****************************************************************************** This document has been made available in electronic format by the United Nations. Reproduction and dissemination of the document - in electronic and/or printed format - is encouraged, provided acknowledgement is made of the role of the United Nations in making it available. ****************************************************************************** UNITED NATIONS FOURTH WORLD Distr. CONFERENCE ON WOMEN GENERAL A/CONF.177/INF/1 1 August 1995 Beijing, China 4-15 September 1995 ORIGINAL: ENGLISH INFORMATION FOR PARTICIPANTS Site of the Conference 1. The Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace will be held at the Beijing International Convention Centre (BICC). The address is as follows: Fourth World Conference on Women c/o Beijing International Convention Centre No. 8 Beichen East Road, Chaoyang District Beijing 100101 Telephone: (86-10) 493.8247, 493.8244 Fax: (86-10) 491.0256, 499.3993 2. The time distance between the Convention Centre and the centre of Beijing is approximately 25 minutes in non-peak hour traffic; between the Convention Centre and Beijing Capital Airport it is 20 minutes. Pre-Conference consultations 3. Pre-Conference consultations to consider organizational and procedural matters and to consider the report of the contact group on gender, as well as the non-paper on the open-ended informal consultations conducted by the Rapporteur of the Commission on the Status of Women from 31 July to 4 August, will be held at the BICC on Saturday, 2 September, and Sunday, 3 September. They are open to all participating States and will begin at 10 a.m. on 2 September. Opening meeting of the Conference 4. The formal opening of the Conference will take place at 3 p.m. on Monday, 4 September, in the Plenary Hall (Hall 1) of the BICC. 5. A welcoming ceremony will be held the morning of Monday, 4 September, in the Great Hall of the People in the centre of Beijing. 6. Further information about the welcoming ceremony and the opening meeting will be given at the pre-Conference consultations. 7. In order that the opening meeting of the Conference may begin punctually, participants are requested to be seated in the Plenary Hall by 2.30 p.m. Registration of participants and identification cards 8. A centre for registration of participants and issuance of access/ identification passes will open at 9.30 a.m. on Friday, 25 August, at the Tennis Hall of the Beijing Recreation Centre. The Hall is located 600 metres from the BICC. From 1 to 6 September, the registration/pass office will be open for longer hours to ensure the smooth issuance of passes. Registration of accredited intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations will begin on 28 August at the Tennis Hall. 9. It will also be possible for participants to pre-register at United Nations Headquarters starting on 1 August. Pre-registration is strongly advised in order to avoid long lines during registration at the Tennis Hall in Beijing. The United Nations Protocol and Liaison Service will distribute the passes to those who pre-registered in New York at the Tennis Hall starting on 26 August. 10. Admission to the BICC will require, at all times, the presentation of identification cards. All participants in the Conference - government delegates, United Nations Secretariat staff, representatives of United Nations programmes and specialized agencies and of accredited intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, members of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and special guests - are therefore requested to register at the Tennis Hall of the BICC. Following registration, each participant will be issued an identification card or grounds pass. In addition to these individual grounds passes, each government delegation will be issued four access cards for the Plenary Hall. At the opening session of the Conference and at other designated times, access to the Plenary Hall will be regulated by the use of such cards. Plenary Hall passes will also be issued to other participants, in addition to government delegations, in relation to the allotment of seats assigned to them in the Plenary Hall. 11. The process of registration will be greatly facilitated if Conference credentials containing a list of the names of participants are transmitted by each delegation prior to actual registration in person. It is suggested that delegations submit this information to the United Nations Protocol and Liaison Service, room S-201B, well before the opening of the Conference, preferably not later than 15 August. Thereafter, such information should be conveyed directly to the United Nations Protocol and Liaison Service at the Conference site. 12. Delegations of States participating in the Conference are reminded that credentials of representatives to the Conference must be signed either by the Head of State or Government or by the Minister for Foreign Affairs. All other communications in this respect shall be considered provisional credentials until such time as formal credentials are received by the Secretary-General of the Conference or the Office of Legal Affairs. 13. The registration of accredited intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and press/media representatives will also take place at the Tennis Hall. 14. The loss of an identification card must be reported immediately to United Nations security personnel. Programme of meetings 15. The programme of meetings will be printed in the Conference Journal, which will be issued on a daily basis and will specify the conference rooms and times of meetings. 16. Morning meetings are scheduled to take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and afternoon meetings from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. When evening sessions are required, they will generally begin at 6 p.m. Seating arrangements 17. At the opening of the Conference and at subsequent meetings of the plenary in Hall 1, each government delegation will be assigned four seats, two at table and two seats behind. 