| Date | 20 September 2002 |
|---|
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Agenda item 8 (continued)
Organization of work of the fifty-seventh regular session of the General Assembly, adoption of the agenda and allocation of items
(a) First report of the General Committee (A/57/250)
(b) Request for the inclusion of an additional sub-item: note by the Secretary-General (A/57/231)
The President
The Assembly will consider the first report of the General Committee, which has been circulated in document A/57/250. I will refer to specific sections and paragraphs of the report which contain recommendations for consideration by the Assembly.
The General Committee in paragraph 2 of its report draws the attention of the General Assembly to the provisions reproduced in annexes V, VI, VII and VIII of its rules of procedure.
May I take it that the Assembly takes note of those provisions?
The President
We shall now examine section II of the report, which deals with the organization of the session. We turn to section B, on the rationalization of work.
May I take it that the General Assembly takes note of the provisions in paragraph 12 and 13 concerning the Main Committees?
The President
We turn to section II.C, on the opening and closing dates of the session. In paragraph 14, the General Committee recommends that the fifty-seventh session should close on Monday, 8 September 2003.
May I take it that the General Assembly approves this recommendation?
The President
In paragraph 15, the General Committee recommends that the fifty-seventh session recess no later than Wednesday, 11 December 2002.
May I take it that the General Assembly approves this recommendation?
The President
In paragraph 16, the General Committee makes a recommendation concerning the completion of the work of the Main Committees during the main part of the session.
May I take it that the Assembly approves this recommendation?
The President
Paragraph 17 concerns the new date of observance of the International Day of Peace. May I take it that the General Assembly takes note of paragraph 17?
The President
Next, we turn to section II.D concerning the schedule of meetings.
In paragraph 19, the General Committee recommends that, in order to avoid the late start of meetings, the General Assembly should waive the requirement of the presence of at least one third of the Members to declare a plenary meeting open and permit the debate to proceed and of at least one quarter of the members to declare a meeting of a Main Committee open and permit the debate to proceed. May I take it that the General Assembly approves this recommendation?
The President
In this connection, I should like to endorse strongly the practical suggestion made at previous sessions for delegation to designate someone to be present at the scheduled time. While some progress has been reported on this subject, there is still considerable room for improvement. I genuinely hope that all delegations will cooperate.
In paragraph 20, the General Committee recommends that delegations should be reminded of the utmost importance of punctuality. May I take it that the Assembly approves that recommendation?
The President
The next section, II.E, deals with the general debate. May I take it that the General Assembly takes note of paragraph 21?
The President
We now turn to section II.F, on the election of the President, the Vice-Presidents, the Chairmen of the Main Committees and other officers of the Main Committees. May I take it that the General Assembly takes note of paragraph 23?
The President
We shall now turn to section II.G. We turn first to paragraph 24. May I take it that the General Assembly takes note of the rules of procedure mentioned in paragraph 24?
The President
We now turn to paragraph 25. May I take it that the Assembly takes note of the provisions concerning explanations of vote and right of reply contained in paragraph 25?
The President
We now turn to paragraph 26. May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to limit points of order to five minutes, as recommended in paragraph 26?
The President
We now turn to paragraphs 27 and 28. May I take it that the General Assembly takes note of paragraphs 27 and 28, regarding length of statements?
The President
We now turn to paragraph 29. May I take it that the General Assembly takes note of paragraph 29, regarding concluding statements?
The President
Section II.H deals with records of meetings. May I take it that the Assembly approves the recommendations contained in paragraphs 31 to 33?
The President
Section II.I concerns resolutions. May I take it that the General Assembly takes note of the provisions contained in paragraphs 34 to 36?
The President
We turn now to section II.J, concerning documentation. May I take it that the General Assembly takes note of paragraphs 37 to 45?
The President
Section II.K refers to questions related to the programme budget. May I take it that the General Assembly takes note of the provisions contained in paragraphs 46 to 51, dealing with programme budget and conference services implications of proposals?
The President
Section II.L concerns observances and commemorative meetings, paragraphs 52 and 53. May I take it that the Assembly approves the recommendations contained in paragraphs 52 and 53, regarding the format, the length of statements and the time frame of observances and commemorative meetings?
The President
I now invite the General Assembly to turn to section II.M, which refers to special conferences. May I take it that the Assembly takes note of paragraphs 54 and 55?
The President
I now invite representatives to turn to section III of the report, entitled "Observations on the organization of the work of the General Assembly".
