| United Nations | E/1995/1 |
Economic and Social Council
Distr. GENERAL
3 January 1995
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
Organizational session for 1995
18 January, 7-10 February and
4-5 May 1995
Item 3 of the provisional agenda*
PROPOSED BASIC PROGRAMME OF WORK OF THE COUNCIL FOR 1995 AND 1996
Note by the Secretary-General
CONTENTS
Paragraphs Page
INTRODUCTION ...............................................1 - 132
I. PROPOSED PROVISIONAL AGENDA FOR THE SUBSTANTIVE
SESSION OF 1995 OF THE COUNCIL (Geneva, 26 June-
28 July 1995) ....................................................4
II. ANNOTATIONS TO THE PROGRAMME OF WORK OF THE COUNCIL ..14 - 1276
A. High-level segment ............................... 15 - 186
B. Coordination segment ............................. 19 - 218
C. Operational activities of the United Nations for
international development cooperation segment .... 22 - 339
D. General segment .................................. 34 - 12712
III. QUESTIONS FOR INCLUSION IN THE PROGRAMME OF WORK OF
THE COUNCIL FOR 1996**
________________________
* E/1995/2.
** To be issued separately.
94-51048 (E) 100195 /...
*9451048*
INTRODUCTION
1. The Economic and Social Council, in accordance with rule 8 of its rules
of procedure, shall draw up at its organizational session, with the
assistance of the Secretary-General, its basic programme of work.
2. At its second regular session of 1988, the Council, in resolution 1988/77
on the revitalization of the Economic and Social Council, which was endorsed
by the General Assembly in its decision 43/432, adopted a series of measures
aimed at revitalizing the Council. With regard to its working methods and
organization of work, the Council, inter alia, decided that, in formulating
its biennial programme of work, the Council should, to the extent possible,
consolidate similar or closely related issues under a single agenda item, in
order to consider and take action on them in an integrated manner. The
Council also decided that, prior to the organizational session, the
President, with the cooperation of the other members of the Bureau, should
arrange for consultations with members of the Council on the draft programme
of work and provisional agenda prepared by the Secretary-General and on the
allocation of agenda items and make proposals thereon for consideration by
the Council.
3. At its forty-fifth session, the General Assembly adopted resolution
45/264 on the restructuring and revitalization of the United Nations in the
economic, social and related fields. Section III of the annex to that
resolution contains a number of measures for the restructuring and
revitalization of the Economic and Social Council. At its forty-eighth
session, the Assembly adopted further measures in regard to the high-level
segment, the coordination segment, the operational activities of the United
Nations for international development cooperation segment and the general
segment of the Council's substantive session (General Assembly resolution
48/162). Those segments are discussed below individually under the
appropriate heading. In the same resolution, the Assembly decided that the
Committees of the Council would be subsumed into the plenary as of 1994.
4. Annex II to General Assembly resolution 48/162 gives guidelines for the
division of labour between the General Assembly and the Economic and Social
Council to be instituted as of 1994 and, in paragraph 7, sets out a listing
of items for the agenda for the substantive session of the Council. That
list has been followed in the preparation of the present proposed programme.
5. In decision 1993/231, the Council approved the calendar of conferences
and meetings for 1994 and 1995 in the economic, social and related fields
(E/1993/L.20/Rev.1 and Add.1), according to which the Council is to hold its
substantive session in Geneva from 26 June to 28 July 1995.
6. The Secretary-General submits herewith for consideration by the Council a
proposed basic programme of work for 1995 and 1996 and proposed provisional
agenda for 1995.
7. Section I contains the proposed provisional agenda for the substantive
session of the Council in 1995. Section II contains the annotations to the
agenda items, the documents to be submitted under each item and the
legislative authority for their preparation. Section III, which will be
issued as an addendum to the present document, lists the questions which, in
accordance with decisions adopted by the Council and the General Assembly,
should be included in the Council's programme of work for 1996.
8. With regard to the report of the Trade and Development Board, the Council
may wish to consider the report of the Board on the second part of its forty-
first session (Geneva, 27 March-7 April 1995) and transmit directly to the
Assembly the report of the Board on the first part of its forty-second
session (Geneva, 11-22 September 1995).
9. In accordance with General Assembly resolution 39/217, the reports of the
Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme, and the
Commission on Human Settlements will be considered by the Assembly in 1995.
It is therefore expected that the Council will review these reports but not
consider draft proposals on them, except specific recommendations contained
therein which require action by the Council and proposals that concern
matters relating to the coordination aspects of the work of those bodies,
and, if it deems appropriate, transmit the reports directly to the Assembly
without debate.
10. With regard to the selection of a subject relating to interregional
cooperation, of interest to all regions, for detailed consideration under the
agenda item on regional cooperation pursuant to Council decision 1982/174,
the Council will be informed of the joint recommendations of the executive
secretaries of the regional commissions in this regard.
11. With regard to the agenda for development, the Council will recall that
the General Assembly, at its forty-ninth session, decided to establish an ad
hoc open-ended working group of the General Assembly to further elaborate an
action-oriented, comprehensive agenda for development, which should begin its
work as early as possible in 1995, and requested the Economic and Social
Council, at its organizational session for 1995, to consider ways and means
for the Council to give further substantive input to the work of the working
group (resolution 49/126).
12. At its forty-ninth session, the General Assembly decided to recommend to
the Council at its organizational session to include in the provisional
agenda of its substantive session of 1995 a sub-item entitled "Public
administration and development", under programme activities (resolution
49/136).
13. The attention of the Council is drawn to General Assembly resolution
49/130, in which the Assembly decided that the Commission on Transnational
Corporations would become a commission of the Trade and Development Board and
be renamed the Commission on International Investment and Transnational
Corporations.
I. PROPOSED PROVISIONAL AGENDA FOR THE SUBSTANTIVE
SESSION OF 1995 OF THE COUNCIL
1. Adoption of the agenda and other organizational matters.
High-level segment
2. [Theme/themes to be selected.]
Coordination segment
3. Coordination of the policies and activities of the specialized
agencies and other bodies of the United Nations system related to the
following themes:
(a)/(b) [Theme/themes to be selected];
(c) Implementation of the agreed conclusions on the themes of the
1994 coordination segment of the Council.
Operational activities of the United Nations for international
development cooperation segment
4. Operational activities of the United Nations for international
development cooperation:
(a) United Nations Development Programme/United Nations Population
Fund;
(b) United Nations Children's Fund;
(c) World Food Programme;
(d) Economic and technical cooperation among developing countries.
General segment
5. Social, humanitarian and human rights questions: reports of
subsidiary bodies, conferences and related questions:
(a) Special economic, humanitarian and disaster relief assistance;
(b) Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Third Decade to
Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination;
(c) Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence
to Colonial Countries and Peoples by the specialized agencies and
the international institutions associated with the United
Nations;
(d) Human rights questions;
(e) Advancement of women;
(f) Social development questions;
(g) Crime prevention and criminal justice;
(h) Narcotic drugs;
(i) United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
6. Economic and environmental questions: reports of subsidiary bodies,
conferences and related questions:
(a) Sustainable development;
(b) Trade and development;
(c) Food and agricultural development;
(d) Science and technology for development;
(e) Implementation of the Programme of Action of the International
Conference on Population and Development;
(f) International migration and development;
(g) Human settlements;
(h) Environment;
(i) Desertification and drought;
(j) Transport of dangerous goods;
(k) Women in development;
(l) Prevention and control of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
(AIDS);
(m) International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade;
(n) International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction;
(o) Statistics;
(p) Energy.
7. Regional cooperation in the economic, social and related fields.
8. Permanent sovereignty over national resources in the occupied
Palestinian and other Arab territories.
9. Coordination questions:
(a) Reports of the coordination bodies;
(b) International cooperation in the field of information systems;
(c) Multisectoral collaboration on tobacco or health;
(d) Preventive action and intensification of the struggle against
malaria and diarrhoeal diseases, in particular cholera.
10. Non-governmental organizations.
11. United Nations University.
12. Programme and related questions in the economic, social and related
fields:
(a) Proposed programme budget for the biennium 1996-1997;
(b) Calendar of conferences and meetings in the economic, social and
related fields for the biennium 1996-1997.
* * *
Reports brought to the attention of the Council
Reports of the Joint Inspection Unit
II. ANNOTATIONS TO THE PROGRAMME OF WORK OF THE COUNCIL
Item 1. Adoption of the agenda and other organizational matters
14. In accordance with General Assembly resolution 45/264 and Council
decision 1993/231, the Council will hold its substantive session of 1995 in
Geneva from 26 June to 28 July.
A. High-level segment
Item 2. [Theme/themes to be selected.]
