| United Nations | E/1996/100 |
Economic and Social Council
Distr. GENERAL
15 May 1996
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
Substantive session of 1996
New York, 24 June-26 July 1996
Item 1 of the provisional agenda
ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONAL MATTERS
Annotated provisional agenda
The present document contains the provisional agenda for the
substantive session of 1996 in section I and the annotations to the
provisional agenda in section II.
I. PROVISIONAL AGENDA
The provisional agenda for the substantive session of 1996 of the
Council has been drawn up on the basis of the list of items approved
by the Council at its organizational session for 1996 (decision
1996/203).
Provisional agenda for the substantive session of 1996
1. Adoption of the agenda and other organizational matters.
High-level segment
2. International cooperation against the illicit production, sale,
demand, traffic and distribution of narcotics and psychotropic
substances and related activities.
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) Coordination of the United Nations system activities for
poverty eradication;
(b) Implementation of the agreed conclusions on the theme of the
1995 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) Follow-up to policy recommendations of the General Assembly;
(b) Coordination of activities on a system-wide basis:
strengthening collaboration between the United Nations
development system and the Bretton Woods institutions in the
areas of social and economic development at all levels,
including the field level;
(c) Consideration of the reports of the Executive Boards of the
United Nations Development Programme/United Nations
Population Fund, the United Nations Children's Fund and the
World Food Programme.
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) Natural resources;
(e) Energy;
(f) Population questions;
(g) International cooperation in tax matters;
(h) International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction;
(i) Follow-up to General Assembly resolution 50/106: business
and development.
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 informatics;
(c) Joint and Co-sponsored United Nations Programme on Human
Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome.
10. Non-governmental organizations.
11. Programme and related questions in the economic, social and
related fields.
12. New and innovative ideas for generating funds.
II. ANNOTATIONS
Item 1. Adoption of the agenda and other organizational matters
At its organizational session for 1996, the Council approved the
provisional agenda for its substantive session (decision 1996/203).
In accordance with rule 12 of the rules of procedure of the
Economic and Social Council (E/5715/Rev.2), should any proposals be
submitted for the inclusion of supplementary items in the agenda, they
will be circulated as soon as they are received, and a supplementary
list of items will be issued as an addendum to the provisional agenda.
A. High-level segment
Item 2. International cooperation against the illicit production,
sale, demand, traffic and distribution of narcotics and psychotropic
substances and related activities
At its forty-eighth session, the General Assembly requested the
Commission on Narcotic Drugs to recommend to the high-level segment of
the Economic and Social Council in 1995 appropriate adjustments of
drug control activities whenever required (resolution 48/12, para. 9).
At its forty-ninth session, the General Assembly invited the
Economic and Social Council, while considering the issue of
international cooperation against the illicit production, sale,
demand, traffic and distribution of narcotic drugs and psychotropic
substances at its high-level segment, to pay special attention to the
report of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs requested in paragraph 11
of Assembly resolution 48/12 (resolution 49/168).
At its organizational session for 1996, the Economic and Social
Council decided that the high-level segment of the Council of 1996
should be devoted to the consideration of the major theme
"International cooperation against the illicit production, sale,
demand, traffic and distribution of narcotics and psychotropic
substances and related activities" (decision 1996/202).
The Council will have before it, at its high-level segment, the
report of the Secretary-General on the subject.
The Council will also have before it for its information the
annual overview report of the Administrative Committee on Coordination
for 1995 (E/1996/18).
The Council will also have before it the World Economic and Social
Survey, 1996, prepared pursuant to General Assembly resolution 118
(II) and Council resolution 1983/50. Part one of the Survey will
contain the Secretary-General's assessment of the world economic
situation as of mid-1996, including recent developments and the
short-term outlook in developed, transition and developing economies
and the situation regarding international trade and financial flows.
Part two will analyse various aspects of policy concerning capital
formation around the world. Part three will address a number of
salient social and economic trends and developments. The Survey will
also contain a statistical annex of data on the current world
economic, trade, financial and energy situations.
Documentation
Report of the Secretary-General on international cooperation
against narcotic drugs
World Economic and Social Survey, 1996
Annual overview report of the Administrative Committee on
Coordination for 1995 (E/1996/18)
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) Coordination of the United Nations system activities for
poverty eradication
(b) Implementation of the agreed conclusions on the theme of
the 1995 coordination segment of the Council
In accordance with Economic and Social Council decision 1995/321,
the coordination segment of the Council of 1996 will be devoted to the
consideration of the theme "Coordination of the activities of the
United Nations system for the eradication of poverty" and the
consideration of that theme will focus on the following areas:
(a) Coordination of United Nations support for and availability
of resources to the United Nations system for facilitating national
poverty eradication plans and programmes as well as the provision of
basic social services, particularly at the field level;
(b) Coordination of United Nations efforts to ensure that all its
activities for poverty eradication take fully into account the gender
perspective;
(c) Ways of monitoring the performance of the United Nations in
the field of poverty eradication, in the context of the harmonization
of the multi-year programmes of work of the functional commissions of
the Council, in accordance with the thirteenth paragraph of agreed
conclusions 1995/1 (see A/50/3, chap. III, para. 22).
