitled "Promotion and protection of the rights of children", the Third Committee recommends in document A/54/601, paragraph 12, the adoption of two draft resolutions and, in paragraph 13, the adoption of one draft decision.

Regarding agenda item 113, there is a correction to page 7 of the Arabic text of document A/54/602.

Under this agenda item, entitled "Programme of activities of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People", the Third Committee recommends in document A/54/602, paragraph 9, the adoption of one draft resolution.

Under agenda item 114, entitled "Elimination of racism and racial discrimination", the Committee recommends in document A/54/603, paragraph 16, the adoption of two draft resolutions and, in paragraph 17, the adoption of one draft decision.

Under agenda item 115, entitled "Right of peoples to self-determination", the Third Committee recommends in document A/54/604, paragraph 17, the adoption of three draft resolutions.

Under agenda item 116 (c), entitled "Human rights situations and reports of special rapporteurs and representatives", the Third Committee recommends in document A/54/605/Add.3, paragraph 62, the adoption of 10 draft resolutions.

Under agenda item 116 (d), entitled "Comprehensive implementation of and follow-up to the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action", the Third Committee indicates in its report (A/54/605/Add.4) that no proposals were submitted and no action was taken under the sub-item.

Under agenda item 116 (e), entitled "Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights", the Third Committee indicates in its report (A/54/605/Add.5) that no proposals were submitted and no action was taken under the sub-item.

Under agenda item 12, entitled "Report of the Economic and Social Council", the Third Committee recommends in document A/54/606, paragraph 8, the adoption of two draft resolutions.

In conclusion, I wish to thank the members of the Asian Group, who have given me the honour of representing them as a member of the Bureau. I would also like to thank the Chairman of the Committee, the Vice-Chairmen, the Secretariat and the interpreters for their efforts to ensure the success of our work.

The President

If there is no proposal under rule 66 of the rules of procedure, I shall take it that the General Assembly decides not to discuss the reports of the Third Committee that are before it today.

The President

Statements will therefore be limited to explanations of vote or position. The positions of delegations regarding the recommendations of the Third Committee have been made clear in the Committee and are reflected in the relevant official records. May I remind members that under paragraph 7 of decision 34/401 the General Assembly agreed that

"When the same draft resolution is considered in a Main Committee and in plenary meeting, a delegation should, as far as possible, explain its vote only once, i.e., either in the Committee or in plenary meeting unless that delegation's vote in plenary meeting is different from its vote in the Committee."

May I remind delegations that, also in accordance with General Assembly decision 34/401, explanations of vote are limited to 10 minutes and should be made by delegations from their seats.

Before we begin to take action on the recommendations contained in the reports of the Third Committee, I should like to advise representatives that we are going to proceed to take decisions in the same manner as was done in the Third Committee, unless the Secretariat is notified otherwise in advance. This means that where recorded votes and separate votes were taken, we will do the same. I should also hope that we may proceed to adopt without a vote those recommendations that were adopted without a vote in the Third Committee.

The President

The Assembly has before it five draft resolutions recommended by the Third Committee in paragraph 27 of its report and one draft decision recommended by the Third Committee in paragraph 28 of the same report.

The Assembly will now take a decision on the five draft resolutions and the draft decision one by one. After all the decisions have been taken, representatives will again have the opportunity to explain their votes or positions.

We turn first to draft resolution I, entitled "Policies and programmes involving youth".

The Third Committee adopted draft resolution I without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The President

The Third Committee adopted draft resolution II, entitled "Implementation of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons: towards a society for all in the twenty-first century", without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do likewise?

The President

The Third Committee adopted draft resolution III, entitled " A United Nations literacy decade: education for all", without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The President

The Third Committee adopted draft resolution IV, entitled "Cooperatives in social development", without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The President

The Third Committee adopted draft resolution V, entitled "Follow-up to the International Year of the Family", without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The President

The Assembly will now take a decision on the draft decision, entitled "Report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond", which the Third Committee recommended for adoption. May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to adopt the draft decision?