15. In the annex to its resolution 45/264, entitled "Restructuring and
revitalization of the United Nations in the economic, social and related
fields", the General Assembly set out guidelines for the high-level segment
of the Council. It is to be of four days' duration, open to all Member
States in accordance with Article 69 of the Charter, with ministerial
participation, devoted to the consideration of one or more major economic
and/or social policy themes, which are to be determined at the organizational
session. Adequate Secretariat preparation is to include, in particular, one
comprehensive background document for each theme; debate is to follow an
integrated and interdisciplinary approach; and heads of the relevant
organizations, agencies and other organs are to participate actively. Heads
of multilateral financial and trade institutions of the United Nations system
will participate in a one-day policy dialogue and discussion on important
developments in the world economy and international economic cooperation,
with a view to building areas of understanding. The main features of the
deliberations of the high-level segment are to be presented to the Council by
its President in the form of a summary, which would be incorporated in its
final report.
16. The Council will wish to select a theme or themes for the high-level
segment at its organizational session for 1995.
17. The Council will recall that the General Assembly, at its forty-sixth
session, adopted the conclusions of the final review and appraisal of the
implementation of the Programme of Action for African Economic Recovery and
Development 1986-1990, consisting of the assessment of the implementation of
the Programme of Action and the United Nations New Agenda for the Development
of Africa in the 1990s, as set out in the annex to resolution 46/151, in
which, inter alia, it is stated that in 1995 the Economic and Social Council
would devote part of its high-level segment to the consideration of the
implementation of the New Agenda. In resolution 48/214, the Assembly invited
the Secretary-General to strengthen the capacity and capability of the
Secretariat to raise international awareness of the urgent international and
African actions needed to overcome the economic crisis in Africa, and to
reinforce the capabilities of the Office of the Special Coordinator for
Africa and the least developed countries to follow up, monitor and evaluate
implementation of the New Agenda and, in the process, provide an effective
framework for the Economic and Social Council to consider the implementation
of the New Agenda in 1995 as part of its high-level segment.
18. The Council will also recall that, at its forty-eighth session, the
General Assembly requested the Commission on Narcotic Drugs to monitor and
evaluate action at the national and international level in implementing the
international drug control instruments, with a view to identifying areas of
satisfactory progress and weakness, and to recommend to the high-level
segment of the Council in 1995 appropriate adjustments of drug control
activities whenever required; and invited the Commission on Narcotic Drugs at
its next session to take the necessary measures to implement the resolution
and to report on its findings to the General Assembly at its fiftieth
session, through the Council (resolution 48/12, paras. 9 and 11). At its
forty-ninth session, the Assembly invited the Council, while considering the
issue of international cooperation against the illicit production, sale,
demand, traffic and distribution of narcotics and psychotropic substances at
its high-level segment in 1995, to pay special attention to the report of the
Commission on Narcotic Drugs requested in paragraph 11 of Assembly resolution
48/12; and invited Member States to inform the Council at its 1995 high-level
segment on progress in international cooperation, especially on specific
national efforts to engage the United Nations system and the multilateral
development banks in addressing the drug problem (resolution 49/168).
B. Coordination segment
Item 3. Coordination of the policies and activities of the specialized
agencies and other bodies of the United Nations system related to
the following themes:
(a)/(b) [Theme/themes to be selected.]
19. In the annex to its resolution 45/264, the General Assembly decided that
a segment on coordination of the activities of the specialized agencies,
organs, organizations and bodies of the United Nations system in the
economic, social and related fields should be held during the substantive
session of the Council and organized as follows:
(a) A segment of four to five days devoted to the coordination of the
policies and activities of the specialized agencies, organs, organizations
and bodies of the United Nations system relating to the achievement of the
economic and social objectives of the United Nations. Discussion would be
organized around one or more themes selected at the organizational session,
and designed to focus attention on the activities of the United Nations
system in the selected economic and social areas;
(b) Discussion would take into account the report of the Secretary-
General as Chairman of the Administrative Committee on Coordination, together
with appropriate recommendations of the Committee for Programme and
Coordination and the Joint Meetings of the Committee for Programme and
Coordination and the Administrative Committee on Coordination. That report
should contain a system-wide assessment of the status of coordination with
regard to the themes and include recommendations, as appropriate;
(c) The heads of concerned specialized agencies, organs, organizations
and bodies of the United Nations system, including multilateral financial and
trade institutions, would be invited to participate actively, making
contributions to the policy dialogue reflecting a global perspective on the
agreed theme or themes, as well as their activities in the chosen themes;
(d) Recommendations which resulted from those discussions should be
submitted to the General Assembly and forwarded, as appropriate, to the
governing bodies of the specialized agencies, organs, organizations and
bodies of the United Nations system as well as to the Committee for Programme
and Coordination and the Administrative Committee on Coordination. In that
context, the Secretary-General should arrange to apprise the next session of
the Council of steps taken by the United Nations system to give effect to
those recommendations (Assembly resolution 45/264, annex, sect. III,
para. 5 (d) (ii)).
20. The attention of the Council is drawn to General Assembly resolution
48/162 on further measures for the restructuring and revitalization of the
United Nations in the economic, social and related fields, in particular
annex I, paragraph 14, concerning the coordination segment.
(c) Implementation of the agreed conclusions on the themes of the 1994
coordination segment of the Council
21. At its substantive session of 1994, the Council considered the following
two themes under the coordination segment: "Science and technology for
development" and "International cooperation within the United Nations system
against the illicit production, sale, demand, traffic and distribution of
narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances". In its agreed conclusions on
the first theme (see A/49/3, chap. III, sect. A), the Council requested the
Secretary-General to submit a report on the implementation of the agreed
conclusions to it at its substantive session of 1995.
Documentation
Report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the agreed
conclusions on coordination of the policies and activities of the
specialized agencies and other bodies of the United Nations system
related to science and technology for development
C. Operational activities of the United Nations for
international development cooperation segment
22. In the annex to its resolution 45/264, the General Assembly decided that
a segment of two to three days of the Council's session should be devoted to
operational activities of the United Nations system, focusing, in particular,
on the follow-up of policy recommendations and decisions of the Assembly and
coordination of activities on a system-wide basis, taking into account
Council resolution 1988/77.
23. At its forty-eighth session, the General Assembly, in annex I to its
resolution 48/162, decided that the work of the operational activities
segment would include a high-level meeting, open to all Member States in
accordance with Article 69 of the Charter, including ministerial
participation. Specific arrangements would be decided upon by the Council at
its organizational session. The outcome of this segment should be reflected,
inter alia, in the adoption of decisions and resolutions.
24. At its substantive session of 1994, the Economic and Social Council
decided that each operational activities segment would determine a principal
theme or themes primarily for consideration at the high-level meeting, which
would be guided by paragraph 16 of annex I to Assembly resolution 48/162, and
that those themes should be agreed on by the Council at its substantive
session for consideration at the subsequent substantive session, without
excluding consideration of other themes to be decided on by the Council, at
the latest, at its organizational session. The Council decided further to
devote up to one day of the segment to an informal exchange of views, on
issues to be agreed on at the organizational session, with a limited number
of representatives/country directors at the field level of the United Nations
development funds and programmes, as well as the specialized agencies
(Council resolution 1994/33).
25. In decision 1994/293, the Council decided that the high-level meeting of
the operational activities segment of its substantive session of 1995 would
consider as a principal theme the implementation of the programme of action
adopted by the International Conference on Population and Development, and
that other themes, including the outcome of the World Summit for Social
Development, could also be considered by the high-level meeting.
Item 4. Operational activities of the United Nations for international
development cooperation
26. Triennial policy review of operational activities for development within
the United Nations system. In resolution 35/81, the General Assembly decided
to undertake a comprehensive policy review of operational activities every
three years, on the basis of a coherent, integrated and systematic approach.
27. At its forty-seventh session, the Assembly stressed the need for the
Economic and Social Council to examine the operational activities of the
United Nations system with a view to ensuring implementation of the
resolution and making recommendations thereon. It requested the
Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its fiftieth session,
through the Economic and Social Council, in the context of the triennial
policy review, a comprehensive analysis of the implementation of the
resolution and to make appropriate recommendations (resolution 47/199).
28. At its forty-eighth session, the Assembly decided to review the situation
of all field offices as part of the next triennial policy review, through the
procedures established for that purpose in its resolution 47/199 (resolution
48/209).
29. At its substantive session of 1994, the Council requested the
Secretary-General in his 1995 report to make proposals on the full
implementation of General Assembly resolution 47/199, including field-level
coordination of the United Nations system, division of labour at the field
level, evaluation of the impact and effectiveness of field-level activities,
decentralization and national execution (resolution 1994/33).
30. The attention of the Council is drawn to General Assembly resolution
49/123 entitled "United Nations Development Programme and the Human
Development Report", in which the Assembly requested the Secretary-General to
ensure that the implementation of the resolution was reported to it within
the context of the relevant section of the report of the Economic and Social
Council on its substantive session of 1995.