For its consideration of the theme, the Council will have before
it the report of the Secretary-General on the subject, the report of
the Commission for Social Development on its 1996 special session and
the report of the Administrative Committee on Coordination on
activities envisaged in support of the first United Nations Decade for
the Eradication of Poverty, as requested in General Assembly
resolution 50/107 (see also the annotations for item 5 (f)).
In accordance with General Assembly resolution 45/264 and Council
decision 1996/203, the coordination segment of the Council should also
be devoted to the consideration of the implementation of the agreed
conclusions on the theme of the 1995 coordination segment of the
Council relating to the coordinated follow-up by the United Nations
system and implementation of the results of the major international
conferences organized by the United Nations in the economic, social
and related fields.
Documentation
Report of the Secretary-General on the coordination of the
activities of the United Nations system for the eradication of
poverty
Report of the Commission for Social Development on its special
session (E/1996/29)
Report of the Administrative Committee on Coordination on
activities envisaged in support of the first United Nations Decade
for the Eradication of Poverty
Report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the
agreed conclusions of the 1995 coordination segment of the Council
relating to coordinated follow-up by the United Nations system and
implementation of the results of the major international
conferences organized by the United Nations in the economic,
social and related fields
Report of the twenty-ninth series of Joint Meetings of the
Committee for Programme and Coordination and the Administrative
Committee on Coordination, held on 16 October 1995 (E/1996/4 and
Corr.1)
C. Operational activities of the United Nations for
international development cooperation segment
The Council will have before it notes by the Secretary-General
transmitting the report of the Joint Inspection Unit on United Nations
system common premises and services in the field, and the comments of
the Administrative Committee on Coordination thereon.
Item 4. Operational activities of the United Nations for international
development cooperation
At the Council's substantive session of 1996, the high-level
meeting of the operational activities segment will be devoted to
consideration of strengthening collaboration between the United
Nations system and the Bretton Woods institutions in the areas of
social and economic development at all levels, including the field
level (Council resolution 1995/50). The Council will have before it a
note by the Secretariat on that topic (see also sub-item (b) below).
(a) Follow-up to policy recommendations of the General Assembly
At its substantive session of 1995, the Council, in its resolution
1995/50, decided that the themes for the working-level meetings of the
operational activities segment should include:
(a) Field-level coordination issues relating to the follow-up of
the theme of the high-level segment of the previous substantive
session of the Council;
(b) Issues relating to the budgets of the United Nations funds
and programmes, with the aim of:
(i) Promoting greater budgetary transparency with respect to
resources, including administrative costs of different funds
and programmes;
(ii) Addressing the linkages between administrative expenditure
and programme expenditure;
(iii) Ensuring the most efficient use of resources;
(iv) Promoting budgetary transparency with respect to resources
mobilized by developing countries for operational activities
for development of the United Nations, including resources
from the private sector;
(c) Issues relating to:
(i) Strengthening national capacity for management and
coordination of international assistance;
(ii) Improving national participation in the process of evaluation
of the efficiency and effectiveness of assistance provided by
United Nations funds and programmes;
(iii) Promoting greater collaboration among United Nations funds
and programmes in the evaluation of their activities;
(d) Issues relating to procurement, in particular from developing
countries;
(e) Issues relating to the use of national experts and local
technologies;
(f) Issues relating to the priorities to be given in particular
to the least developed countries and Africa.
At its fiftieth session, the General Assembly invited the Council,
during the operational activities segment of its substantive sessions
of 1996 and 1997, to examine the operational activities of the United
Nations system with a view to ensuring the full implementation of
Assembly resolution 50/120. The Assembly also stressed, inter alia,
the important role of the specialized agencies of the United Nations
system in transferring and facilitating the necessary technical and
substantive expertise to support the national execution of United
Nations-funded programmes and projects, and invited the
Secretary-General, in collaboration with the heads of specialized
agencies, to inform the Council of the measures taken by those
specialized agencies in response to Assembly resolution 47/199, in
particular as regards national execution. The Assembly also requested
the Secretary-General, after consultations with the funds, programmes
and specialized agencies of the United Nations system, to present to
the Council at its substantive session of 1996 an appropriate
management process containing clear guidelines, targets, benchmarks
and time-frames for the full implementation of Assembly resolution
50/120. The Assembly also invited the Council, at its substantive
session of 1996, to consider, inter alia, the issues of harmonization
and administrative services, common premises and monitoring and
evaluation, and, at its substantive session of 1997, to consider,
inter alia, capacity-building, field- and regional-level coordination,
and resources, on the basis of progress reports by the
Secretary-General, including appropriate recommendations. The
Assembly decided that, as an integral part of the next comprehensive
triennial policy review, to be undertaken in 1998, there should be, in
consultation with Member States, an evaluation of the impact of
operational activities for development, and requested the
Secretary-General to submit to the Council at its substantive sessions
of 1996 and 1997 information on progress in that regard (resolution
50/120).
