It is expected that participants in the debate in the Plenary will include Member States, States members of specialized agencies but not members of the United Nations in a capacity of observers (as per para. 4 of General Assembly resolution 51/181), observers, some representatives of United Nations programmes and specialized agencies and non-governmental organizations. Other Participants may be heard in the Ad-Hoc Committee of the Whole
It has been proposed that statements should not exceed 7 minutes. To facilitate observance, a light system installed on the lectern would signal the approach of the seven-minute limit.
The provisional list of speakers is attached to the present note (see Annex I). Any change or addition to the list of speakers should be communicated to the General Assembly Affairs Division, Room S-3670, tel. 963-5063.
A minimum of 30 copies of the text of speeches to be delivered in the debate on the overall review and appraisal of the implementation of Agenda 21 should be submitted in advance to the Secretariat; failing this, delegations are urged to provide interpreters with five copies (for interpretation in to the five other official languages) before the speaker takes the floor. If delegations wish to have the text of speeches distributed to all delegations, observers, specialized agencies, interpreters, record-writers and press officers, 350 copies are required.
Given the security arrangements in place for the nineteenth special session, texts of speeches to be made in the Plenary will have to be delivered to a receiving area in the Public Lobby between the hours of 7 and 8:30 a.m. by a delegation representative in possession of a valid grounds pass. Access will be through the 46th Street gate to the Visitors' Entrance, through the electronic screening area, where a representative of the Secretariat will accept the texts at a special counter. Only texts of speeches to be made that same day will be accepted.
Delegations who wish to make their statements available to non-governmental organizations should deliver copies to the NGO working area in Conference Room A, at the 1B level.
Delegations wishing to make their statements available to the press should bring a minimum of 150 copies to the Media Centre in Conference Room 1, at the 1B level, and 150 copies to the documents distribution counter in the third floor press area. No copying facilities will be available for these speeches.
Statements made in any of the six official languages of the General Assembly are interpreted into the other official languages. Any speaker may also make a statement in a language other than the official languages; however, in such cases, in accordance with rule 53 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly, the delegation in question must provide either an interpreter or a written text of the statement in one of the official languages. On the basis of interpretation or written text, which is accepted by the Secretariat as representing the official text of the statement, it will be interpreted into the other official languages by United Nations interpreters. Moreover, the delegation concerned should make available to the interpreter someone who knows the language in which the statement is to be delivered and the official language into which it has been translated, to guide the interpreter through the translated text and to ensure synchronization between the speaker and the interpreter. Detailed arrangements for interpretation from non-official languages, including access by non-United Nations interpreters to the interpreter booths in the General Assembly Hall, must be made in advance with Mrs. Monique Corvington, Chief, Interpretation Service, room SA-B31, tel. 963-8233. Apart from the above exception, there will be no facilities for interpretation in non-official languages.
[Return to Table of Contents]10. PROGRAMME FOR SPOUSES OF HEADS OF STATE / GOVERNMENT
Social events in honour of the spouses of Heads of State/Government present in New York will be hosted by Mrs. Nane Annan on Monday, 23 June and on Wednesday, 25 June 1997.
Details of arrangements will be provided at a later date.
[Return to Table of Contents]11. ARRANGEMENTS FOR BILATERAL MEETINGS
a. Facilities
Limited facilities for bilateral meetings and contacts among Member States will be available during the nineteenth special session of the General Assembly. Ten suitably appointed temporary rooms, each furnished with eight chairs, will be available in the Chinese Lounge and the third floor gallery
of the General Assembly Building for such consultations.
b. Reservation system
A room reservation form (see annex V) has already been distributed to all permanent and observer missions for this purpose. Missions are kindly requested to use a separate form for each bilateral meeting and to forward them to Ms. Tanya Roszkowski, Meetings Servicing Unit, room lB-2, tel.963-2643, fax. 963-9284 or via e-mail: bilats@un.org. These written requests should specify the date, time and exact duration of each meeting and should include the name of the other delegation participating in the bilateral meeting. Photo opportunities in connection with bilateral meetings will be available upon request.
Oral confirmation of the availability of space will be given shortly after receipt of each request, and information on room assignments will be provided two working days in advance of the special session. Depending on the programme, every effort will be made to keep a delegation's appointments in the same room.
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