(a) United Nations Development Programme/United Nations Population Fund
(b) United Nations Children's Fund
31. In accordance with annex I to General Assembly resolution 48/162,
paragraphs 21 to 30, in regard to the governing bodies of the United Nations
development funds and programmes, the governing bodies of the United Nations
Development Programme/United Nations Population Fund and the United Nations
Children's Fund have been transformed into Executive Boards. Those Boards
are responsible for providing intergovernmental support to and supervision of
the activities of each fund or programme in accordance with the overall
policy guidance of the Assembly and the Council, in accordance with the
respective responsibility as set out in the Charter, and for ensuring that
they are responsive to the needs and priorities of recipient countries. The
Boards are subject to the authority of the Council and submit annual reports
to it at its substantive session, which may include recommendations, where
appropriate, for the improvement of field-level coordination. Each Executive
Board meets in an annual session.
(c) World Food Programme
32. In annex I to its resolution 48/162, paragraph 30, the General Assembly
decided that the arrangements regarding the United Nations Development
Programme/United Nations Population Fund and the United Nations Children's
Fund should apply to the Committee on Food Aid Policies and Programmes of the
World Food Programme, and consultations between the United Nations and the
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations should be undertaken
as soon as possible for that purpose. The Council will be informed at its
organizational session for 1995 of the results of those consultations. The
Committee submits an annual report to the Council (Assembly resolution 3404
(XXX)).
(d) Economic and technical cooperation among developing countries 1/
1/ This question will be considered by the General Assembly in 1995.
33. The High-level Committee on the Review of Technical Cooperation among
Developing Countries is entrusted with the overall intergovernmental review
of technical cooperation among developing countries within the United Nations
system. It reports to the General Assembly through the Governing Council of
UNDP and the Economic and Social Council in accordance with the Buenos Aires
Plan of Action for Promoting and Implementing Technical Cooperation among
Developing Countries (Assembly resolution 33/134). The Council will have
before it the report of the Committee on its ninth session (Headquarters,
30 May-2 June 1995).
Documentation
Report of the Secretary-General on the comprehensive triennial policy
review of operational activities for development undertaken by the United
Nations system
Report of the Executive Board of the United Nations Development
Programme/United Nations Population Fund
Report of the Executive Board of the United Nations Children's Fund
Report of the Committee on Food Aid Policies and Programmes
Report of the High-level Committee on the Review of Technical Cooperation
among Developing Countries on its ninth session
D. General segment
Item 5. Social, humanitarian and human rights questions: reports of
subsidiary
bodies, conferences and related questions
(a) Special economic, humanitarian and disaster relief assistance
34. At its forty-sixth session, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-
General to prepare an annual report on the coordination of emergency
humanitarian assistance of the United Nations, including information on the
central emergency revolving fund, to be submitted to the General Assembly
through the Economic and Social Council (resolution 46/182, annex).
35. At its forty-ninth session, the General Assembly, reaffirming its
resolution 46/182, requested the Secretary-General to submit a report to the
Economic and Social Council at its next substantive session incorporating the
views expressed by Governments and appropriate intergovernmental
organizations and relevant entities within the United Nations system, on ways
and means of strengthening national and regional stand-by arrangements
(resolution 49/139 B).
36. Measures to be taken following the cyclones and floods that have affected
Madagascar. At its substantive session of 1994, the Council requested the
Secretary-General to further evaluate, with the participation of the
organizations of the United Nations system, the damage caused by the cyclones
and floods that struck Madagascar between January and March 1994 and the
medium-term and long-term impact of those disasters on the national economy
and to compile information that could promote concerted international
assistance. The Council further requested the Secretary-General to report on
the implementation of the resolution to the Economic and Social Council at
its substantive session of 1995 and to the General Assembly at its fiftieth
session (resolution 1994/36).
37. The Council will also hear oral reports on the following questions:
(a) Assistance for the reconstruction and development of Lebanon. At its
substantive session of 1994, the Council appealed to all Member States and
all organizations of the United Nations system to intensify their efforts to
mobilize all possible assistance for the Government of Lebanon in its
reconstruction and development efforts and invited the Secretary-General to
inform the Council, at its substantive session of 1995, of the progress made
in the implementation of the resolution (resolution 1994/35).
(b) Assistance for humanitarian relief and the economic and social
rehabilitation of Somalia. At its forty-ninth session, the General Assembly
requested the Secretary-General, in view of the critical situation in
Somalia, to take all measures necessary for the implementation of the
resolution, to apprise the Economic and Social Council at its substantive
session of 1995 on the progress made and to report thereon to the General
Assembly at its fiftieth session (resolution 49/21 K).
(c) Assistance to refugees, returnees and displaced persons in Africa.
At its forty-ninth session, the General Assembly requested the
Secretary-General to submit a comprehensive and consolidated report on the
situation of refugees, returnees and displaced persons in Africa to the
General Assembly at its fiftieth session, and an oral report to the Economic
and Social Council at its substantive session of 1995 (resolution 49/174).
Documentation
Report of the Secretary-General on strengthening the coordination of
emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations, including the
information requested in General Assembly resolution 49/139 B
Report of the Secretary-General on measures to be taken following the
cyclones and floods that have affected Madagascar
(b) Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Third Decade to
Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination
38. The Council will consider the report of the Secretary-General on the
implementation of the Programme of Action for the Third Decade to Combat
Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003), as requested by the General
Assembly in its resolution 48/91, paragraph 16. In that resolution, the
Assembly proclaimed the Third Decade to Combat Racism and Racial
Discrimination, beginning in 1993, and adopted the Programme of Action for
the Decade contained in the annex to the resolution. The General Assembly
entrusted the Economic and Social Council and the Commission on Human Rights,
in cooperation with the Secretary-General, with the responsibility for
coordinating the programmes and evaluating the activities undertaken in
connection with the Decade and requested the Secretary-General to submit each
year to the Economic and Social Council a detailed report on all activities
of United Nations bodies and the specialized agencies, analysing the
information received on such activities to combat racism and racial
discrimination.
39. The attention of the Council is drawn to General Assembly resolution
49/146.
Documentation
Report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the Programme of
Action for the Third Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination
(c) Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to
Colonial Countries and Peoples by the specialized agencies and the
international institutions associated with the United Nations
40. Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to
Colonial Countries and Peoples by the specialized agencies and the
international institutions associated with the United Nations. At its
substantive session of 1994, the Economic and Social Council requested its
President to continue to maintain close contact with the Chairman of the
Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the
Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples
and to report thereon to the Council; it requested the Secretary-General to
follow the implementation of the resolution and to report thereon to the
Council at its substantive session of 1995 (resolution 1994/37). At its
forty-ninth session, the General Assembly requested the Council to continue
to consider, in consultation with the Special Committee, appropriate measures
for coordination of the policies and activities of the specialized agencies
and other organizations of the United Nations system in implementing the
relevant resolutions of the Assembly (resolution 49/41).
41. Assistance to the Palestinian people. At its sixty-third session, in
1977, the Council requested the Secretary-General to submit to it annual
reports on the question of assistance to the Palestinian people (resolution
2100 (LXIII)).
42. At its substantive session of 1994, the Council requested the Secretary-
General to submit a report to the General Assembly at its fiftieth session,
through the Economic and Social Council, on the implementation of the
resolution, containing an assessment of the assistance actually received by
the Palestinian people and of the needs still unmet and specific proposals
for responding effectively to them (resolution 1994/29).
43. The attention of the Council is drawn to General Assembly resolution
49/21 N.
Documentation
Report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the Declaration
on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples by the
specialized agencies and the international institutions associated with
the United Nations
Report of the President of the Council on consultations held with the
Chairman of the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the
Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to
Colonial Countries and Peoples
Report of the Secretary-General on assistance to the Palestinian people
(d) Human rights questions
44. The Council will consider the general comments adopted by the Human
Rights Committee as well as the report of the Committee on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights on its eleventh and twelfth sessions.
45. The Council will also consider the report of the Commission on Human
Rights on its fifty-first session (Geneva, 30 January-10 March 1995) and the
report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The
attention of the Council is drawn to decision 1994/276.
46. The Council will also review the composition, organization and
administrative arrangements of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights.
47. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (General Assembly resolution
2200 A (XXI), annex) entered into force on 23 March 1976. In accordance with
article 45 of the Covenant, the Human Rights Committee reports annually on
its activities to the General Assembly through the Economic and Social
Council. In 1995, the Human Rights Committee is to hold its fifty-third
session at Headquarters from 20 March to 7 April, its fifty-fourth session at
Geneva from 10 to 28 July and its fifty-fifth session at Geneva from 16
October to 3 November.