(b) Coordination of activities on a system-wide basis:
strengthening collaboration between the United Nations
development system and the Bretton Woods institutions in the
areas of social and economic development at all levels,
including the field level
In its resolution 1995/50, the Council, having recalled that, in
accordance with General Assembly resolution 48/162, the role of the
Council in its operational activities of the United Nations for
international development cooperation segment included the provision
to the United Nations system of cross-sectoral coordination and
overall guidance on a system-wide basis, reaffirmed that the
strengthening of the efficiency and effectiveness of the operational
activities of the United Nations system in the delivery of its
assistance for development required a real commitment to implementing
Assembly resolutions 47/199 and 48/162, including the need to increase
substantially the availability of resources on a predictable,
continuous and assured basis, commensurate with the needs of
developing countries, and decided that in 1996 the high-level meeting
of the operational activities segment should focus on strengthening
collaboration between the United Nations development system and the
Bretton Woods institutions in the areas of social and economic
development, at all levels, including the field level.
In its resolution 50/120, the General Assembly took note of
Council resolution 1995/50.
(c) Consideration of the reports of the Executive Boards of the
United Nations Development Programme/United Nations
Population Fund, the United Nations Children's Fund and the
World Food Programme
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.
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.
By its resolution 50/8, the General Assembly decided, subject to
the concurrence of the Conference of the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations, that the Committee on Food Aid
Policies and Programmes should be reconstituted as the Executive Board
of the World Food Programme. In the same resolution, the Assembly
decided that the Executive Board of the World Food Programme would
comprise 36 members elected from among the States Members of the
United Nations or the States members of the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations, and that the Economic and Social
Council and the Council of the Food and Agriculture Organization of
the United Nations should elect 18 members each, as set forth in
paragraph 2 of the resolution.
At its forty-eighth session, the General Assembly decided, in
order to ensure an effective and efficient interaction between the
Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and the individual Executive
Boards, that each Board would submit an annual report on its
programmes and activities to the Council at its substantive session
(resolution 48/162, annex I, para. 29). At its substantive session of
1994, the Council requested the United Nations development funds and
programmes, through their executive boards, to include in their annual
reports to the Council, which should have a common structure: (a) a
section outlining measures taken in the implementation of the
provisions of the triennial policy review of operational activities;
and (b) a section on the activities and measures undertaken within the
designated theme for the high-level meeting of the operational
activities segment (resolution 1994/33).
In its resolution 1995/51, the Council requested the heads of the
United Nations funds and programmes to report to the Council at its
substantive session of 1996, through their Executive Boards, on the
steps taken to further refine and effectively apply procedures for:
(a) the overall impact and performance of United Nations funds and
programmes and measures to ensure that higher priority was given to
monitoring and evaluation activities and to the implementation of
findings, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 47/199;
(b) strengthening national capacity for the management and
coordination of international assistance; (c) improving national
participation in the process of evaluation of the efficiency and
effectiveness of assistance provided by the United Nations funds and
programmes; and (d) promoting greater collaboration among United
Nations funds and programmes in the evaluation of their activities.
In the same resolution, the Council requested the Executive Boards, in
their reports to the Council, to identify specific problems,
opportunities and areas in which the Council could provide
cross-sectoral coordination and overall guidance on a system-wide
basis, and to make appropriate proposals, which should be further
analysed as a basis for recommendations to the Council, to ensure that
the policies formulated by the Assembly, particularly during the
triennial policy review of operational activities, were appropriately
implemented on a system-wide basis. The Council also requested the
United Nations funds and programmes, and invited specialized agencies,
to explore the scope for improving the cost-effectiveness of
administrative services, including the possible use of common
administrative services at the field level, with the aim of
strengthening programme delivery, and to report thereon to the Council
at its substantive session of 1996.
Documentation
Reports of the Secretary-General on the operational activities for
development undertaken by the United Nations system
Reports of the Executive Board of the United Nations Development
Programme/ United Nations Population Fund
Reports of the Executive Board of the United Nations Children's
Fund
Report of the Executive Board of the World Food Programme
Annual report of the United Nations Development Programme
Annual report of the United Nations Population Fund
Annual report of the United Nations Children's Fund
Annual review report of the Administrative Committee on
Coordination for 1995 (E/1996/18)
Notes by the Secretary-General transmitting the report of the
Joint Inspection Unit entitled "United Nations system common
premises and services in the field" and the comments of the
Administrative Committee on Coordination thereon (E/1996/43 and
A/51/124-E/1996/44)
Note by the Secretariat on strengthening collaboration between the
United Nations development system and the Bretton Woods
institutions in the areas of social and economic development at
all levels, including the field level
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
At its forty-sixth session, the General Assembly requested the
emergency relief coordinator to prepare an annual report for the
Secretary-General on the coordination of humanitarian emergency
assistance of the United Nations, including information on the central
emergency revolving fund, to be submitted to the Assembly through the
Council (resolution 46/182, annex, para. 35 (i)). At its substantive
session of 1995, the Council requested the Secretary-General to
submit, at a date to be determined by the Council at its substantive
session of 1996, a comprehensive and analytical report, including
options, proposals and recommendations for a review and strengthening
of all aspects of the capacity of the United Nations system for
humanitarian assistance. In order to facilitate that process, the
Council decided, inter alia, to request the Secretary-General and
relevant agencies, organizations, programmes and funds of the United
Nations system to include in their reports to the Council at its
substantive session of 1996 a section on the progress achieved in the
review of these issues and on the full implementation of Assembly
resolution 46/182 (resolution 1995/56). At its fiftieth session, the
Assembly decided to refer further deliberations on these matters,
including those related to the Central Emergency Revolving Fund, to
the Council at its substantive session of 1996 (resolution 50/57).