The President

I call on the representative of the United States of America for an explanation of position.

Mr. Rabby (United States)

The United States regrets not having been able to co-sponsor resolution 54/121 on the implementation of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons. We joined in the consensus, but we would like to note that the United States cannot support the language in the third preambular paragraph, which amounts to a reaffirmation by all of the States supporting this resolution of obligations which they have not all, in fact, undertaken.

We would like to emphasize, however, our Government's commitment to the advancement and protection of the rights of persons with disabilities.

The President

The General Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 106.

The President

The Assembly has before it seven draft resolutions recommended by the Third Committee in paragraph 31 of its report and one draft decision, recommended by the Third Committee in paragraph 32 of the same report. The Assembly will take a decision on the seven draft resolutions and the draft decision one by one. After all the decisions have been taken, representatives will again have the opportunity to explain their vote.

We turn first to draft resolution I, entitled "Tenth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders". The Third Committee adopted draft resolution I without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The President

Draft resolution II, entitled "Draft United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the draft protocols thereto", was adopted by the Third Committee without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly too wishes to adopt the draft resolution?

The President

Draft resolution III is entitled "Activities of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Elaboration of a Convention against Transnational Organized Crime: illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, their parts and components and ammunition, as well as consideration of the need to develop an instrument on the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in explosives". Draft resolution III was adopted by the Third Committee without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to adopt the draft resolution?

The President

Draft resolution IV, entitled "Action against corruption", was adopted by the Third Committee without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly too wishes to adopt the draft resolution?

The President

Draft resolution V is entitled "High-level Political Signing Conference for the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime". The Third Committee adopted the draft resolution without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The President

Draft resolution VI, entitled "African Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders", was adopted by the Third Committee without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to adopt the draft resolution?

The President

Draft resolution VII is entitled "Strengthening the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme, in particular its technical cooperation capacity". Draft resolution VII was adopted by the Third Committee without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes also to adopt the draft resolution?

The President

The Assembly will now take a decision on the draft decision, entitled "Report of the Secretary-General on the elimination of violence against women", recommended by the Third Committee in paragraph 32 of its report. May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to adopt the draft decision?

The President

I call on the representative of Uganda on a point of order.

Ms. Otiti (Uganda)

With respect to draft resolution VI, just adopted as resolution 54/130, I wish to recall that, as indicated in the Third Committee by the Chairman of the African Group, the correct name of the institution to which the draft resolution refers is the United Nations African Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders. I would request that this correction be reflected in the final text of resolution 54/130.

The President

May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 107?

The President

The Assembly will now take a decision on the draft resolution recommended by the Third Committee in paragraph 7 of its report.

The draft resolution, entitled "International cooperation against the world drug problem", was adopted by the Third Committee without a vote. May I take it that the General Assembly too wishes to adopt the draft resolution?

The President

May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 108?

The President

The Assembly has before it eight draft resolutions recommended by the Third Committee in paragraph 34 of its report.

I call on the representative of the Philippines.

Mrs. Austria-Garcia (Philippines)

I wish to make a correction to draft resolution VI, to reflect agreement that was reached in the Third Committee. Paragraph 11 of that draft resolution should read as follows:

"Also encourages concerned Governments, particularly those of the countries of origin and destination, to adopt measures or strengthen existing ones to regulate the recruitment and deployment of women migrant workers, including considering the adoption of appropriate legal measures against intermediaries who deliberately encourage the clandestine movement of workers and who exploit women migrant workers".

I thank the delegation of Finland in connection with this correction.

The President

The Assembly will now take a decision on all eight draft resolutions, one by one, after which members will have an opportunity to explain their positions.

We turn first to draft resolution I, entitled "Traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls", which was adopted by the Third Committee without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to adopt the draft resolution?