48. It will be recalled that, at its organizational session for 1983, the
Council invited the Human Rights Committee to consider the possibility of
rescheduling its meetings so that its report could be submitted to the
General Assembly through the Council (decision 1983/101). At its
organizational session for 1985, the Council agreed to the interim
arrangement proposed by the Human Rights Committee, namely, that the
Committee would transmit to the Council, on a regular basis, the text of the
general comments adopted by the Committee in accordance with article 40,
paragraph 4, of the Covenant; and, without prejudice to further consideration
of the present arrangements at a future session, the Council decided to
authorize the Secretary-General to transmit the annual report of the Human
Rights Committee directly to the General Assembly (decision 1985/105).
49. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights was entrusted by the
Council, as from 1987, with overseeing the implementation of the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Council
resolution 1985/17). It will be recalled that the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (General Assembly resolution 2200 A
(XXI), annex) entered into force on 3 January 1976. Under Article 16 of the
Covenant, States parties to the Covenant undertake to submit to the
Secretary-General reports on the measures which they have adopted and on the
progress made in achieving the observance of the rights recognized in the
Covenant. The Secretary-General is required to transmit copies of the
reports to the Council for its consideration.
50. The Council will have before it the report of the Committee on its
eleventh session, held at Geneva from 21 November to 9 December 1994, as well
as the report on its twelfth session, to be held at Geneva from 1 to 19 May
1995.
51. At its first regular session of 1985, the Economic and Social Council
decided to review the composition, organization and administrative
arrangements of the Committee at its first regular session of 1990, and
subsequently every five years, taking into account the principle of equitable
geographical distribution of its membership (resolution 1985/17).
52. Commission on Human Rights. The report of the Commission is expected to
include its response to the following decision and resolutions:
(a) Council decision 1994/297, in which the Council, inter alia,
considered that holding the regular sessions of the Commission later in the
year would facilitate the work of the Commission; and decided that the
question of appropriate later dates should be considered further at the
fifty-first session of the Commission and that the Commission should submit
its recommendations to the Council at its substantive session of 1995;
(b) Assembly resolution 49/180, in which the Assembly called upon the
Commission to continue giving priority to the review of the fundamental
factors that negatively affect the observance of the principles of national
sovereignty and non-interference in the internal affairs of States in their
electoral processes and to report to the Assembly at its fiftieth session,
through the Council;
(c) Assembly resolution 49/183 on the right to development, in which the
Assembly called upon the Commission to continue to make proposals to it,
through the Council, on the future course of action on the question;
(d) Assembly resolution 49/201, in which the Assembly decided to continue
its consideration of the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms
in Haiti at its fiftieth session, on the basis of information provided by the
Commission and the Council;
(e) Assembly resolution 49/202, in which the Assembly decided to continue
the examination of the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of
Iran, including the situation of minority groups, such as the Baha'is, during
its fiftieth session, in the light of additional elements provided by the
Commission and the Council;
(f) Assembly resolution 49/203, in which the Assembly decided to continue
its consideration of the situation of human rights in Iraq during its
fiftieth session, in the light of additional elements provided by the
Commission and the Council;
(g) Assembly resolution 49/207, in which the Assembly decided to keep
under consideration at its fiftieth session the situation of human rights in
Afghanistan, in the light of additional elements provided by the Commission
and the Council.
53. Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. At its
forty-eighth session, the General Assembly decided to create the post of
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights; it also decided,
inter alia, that the High Commissioner would be the United Nations official
with principal responsibility for United Nations human rights activities
under the direction and authority of the Secretary-General. The Assembly
requested the High Commissioner to report annually on his/her activities, in
accordance with his/her mandate, to the Commission on Human Rights and,
through the Economic and Social Council, to the General Assembly (resolution
48/141).
Documentation
Note by the Secretariat transmitting the general comments of the Human
Rights Committee
Report of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on its
eleventh and twelfth sessions
Report of the Commission on Human Rights on its fifty-first session
Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Report on the review of the composition, organization and administrative
arrangements of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
Documents for information
Reports submitted by States parties to the Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights and by the specialized agencies
Reports submitted by the specialized agencies in accordance with Council
resolution 1988 (LX)
Summary records of the eleventh and twelfth sessions of the Committee on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
(e) Advancement of women
54. The Council will consider the report of the Committee on the Elimination
of Discrimination against Women on its fourteenth session (New York, 16
January-3 February 1995), the report of the Commission on the Status of Women
on the work of its thirty-ninth session (New York, 15 March-4 April 1995) and
the report of the Board of Trustees of the International Research and
Training Institute for the Advancement of Women on its fifteenth session
(Santo Domingo, 20-24 February 1995). The provisional agenda and
documentation for the thirty-ninth session of the Commission were approved by
the Council in its decision 1994/237.
55. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women (General Assembly resolution 34/180, annex). The Convention entered
into force on 3 September 1981. The Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women was established under article 17 of the
Convention for the purpose of considering the progress made in the
implementation of the Convention. Under article 21 of the Convention, the
Committee shall report annually on its activities to the General Assembly
through the Council and may make suggestions and general recommendations
based on the examination of reports and information received from the States
parties to the Convention.
56. Report of the Commission on the Status of Women. In accordance with
Council resolution 1990/15, the following three priority themes are to be
considered by the Commission at its thirty-ninth session: under equality,
equality in economic decision-making; under development, promotion of
literacy, education and training, including technological skills; and under
peace, women in international decision-making.
57. The report of the Commission is expected to include recommendations on
the following questions:
Implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the
Advancement of Women. At its first regular session of 1988, the Council
decided that the first quinquennial report on review and appraisal of the
implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies would be considered
by the Commission in 1990, and that subsequent reports would be considered in
1995 and 2000 (resolution 1988/22). At its forty-ninth session, the General
Assembly, inter alia, requested the Secretary-General to invite Governments,
organizations of the United Nations system and intergovernmental and
non-governmental organizations to report periodically to the Council, through
the Commission, on activities undertaken at all levels to implement the
Forward-looking Strategies (resolution 49/161).
Implications of the World Conference on Human Rights and the Vienna
Declaration and Programme of Action. In resolution 49/161, the General
Assembly requested the Commission to continue to examine the implications of
the World Conference on Human Rights and the Vienna Declaration and Programme
of Action adopted by the Conference for the Commission's central role in
matters related to the rights of women within the United Nations system and
to report to the Council at its substantive session of 1995.
58. Report of the Board of Trustees of the International Research and
Training Institute for the Advancement of Women. At its sixtieth session, in
1976, the Council decided to establish the Institute as an autonomous body
under the auspices of the United Nations, funded through voluntary
contributions; it also decided on guidelines for the Institute (resolution
1998 (LX)). The statute of the Board was approved by the Council and
endorsed by the General Assembly (Council decision 1984/124 and Assembly
resolution 39/249). The Institute functions under the authority of a Board
of Trustees, which reports annually to the Council.
59. The attention of the Council is drawn to General Assembly resolution
49/160 on the proposed merger of the International Research and Training
Institute for the Advancement of Women and the United Nations Development
Fund for Women, in which the Assembly took note of the report of the
Secretary-General submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution 48/111
(A/49/217-E/1994/103); requested the Secretary-General to submit to the
Council, through the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary
Questions, an updated report; requested the Council to re-examine the issue,
at a resumed session to take place after the Fourth World Conference on Women
(Beijing, 4-15 September 1995); and decided to take a final decision on the
proposed merger at its fiftieth session, taking into account the
recommendations made by the Council and the deliberations of the Commission
at its thirty-ninth session and of the Fourth World Conference on Women
concerning the institutional arrangements in the United Nations system for
the advancement of women.
60. System-wide coordination of activities to advance the status of women and
to integrate women in development. At its second regular session of 1989,
the Council, inter alia, requested the Secretary-General, in his capacity as
Chairman of the Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC), to report to
the Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC) and the Council,
biennially in odd-numbered years beginning in 1991, on the extent to which
the system-wide medium-term plan for women and development was incorporated
into the programmes and programme budgets of the organizations of the United
Nations system (resolution 1989/105).
61. At its forty-ninth session, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-
General, in formulating the system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement
of women for the period 1996-2001 and in integrating the Forward-looking
Strategies into activities mandated by the General Assembly, to pay
particular attention to specific sectoral themes that cut across the three
objectives, equality, development and peace, and include, in particular,
literacy, education, health, population, the impact of technology on the
environment and its effect on women and the full participation of women in
decision-making, and to continue to assist Governments in strengthening their
national machineries for the advancement of women (resolution 49/161).
62. Improvement of the situation of women in rural areas. At its
forty-eighth session, the General Assembly requested the international
community, competent United Nations bodies and non-governmental organizations
to promote the realization of programmes and projects aimed at the
improvement of the situation of rural women; and requested the
Secretary-General to prepare, in consultation with Member States and
competent United Nations organizations, a report on the implementation of the
resolution and to submit it, through the Economic and Social Council, to the
General Assembly at its fiftieth session (Assembly resolution 48/109).