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).
The Council will also hear oral reports on the following
questions:
(a) Provision of assistance for the repair of war damage in the
Republic of Yemen. At its substantive session of 1995, the Council
appealed to all Member States, all United Nations organizations and
programmes and all other international organizations and institutions
to provide the requisite support and assistance to the Government of
the Republic of Yemen to repair the war damage suffered by the
economic infrastructure, and requested the Secretary-General to inform
the Council at its substantive session of 1996 of the progress
achieved in the implementation of the resolution on this subject
(resolution 1995/41).
(b) Assistance for the reconstruction and development of Lebanon.
At its substantive session of 1995, 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
requested the Secretary-General to inform the Council at its
substantive session of 1996 of the progress achieved in the
implementation of the resolution on this subject (resolution 1995/42).
(c) Assistance for the reconstruction of Madagascar following the
natural disasters of 1994. At its substantive session of 1995, the
Council requested international and regional organizations, the
specialized agencies, financial institutions and voluntary
institutions to support, within the framework of their respective
programmes, the requests for assistance formulated by the Government
of Madagascar during the recovery and reconstruction phase; it also
requested the Secretary-General to take the necessary measures to help
the Government of Madagascar to mobilize the resources needed to
overcome the effects of the natural disasters and to inform the
Council at its substantive session of 1996 of the progress made in the
implementation of the resolution on this subject (resolution 1995/43).
(d) Assistance for humanitarian relief and the economic and
social rehabilitation of Somalia. At its fiftieth 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 on the subject, to apprise the
Council at its substantive session of 1996 of the progress made and to
report thereon to the Assembly at its fifty-first session (resolution
50/58 G).
(e) Assistance to refugees, returnees and displaced persons in
Africa. At its fiftieth 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 Assembly at its fifty-first session, and an oral report to the
Council at its substantive session of 1996 (resolution 50/149).
Documentation
Report of the Secretary-General on strengthening the coordination
of emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations
(b) Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Third
Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination
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 Assembly entrusted the 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 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.
The attention of the Council is drawn to General Assembly
resolution 50/136.
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
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 1995, the 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, concerning the matters set forth in Council resolution
1995/58, 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 1996
(resolution 1995/58). At its fiftieth 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 50/34).
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)).
At its fiftieth session, the General Assembly requested the
Secretary-General to submit a report to the Assembly at its fifty-
first session, through the Council, on the implementation of
resolution 50/58 H on the subject.
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
The Council will consider the general comments adopted by the
Human Rights Committee and the report of the Committee on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights as well as the report of the Committee on
the Rights of the Child.
The Council will also consider the report of the Commission on
Human Rights on its fifty-second session (Geneva, 18 March-26 April
1996) and the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights.
The Council will also consider the question of the implementation
of the provisions of the Declaration on the Right to Development.
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 Council. In 1996, the Human Rights Committee is to hold
its fifty-sixth session at Headquarters from 18 March to 4 April, its
fifty-seventh session at Geneva from 8 to 26 July, and its
fifty-eighth session at Geneva from 21 October to 8 November.
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 Assembly (decision 1985/105).
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 that 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.
The Council will have before it the reports of the Committee on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on its thirteenth and fourteenth
sessions (Geneva, 20 November-8 December 1995; and 30 April-
17 May 1996).
Committee on the Rights of the Child. At its forty-fourth
session, the General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of
the Child (Assembly resolution 44/25, annex). In accordance with
article 43 of the Convention, the Committee on the Rights of the Child
was established, for the purpose of examining the progress made by
States parties in achieving the realization of the obligations
undertaken in the Convention. In accordance with article 44 of the
Convention, the Committee submits reports on its activities to the
Assembly, through the Council, every two years.
Commission on Human Rights. The report of the Commission is
expected to include its response to the following resolutions:
(a) Council resolution 1995/32, in which the Council authorized
the establishment of an open-ended inter-sessional working group of
the Commission on Human Rights, with the sole purpose of elaborating a
draft declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples, for
consideration and adoption by the General Assembly within the
International Decade of the World's Indigenous People. The Council
requested the Commission at its fifty-second session to review the
progress of the Working Group and to transmit its comments to the
Council at its substantive session of 1996;
(b) General Assembly resolution 50/188, 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 fifty-first session, in the
light of additional elements provided by the Commission and the
Council;
(c) General Assembly resolution 50/189, in which the Assembly
decided to keep under consideration at its fifty-first session the
situation of human rights in Afghanistan, in the light of additional
elements provided by the Commission and the Council;
(d) General Assembly resolution 50/191, in which the Assembly
decided to continue its consideration of the situation of human rights
in Iraq during its fifty-first session, in the light of additional
elements provided by the Commission and the Council;
(e) General Assembly resolution 50/196, in which the Assembly
decided to continue its consideration of the situation of human rights
and fundamental freedoms in Haiti at its fifty-first session, on the
basis of information provided by the Commission and the Council.