In paragraph 57, the General Committee recommends to the General Assembly that it should fix a date for the opening and duration of the general debate. May I take it that the Assembly takes note of paragraph 57?
The President
I think that, indeed, the General Assembly should give serious consideration to this matter in the context of our future discussions on the revitalization of the General Assembly.
In paragraph 58, the General Committee brings to the attention of the General Assembly an issue relating to the timing of observances and commemorative meetings held in the plenary. The General Assembly has just approved the recommendation of the General Committee, as contained in paragraph 53, that observances and commemorative meetings should take place, to the extent possible, immediately following the general debate. Yet, in recent years, the General Assembly took decisions resulting in observances and commemorative meetings being held towards the end of the main part of the regular session, at a time when the Assembly should be considering reports of the Main Committees and concluding all remaining work of the plenary before the December recess, thereby causing the postponement of the date of recess. May I take it that the General Assembly takes note of paragraph 58?
The President
As members are aware, at the fifty-seventh session, the General Assembly will devote several plenary meetings towards the end of November and the early part of December to observances and commemorative meetings, at a time when the Assembly should be taking up reports of the Main Committees and winding down its work.
Furthermore, as pointed out in paragraph 15 of the report, this has also resulted in the postponement of the date of our December recess.
I therefore appeal to all members to take those matters into account when considering proposals concerning the timing of observances or commemorative meetings to be held in the plenary at future sessions.
In paragraphs 59 and 60, the General Committee brings to the attention of the General Assembly that sometimes more than 48 hours are required for the Secretary-General to review the programme budget implications of proposals before the General Assembly. In addition, for those proposals with programme budget implications, the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions and the Fifth Committee also need time to review the programme budget implications of a draft resolution before the Assembly can act upon it. May I take it that the General Assembly takes note of paragraphs 59 and 60?
The President
In paragraph 61, the General Committee brings to the attention of the General Assembly that on some occasions, draft resolutions had to be submitted well in advance of their consideration, in order to ensure that they would be circulated the day before their consideration, in accordance with rule 78 of the rules of procedure. May I take it that the General Assembly takes note of paragraph 61?
The President
In paragraph 62, the attention of the General Assembly is drawn to the fact that it is therefore advisable for delegations to submit proposals sufficiently in advance, in order to avoid postponement of action on proposals. May I take it that the General Assembly takes note of paragraph 62?
The President
I would therefore appeal to members to do their utmost to ensure the timely submission of draft resolutions to the General Assembly and the Main Committees. We shall now turn to section IV of the report of the General Committee relating to the adoption of the agenda. This section starts at paragraph 63. I should like to stress that at this time we are not discussing the substance of any item.
We shall now turn to paragraph 71 of the report of the General Committee. With regard to paragraph 71, the General Committee decided to defer to a later date its consideration of the inclusion of item 52 of the draft agenda (Question of the Comorian island of Mayotte).
In paragraph 72, the General Committee recommends that the consideration of item 85 of the draft agenda (Question of the Malagasy islands of Glorieuses, Juan de Nova, Europa and Bassas da India) should be deferred to the fifty-eighth session and that the item should be included in the provisional agenda of that session.
May I take it that the Assembly approves that recommendation?
The President
In paragraph 73, in connection with item 167 of the draft agenda (Observer status for the Asian Development Bank in the General Assembly), the General Committee recommends its inclusion in the agenda of the current session.
May I take it that the Assembly approves that recommendation?
The President
In paragraph 74, in connection with item 168 of the draft agenda (Observer status for the International Centre for Migration Policy Development in the General Assembly), the General Committee recommends its inclusion in the agenda of the current session.
May I take it that the Assembly approves that recommendation?
The President
In respect of paragraph 75, the General Committee decided not to recommend the inclusion of item 169 of the draft agenda.
I understand that the representative of Gambia wants to address the Assembly on that issue.
I call on the representative of Gambia.
Mr. Grey-Johnson (Gambia)
I refer to the debate on the question of the Republic of China on Taiwan in the General Committee meeting of 11 September 2002. We regret that delegations were allowed only two minutes to speak on this agenda item during a period limited by events scheduled to take place later that evening and the following day.
Ordinarily, the General Committee debate takes place over a two-day period. It is the wish of my delegation to clarify for the record the fact that time constraints were the only reason for limiting speakers to two minutes, and that this in no way establishes a precedent for the conduct of future General Committee debates. This is the view of all the Member States that sponsored the letter on the question of the Republic of China on Taiwan.