63. The attention of the Council is drawn to the Fourth World Conference on
Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, which, pursuant to
Council decision 1992/271 of 30 July 1992, will be held at Beijing from 4 to
15 September 1995. The Council's attention is also drawn to General Assembly
resolution 49/161 in regard to preparations for the Conference.
Documentation
Report of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against
Women on its fourteenth session
Report of the Commission on the Status of Women on its thirty-ninth
session
Report of the Board of Trustees of the International Research and
Training Institute for the Advancement of Women on its fifteenth session
Report of the Secretary-General on the system-wide coordination of
activities to advance the status of women and to integrate women in
development
Report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of General Assembly
resolution 48/109 on the improvement of the situation of women in rural
areas
Report of the Secretary-General on the proposed merger of the
International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of
Women and the United Nations Development Fund for Women
(f) Social development questions
64. World social situation. At its forty-fourth session, the General
Assembly requested the Secretary-General to continue monitoring the world
social situation in depth on a regular basis (resolution 44/56). The Council
will have before it the interim report of the Secretary-General on the world
social situation, submitted to the Assembly, through the Commission for
Social Development and the Council.
65. Commission for Social Development. The Council will consider the report
of the Commission for Social Development on its thirty-fourth session (New
York, 10-20 April 1995). The provisional agenda and documentation for the
session were approved by the Council in its decision 1993/237. The report of
the Commission is expected to include the recommendations of the Commission
on the following question, of which the Council is also seized:
Draft world programme of action for youth to the year 2000 and beyond.
At its substantive session of 1993, the Economic and Social Council adopted a
resolution entitled "Tenth anniversary of International Youth Year and draft
world programme of action for youth towards the year 2000 and beyond", in
which the Council called upon the Commission for Social Development to give
priority attention at its thirty-fourth session to the refinement of the
draft world programme of action and to establish an ad hoc informal
open-ended working group on youth for that purpose, with a view to
formulating a final draft to be submitted to the Economic and Social Council
in 1995 and to the General Assembly at its fiftieth session (resolution
1993/24).
66. The attention of the Council is drawn to General Assembly resolution
49/152.
67. International Literacy Year. At its forty-sixth session, the General
Assembly noted with appreciation the commendable work done in implementing
the programme for International Literacy Year by the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, other specialized agencies
and other organizations of the United Nations system; requested the
Secretary-General, in cooperation with the Director-General of the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, to submit to the
General Assembly at its fiftieth session, in 1995, through the Economic and
Social Council, a report on the progress made and problems encountered in the
quest to achieve a literate world; and decided to undertake, at its fiftieth
session, a mid-decade review of the progress made and problems encountered in
the struggle against illiteracy (resolution 46/93).
68. The attention of the Council is drawn to General Assembly resolution
47/92, pursuant to which the World Summit for Social Development will be held
at Copenhagen from 6 to 12 March 1995. The report of the World Summit will
be submitted to the Council.
Documentation
Interim report of the Secretary-General on the world social situation
Report of the Commission for Social Development on its thirty-fourth
session
Report of the Secretary-General and of the Director-General of UNESCO on
the quest to achieve a literate world
Report of the World Summit for Social Development
(g) Crime prevention and criminal justice
69. Capital punishment. At its fifty-fourth session, the Council invited the
Secretary-General to submit to it, at five-year intervals starting from 1975,
periodic updated and analytical reports on capital punishment (Council
resolution 1745 (LIV)). The Council will have before it the fifth
quinquennial report on capital punishment. The Economic and Social Council
requested the Secretary-General, in preparing the fifth quinquennial report,
to draw on all available data, including current criminological research, and
to invite the comments of specialized agencies, intergovernmental
organizations and non-governmental organizations in consultative status with
the Economic and Social Council on this question; and recommended that the
quinquennial reports of the Secretary-General on capital punishment, starting
with the report to be submitted to the Council in 1995, henceforth also cover
the implementation of the safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of
those facing the death penalty (Council resolution 1990/51).
70. Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. The Council will
consider the report of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal
Justice on its fourth session and take action on the recommendations
contained therein. The provisional agenda and documentation for the session
were approved by the Council in decision 1994/282.
71. Ninth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the
Treatment of Offenders. The attention of the Council is drawn to General
Assembly resolution 49/157 on preparations for the Ninth Congress. The
Council will have before it the report of the Ninth Congress, which will be
held at Cairo from 1 to 10 May 1995.
Documentation
Report of the Secretary-General on capital punishment
Report of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice on its
fourth session
Report of the Ninth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime
and the Treatment of Offenders
(h) Narcotic drugs
72. The Council will consider the report of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs
on its thirty-eighth session (Vienna, 14-23 March 1995) and take action on
the recommendations contained therein. The provisional agenda and
documentation for the thirty-eighth session of the Commission were approved
by the Council in decision 1994/231.
73. Report of the International Narcotics Control Board. In accordance with
article 15, paragraph 1, of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961,
article 18, paragraph 1, of the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances,
and article 23, paragraph 1, of the 1988 United Nations Convention against
Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, the Board will
report to the Council, through the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, on its work
for 1994.
Documentation
Report of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs on its thirty-eighth session
Summary of the report of the International Narcotics Control Board for
1994
(i) United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
74. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reports annually to the
General Assembly through the Council, in conformity with paragraph 11 of the
Statute of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(General Assembly resolution 428 (V), annex).
75. At its fifty-first session, in 1971, the Council decided that the report
of the High Commissioner should be transmitted to the Assembly without
debate, unless the Council decided otherwise, at the specific request of one
or more of its members or of the High Commissioner, at the time of the
adoption of its agenda (resolution 1623 (LI), sect. II).
Documentation
Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Item 6. Economic and environmental questions: reports of subsidiary
bodies, conferences and related questions
76. The Council will have before it the World Economic and Social Survey,
1995, prepared pursuant to General Assembly resolutions 118 (11) and 49/93
and Council resolution 1983/50. The Survey will include an overview of the
major economic and social developments of global significance and their
policy implications, as well as an assessment of short-term prospects for the
world economy. The subjects and emerging issues to be addressed in greater
detail, both globally and for major countries and groups of countries, will
include the following: output and income, macroeconomic policy-making, the
world energy situation, international trade and trade policy, international
transfers of financial resources and financial cooperation, and other
selected social and economic issues of a more structural nature. The Survey
will include a statistical annex and selected notes on statistical
methodology.
77. International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. At its forty-eighth
session, the General Assembly proclaimed 1996 the International Year for the
Eradication of Poverty and designated the Council as the coordinating body
for the Year (resolution 48/183). At its forty-ninth session, the Assembly
had before it a report of the Secretary-General (A/49/572) containing a
proposed timetable for preparation of the programme of the Year. In that
report it was stated that consultations on the Year would take place during
the third session of the Preparatory Committee for the World Summit for
Social Development, the thirty-ninth session of the Commission on the Status
of Women, the thirty-fourth session of the Commission for Social Development
and the third session of the Commission on Sustainable Development.
Following those consultations, the preliminary draft programme for the Year,
called for in Assembly resolution 48/183, will be submitted to the Council.
The attention of the Council is drawn to General Assembly resolution 49/110.
Documentation
World Economic and Social Survey, 1995
Report of the Secretary-General containing the preliminary draft
programme for the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty
(a) Sustainable development
78. At its organizational session for 1993, the Council, in accordance with
General Assembly resolution 47/191, established the Commission on Sustainable
Development as a functional commission of the Council, in order, inter alia,
to ensure the effective follow-up of the United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development (decision 1993/207). The functions of the
Commission are set out in paragraphs 3 to 5 of General Assembly resolution
47/191. The Assembly recommended that the Commission, in discharging its
functions, submit its consolidated recommendations to the Economic and Social
Council and, through it, to the General Assembly.
79. The Council will have before it the report of the Commission on
Sustainable Development on its third session. The provisional agenda and
documentation for the third session was approved by the Council in decision
1994/300.
80. The attention of the Council is drawn to Assembly resolution 49/111.
Documentation
Report of the Commission on Sustainable Development on its third session
(b) Trade and development
81. It is expected that the Council will consider the report of the Trade and
Development Board on the second part of its forty-first session (Geneva,
27 March-7 April 1995) and transmit directly to the General Assembly the
report of the Board on the first part of its forty-second session (Geneva,
11-22 September 1995).
82. The attention of the Council is drawn to General Assembly resolution
49/99 on international trade and development.
