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II. Attendance and organization of work

A. Date and place of the Assembly

1. The Second World Assembly on Ageing was held in Madrid from 8 to 12 April 2002, in conformity with General Assembly resolution 54/262 of 25 May 2000. During that period the Assembly held 10 plenary meetings.

B. Attendance

2. The following States were represented at the Assembly:

Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Chad Chile China Colombia Costa Rica Côte d’Ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Democratic Republic of the Congo Denmark Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Finland France Gabon Gambia Germany Ghana Greece Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Holy See Honduras Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran (Islamic Republic of) Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Lao People’s Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia (Federated States of) Monaco Mongolia Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Nigeria Norway Oman Pakistan United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland United Republic of Tanzania United States of America Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Viet Nam Yemen Yugoslavia Zambia Zimbabwe

3. The following associate members of the United Nations regional commissions were represented by observers:

Netherlands Antilles Puerto Rico

4. The following entity, having received an invitation to participate as an observer at the sessions and in the work of the Second World Assembly on Ageing, was represented:

Palestine

5. The secretariats of the following United Nations regional commissions were represented:

Economic Commission for Europe (ECE)

Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)

Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)

Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA)

6. The following United Nations bodies and programmes were represented:

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT)

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

United Nations Volunteers

Panama Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Qatar Republic of Korea Republic of Moldova Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Saint Kitts and Nevis Saudi Arabia Senegal Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia South Africa Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Sweden Switzerland Syrian Arab Republic Thailand The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Togo Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Uganda Ukraine

7. The following specialized agencies and related organizations were represented:

International Labour Organization (ILO)

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

World Health Organization (WHO)

World Bank

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

World Tourism Organization

8. The following intergovernmental organizations were represented:

Andean Community

Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)

Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries

Council of Europe

European Community

Inter-American Development Bank

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

Latin American Parliament

League of Arab States

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development

Organization of African Unity (OAU)

Sovereign Military Order of Malta

9. The following other international organization, having received an invitation to participate as an observer at the session and in the work of the Second World Assembly on Ageing, was represented:

International Institute on Ageing

10. A large number of non-governmental organizations attended the Assembly. The accredited non-governmental organizations are specified in decisions 2001/PC/3 and 2002/PC/1 of the first and second sessions of the Commission for Social Development acting as the preparatory committee for the Second World Assembly on Ageing.

C. Welcoming ceremony

11. The Secretary-General of the United Nations welcomed Her Royal Highness the Infanta Doña Cristina, Goodwill Ambassador to the Second World Assembly on Ageing. Her Royal Highness made a welcoming address to the Assembly.

D. Opening of the Assembly

12. The Second World Assembly on Ageing was opened, on 8 April 2002, by the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The Secretary-General made some welcoming remarks.

E. Election of the President and other officers of the Assembly

13. At its 1st and 6th plenary meetings, on 8 and 10 April 2002, upon the proposal of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the World Assembly elected the following officials:

President of the Conference:

José María Aznar, President of the Government of the Kingdom of Spain, was elected President of the Assembly by acclamation

Vice-Presidents:

African Group of States (seven Vice-Presidents): Algeria, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya and the Republic of South Africa

Asian Group of States (six Vice-Presidents): China, Republic of Korea, the Philippines and the Syrian Arab Republic *

Eastern European Group of States (three Vice-Presidents): Bulgaria, Czech Republic and Ukraine

Latin American and Caribbean Group of States (five Vice-Presidents): Argentina, Belize, Ecuador, Mexico and Suriname

Group of Western European and Other States (six Vice-Presidents): Andorra, Austria, Germany, Italy, Malta and Monaco

Election of the Vice-President ex officio of the Assembly:

Juan José Lucas Giménez, Minister of the Presidency of Spain, was elected, by acclamation, Vice-President ex officio of the Assembly

Election of the Rapporteur-General:

Antoine Mifsud Bonnici, Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry for Social Policy of Malta, was elected, by acclamation, Rapporteur-General of the Assembly

Election of the Chairman of the Main Committee:

Felipe Paolillo of Uruguay was elected, by acclamation, as Chairman of the Main Committee of the Assembly

F. Adoption of the rules of procedure

14. At its 1st meeting, on 8 April, the Assembly adopted the rules of procedure (A/CONF.197/2).

G. Adoption of the agenda and other organizational matters

15. At its 1st meeting, on 8 April, the Assembly adopted the agenda (A/CONF.197/1) as recommended by the preparatory committee in its resolution (A/CONF.197/3). The agenda, as adopted, was as follows:

Agenda of the Second World Assembly on Ageing

1. Opening of the Assembly.

2. Election of the President.

3. Adoption of the rules of procedure.

4. Adoption of the agenda and other organizational matters.

5. Election of officers other than the President.

6. Organization of work, including establishment of the Main Committee.

7. Credentials of representatives to the Assembly:

(a) Appointment of the members of the Credentials Committee;

(b) Report of the Credentials Committee.

8. General exchange of views.

9. Political Declaration and International Plan of Action on Ageing, 2002.

10. Adoption of the report of the Assembly.

H. Organization of work, including the establishment of the Main Committee

16. At its 1st meeting, on 8 April, the Assembly approved the organization of work (A/CONF.197/4).

17. At the same meeting, the Assembly endorsed the proposals regarding the exchange of views and the composition of the Bureau of the Main Committee (A/CONF.197/4).

18. Also, at the same meeting, the Assembly approved the proposed timetable of work for the Assembly and the organization of meetings (A/CONF.197/4).

I. Documentation

19. The documentation of the Assembly is listed in annex I to the present report.

J. Appointment of the members of the Credentials Committee

20. At its 1st plenary meeting, on 8 April, in accordance with rule 4 of its rules of procedure, the Assembly appointed a Credentials Committee based on the composition of the Credentials Committee of the General Assembly of the United Nations at its fifty-sixth session, namely: China, Denmark, Jamaica, Lesotho, the Russian Federation, Senegal, Singapore, the United States of America and Uruguay. With regard to the report of the Credentials Committee, it was the understanding that, if one of those States did not participate in the Assembly, it would be replaced by another State from the same regional group.

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