The President
I thank the representative of Gambia. Let me just say that, as the representative of Gambia I am sure is well aware, the time limit of two minutes was decided by the General Committee, of which Gambia is a member. This decision was taken in view of the very high number of speakers inscribed, altogether eighty-seven, and the limited amount of time we had at our disposal. I would also like to emphasize that as the introducer of the request, the representative of Gambia was not limited in his statement. I intend to enforce decisions of Member States concerning time limits for statements, as I believe they will contribute to the efficiency of our work.
I call on the representative of Tuvalu.
Mr. Sopoaga (Tuvalu)
We fully respect the decision of the General Committee and the recommendation that you have just conveyed to the General Assembly. I would, however, like to lend my strong support to the point of clarification that the representative of Gambia raised and also to register our understanding that the two-minutes ruling adopted at the General Committee in discussing this important issue is not going to be a precedent in the future. We fully aligned ourselves with the sponsors of the issue to include the question of the Republic of China on Taiwan on the agenda of the fifty-seventh session of the General Assembly.
We would like to appeal that the rights of Members to raise issues of importance to themselves should be recognized in the future.
The President
I thank the representative of Tuvalu for making that point. I now call on the representative of Egypt.
Mr. Khairat (Egypt)
My delegation approves the report presented by the Bureau for the organization of the work of the General Assembly. I would like to express the following in relation to our participation in the work of the Bureau. The delegation of Egypt was unable to participate in the discussions last week when the General Committee examined point 169 on the agenda relating to the representation of the Republic of China on Taiwan in the United Nations. Our absence from the discussion was due to our participation in the general debate of the General Assembly and in a number of ministerial meetings that were held at the same time as the general debate.
My delegation would like to affirm before paragraph 75 is adopted that the Republic of Egypt affirms and supports the fact that the Government of People's Republic of China is the only legitimate representative of the people of China.
The President
I thank the representative of Egypt for making that point. We now turn to the agenda which the General Committee recommends for adoption by the General Assembly.
In accordance with past practice, we shall follow the numbering given in paragraph 76 of the General Committee's report (document A/57/250) and, where it seems appropriate, we shall consider items in groups. I should like to remind members once again that at present we are not discussing the substance of any item.
Items 1 to 3 have already been dealt with.
We now turn to items 4 to 8. May I remind the delegations that we are dealing only with the question of the inclusion of the items.
I take it that these items are included in the agenda?
The President
Item 9 has been dealt with already.
We turn next to items 10 to 164, recommended for inclusion by the General Committee.
May I take it that these items are included in the agenda?
The President
With regard to items 165 and 166, members will recall that the General Assembly has already decided to include these items in the agenda of the current session.
We now turn to section V of the report of the General Committee, on allocation of items.
May I take it that the General Assembly takes note of the provisions contained in paragraphs 77 to 80?
The President
We shall now turn to the recommendations contained in paragraphs 83 to 86. We shall take up the recommendations one by one.
Before we proceed, may I remind members that the item numbers refer to the agenda in paragraph 76 of the report before us, namely document A/57/250.
We turn first to the recommendation in paragraph 83 (a), relating to item 10, entitled "Report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization".
May I take it that the General Assembly takes note of paragraph 83 (a)?
The President
We now turn to paragraph 83 (b), relating to item 12, entitled "Report of the Economic and Social Council".
May I take it that the General Assembly approves this recommendation?
The President
We turn next to the recommendation in paragraph 83 (c) relating to item 19, entitled "Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples".
May I take it that the General Assembly approves that recommendation?
The President
We turn to the recommendation in paragraph 83 (d), relating to item 22 (h), entitled "Cooperation between the United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union".
May I take it that the General Assembly approves this recommendation?
The President
We turn next to paragraph 83 (e), relating to item 23, entitled "United Nations Year of Cultural Heritage".
May I take it that the General Assembly takes note of paragraph 83 (e)?
The President
We turn next to paragraph 83 (f), relating to item 25, entitled "Oceans and the law of the sea".
May I take it that the General Assembly takes note of paragraph 83 (f)?
The President
Next, we turn to the recommendation in paragraph 83 (g), concerning item 39, entitled "Question of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas)".
May I take it that the General Assembly approves this recommendation?
The President
We turn to paragraph 83 (h), concerning item 41, entitled "Final review and appraisal of the implementation of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s".
May I take it that the General Assembly takes note of paragraph 83 (h)?
The President
We turn next to paragraph 83 (i), relating item 43, entitled "Follow-up to the outcome of the special session on children".
May I take it that the General Assembly approves this recommendation?