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 Council,
to the Assembly (resolution 48/141).
Right to development. At its substantive session of 1995, the
Council approved the request of the Commission on Human Rights to the
Council to continue to consider the question of the implementation of
the provisions of the Declaration on the Right to Development
(decision 1995/258). At its fiftieth session, the General Assembly
called upon the Commission to continue to make proposals to the
Assembly, through the Council, on the future course of action on the
question (resolution 50/184).
Documentation
Note by the Secretariat transmitting the general comments of the
Human Rights Committee
Reports of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
on its thirteenth and fourteenth sessions (E/1996/22 and Add.1)
Report of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (A/51/41)
Report of the Commission on Human Rights on its fifty-second
session (E/1996/23)
Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
(A/51/36)
Documents for information
Reports submitted by States parties to the International 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 thirteenth and fourteenth sessions of the
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
(e) Advancement of women
The Council will consider the report of the Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination against Women on its fifteenth session
(New York, 15 January-2 February 1996), the report of the Commission
on the Status of Women on the work of its fortieth session (New York,
11-22 March 1996) and the report of the Board of Trustees of the
International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of
Women on its sixteenth session. The provisional agenda and
documentation for the fortieth session of the Commission were approved
by the Council in its decision 1995/252.
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.
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 fortieth session: under
equality, elimination of stereotyping of women in the mass media;
under development, child and dependant care, including sharing of work
and family responsibilities; and under peace, education for peace.
Follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women and full
implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. At
its fiftieth session, the General Assembly decided that the Assembly,
the Council and the Commission on the Status of Women should
constitute a three-tiered intergovernmental mechanism that would play
the primary role in the overall policy-making and follow-up, and in
coordinating the implementation and monitoring of the Platform for
Action; it decided that the Commission, as a functional commission
assisting the Council, should have a central role in the monitoring,
within the United Nations system, of the implementation of the
Platform for Action and in advising the Council thereon, and that the
Council should oversee system-wide coordination in the implementation
of the Platform for Action and ensure overall coordination of the
follow-up to and implementation of the results of all United Nations
international conferences in the economic, social and related fields
and report thereon to the Assembly; and it requested the Commission to
develop its multi-year programme of work for the period 1996-2000 at
its fortieth session so that it could review the critical areas of
concern in the Platform for Action and to consider how it could
integrate into its programme of work the follow-up to the Conference
and how it could develop its catalytic role in mainstreaming a gender
perspective in United Nations activities, taking into account the need
for a focused and thematic approach to the review of the Platform for
Action and the contribution that could be made by all other functional
commissions of the Council, and to forward its recommendations on the
multi-year programme of work to the Council so that the Council could
take a decision on the programme of work at its meeting in 1996,
reviewing, coordinating and harmonizing the different programmes of
work, including the reporting systems of all the commissions in the
area of the advancement of women. The Assembly also invited the
Council to review and strengthen the mandate of the Commission, taking
into account the Platform for Action as well as the need for synergy
with all other related commissions and conference follow-up, and for a
system-wide approach to its implementation. The Assembly requested
the Secretary-General to report, through the Commission and the
Council, to the Assembly at its fifty-first session on ways to enhance
the capacity of the Organization and of the United Nations system to
support the ongoing follow-up to the Conference in the most integrated
and effective way, including human and financial requirements. The
Assembly also requested the Secretary-General to report annually to
the Commission and the Assembly, through the Council, on the measures
taken and the progress achieved in the implementation of the Beijing
Declaration and Platform for Action (resolution 50/203).
In accordance with its resolution 1993/16, the Council will have
before it the report of the Secretary-General on the revised
system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women for the
period 1996-2001. In that resolution, the Council requested the
Secretary-General, in his capacity as Chairman of the Administrative
Committee on Coordination, to arrange for a revision of the system-
wide medium-term plan after the Platform for Action and the results of
the second review and appraisal of the implementation of the Nairobi
Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women had been
adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality,
Development and Peace, and decided that the Commission on the Status
of Women, together with the Committee for Programme and Coordination,
should be given the responsibility for monitoring progress on the
system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women.
At its fiftieth session, the General Assembly requested the
Secretary-General to convene a meeting of an expert group, with the
participation of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human
Rights on violence against women and under the regular programme of
the Division for the Advancement of Women of the Secretariat, to
submit recommendations for improving coordination of the various
efforts of United Nations agencies on the issue of violence against
women migrant workers and to develop concrete indicators as a basis
for determining the situation of women migrant workers for submission,
through normal channels, to the Assembly at its fifty-first session
(resolution 50/168).
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.
Documentation
Report of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination
against Women on its fifteenth session
Report of the Commission on the Status of Women on its fortieth
session (E/1996/26)
Report of the Secretary-General on ways and means to enhance the
capacity of the Organization and of the United Nations system to
support the ongoing follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on
Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace
Report of the Secretary-General on violence against women migrant
workers
Report of the Board of Trustees of the International Research and
Training Institute for the Advancement of Women on its sixteenth
session
Report of the Secretary-General on the revised system-wide
medium-term plan for the advancement of women for the period
1996-2001
(f) Social development questions
The Council will have before it the report of the Commission for
Social Development on its special session. At its substantive session
of 1995, the Council decided that the Commission for Social
Development should hold a special session in 1996, in order, inter
alia, to review its mandate, terms of reference and scope of work; to
elaborate its multi-year programme of work; and to review the
frequency of its meetings in the light of the above and make
recommendations thereon to the Council. The Council also decided, in
the light of those recommendations, to consider in 1996 the
composition of the membership of the Commission and the frequency of
its sessions (resolution 1995/60).