The President

Draft resolution II, entitled "International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women", was adopted by the Third Committee without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly too wishes to adopt the draft resolution?

The President

The Third Committee adopted draft resolution III, entitled "Improvement of the situation of women in rural areas", without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The President

The Third Committee adopted draft resolution IV, entitled "United Nations Development Fund for Women", without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The President

The Third Committee adopted draft resolution V, entitled "Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women", without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The President

The Third Committee adopted draft resolution VI, entitled "Violence against women migrant workers", without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The President

The Third Committee adopted draft resolution VII, entitled "Improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat", without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do likewise?

The President

The Third Committee adopted draft resolution VIII, entitled "Revitalization and strengthening of the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women", without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do likewise?

The President

I call on the representative of Brazil on a point of order.

Mrs. Nicodemus (Brazil)

I would request the Secretariat to note in document A/54/598 that Brazil is an original co-sponsor of resolution 54/134 on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

The President

I call on the representative of Morocco on a point of order.

Mrs. Afifi (Morocco)

I would like it to be noted that my delegation wishes to join the sponsors of resolution 54/133 on traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls.

The President

I call on the representative of the Russian Federation on a point of order.

Mr. Rogov (Russia)

The delegation of the Russian Federation would refer to resolution 54/140 on revitalization and strengthening of the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women. In operative paragraph 10, following the words "in the Web site of the Institute", the words "should be ensured" should be added so that the resolution is fully consistent with the draft as adopted by the Third Committee in document A/C.3/54/L.89.

The President

I call on the representative of Ecuador on a point of order.

Ms. Martínez (Ecuador)

My delegation wishes to speak in reference to resolution 54/134 on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Like Brazil, Ecuador is also a co-sponsor of the resolution and we ask that our sponsorship be reflected in the report.

Mr. Simón Padrós (Argentina)

My delegation became a co-sponsor of the draft resolution on the United Nations Development Fund for Women, now resolution 54/136, at the time of its adoption in the Third Committee. I wish to state that for the record now, as our sponsorship is not reflected in the report in document A/54/598.

Ms. Stiglic (Slovenia)

Slovenia joined the list of co-sponsors on resolution 54/134, entitled "International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women", and we would request our sponsorship to be reflected accordingly.

Mr. Yu Wenzhe (China)

The Chinese delegation is also one of the sponsors of draft resolution III on improvement of the situation of women in rural areas. I hope that China's name will also be added to the list of sponsors.

Mr. García González (El Salvador)

My delegation also wishes to refer to the draft resolution entitled "United Nations Development Fund for women". In the Third Committee, my delegation also became a sponsor of this draft, and we would like that to be reflected in the record.

The President

I am advised by the Secretariat that the corrections being made now were made in the Committee and will be added as corrigenda to the report. They were not actually omitted; they will be duly reflected in the corrigenda.

Mr. Aliyu (Nigeria)

My delegation would also like to join as a sponsor of draft resolution II, "International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women".

The President

That will be added.

Ms. de Armas García (Cuba)

My delegation also regrets that it has to refer back to the draft resolution on improvement of the situation of women in rural areas. We would like to make it clear that my delegation had also joined in sponsoring that draft when it was adopted in the Third Committee, and we are not shown on record, so we would also appreciate that correction being made.

The President

The Assembly will now take a decision on the two draft resolutions recommended by the Third Committee in paragraph 11 of its report.

The General Assembly shall first turn to draft resolution I, entitled "Follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women and full implementation of the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action". The Third Committee adopted draft resolution I without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do likewise?

The President

We now turn to draft resolution II, entitled "Preparations for the special session of the General Assembly entitled Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century'". The Third Committee adopted draft resolution II without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do likewise?

Ms. Kangaskorpi (Finland)

I have the honour, on behalf of the European Union, to explain our position in connection with the two resolutions just adopted.