The President
In connection with paragraph 83 (j), relating to item 54, entitled "Question of Cyprus", the General Committee recommends that the General Assembly allocate the item at an appropriate time during the session.
May I take it that the General Assembly approves that recommendation?
The President
We now turn to the recommendation in paragraph 84, relating to item 66, entitled "General and complete disarmament".
May I take it that the General Assembly approves the recommendation pertaining to item 66?
The President
We turn next to the recommendation in paragraph 85 (a), relating to item 98, entitled "Social development, including questions relating to the world social situation and to youth, ageing, disabled persons and the family".
May I take it that the General Assembly takes note of paragraph 85 (a)?
The President
We turn now to the recommendation in paragraph 85 (b), relating to item 102, entitled "Advancement of women".
May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to approve this recommendation?
The President
We turn now to the recommendation in paragraph 86 (a), relating to item 165, entitled "Observer status for the Asian Development Bank in the General Assembly".
May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly that the item be allocated to the Sixth Committee?
The President
We turn now to the recommendation in paragraph 86 (b), relating to item 166, entitled "Observer status for the International Centre for Migration Policy Development in the General Assembly".
May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly that the item be allocated to the Sixth Committee?
The President
We shall now turn to paragraph 87 of the report of the General Committee. I invite members to turn to the list of items recommended by the General Committee for consideration in plenary meeting.
Taking into account the decisions just adopted, may I consider that the General Assembly approves the allocation of the items listed in paragraph 87 of the report of the General Committee for consideration directly in plenary meeting?
The President
We now come to the list of items that the General Committee has recommended for allocation to the First Committee.
Taking into account the decisions just adopted, may I take it that the General Assembly approves the allocation of the items proposed for the First Committee in paragraph 87 of the report of the General Committee?
The President
We now turn to the list of items that the General Committee recommends for allocation to the Special Political and Decolonization Committee, the Fourth Committee.
Taking into account the decisions just adopted, may I consider that the General Assembly approves the allocation of items proposed for the Special Political and Decolonization Committee in paragraph 87 of the report of the General Committee?
The President
We now come to the list of items that the General Committee has recommended for allocation to the Second Committee.
Taking into account the decision just adopted, may I consider that the General Assembly approves the allocation of items proposed for the Second Committee in paragraph 87 of the report of the General Committee?
The President
We turn now to the list of items that the General Committee recommends for allocation to the Third Committee.
Taking into account the decisions just adopted, may I take it that the General Assembly approves the allocation of items to the Third Committee as proposed in paragraph 87 of the report of the General Committee?
The President
Taking into account the decisions just adopted, may I take it that the General Assembly approves the allocation of items to the Fifth Committee, as proposed in paragraph 87 of the report of the General Committee?
The President
Lastly, we come to the list of items which the General Committee recommends for the Sixth Committee.
Taking into account the decisions just adopted, may I take it that the General Assembly approves the allocation of items proposed to the Sixth Committee in paragraph 87 of the report of the General Committee.
The President
The General Assembly has thus concluded its consideration of the first report of the General Committee.
The General Assembly will now take up a request submitted by the Secretary-General in document A/57/231.
As indicated in his note, the Secretary-General has received notification of the resignation of a member of the United Nations Staff Pension Committee.
The General Assembly, therefore, will be required at its current session to appoint a person to fill the remainder of the term of office of the person who resigned, and to that end the Secretary-General requests the inclusion in the agenda of a sub-item entitled "Appointment of a member of the United Nations Staff Pension Committee", under agenda item 17 (Appointments to fill vacancies in subsidiary organs and other appointments).
Unless there is an objection, in view of the urgency of this request, I shall take it that the General Assembly agrees that the relevant provision of rule 40 of the rules of procedure, which would require a meeting of the General Committee on the question of the inclusion of this sub-item on the agenda, could be waived.
I see no objection.
The President
May I take it that the General Assembly, on the proposal of the Secretary-General, wishes to include in the agenda of the current session an additional sub-item entitled "Appointment of a member of the United Nations Staff Pension Committee," under item 17, entitled "Appointment to fill vacancies in subsidiary organs and other appointments"?
The President
The sub-item is therefore included as sub-item (j) of item 17.
It is suggested that the sub-item be allocated to the Fifth Committee.
May I take it that the General Assembly wishes to allocate this sub-item to the Fifth Committee?
The President
The General Assembly has thus concluded its work for today.
I wish to thank all members of the Assembly for their cooperation.
Each Main Committee will receive the list of agenda items allocated to it so that it may begin and organize its work in accordance with rule 99 of the rules of procedure.
