Programme of work: Second Committee

Distr.
LIMITED

8 September 1997

ORIGINAL: ENGLISH

1. The agenda items to be allocated by the General Assembly to the Second Committee will be listed in the letter from the President of the Assembly to the Chairman of the Second Committee (A/C.2/52/1). Background information on those items may be found in the annotations to the agenda (A/52/100 and Add.1).

2. The draft programme of work (see annex) has been prepared bearing in mind paragraph (b) of rule 99 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly, the organizational arrangements agreed upon by the Assembly at the outset of its current session (A/52/250, to be issued), and the availability of documentation. The number of meetings suggested for the general discussion of the agenda items allocated to the Second Committee is based on past experience.

3. Attention is drawn to the list of documents submitted under the various agenda items allocated to the Second Committee (A/C.2/52/L.1/Add.1). The draft programme of work should be read in conjunction with the list of documents in order to obtain a full picture of the scope of the Committee's work programme.

4. The Second Committee, in the past, decided to limit statements on all agenda items, with the exception of the general debate, to 7 minutes and to limit statements during the general debate to 15 minutes.

5. Taking into account the availability of conference services for the Main Committees of the General Assembly, an average of eight formal meetings a week have been scheduled for the Second Committee. Unless otherwise specified, meetings will be held at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. In this connection, the Assembly decided to remind delegations that punctuality is of the utmost importance in the interest of ensuring an effective and orderly organization of work and achieving economies for the United Nations. As decided by the Assembly, the requirement of the presence of at least one quarter of the members of the Committee to declare a meeting open and permit the debate to proceed has been waived.

6. In view of the financial measures affecting conference services, there will be little possibility of servicing informal consultations or working groups, or meetings of regional or other groups of Member States. As a result, as indicated in the programme of work, some of the formal meetings allocated to the Second Committee will be utilized for informal consultations.

7. The Second Committee is reminded that, in accordance with a decision of the General Assembly, chapters of the report of the Economic and Social Council are to be considered in company with documentation under other agenda items, as well as under item 12. The list of documentation contains further information on this procedure (see para. 3 above).

8. Bearing in mind the allocation of the number of meetings available to the Second Committee, it is proposed that the Committee set a target date of 28 November for the conclusion of its work.