Documentation
Report of the Trade and Development Board on the second part of its
forty-first session
(c) Food and agricultural development
83. It is expected that the Council will review in depth the report of the
World Food Council (Assembly resolution 3348 (XXIX)) and submit
recommendations thereon to the General Assembly for consideration and
action. 2/
84. At its substantive session of 1994, the Council took note of the report
of the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations on the activities of the Ministerial Conference on Cooperation
in Fisheries among the African States Bordering the Atlantic Ocean
(E/1994/79, annex); requested the Secretary-General to submit to it, at its
substantive session of 1995, the report of the Director-General on the
activities of the Ministerial Conference at its third session, held at Praia,
Cape Verde, in November 1994; and decided to include in the agenda of its
substantive session of 1995 the question of cooperation in fisheries in
Africa (Council decision 1994/264).
Documentation
Report of the World Food Council
Note by the Secretary-General transmitting the report of the
Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations on cooperation in fisheries in Africa
(d) Science and technology for development
85. At its organizational session for 1992, the Council established a
functional Commission on Science and Technology for Development, in
accordance with General Assembly resolution 46/235 (decision 1992/218). The
Commission will report to the Council on the work of its second session
(Geneva, 15-24 May 1995). The provisional agenda and documentation for the
second session of the Commission were approved by the Council in decision
1993/321.
Documentation
Report of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development on its
second session
(e) Implementation of the Programme of Action of the International
Conference on Population and Development
86. The Council will have before it the report of the International
Conference on Population and Development, the report of the Population
Commission on its twenty-eighth session (New York, 21 February-2 March 1995)
and the report of the Secretary-General requested in General Assembly
resolution 49/128.
2/ The report of the World Food Council will not be considered by the
General Assembly in 1995.
87. The International Conference on Population and Development was held in
Cairo from 5 to 11 September 1994. At its forty-ninth session, the General
Assembly, having considered the report of the Conference (A/CONF.171/13 and
Add.1), requested the Secretary-General to prepare periodic reports for the
substantive sessions of the Council on the flow of financial resources for
assisting in the implementation of the Programme of Action of the Conference;
requested the specialized agencies and all related organizations of the
United Nations system to review and, where necessary, adjust their programmes
and activities in line with the Programme of Action, and invited them to
report to the Council at its substantive session of 1995; decided that the
Assembly, the Council and the Population Commission (to be renamed the
Commission on Population and Development) would constitute a three-tiered
intergovernmental mechanism that would play the primary role in the follow-up
of the implementation of the Programme of Action and, to that end, decided
that the Council, in assisting the Assembly, would promote an integrated
approach, provide system-wide coordination and guidance in the monitoring of
the implementation of the Programme of Action and make recommendations
thereon and that the Commission, which should meet on an annual basis, would
monitor, review and assess the implementation of the Programme of Action at
the national, regional and international levels and advise the Council
thereon.
88. The Assembly recommended that the Council review, at its substantive
session of 1995, the Commission's terms of reference and mandate; and that,
pursuant to the decisions made on the terms of reference and enhanced mandate
of the Commission, the Council consider the composition of the Commission at
its substantive session of 1995, in order to ensure that the Commission fully
fulfils its functions. The Assembly also requested the Council, at its
substantive session of 1995, to consider (a) the establishment of a separate
executive board of the United Nations Population Fund; (b) recommendations to
the Secretary-General concerning secretariat support and coordination
arrangements of the United Nations system; and (c) recommendations to the
Secretary-General regarding the establishment of an appropriate inter-agency
coordination, collaboration and harmonization mechanism for the
implementation of the Programme of Action.
89. The Assembly also requested the Council, at its substantive session of
1995, to review the reporting procedures within the United Nations system
regarding population and development issues, including a quinquennial review
and appraisal of the progress made in achieving the goals and objectives of
the Programme of Action; and requested the Secretary-General, in consultation
with States, to prepare a report on institutional follow-up issues and
reporting procedures in the United Nations system to be submitted to the
Council at its substantive session of 1995. The Assembly requested the
Council to discuss relevant matters concerning the implementation of
population and development programmes, as well as matters concerning
harmonization, cooperation and collaboration within the United Nations system
regarding the implementation of the Programme of Action and to discuss the
reports submitted by the different bodies and organs on various matters
related to the Programme of Action; and invited the governing body of the
United Nations Population Fund to oversee, on a regular basis, the response
of the Fund to the needs of countries regarding activities to strengthen
national population and development programmes and to report to the Council
on that matter. The Assembly also requested the Population Commission, at
its twenty-eighth session, to review, within its area of competence, the
Programme of Action and its implications and to transmit its views to the
Council at its substantive session of 1995. The Assembly requested the
Secretary-General to report, through the Economic and Social Council, to the
General Assembly at its fiftieth session on the implementation of the
resolution (resolution 49/128).
Documentation
Report of the International Conference on Population and Development
(A/CONF.171/13 and Add.1)
Report of the Population Commission
Report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of General Assembly
resolution 49/128
(f) International migration and development
90. At its forty-ninth session, the General Assembly requested the
Secretary-General to prepare, in consultation with all States and relevant
international and regional organizations, a report on international migration
and development, including aspects related to objectives and modalities for
the convening of a United Nations conference on international migration and
development, to be submitted to the Council at its substantive session of
1995 for discussion. It also requested the Secretary-General, on the basis
of the discussion held in the Council, to report on the subject to the
General Assembly at its fiftieth session for a decision, inter alia, on the
convening of a United Nations conference on international migration and
development (resolution 49/127).
Documentation
Report of the Secretary-General
(g) Human settlements
91. The Council will review the report of the Commission on Human Settlements
on its fifteenth session (Nairobi, 19-25 April 1995), which will include the
report of the Commission on the progress made in the implementation of the
Global Strategy for Shelter to the Year 2000. 3/ In reviewing the report
of the Commission, the Council will consider only specific recommendations
contained therein that require action by the Council and proposals on matters
relating to the coordination aspect of the work of the Commission.
92. Global Strategy for Shelter to the Year 2000. At its forty-second
session, the Assembly requested the Commission to formulate a global strategy
for shelter to the year 2000 for submission, through the Council, to the
Assembly at its forty-third session (resolution 42/191). At that session,
the Assembly adopted the Global Strategy for Shelter to the Year 2000
3/ The report of the Commission on Human Settlements will be considered
by the General Assembly in 1995.
(A/43/8/Add.1), decided to review and clarify the Strategy on a biennial
basis and requested the Commission, as the body designated to coordinate the
implementation of the Strategy, to report biennially to the Assembly on the
progress made in its implementation (resolution 43/181).
93. In its resolution 43/180 on the International Year of Shelter for the
Homeless, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to keep the
Assembly periodically informed, through the Council, on progress achieved in
improving the shelter and neighbourhoods of the poor and the disadvantaged.
Documentation
Report of the Commission on Human Settlements on its fifteenth session,
including the report of the Commission on the implementation of the
Global Strategy for Shelter to the Year 2000
(h) Environment
94. The Council will review the report of the Governing Council of the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on its eighteenth session (Nairobi,
15-26 May 1995). 4/ In doing so, the Council will consider only specific
recommendations contained therein that require action by the Council and
proposals on matters relating to the coordination aspect of the work of the
Governing Council. The Governing Council of UNEP reports to the General
Assembly through the Council (Assembly resolution 2997 (XXVII), sect. I,
para. 3).
95. Strengthening international cooperation in the monitoring of global
environmental problems. At its forty-eighth session, the General Assembly
requested the Executive Director of UNEP to prepare and submit to the
Governing Council of UNEP at its eighteenth session a report on the
activities of the Programme in environmental monitoring, containing proposals
and recommendations within the context of Agenda 21 and a review of
Earthwatch; and invited the Governing Council to consider the above-mentioned
report and to submit its conclusions and recommendations to the General
Assembly at its fiftieth session, through the Economic and Social Council
(Assembly resolution 48/192).
96. Protection against products harmful to health and the environment. The
question of the exchange of information on banned hazardous chemicals and
unsafe pharmaceutical products has been considered by the General Assembly
since its thirty-fourth session, in 1979 (resolution 34/173). In resolution
39/229, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General, through the
Council, to inform the Assembly every three years about the implementation of
that resolution and of Assembly resolutions 37/137 and 38/149. These
resolutions form the mandate for the issuance of regular updates of the
Consolidated List of Products Whose Consumption and/or Sale Have Been Banned,
Withdrawn, Severely Restricted or not Approved by Governments. They also
address the need to keep the format of the List under continuing review, in
cooperaiton with the relevant organizations of the United Nations system,
with a view to its improvement, taking into account its complementary nature,
the experience obtained and the views expressed by Governments. At its
4/ The report of the Governing Council of UNEP will be considered by the
General Assembly in 1995.
forty-fourth session, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General,
in the context of the preparation of his next scheduled report on the
question, to make specific suggestions on ways and means of providing
technical cooperation, including through appropriate United Nations
organizations, to countries, in particular developing countries, to create
and strengthen their capacity to utilize the Consolidated List; and to study
all the pending issues, such as sustainable alternatives to banned and
severely restricted products and unregistered pesticides, with a focus on
improving the usefulness of the Consolidated List (Assembly resolution
44/226, sect. II).