At its resumed substantive session of 1995, the Council decided
that the Commission, at its special session in 1996, should consider
the following theme: Strategies and actions for the eradication of
poverty: (a) formulation of integrated strategies; (b) meeting the
basic human needs of all; and (c) promotion of self-reliance and
community-based initiatives. The Council also decided that the
special session should be held from 21 to 31 May 1996 (decision
1995/324).
Implementation of the outcome of the World Summit for Social
Development. In its resolution 50/161 of 22 December 1995, the
Assembly decided that it, through its role in policy formulation, the
Council, through its role in overall guidance and coordination, and a
revitalized Commission for Social Development should constitute a
three-tiered intergovernmental process in the follow-up to the
implementation of the Declaration and Programme of Action adopted at
the Summit, and reaffirmed that the Council would provide overall
guidance and oversee United Nations system-wide coordination in the
implementation of the outcome of the Summit and make recommendations
in that regard. The Assembly also invited the Council to review the
reporting system in the area of social development with a view to
establishing a coherent system that could result in clear policy
recommendations for Governments and international actors. The
Assembly also endorsed Council resolution 1995/60 and requested the
Commission to consider at its next session the composition of its
membership and the frequency of its sessions, and to make
recommendations thereon to the Council. Finally, the Assembly
requested the Commission to establish a practice of involving the
relevant actors of civil society in the field of social development to
contribute to its work, and requested the Secretary-General to present
proposals to the Commission and the Council.
First United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty
(1997-2006). At its fiftieth session, the General Assembly proclaimed
the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty
(1997-2006) and invited the Administrative Committee on Coordination
to ensure, in particular through the inter-agency task forces, the
involvement and coordination of all relevant organs, organizations and
bodies of the United Nations system for a full and effective
implementation of the resolution on the subject and to submit to the
Assembly, at its fifty-first session, through the Council, reports on
activities envisaged in support of the Decade, taking into account the
outcome of the major United Nations conferences and summits organized
since 1990 in the economic, social and related fields (resolution
50/107).
Documentation
Report of the Commission for Social Development on its special
session (E/1996/29)
Reports of the Administrative Committee on Coordination
(g) Crime prevention and criminal justice
The Council will consider the report of the Commission on Crime
Prevention and Criminal Justice on its fifth session (Vienna, 21-31
May 1996) and take action on the recommendations contained therein.
The provisional agenda and documentation for the session were approved
by the Council in its decision 1995/243.
Documentation
Report of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice
on its fifth session (E/1996/30)
(h) Narcotic drugs
The Council will consider the report of the Commission on Narcotic
Drugs on its thirty-ninth session (Vienna, 16-25 April 1996) and take
action on the recommendations contained therein. The provisional
agenda and documentation for the thirty-ninth session of the
Commission were approved by the Council in its decision 1995/244.
Proposal for an international conference to combat the illicit
production, sale, demand, traffic and distribution of narcotic drugs
and psychotropic substances and related activities. At its fiftieth
session, the General Assembly took note of the proposal to hold a
second international conference to combat the illicit production,
sale, demand, traffic and distribution of narcotic drugs and
psychotropic substances and related activities, and requested the
Commission on Narcotic Drugs to discuss fully, as a matter of
priority, that issue at its thirty-ninth session, and to present its
conclusions and suggestions, through the Council to the Assembly at
its fifty-first session (resolution 50/148).
Implementation of the United Nations System-Wide Action Plan on
Drug Abuse Control. At its forty-eighth session, the General Assembly
requested that the System-Wide Action Plan be reviewed and updated on
a biennial basis (resolution 48/112, sect. IV, para. 10).
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 1995.
Documentation
Report of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs on its thirty-ninth
session (E/1996/27)
Report of the Secretary-General on the biennial update of the
United Nations System-Wide Action Plan on Drug Abuse Control
Summary of the report of the International Narcotics Control Board
for 1995 (E/1996/38)
(i) United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
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 (Assembly resolution 428 (V), annex).
At its fifty-first session, in 1971, the Council decided that the
report of the High Commissioner should be transmitted to the General
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
(E/1996/52)
Item 6. Economic and environmental questions: reports of subsidiary
bodies, conferences and related questions
Convention on Biological Diversity. At its fiftieth session, the
General Assembly welcomed the results of the first meeting of the
Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity,
and invited the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological
Diversity to report, through the Economic and Social Council, to the
Assembly at its fifty-first session on the results of the second
meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention (Jakarta,
Indonesia, 6-17 November 1995) (resolution 50/111).
Documentation
Note by the Secretary-General transmitting the report of the
Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity
(a) Sustainable development
The Council will consider the report of the Commission on
Sustainable Development on its fourth session (New York, 18 April-3
May 1996) and take action on the recommendations contained therein.