Item to be considered	Document title and symbol
Week of 15-19 September
Friday, 19 September
p.m.
Election of the Bureau and organization of work	Organization of work of the Second Committee (A/C.2/52/L.1 and Add.1)
Week of 13-17 October
General debate
Monday, 13 October
10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
General debate
Tuesday, 14 October
10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
1 p.m. Deadline for the list of speakers on General debate
General debate (continued)
Wednesday, 15 October
3 p.m.
General debate (concluded)
Thursday, 16 October
10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Item 97 Macroeconomic policy questions
(c) Science and technology for development	Report of the Secretary-General
(d) External debt crisis and development	Report of the Secretary-General (A/52/290)
Friday, 17 October
10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Item 101 Operational activities for development	Report of the High-level Committee on the Review of Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries (A/52/39)
	Note by the Secretary-General transmitting the comments of the Administrative Committee on Coordination on the report of the Joint Inspection Unit on the review of financial resources allocated by the United Nations system to activities by non-governmental organizations (A/52/114-E/1997/46)
	Note by the Secretary-General transmitting the comments of the Administrative Committee on Coordination on the report of the Joint Inspection Unit on the coordination of policy and programming frameworks for more effective development cooperation (A/52/115-E/1997/47)
	Note by the Secretary-General transmitting the comments of the Administrative Committee on Coordination on the report of the Joint Inspection Unit on field representation (A/52/__)
	Report of the Joint Inspection Unit on strengthening field representation in the United Nations system (JIU/REP/97/1)
Friday, 17 October (continued)
	Letter dated 14 March 1997 from the representatives of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General transmitting the text of the Almaty Declaration (A/52/112)
	Note by the Secretary-General transmitting the report of the Joint Inspection Unit on the coordination of policy and programming frameworks for more effective development cooperation (A/51/636-E/1996/104)
	Note by the Secretary-General transmitting the report of the Joint Inspection Unit on the review of financial resources allocated by the United Nations system to activities by non-governmental organizations (A/51/655-E/1996/105)
(a) Operational activities for development of the United Nations system
(b) Economic and technical cooperation among developing countries	Report of the Secretary-General on cooperation between the United Nations and the Southern African Development Community
	Report of the Secretary-General on the state of South-South cooperation
Week of 20-24 October
Monday, 20 October
10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
6 p.m. Deadline for submission of draft proposals on item 97 (c) and (d)
Item 100 Environment and sustainable development	Report of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme on the work of its nineteenth session (A/52/25)
	Letter dated 14 March 1997 from the representatives of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General transmitting the text of the Almaty Declaration (A/52/112)
	Letter dated 26 June 1997 from the Permanent Representative of Greece to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General transmitting the text of the Thessaloniki Declaration on Good-Neighbourly Relations, Stability, Security and Cooperation in the Balkans, adopted at the meeting of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Countries of South-eastern Europe; and the Chairman's summary (A/52/217-S/1997/507)
Item 100 (b) Implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa	Report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of Assembly resolutions 50/114 and 51/180
Monday, 20 October (continued)
	Note by the Secretary-General transmitting the report of the first part of the tenth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for the Elaboration of an International Convention to Combat Desertification in those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, particularly in Africa (A/52/82)
	Note by the Secretary-General transmitting the report of the resumed tenth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for the Elaboration of an International Convention
(c) Protection of global climate for present and future generations of mankind	Report of the Secretary-General on the review of arrangements for administrative support to the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (Assembly resolution 50/115)
	Note by the Secretary-General transmitting the report of the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change on the results of the meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention
(d) International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction	Report of the Secretary-General
Monday, 20 October (continued)
(e) Convention on Biological Diversity	Note by the Secretary-General transmitting the report of the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity on the results of the meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention
(f) Implementation of the outcome of the Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States	Report of the Secretary-General
Tuesday, 21 October
10 a.m.
Observance of World Food Day in Trusteeship Council Chamber
6 p.m. Deadline for submission of draft proposals on item 101
3 p.m.
Item 100 (b), (c), (d), (e) and (f) (concluded)
Wednesday, 22 October
10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Item 100 (a) Implementation of decisions and recommendations of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development	Relevant sections of the report of the Economic and Social Council (A/52/3)
Wednesday, 22 October (continued)
	Note by the Secretary-General on the implementation of the decisions and recommendations of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development transmitting to the General Assembly the report of the first part of the tenth session and the report of the resumed tenth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for the Elaboration of an International Convention to Combat Desertification in those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa (A/52/82 and Add.1)
(g) Special session for the purpose of an overall review and appraisal of the implementation of Agenda 21	Report of the Secretary-General on the outcome of the nineteenth special session of the General Assembly (A/52/280)
	Letter dated 19 March 1997 from the Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General transmitting the Declaration and Plan of Action of the Microcredit Summit, held in Washington, D.C., from 2 to 4 February 1997; the Summit Communiqué; and the text of the message for the Summit from the Chairman of G.77 and China
Thursday, 23 October
10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Item 98 Sectoral policy questions	Letter dated 7 May 1997 from the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General transmitting the results of the 97th Conference of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, held at Seoul from 10 to 15 April 1997 (A/52/139)
Thursday, 23 October (continued)
(a) Industrial development cooperation	Report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the programme for the Second Industrial Development Decade for Africa
(b) Business and development	Report of the Secretary-General on entrepreneurship and privatization for economic growth and sustainable development
(c) Food and sustainable agricultural development	Report of the Secretary-General
	Note by the Secretary-General on the outcome of the World Food Summit, including action to be taken to follow up the outcome at all appropriate levels, transmitting the report of the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations on the outcome of the World Food Summit, Rome, November 1996
	Note by the Secretary-General on the outcome of the World Food Summit, including action to be taken to follow up the outcome at all appropriate levels, transmitting the report of the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations on the outcome of the World Food Summit, Rome, November 1996 (A/52/132-E/1997/57)
Friday, 24 October
3 p.m.
1 p.m. Deadline for submission of draft proposals on item 100 (b), (c), (d), (e) and (f)
6 p.m. Deadline for submission of draft proposals on item 100 (a) and (g)