Documentation
Report of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment
Programme on its eighteenth session, including the Programme's activities
in environmental monitoring
Report of the Secretary-General on products harmful to health and the
environment
(i) Desertification and drought 5/
97. Implementation of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification and of the
medium-term recovery and rehabilitation programme in the Sudano-Sahelian
region. The Secretary-General reports regularly to the General Assembly,
through the Governing Council of UNDP and the Economic and Social Council, on
the implementation of the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification, as well
as on the activities of the United Nations Sudano-Sahelian Office, which has
been designated the focal point for coordinating United Nations efforts to
assist the countries of the Sudano-Sahelian region in carrying out their
recovery and rehabilitation programme (Council resolution 1978/37 and
Assembly resolutions 39/168 B and 40/209).
98. Assistance to the drought-stricken areas of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya,
Somalia, the Sudan and Uganda. The Secretary-General apprises the Council
annually of the status of this question (Council resolution 1983/46).
Documentation
Report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the resolutions
on the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification, including the
implementation of the medium-term and long-term recovery and
rehabilitation programme in the Sudano-Sahelian region
(j) Transport of dangerous goods
99. The Council will consider the report of the Secretary-General on the work
of the Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods on its
eighteenth session (Geneva, 28 November-7 December 1994). The Committee was
established in pursuance of Council resolution 645 G (XXIII). The Secretary-
General reports biennially to the Council on the work of the Committee
(Council resolution 1488 (XLVIII)).
5/ This question will be considered by the General Assembly in 1995.
Documentation
Report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Committee of Experts
on the Transport of Dangerous Goods on its eighteenth session
(k) Women in development
100. In its resolution 42/178 on the effective mobilization and
integration of women in development, the General Assembly requested the
Secretary-General to submit a report on the implementation of the resolution,
through the Economic and Social Council, to the Assembly at its forty-fourth
session and, in order to strengthen further the work of the United Nations in
integrating women effectively in economic programmes and operational
activities, to prepare biennially, as an annex to the report mentioned above,
an update of mandates governing the integration of women in economic
development adopted by the Assembly, the Council and the Commission on the
Status of Women and by world conferences of the United Nations system, a list
of the titles of all subprogrammes and programme elements relating to the
integration of women in development, as contained in the proposed programme
budget and in revisions to the medium-term plan, and a compilation of
decisions taken by United Nations intergovernmental bodies other than the
Commission, the Council and the Assembly relating to the integration of women
in development.
101. The Council will also have before it the relevant sections of the
report of the Commission on the Status of Women on its thirty-ninth session.
Documentation
Report of the Secretary-General on the effective mobilization and
integration of women in development
Relevant sections of the report of the Commission on the Status of Women
on its thirty-ninth session
(l) Prevention and control of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)
102. At its forty-seventh session, the General Assembly requested the
Secretary-General to invite the Director-General of the World Health
Organization (WHO) to report, through the Secretary-General, to the General
Assembly at its forty-eighth session and biennially thereafter, through the
Economic and Social Council, on progress in the implementation of the global
strategy for the prevention and control of AIDS (Assembly resolution 47/40).
103. At its substantive session of 1993, the Council supported fully World
Health Assembly resolution WHA46.37 of 14 May 1993, in which the
Director-General of WHO was requested to study, in close collaboration with
all organizations and bodies of the United Nations system concerned, the
feasibility and practicability of establishing a joint and co-sponsored
United Nations programme on HIV and AIDS and to develop options for such a
programme; and requested the Secretary-General to invite the Director-General
of WHO to include the outcome of the study in the next biennial report
(resolution 1993/51).
104. At its substantive session of 1994, the Council endorsed the
establishment of a joint and co-sponsored United Nations programme on
HIV/AIDS, subject to further review by April 1995 and called for the full
implementation of the programme by January 1996. The Council invited the six
co-sponsors (the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations
Children's Fund, the United Nations Population Fund, the World Health
Organization, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization and the World Bank) to transform the Inter-Agency Working Group
into a formally constituted Committee of Co-sponsoring Organizations. The
Council requested the six co-sponsors, through the Committee, to produce, by
January 1995, for the consideration of the Council and other concerned
parties, a comprehensive proposal specifying the programme's mission
statement and the terms and conditions of co-ownership, and detailing the
programme's organizational, programmatic, staffing, administrative and
financial elements, including proposed budgetary allocations, and to attach
to that proposal an annex containing the proposed legal document that the six
co-sponsors would sign to establish the programme formally. The Council also
requested its President to organize, in cooperation with the Committee of
Co-sponsoring Organizations, informal open-ended consultations to be held as
soon as possible for the purpose of deciding on the specific composition of
the programme coordinating board that would govern the programme, interacting
periodically with the Committee during the transition period to facilitate
progress towards programme implementation, and reviewing the detailed
programme proposal after it was received from the Committee, with a view to
making appropriate recommendations on the proposal not later than April 1995
(resolution 1994/24 and annex).
Documentation
Note by the Secretary-General transmitting the report of the
Director-General of the World Health Organization on the prevention and
control of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)
(m) International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade
105. At its thirty-fifth session, the General Assembly proclaimed the
period 1981-1990 as the International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation
Decade (Assembly resolution 35/18). At its forty-fifth session, the General
Assembly decided to review, at its fiftieth session, the progress made during
the first half of the 1990s, and requested the Secretary-General to submit a
report, through the Economic and Social Council, on further progress made in
attaining the ultimate goal of providing a safe water supply and sanitation
for all, including proposals for the action needed for the remainder of the
Decade, with special emphasis on the efforts made at the national level and
on international cooperation (Assembly resolution 45/181).
Documentation
Report of the Secretary-General
(n) International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction
106. At its forty-fourth session, the General Assembly proclaimed the
International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, beginning on
1 January 1990. The Assembly adopted the International Framework of Action
for the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, in which, inter
alia, the Secretary-General was requested to report biennially to the General
Assembly, through the Economic and Social Council, on the activities of the
Decade (resolution 44/236, annex). The attention of the Council is drawn to
General Assembly resolution 49/22, in which the Assembly decided to convene,
not later than the year 2000, a second world conference on natural disaster
reduction; requested the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly
at its fiftieth session initial recommendations for a second world conference
on natural disaster reduction; and also requested the Secretary-General to
submit to the General Assembly at its fiftieth session a report on progress
made in the implementation of the resolution and of the recommendations of
the mid-term review of the implementation of the International Framework of
Action for the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction carried
out by the Council at its substantive session of 1994. The attention of the
Council is also drawn to Assembly resolution 49/22 B on early warning
capacities of the United Nations system with regard to natural disasters.
Documentation
Report of the Secretary-General
(o) Statistics
107. The Council will consider the report of the Statistical Commission on
its twenty-eighth session (Headquarters, 27 February-3 March 1995) and take
action on the recommendations contained therein (resolutions 8 (I), 8 (II)
and 1566 (L)). The provisional agenda and documentation for the
twenty-eighth session were approved by the Council in its decision 1994/295.
Documentation
Report of the Statistical Commission on its twenty-eighth session
(p) Energy
108. In accordance with Council decision 1994/309 of 3 November 1994, the
Committee on New and Renewable Sources of Energy and on Energy for
Development will hold a special session from 6 to 17 February 1995 at United
Nations Headquarters.
Documentation
Report of the Committee on New and Renewable Sources of Energy and on
Energy for Development on its special session
Item 7. Regional cooperation in the economic, social and related fields
109. The Council will consider the report of the Secretary-General on
regional cooperation and take the necessary action on the decisions and
recommendations of the regional commissions contained therein.
110. The Council will also have before it the summaries of the surveys of
regional economic and social conditions prepared by the regional commissions,
highlighting the main problems and prospects of those regions. At its first
regular session of 1979, the Council decided to discontinue the submission to
it of the reports of the regional commissions (decision 1979/1). The reports
are transmitted directly to all Member States. The Secretary-General, in his
annual report on regional cooperation, in addition to reporting on the
meetings of the executive secretaries, highlights developments within each
region and draws the Council's attention to specific issues requiring its
consideration. The report of the Secretary-General will bring to the
Council's attention any decisions or recommendations of the Commissions that
statutorily require approval by the Council.
111. At its second regular session of 1982, the Council decided to
identify, at its annual organizational session, a subject relating to
interregional cooperation, of common interest to all regions, for detailed
consideration under the agenda item on regional cooperation and to request
the executive secretaries of the regional commissions to submit their joint
recommendations in this regard to the Council at its annual organizational
session (decision 1982/174). A section on interregional cooperation dealing
with the topic selected will be included in the report of the Secretary-
General on regional cooperation.