The Central and Eastern European countries associated with the European Union -- Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia -- and the associated countries Cyprus and Malta, as well as the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) country member of the European Economic Area (EEA), Iceland, align themselves with this explanation of vote.

The European Union would like to share our views regarding the arrangements for the participation of non-governmental organizations in the Beijing + 5 special session. The European Union has joined the consensus in adopting the resolutions and can support their content.

While paragraph 16 of draft resolution II and corresponding paragraph 15 of draft resolution I remain valid, further discussion, in light of the new developments concerning non-governmental organization participation in the follow-up processes, is required. Since the adoption of draft resolution II in March of this year, new experience has been gained and new developments have taken place. Agreement was reached regarding the arrangements for accreditation and participation of non-governmental organizations in the ICPD + 5 special session held in June and later, in August, for next year's Copenhagen + 5 special session.

In light of these recent developments, we feel that it is important that women's organizations are treated on an equal basis with non-governmental organizations which are participating in other, similar follow-up processes.

The European Union discussed the issue of participation by non-governmental organizations informally during the negotiation process in the Third Committee but decided not to pursue the issue, as it is a matter to be addressed by the Preparatory Committee. Non-governmental organization participation was discussed during the Beijing + 5 informal consultations a couple of weeks ago, and the European Union also raised the question of accreditation of those non-governmental organizations not covered by the existing arrangements.

Since the Beijing Conference in 1995, new non-governmental organizations have emerged as a result of the momentum created by the Conference itself. These include a number of small national organizations which are unable to participate in the work of the United Nations on a regular basis. For these organizations, the process of applying for the Economic and Social Council consultative status to participate in this particular special session only would not be reasonable and, indeed, would not be meaningful from a practical point of view, especially taking into account the workload faced by the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations. To widen the accreditation for non-governmental organizations other than those having Economic and Social Council consultative status or which participated in the Beijing Conference would provide the interested non-governmental organizations or women's groups with the possibility to attend this particular special session.

Only a short while ago, consensus was reached among delegations on the arrangements for participation by non-governmental organizations in the context of the ICPD + 5 conference and the Copenhagen + 5 preparatory process, including addressing the participation of organizations which did not attend those Conferences or which do not have Economic and Social Council consultative status.

We believe that these arrangements would provide us with a good basis for our discussions. As regards the arrangements concerning the participation of the non-governmental organizations in the plenary, the African Group made a proposal in the informal consultations of the Preparatory Committee which we welcomed. We hope that a final agreement on all the arrangements for participation by non-governmental organizations in the Beijing + 5 special session will be reached before we enter the substantive negotiations in the Preparatory Committee in March 2000.

After all, non-governmental organizations, in particular women's organizations, play a vital role in the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and continue to be an indispensable force for gender equality. Therefore, wide attendance at the special session is essential.

The President

I give the floor to the representative of Algeria, who has asked to speak on a point of order.

Mrs. Mesdoua (Algeria)

It was not my delegation's intention to take the floor on this item. However, having heard the statement made by the representative of the European Union on this subject, we deeply regret that this question is being brought up now, at a time when we are adopting two draft resolutions on which the Third Committee reached consensus.

In connection with the accreditation of non-governmental organizations and their participation in the special session to be held next year for Beijing+5, it is clear to the Algerian delegation -- and we want this to be clearly reflected in the records of the Assembly -- that the accreditation of non-governmental organizations to the General Assembly has already been the subject of discussion and of consensus not only in the Preparatory Committee and the Economic and Social Council, but also in the Third Committee. We feel that the statement made just now by the European Union is an attempt to reopen this question. We hope that this is not the case. In any event, it is clear to the Algerian delegation that the question of accreditation is a matter that has already been discussed and negotiated and on which consensus has been reached. The Algerian delegation does not intend to reopen this issue.

The participation of these non-governmental organizations in the special session is a question that is now being negotiated. We do not believe that the question should be raised now, at the time of the adoption of the report of the Third Committee. I would ask, therefore, that the statement made by the Algerian delegation be reflected in the records of the Assembly.