The provisional agenda for the fourth session of the Commission was
approved by the Council in decision 1995/235.
Documentation
Report of the Commission on Sustainable Development on its fourth
session (E/1996/28)
(b) Trade and development
At its substantive session of 1995, the Council took note of the
report of the Trade and Development Board on the second part of its
forty-first session (20-31 March 1995) and transmitted the report of
the Board on the first part of its forty-second session (11-20
September 1995) directly to the General Assembly. The Board will hold
the second part of its forty-second session in Geneva from 23
September to 4 October 1996. In its decision 1996/205 A, the Council
decided to authorize the Secretary-General to transmit directly to the
Assembly the report of the Board on the second part of its
forty-second session.
(c) Food and agricultural development
Review and analysis of agrarian reform and rural development. A
report on progress in land reform was regularly submitted to the
Council on the basis of Council resolution 370 (XIII) of
7 September 1951. The reports were usually prepared jointly by the
United Nations, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations and the International Labour Organization and were usually
submitted every four years. At its first regular session of 1980, the
Council decided to discontinue the submission to it of progress
reports on land reform (decision 1980/100, para. 5). The question of
the type of report required for consideration of this matter by the
Council was taken up at each of its sessions in 1981. At its second
regular session of 1981, the Council took note of the report of the
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations on land reform
and rural development (E/1981/73) and decided to approve the
suggestion contained in paragraph 29 thereof concerning the submission
to the Council every four years, beginning in 1984, of a report
entitled "Review and analysis of agrarian reform and rural
development" (decision 1981/185).
Documentation
Report on the review and analysis of agrarian reform and rural
development
(d) Natural resources
The Council will consider the report of the Committee on Natural
Resources on its third session (New York, 6-17 May 1996). The
provisional agenda and documentation for the third session of the
Committee were approved by the Council in its decision 1994/308.
Documentation
Report of the Committee on Natural Resources on its third session
(E/1996/31)
(e) Energy
The Council will consider the report of the Committee on New and
Renewable Sources of Energy and on Energy for Development on its
second session (New York, 12-23 February 1996). The provisional
agenda and documentation for the second session of the Committee were
approved by the Council in decision 1994/310.
Documentation
Report of the Committee on New and Renewable Sources of Energy and
on Energy for Development on its second session (E/1996/24)
(f) Population questions
The Council will consider the report of the Commission on
Population and Development on its twenty-ninth session (New York, 26
February-1 March 1996). The provisional agenda for the twenty-ninth
session of the Commission was approved by the Council in decision
1995/236.
Implementation of the Programme of Action of the International
Conference on Population and Development. At its fiftieth session,
the General Assembly requested the specialized agencies and all
related organizations of the United Nations system to continue to take
appropriate measures to ensure the full and effective implementation
of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on
Population and Development, taking into account the specific needs of
developing countries, and welcomed the intention of the Secretary-
General to report through the Commission on Population and Development
to the Council at its substantive session of 1996 on the work of the
Inter-Agency Task Force on the Implementation of the Programme of
Action, for coordination purposes, and to the Assembly at its fifty-
first session, for policy implications. The Assembly requested the
Council to consider relevant reports and give guidance on matters
concerning harmonization, cooperation and coordination within the
United Nations system regarding the implementation of the Programme of
Action; to consider, as appropriate, the reports submitted by the
different bodies and organs on various matters related to the
Programme of Action; and to consider the proposed report on the work
of the Inter-Agency Task Force. The Assembly also requested the
Secretary-General to report, through the Council, to the Assembly at
its fifty-first session on the implementation of the resolution on
this subject (resolution 50/124).
Documentation
Report of the Commission on Population and Development on its
twenty-ninth session (E/1996/25)
Report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of General
Assembly resolution 50/124
(g) International cooperation in tax matters
The Secretary-General reports to the Council on the progress of
the work of the Ad Hoc Group of Experts on International Cooperation
in Tax Matters following each meeting of the Ad Hoc Group of Experts
(Council resolution 1980/13). The Council will consider the report of
the Secretary-General on the work of the seventh meeting of the Ad Hoc
Group of Experts (Geneva, 11-15 December 1995).
Documentation
Report of the Secretary-General on the progress of the work of the
Ad Hoc Group of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax
Matters on its seventh meeting
(h) International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction
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 Assembly, through the Council, on the activities of
the Decade (resolution 44/236, annex).
The attention of the Council is drawn to General Assembly
resolution 50/117 A.
Documentation
Report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the
International Framework of Action for the Decade
(i) Follow-up to General Assembly resolution 50/106: business
and development
At its fiftieth session, the General Assembly, looking forward to
the review by the Council of the report of the twelfth meeting of the
Group of Experts on Public Administration and Finance, subsequently
issued under the symbol A/50/525-E/1995/122, recommended that the
Council, at its organizational session for 1996, consider the
appropriate time-frame and procedure for the continuation of the work
on illicit payments with a view to completing the draft international
agreement on illicit payments, including consideration of the draft at
the substantive session of 1996 of the Council, and recommended that
the Council report to the Assembly at its fifty-first session
(resolution 50/106).
The Council decided at its organizational session to continue its
consideration of the question at its substantive session.