112. Europe-Africa permanent link through the Strait of Gibraltar. At its
substantive session of 1993, the Council commended the Economic Commission
for Africa and the Economic Commission for Europe on the work done in
preparing the evaluation report on the studies relating to the project in the
period 1982-1993; and requested the Executive Secretaries of the two
Commissions to take an active part in the follow-up to the project and to
report thereon to the Economic and Social Council at its substantive session
of 1995 (Council resolution 1993/60).
Documentation
Report of the Secretary-General on regional cooperation
Summaries of the surveys of economic and social conditions in the five
regions, prepared by the regional commissions
Note by the Secretary-General on a Europe-Africa permanent link through
the Strait of Gibraltar
Item 8. Permanent sovereignty over national resources in the occupied
Palestinian and other Arab territories
113. At its substantive session of 1994, the Council adopted resolution
1994/45, entitled "Economic and social repercussions of the Israeli
settlements on the Palestinian people in the Palestinian territory, including
Jerusalem, occupied since 1967, and on the Arab population of the Syrian
Golan". The Council reaffirmed the inalienable right of the Palestinian
people and the population of the Syrian Golan to their natural and all other
economic resources, and regarded any infringement thereof as illegal; and
requested the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its
fiftieth session, through the Council, a report on the progress made in the
implementation of the resolution. The attention of the Council is drawn to
General Assembly resolution 49/132 on the subject.
Documentation
Report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of Council
resolution 1994/45 and General Assembly resolution 49/132
Item 9. Coordination questions
(a) Reports of the coordination bodies
114. The report of the Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC) on
its thirty-fifth session (Headquarters, May-June 1995) will include the
Committee's views on its consideration of the report of the Administrative
Committee on Coordination (ACC).
115. ACC submits an annual overview report to the Council (Council
resolution 13 (III)), which will provide the Council with a summary of the
work carried out by the ACC machinery in 1994. The report of ACC will
include as an addendum information on programmes and resources of the United
Nations system for the biennium 1994-1995.
116. The Council will have before it the report of the Chairmen of CPC and
ACC on the twenty-eighth series of Joint Meetings of the two Committees, held
at Headquarters on 27 October 1994.
Documentation
Report of the Committee for Programme and Coordination on its
thirty-fifth session
Annual overview report of the Administrative Committee on Coordination
for l994
Report of the Chairmen of the Committee for Programme and Coordination
and the Administrative Committee on Coordination on the Joint Meetings of
the two Committees (E/1995/4)
(b) International cooperation in the field of information systems
117. At its substantive session of 1994, the Council stressed once again
the urgent need for representatives of States to be closely consulted and
actively associated with the respective executive and governing bodies of the
United Nations institutions dealing with informatics within the United
Nations system, so that the specific needs of States as internal end-users
could be given due priority; requested that the initial phases of the action
programme to harmonize and improve United Nations information systems for
optimal utilization and accessibility by all States be implemented from
within existing resources and in full consultation with the representatives
of States; and requested the Secretary-General to report on the follow-up
action taken on the resolution to the Council at its substantive session of
1995 (resolution 1994/46).
Documentation
Report of the Secretary-General on the follow-up action taken on Council
resolution 1994/46
(c) Multisectoral collaboration on tobacco or health
118. At its substantive session of 1994, the Council commended the
Secretary-General for acting promptly to establish within the United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development the focal point requested by the Council
in its resolution 1993/79; and requested the Secretary-General to ensure that
the focal point addressed effectively all the issues raised in Council
resolution 1993/79. The Council also requested the Secretary-General to
continue the process of consultations with international organizations and
Member States with a view to the development of national plans of action, to
coordinate the implementation of World Health Assembly resolution WHA46.8 and
to report to the Council at its substantive session of 1995 on progress made
by the United Nations system focal point (resolution 1994/47).
Documentation
Report of the Secretary-General on progress made in the implementation of
multisectoral collaboration on tobacco or health
(d) Preventive action and intensification of the struggle against malaria
and diarrhoeal diseases, in particular cholera
119. At its substantive session of 1994, the Council, recalling the agreed
conclusions on the coordination segment of its substantive session of 1993
(A/48/3/Rev.1, chap. III, sect. B), welcomed with interest and appreciation
the report of the Secretary-General on preventive action and intensification
of the struggle against malaria and diarrhoeal diseases, in particular
cholera (E/1994/60); decided to retain the topic of malaria and diarrhoeal
diseases, in particular cholera, on the agenda of its substantive session of
1995, for consideration in the general segment; and requested the
Secretary-General to prepare a report on this topic that further addressed
the agreed conclusions of the Council on the 1993 coordination segment; the
report should be prepared with the World Health Organization and other
relevant organs, organizations and bodies of the United Nations system,
taking into account their expertise in the area of health and development
(Council resolution 1994/34).
Documentation
Report of the Secretary-General
Item 10. Non-governmental organizations
120. The Council will consider the report of the Committee on
Non-Governmental Organizations and take action on the recommendations
contained therein. The provisional agenda and documentation of the Committee
were approved by the Council in its decision 1993/331. The Committee, which
meets biennially, reports to the Council in accordance with Council
resolutions 3 (II) and 1296 (XLIV).
121. Review of the arrangements for consultations with non-governmental
organizations. At its substantive session of 1994, the Council took note
with satisfaction of the report of the Open-ended Working Group on the Review
of Arrangements for Consultations with Non-Governmental Organizations on its
first session (A/49/215-E/1994/99); requested the Working Group to submit the
report on its second session (Headquarters, 21-24 February 1995) to the
Council at its substantive session of 1995, and invited the Committee on
Non-Governmental Organizations, at its regular session in 1995, to transmit
its comments on that report to the Council at that session (resolution
1994/28).
Documentation
Report of the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations
Report of the Open-ended Working Group on the Review of Arrangements for
Consultations with Non-Governmental Organizations on its second session
Item 11. United Nations University
122. The Council will consider the report of the Council of the United
Nations University on its work during 1994 (General Assembly resolutions 3081
(XXVIII) and 39/217). 6/
Documentation
Report of the Council of the United Nations University
Item 12. Programme and related questions in the economic, social and
related fields
(a) Proposed programme budget for the biennium 1996-1997
123. In accordance with rule 31 of the rules of procedure of the Council,
the Secretary-General will circulate the sections of the proposed programme
budget for the biennium 1996-1997 covering activities in the economic, social
and human rights fields. The Council will consider the relevant sections of
the proposed programme budget in the light of the recommendations of the
Committee for Programme and Coordination on the matter, with a view to
submitting its own recommendations thereon to the General Assembly (Council
resolution 1988/77).
Documentation
Relevant sections of the proposed programme budget for the biennium
1996-1997
Report of the Committee for Programme and Coordination on its
thirty-fifth session
(b) Calendar of conferences and meetings in the economic, social and
related fields for the biennium 1996-1997
124. The Council will be required to approve its calendar of conferences
and meetings in the economic, social and related fields for 1996 and 1997
(Council decision 52 (LVII)).
Documentation
Draft calendar of conferences and meetings in the economic, social and
related fields for 1996 and 1997
Reports brought to the attention of the Council
Reports of the Joint Inspection Unit
6/ The report will not be considered by the General Assembly in 1995.
125. In accordance with the procedures set out in the statute of the Joint
Inspection Unit, as approved by the General Assembly in resolution 31/192,
the Joint Inspection Unit reports annually to the Council on activities under
the general responsibility of the Council. In accordance with the practice
followed by the Council, reports that relate to agenda items will be
considered under those items; reports that do not relate to agenda items will
be considered separately.
126. At its thirty-eighth session, the General Assembly invited United
Nations organs, when considering reports of the Joint Inspection Unit, to
bear in mind the recommendation contained in paragraph 12 of the 1983 annual
report of the Unit (resolution 38/229). The recommendation read as follows:
"Because of the method of discussion of JIU reports in the past, clear
decisions on the recommendations contained in JIU reports have not always
been taken. This lack of clarity hinders effective follow-up by JIU.
Legislative bodies of participating organizations could consider the
possibility of adopting formulations along the following lines:
"(a) Approves recommendations ___________, and ___________;
"(b) Approves recommendations ___________, and ___________ in the
light of the comments thereon by the Secretary-General (and/or ACC;
and/or the debate in the Committee);
"(c) Reserves its position on recommendations ___________, and
___________ in the light of the debate in the Committee;
"(d) Does not approve recommendations ___________, and
___________." 7/
127. At its forty-second session, the General Assembly requested all
bodies of the United Nations system to examine closely those reports of the
Joint Inspection Unit that were within their respective areas of competence
and to comment, as appropriate, on the recommendations contained therein
(resolution 42/218). The attention of the Council is drawn to General
Assembly resolution 45/237.
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7/ Official Records of the General Assembly, Thirty-eighth Session,
Supplement No. 34 (A/38/34), para. 12.
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Date last posted: 10 February 2000 10:22:30
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