The President

I call on the representative of Suriname on a point of order.

Mr. Kerpens (Suriname)

I would like to call to the Assembly's attention that in document A/54/599, entitled "Implementation of the outcome of the Fourth World Conference on Women", on the top left of page 1 in the English version, we see "Fifty-fourth session, Agenda item 10". I presume it should read "Agenda item 110".

The President

The General Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 110.

The President

The Assembly has before it five draft resolutions recommended by the Third Committee in paragraph 19 of its report.

The Assembly will now take a decision on the five draft resolutions one by one. After all the decisions have been taken, representatives will again have the opportunity to explain their vote.

We turn first to draft resolution I, entitled "Enlargement of the Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees", which the Third Committee adopted without a vote.

May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do likewise?

The President

The Third Committee adopted draft resolution II, entitled "Follow-up to the Regional Conference to Address the Problems of Refugees, Displaced Persons, Other Forms of Involuntary Displacement and Returnees in the Countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States and Relevant Neighbouring States", without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The President

The Third Committee adopted draft resolution III, entitled "Assistance to unaccompanied refugee minors", without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do likewise?

The President

The Third Committee adopted draft resolution IV, entitled "Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees", without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The President

The Third Committee adopted draft resolution V, entitled "Assistance to refugees, returnees and displaced persons in Africa", without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do likewise?

The President

May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 111?

The President

I give the floor to those representatives who have asked to speak on a point of order.

Mr. Schalin (Finland)

I wish to point out that in section III of draft resolution II, contained in document A/54/601 and entitled "The rights of the child", operative paragraph 1 -- which in the English version is on page 10 -- was subject to substantive and extensive negotiations and was correctly reflected in the Third Committee in the "L" document which was adopted. That paragraph should therefore read:

"Welcomes the report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the impact of armed conflict on children".

On the following page of the same report, in operative paragraph 7 -- which was likewise carefully negotiated and orally amended in the Third Committee before adoption -- the third line should read:

"... against children, as defined in the Statute of the Court, which include, inter alia, ...".

The words "Rome" and "International Criminal" should therefore be deleted.

Mrs. Afifi (Morocco)

I apologize for taking the floor yet again, but I would like to draw to the Assembly's attention the fact that Morocco is a sponsor of draft resolution II under item 112 on "The rights of the child", which is contained in document A/54/601.

Mr. García González (El Salvador)

My delegation wants to express its wish to be a sponsor of draft resolution I, entitled "The girl child", and we hope this can be reflected in the record.

Mrs. Brobbey (Ghana)

Ghana would like to co-sponsor draft resolution II, "The rights of the child".

Mr. Manele (Solomon Islands)

My delegation would like to co-sponsor draft resolution II.

Mr. Rabuka (Fiji)

My delegation would like to join as a sponsor of draft resolution II.

The President

I call on the representative of Costa Rica on a point of order.

Mrs. Castro de Barish (Costa Rica)

Costa Rica is also a sponsor of draft resolution II, entitled "The rights of the child", but does not appear among the sponsors or among those that joined later. We hope that this will be placed on record.

Mr. Essonghé (Gabon)

My delegation would also like to join as a sponsor of the draft resolution entitled "The rights of the child".

Mr. Bhatti (Pakistan)

My delegation would like to join the sponsors of draft resolution I.

Mrs. Sinjela (Zambia)

Zambia would like to join as a sponsor of draft resolution II.

The President

The Assembly will now take a decision on the two draft resolutions recommended by the Third Committee in paragraph 12 of the report and on the one draft decision recommended by the Third Committee in paragraph 13 of the same report.

We turn first to draft resolution I, entitled "The girl child". The Third Committee adopted draft resolution I without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do likewise?

The President

The Third Committee adopted draft resolution II, entitled "The rights of the child", without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The President

The Assembly will now take a decision on the draft decision entitled "Report of the Secretary-General on the status of the Convention on the Rights of the Child". May I consider that the Assembly wishes to adopt the draft decision?