Friday, 24 October (continued)
Item 97 Macroeconomic policy questions	Report of the Council of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (A/52/__)
(a) Financing of development, including net transfer of resources between developing and developed countries	Report of the Secretary-General
(b) Trade and development	Report of the Trade and Development Board on its fifteenth executive session
	Report of the Trade and Development Board on its forty-fourth session
	Report of the Secretary-General on economic measures as a means of political and economic coercion against developing countries
	Report prepared in conjunction with the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development on specific actions related to the particular needs and problems of landlocked developing countries
Week of 27-31 October
Monday, 27 October
10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
6 p.m. Deadline for submission of draft proposals on item 98 (a), (b) and (c)
Item 97 (a) and (b) (concluded)
Tuesday, 28 October
10 a.m.
Item 102 Training and research: United Nations Institute for Training and Research	Report of the Council of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (A/52/__)
Tuesday, 28 October (continued)
	Note by the Secretary-General transmitting the report of the Joint Inspection Unit on the training institution programmes and activities of the United Nations system
3 p.m.
Item 99 Sustainable development and international economic cooperation	Letter dated 14 March 1997 from the Permanent Representatives of Belarus and the Russian Federation to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General transmitting the text of the joint statement signed in connection with the formation of the Association between the Russian Federation and Belarus (A/52/92)
	Letter dated 14 March 1997 from the representatives of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General transmitting the text of the Almaty Declaration (A/52/112)
	Letter dated 7 May 1997 from the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General transmitting the results of the 97th Conference of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, held at Seoul from 10 to 15 April 1997 (A/52/139)
	Letter dated 15 May 1997 from the Permanent Representatives of China and the Russian Federation to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General transmitting the text of the Russian-Chinese Joint Declaration on a Multipolar World and the Establishment of a New International Order (A/52/153-S/1997/384)
Tuesday, 28 October (continued)
	Letter dated 29 May 1997 from the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General transmitting the text of the congratulatory message from the President of the Russian Federation to the Heads of State and Government and the peoples of Africa (A/52/163)
	Letter dated 26 June 1997 from the Permanent Representative of Greece to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General transmitting the text of the Thessaloniki Declaration on Good-Neighbourly Relations, Stability, Security and Cooperation in the Balkans; and the Chairman's summary (A/52/217-S/1997/507)
(a) Renewal of the dialogue on strengthening international economic cooperation for development through partnership	Report of the Secretary-General (Assembly resolution 51/174)
(b) Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the 1990s	Report of the Secretary-General (Assembly resolution 50/103) (A/52/279)
Wednesday, 29 October
10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
6 p.m. Deadline for submission of draft proposals on item 197 (a) and (b)
Item 99 (a) and (b) (concluded)
Thursday, 30 October
10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
1 p.m. Deadline for submission of draft proposals on item 102
Item 99 (c) Population and development	Report of the Secretary-General (A/52/208 and Add.1)
(d) International migration and development, including the convening of a United Nations conference on international migration and development	Report of the Secretary-General (A/52/314)
Friday, 31 October
10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
6 p.m. Deadline for submission of draft proposals on item 99 (a) and (b)
Item 99 (e) Implementation of the outcome of the United Nations Conference for Human Settlements (Habitat II)	Report of the Commission on Human Settlements on the work of its nineteenth session (A/52/8)
	Report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of General Assembly resolution 51/177
	Report of the Secretary-General on the assessment of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat)
Friday, 31 October (continued)
	Letter dated 7 May 1996 from the Permanent Representative of the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General transmitting the texts of the Dubai Declaration and of the Regulations and Procedures concerning the Dubai Award for Best Practices to Improve the Living Environment (A/52/136)
	Report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) (A/52/181-E/1997/77)
(f) First United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty	Report of the Secretary-General on the observance of the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty (A/52/315)
	Letter dated 19 March 1997 from the Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General transmitting the texts of the Declaration and Plan of Action of the Microcredit Summit, the Summit Communiqué and the message from the Summit from the Chairman of G.77 and China (A/52/113-E/1997/18)
Week of 3-7 November
Monday, 3 November
10 a.m.1997 United Nations Pledging Conference for Development Activities.
6 p.m. Deadline for submission of draft proposals on item 99 (c) and (d)
Monday, 3 November (continued)
3 p.m.
Item 99 (g) Women in development	Report of the Secretary-General on effective mobilization and integration of women in development
(h) Human resources development	Report of the Secretary-General
Tuesday, 4 November
10 a.m.*
Wednesday, 5 November
10 a.m.*
6 p.m. Deadline for submission of draft proposals under item 99 (e) and (f)
3 p.m.
Item 99 (g) and (h) concluded
Thursday, 6 November
10 a.m.
Item 99 (i) Cultural development	Final progress report of the Secretary-General and the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
3 p.m.
Item 103 Permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, and of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources	Note by the Secretary-General transmitting the report prepared by the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia on the economic and social repercussions of the Israeli settlements on the Palestinian people in the Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, occupied since
Thursday, 6 November (continued)
	1967, and on the Arab population of the Syrian Golan (A/52/172-E/1997/71)
Friday, 7 November
10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
6 p.m. Deadline for submission of draft proposals under item 99 (g) and (h)
Item 12 Report of the Economic and Social Council	Report of the Council for the year 1997 (A/52/3), chapters I-IV; chapter V, sections A, B, C, F, G, H, I and J; chapter VII; and annexes
	Note by the Secretary-General transmitting the report prepared by the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia on the economic and social repercussions of the Israeli settlements on the Palestinian people in the Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, occupied since 1967, and on the Arab population of the Syrian Golan (A/52/172-E/1997/71)
	Report of the Secretary-General on new and innovative ideas for generating funds for globally agreed commitments and priorities (A/52/203-E/1997/85)
	Letter dated 2 June 1997 from the Chargé d'affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of Maldives to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General transmitting the text of the Declaration of the Ninth Summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (A/52/222)
Week of 10-14 November
Monday, 10 November
10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
1 p.m. Deadline for submission of draft proposals under item 99 (i)
6 p.m. Deadline for submission of draft proposals under item 103
Informal consultations
Tuesday, 11 November
6 p.m. Deadline for submission of draft proposals under item 12
Informal consultations
Wednesday, 12 November
Informal consultations
Thursday, 13 November
Informal consultations
Friday, 14 November
Informal consultations
Week of 17-21 November
Informal consultations
Week of 24-28 November
Informal consultations and conclusion of the work of the Second Committee