18. In Conference Halls 15 and 16, located on the second and third floors respectively of the East Annex of the BICC, where meetings of the Main Committees will be held, each government delegation will have two seats, one seat at table and one seat behind. 19. Specifically identified seating facilities will be available for other participants at the Conference. Languages of the Conference 20. Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish are the official languages of the Conference. 21. Official documents of the Conference will be made available in the languages of the Conference. Interpretation services 22. Statements made in any of the six official languages will be interpreted into the other official languages. Any representative may, in accordance with rule 53 of the provisional rules of procedure, make a statement in a language other than a language of the Conference. In such cases, the delegation should provide either an interpretation or a written text of the statement in one of the official languages. This interpretation or written text will be considered by the Secretariat to represent the official text of the statement and will be used by United Nations interpreters as the basis for interpretation into the other official languages. 23. It may be recalled that there will be interpretation services for a total of three simultaneous meetings in the morning and three in the afternoon. The servicing of all official meetings, extensions of official meetings beyond their normal duration, or the provision of interpretation services to regional or other group meetings should therefore be arranged within that framework. 24. Meetings other than those of United Nations bodies, such as meetings of regional or interest groups, will be accommodated according to the availability of meeting rooms and services. Requests for meeting services should be directed to Mr. William Bunch, Secretariat Services Coordinator. Circulation of prepared statements 25. A minimum of 30 copies and, if possible, a copy on diskette of the text of speeches to be delivered in plenary meetings and other meetings should be given in advance to the conference officer in order to enable the Secretariat to provide the best possible service. Delegations wishing to circulate their speeches to all participants are requested to provide 350 copies to the conference officer, who will be located in the conference room. All texts should be delivered before the speaker takes the floor, preferably at the start of the meeting. Conference participants are reminded that the Secretariat will not be in a position to offer reproduction services for such texts. 26. If written texts are provided in more than one official language, delegations should indicate clearly which of those texts is to be accepted as the official text. Furthermore, in order to avoid confusion, delegations should also specify whether this official text is to be "checked against delivery" or read out as written. 27. If participants wish their speeches to be included in the Internet system (see para. 55 below), they are required to provide a diskette containing the text of the speech. Distribution of official documents 28. The main documents distribution counter will be located on the ground floor near the main entrance of the BICC. 29. Each delegation will be assigned an individual box at the documents distribution counter in which copies of all official documents issued during the Conference will be placed. Delegations are reminded that those document boxes, or pigeon-holes, are exclusively for the distribution of official Conference documentation and may not be used for the circulation of any other papers or documents. 30. To determine the exact requirements, each delegation is requested to advise the documents distribution counter of its daily requirements in terms of the number of copies of each document it wishes to receive during the Conference and the language desired. The quantity requested should be sufficient to cover all requirements since it will not be possible to provide complete sets of documents after the Conference. 31. Accredited non-governmental organizations and representatives of the press/media will be able to obtain official Conference documents at designated documents distribution desks. These will be located on the third floor of the BICC (for non-governmental organizations) and on the ground floor adjacent to entrance number 17 (for press/media), respectively. Receipt and circulation of other documents 32. Other documents that Governments and organizations may wish to make available to Conference participants are to be provided by those Governments and organizations in appropriate languages and quantities. The Secretariat will undertake neither reproduction nor translation of such documents. It is suggested that Governments and organizations make approximately 500 copies available in English, with lesser numbers of the other official languages if those are provided. 33. It would be greatly appreciated if two copies of each such document could be forwarded to Mr. William Bunch, Secretariat Services Coordinator. They will be listed in an information note to be circulated at the Conference. 34. The Secretariat cannot undertake official distribution of such documents. However, separate pigeon-holes for government delegations will be set up for such documents on the second floor of the BICC. Media facilities 35. On-site facilities for media coverage will be available on the ground floor of the East Annex of the BICC. There will be 360 journalist workstations available on an as needed/as available basis. A telecommunication centre (available at commercial rates) and a press lounge are located in the same area. An additional media working area with 200 workstations will be set up at the CATIC Hotel adjacent to the BICC. Facilities will be similar to those in the BICC press working area and will include a photo-processing room. There will be 200 rooms for rent to overseas media organizations, as well as 60 to 80 larger spaces of various sizes. 