The President

May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 112?

The President

The Assembly will now take a decision on the draft resolution recommended by the Third Committee in paragraph 9 of its report. The Third Committee adopted the draft resolution, entitled "International Decade of the World's Indigenous People", without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do likewise?

The President

May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 113?

The President

The Assembly will now take a decision on the two draft resolutions recommended by the Third Committee in paragraph 16 of its report and on the draft decision recommended by the Third Committee in paragraph 17 of the same report.

We turn first to draft resolution I, entitled "Measures to combat contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance". The Third Committee adopted draft resolution I without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The President

Draft resolution II is entitled "Third Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination and the convening of the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance". The Third Committee adopted draft resolution II without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do likewise?

The President

The Assembly will now take a decision on the draft decision entitled "Report of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination". May I take it that the Assembly wishes to adopt the draft decision?

The President

May I take it that the Assembly wishes to conclude its consideration of agenda item 114?

The President

The Assembly will now take a decision on the three draft resolutions recommended by the Third Committee in paragraph 17 of its report. The report of the Fifth Committee on the programme budget implications of draft resolution II is contained in document A/54/672.

We turn first to draft resolution I, entitled "Universal realization of the realization of the right of peoples to self-determination". The Third Committee adopted the draft resolution without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The President

Draft resolution II is entitled "Use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination". A recorded vote has been requested.

The President

Draft resolution III is entitled "The right of the Palestinian people to self-determination". A recorded vote has been requested.

The President

May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 115?

The President

The Assembly will now take a decision on the draft decision recommended by the Third Committee in paragraph 4 of its report.

The draft decision is entitled "Documents considered by the General Assembly in connection with the question of human rights". May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to adopt the draft decision.

The President

I give the floor to the representative of the United States, who wishes to make a statement in explanation of position.

Mr. Rabby (United States)

We would like to explain our position on the draft resolution entitled "International Covenants on Human Rights" which has been submitted under agenda item 116 (a).

The Government of the United States takes exception to the language in operative paragraph 6 that suggests that there are broad rules proscribing the ability of States, under international law, to enter reservations to treaties beyond the provision that a reservation may not be incompatible with the object and purpose of the relevant treaty.

For the record, the Government of the United States wishes to note that the applicable international law, which is stated in Article 19 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, is that

"A State may, when signing, ratifying, accepting, approving or acceding to a treaty, formulate a reservation unless:

(a) the reservation is prohibited by the treaty;

(b) the treaty provides that only specified reservations, which do not include the reservation in question, may be made; or

(c) in cases not falling under sub-paragraphs (a) and (b), the reservation is incompatible with the object and purpose of the treaty."

We should also like to explain our position on draft resolution III, under agenda item 116 (a), regarding the Convention on migrant workers. Since this Convention was adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession in December 1990, only 12 countries have chosen to become States parties. The great majority of countries have chosen not to become a party to this instrument, among them the Government of the United States. We cannot support the use of scarce funds by the Secretary-General for a public affairs campaign aimed at promoting a Convention that has gained so little support.

The President

The Assembly will now take a decision on the three draft resolutions recommended by the Third Committee in paragraph 16 of its report (A/54/605/Add.1).

We shall first turn to draft resolution I, entitled "Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment". The Third Committee adopted draft resolution I without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The President

The Third Committee adopted draft resolution II, entitled "International Covenants on Human Rights", without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The President

We turn now to draft resolution III, entitled "International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families". The Third Committee adopted draft resolution III without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The President

I call on the representative of Mexico, who wishes to speak in exercise of the right of reply.