Item 7. Regional cooperation in the economic, social and related fields
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.
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. A
section of the report will deal with the question of trends in
regional economic and social cooperation, including trade issues and
the work of the regional commissions in this regard (decision
1996/214).
At its fiftieth session, the General Assembly adopted a resolution
on follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women and full
implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, in
which it invited the Council, in order to facilitate the regional
implementation, monitoring and evaluation process, to consider
reviewing the institutional capacity of the United Nations regional
commissions within their mandates, including their women's units or
focal points, to deal with gender-related issues in the light of the
Platform for Action, as well as the regional platforms and plans of
action, and to give consideration, inter alia, and where appropriate,
to strengthening the capacity in this respect (resolution 50/203).
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
Item 8. Permanent sovereignty over national resources in the occupied
Palestinian and other Arab territories
At its substantive session of 1995, the Council adopted resolution
1995/49, 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 occupied 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 being illegal; and requested the
Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its fifty-first
session, through the Council, a report on the progress made in the
implementation of the resolution. The attention of the Council is
drawn to Assembly resolution 50/129 on the subject.
Documentation
Report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of Council
resolution 1995/49 and General Assembly resolution 50/129
Item 9. Coordination questions
(a) Reports of the coordination bodies
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 1995.
The report of the Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC)
on its thirty-sixth session (Headquarters, May-June 1996) will include
the Committee's views on its consideration of the report of the
Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC).
The Council will have before it the report of the Chairmen of CPC
and ACC on the twenty-ninth series of Joint Meetings of the two
Committees, held at Headquarters on 16 October 1995.
Documentation
Annual overview report of the Administrative Committee on
Coordination for 1995 (E/1996/18)
Report of the Committee for Programme and Coordination on its
thirty-sixth session
Report of the twenty-ninth series of Joint Meetings of the
Committee for Programme and Coordination and the Administrative
Committee on Coordination, held on 16 October 1995 (E/1996/4 and
Corr.1)
(b) International cooperation in the field of informatics
At its substantive session of 1995, 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; and
requested once again that the initial phases of the action programme
to harmonize and improve United Nations informatics systems for
optimal utilization and accessibility by all States be implemented
from within existing resources and in full consultation with the
representatives of States. The Council also requested the President
of the Council to convene, initially for one year, an ad hoc
open-ended working group to make appropriate recommendations for the
due fulfilment of the provisions of previous resolutions on this
question; and requested the Secretary-General to report on the
follow-up action taken on the current resolution on the subject,
including the findings of the ad hoc open-ended working group, to the
Council at its substantive session of 1996 (resolution 1995/61).
Documentation
Report of the Secretary-General
(c) Joint and Co-sponsored United Nations Programme on Human
Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
In its resolution 1995/2 of 3 July 1995, the Council endorsed the
arrangements outlined in section VI (Governance and management) of the
report of the Committee of Co-sponsoring Organizations of the Joint
and Co-sponsored United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (see document
E/1995/71) and requested the Executive Director of the Programme to
report on the status of implementation of the programme, through the
Programme Coordination Board, to the Council early in 1996.
At its organizational session for 1996, the Council decided to
postpone to its substantive session of 1996 consideration of the
report of the Executive Director of the Joint and Co-sponsored United
Nations Programme on Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired
Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) (decision 1996/211).
Documentation
Note by the Secretary-General transmitting the report of the
Executive Director of the Joint and Co-sponsored United Nations
Programme on HIV/AIDS
Item 10. Non-governmental organizations
The Council will consider the report of the Committee on
Non-Governmental Organizations on its resumed 1995 session
(Headquarters, 29 January-2 February 1996) and on the first part of
its 1996 session (Headquarters, 13-17 May 1996). At its substantive
session of 1995, the Council decided that, starting in 1996, the
Committee should meet annually; and decided to request the Committee
to undertake a thorough review of its methods of work with a view to
improving and streamlining its procedures (decision 1995/304).
Review of arrangements for consultations with non-governmental
organizations. At its substantive session of 1995, the Council
decided to extend the mandate of the Open-ended Working Group on the
Review of Arrangements for Consultations with Non-Governmental
Organizations for a period of one year, and requested the Working
Group to submit its final report to the Council at its substantive
session of 1996 (decision 1995/304).
Documentation
Reports 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
Item 11. Programme and related questions in the economic, social and
related fields
Proposed revisions to the medium-term plan for the period
1992-1997
The Council will have before it the revisions to the medium-term
plan for the period 1992-1997 covering activities in the economic,
social and related fields. The Council will examine the revisions in
the light of the recommendations of the Committee for Programme and
Coordination on the matter (resolution 1988/77).
Documentation
Relevant chapters of the proposed revisions to the medium-term
plan for the period 1992-1997
Report of the Committee for Programme and Coordination on its
thirty-sixth session
Item 12. New and innovative ideas for generating funds
At its organizational session for 1996, the Council, taking note
of the letter dated 6 February 1996 from the Acting Permanent
Representative of Australia to the United Nations addressed to the
Secretary-General (E/1996/14), decided to include in the provisional
agenda of its substantive session of 1996 an item entitled "New and
innovative ideas for generating funds" (decision 1996/210).
Documentation
Note by the Secretariat
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