36. Television coverage of the plenary sessions, press conferences and other official meetings and events will be carried out by UNTV through China Central Television (CCTV). Closed-circuit television monitors located throughout the press working area and the Conference site will carry the coverage. Facilities for radio and TV production will be available at the China Central Television headquarters. 37. A journalists' encounter will be held on 2 and 3 September. Details concerning press facilities and media accreditation are contained in a separate information note issued by the Department of Public Information of the United Nations Secretariat. Press conferences 38. Daily press briefings by the Spokeswoman for the Conference will be held at 12.00 (in English) and 12.30 p.m. (in French) in the press briefing room (Hall 2). Hall 2 will also be used for press conferences by delegations and United Nations organizations. Requests for press conferences should be directed to the Office of the Spokeswoman for the Conference. Non-governmental organizations 39. An orientation session for representatives of accredited non-governmental organizations will be held on Sunday, 3 September, from 1.00 to 3.00 p.m. at the BICC. Identification cards will be required. Special events 40. A programme of seminars, panels and workshops on issues relating to the Conference is being organized by entities of the United Nations system for Conference participants. These events will be held at the Securities and Exchange Building across from the BICC. Events will begin on 5 September and continue through 14 September. The calendar for these events will be available at the Conference site. Other useful information for participants Reception on arrival at the Beijing Airport 41. Beginning on 20 August, participants will be welcomed in the restricted area of the airport and directed to special information desks where they will be informed of arrangements for immigration, customs, baggage handling and transportation to hotels. Currency exchange will be available. 42. Heads of State or Government will be greeted upon arrival by a senior official of the Government of the People's Republic of China. Visas 43. Chinese Embassies and Consulates have received special instructions on issuing visas for participants in the Conference. Inoculation 44. Under the WHO International Health Regulations, the following immunizations are required/recommended: Required: Yellow fever immunization is required for travellers coming from infected areas, i.e. some countries in Africa and South America. Recommended: Typhoid; tetanus toxoid; poliomyelitis; and hepatitis A vaccination. Malaria prophylaxis: There is no malaria in Beijing. Malaria exists from May to December in rural areas only below 1,500 metres and in the Valley of the Yili River and Xizang. Falciparum malaria occurs in three provinces, primarily in Hainan, Yunan and Guangsi. Transportation between hotels, the BICC, the Great Hall of the People and the site of the NGO Forum on Women '95 45. During the Conference, shuttle buses will operate between major hotels and the Conference site. The host country will provide transportation to the welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People. Delegations requiring a vehicle should request it from the China Organizing Committee through completion of a vehicle-use form. 46. Conference delegates, as well as participants in the NGO Forum on Women '95, may buy a special public transport card for US$ 10 after registration procedures are completed. During the Conference, this card can be used by delegates on shuttle buses from the airport to hotels and from hotels to the meeting places, as well as to certain sightseeing spots. The card is also valid for unlimited travel on public buses and trolley buses. Taxis are also available. Conference newspapers and related reporting 47. During the Conference, in addition to the daily Journal, it is expected that a number of independent newspapers will cover the Conference and the NGO Forum events. Press releases in English and French will be issued daily and will cover all official meetings of the Conference. Currency, cheques and credit cards 48. The Chinese currency is the renminbi (RMB). The unit of RMB is the yuan. Foreign currencies must be reported in the customs declaration form upon entry. Foreign currencies and foreign currency travellers' cheques may be exchanged at banks and most hotels. 49. Banking facilities at the BICC will be open during normal Conference hours. Foreign currencies will be exchanged at the exchange rate at the time of transaction. 50. Credit cards, such as Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Diners Club and the JCB Card are widely accepted in China. Foreign currency travellers' cheques, credit cards, or cash (in RMB) may be used to pay hotel and other expenses in China. Electricity 51. The standard electricity in the People's Republic of China is 220 volts, 50 cycles AC. Most modern hotels have international standard two-pin sockets, while older ones use three-pin plugs. It is advisable to bring conversion plugs or adapters, if needed. Climate 52. The average temperature in Beijing in August is 76.1 degrees Fahrenheit (24.5 degrees Celsius) and 67.6 degrees Fahrenheit (19.8 degrees Celsius) in September. Services available at the BICC 53. Restaurants, cafeterias and coffee shops at the BICC will be open during Conference hours. In addition, a post office, banking facilities, a travel agency with hotel and tourist information, a medical centre, a computer centre, and telephone and facsimile as well as copying services are located within the BICC. 54. A secretarial service centre will be established in the BICC for the use of Conference participants on a commercial basis. Internet connection 55. All official Conference documents, speeches and information materials, including graphic materials, will be posted on and be available through the Internet, using the UNDP and/or the United Nations Internet server. An Internet connection will also be established between the BICC and the NGO Forum on Women '95. The operation will be located in an office on the main floor of the BICC. -----