Ms. Monroy (Mexico)

I ask for the floor in connection with the statement just made by the representative of the United States. My delegation understood him to say that his delegation did not want to support the use of funds for a convention, such as the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, that has received so little support. However, my delegation wishes to state that the allocation of funds would be intended to promote the ratification and dissemination of the Convention, which has recently been receiving ratifications, albeit slowly. Moreover, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights recently referred to this Convention as a basic international instrument in the area of human rights that certainly deserves the support of the Member States of the United Nations.

The President

May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of sub-item (a) of agenda item 116?

The President

The Assembly has before it 20 draft resolutions recommended by the Third Committee in paragraph 75 of its report.

I call on the representative of Thailand, who wishes to speak in explanation of vote before voting.

Mr. Wirasamban (Thailand)

Thailand wishes to clarify its position on draft resolution XX, entitled "The right to development", contained in document A/54/605/Add.2, under agenda item 116 (b), "Human rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms".

Thailand deeply regrets that the issue of the right to development has become highly politicized during this session of the General Assembly. The definition of the right to development has become selectively interpreted. Such selective interpretation is contrary to the principles enshrined in the 1986 Declaration on the Right to Development, which clearly stipulates that the right to development encompasses all human rights. Thailand feels that the advancement of the right to development is very much contingent on common understanding of and consensus on the true spirit and real objectives of the Declaration on the Right to Development.

In this regard, we sincerely hope that in future work on the right to development all parties will make great efforts to achieve such consensus, bearing in mind the universality, indivisibility and interdependence of all human rights. Attaching great importance to consensus on the issue of the right to development, Thailand will vote in support this draft resolution, but we reserve our right to express our views in future work and subsequent discussions on the right to development, particularly on the issues reflected in the context of paragraphs to be voted on by the General Assembly.

The President

I call on the representative of Japan on a point of order.

Mrs. Ito (Japan)

My delegation wishes to make corrections to draft resolution XI, entitled "Situation of human rights in Cambodia", in order to reflect properly the language agreed in the Third Committee. In operative paragraph 7, lines 2 through line 4, the names of the Commissions should be the National Assembly Commission of Human Rights and Reception of Complaints and the Senate Commission of Human Rights and Reception of Complaints.

In the same draft resolution, in operative paragraph 20, the words "inter alia" should be replaced with the word "including".

The President

The Assembly will now take a decision on the 20 draft resolutions one by one. After all the decisions have been taken, representatives will again have the opportunity to explain their votes.

We turn first to draft resolution I, entitled "Elimination of all forms of religious intolerance". The Third Committee adopted draft resolution I without a vote. May I take it that the General Assembly wishes to do the same?

The President

The Third Committee adopted draft resolution II, entitled "Human rights and cultural diversity", adopted without a vote. May I take it that the General Assembly wishes to do the same?

The President

The Third Committee adopted draft resolution III, entitled "United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education, 1995-2004, and public information activities in the field of human rights", without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The President

The Third Committee adopted draft resolution IV, entitled "Effective promotion of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities", without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The President

Draft resolution V, entitled "Human rights in the administration of justice", was adopted by the Third Committee without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly too wishes to adopt the draft resolution?

The President

Draft resolution VI is entitled "Protection of migrants". A separate vote has been requested on the tenth preambular paragraph of draft resolution VI.

As there is no objection to that request, I shall now put to the vote the tenth preambular paragraph of draft resolution VI. A recorded vote has been requested.

The President

The Assembly will now take a decision on draft resolution VI as a whole. The Third Committee adopted draft resolution VI as a whole without a vote. May I take it that the General Assembly wishes to do the same?

The President

Draft resolution VII is entitled "Protection of and assistance to internally displaced persons". The Third Committee adopted draft resolution VII without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The President

Draft resolution VIII is entitled "Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms". The Third Committee adopted draft resolution VIII without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do likewise?

The President

We turn now to draft resolution IX, entitled "Human rights and terrorism".A recorded vote has been requested.

The President

Draft resolution X is entitled "Globalization and its impact on the full enjoyment of all human rights". A recorded vote has been requested.