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GENERAL COMMITTEE

A/BUR/53/1
Distr.: General
4 September 1998
Original: English
Addendum

Fifty-third session
General Committee

Organization of the fifty-third regular session of the General Assembly, adoption of the agenda and allocation of items

Memorandum by the Secretary-General

Contents

I. Introduction
II. Organization of the session
III. Observations on the organization of future sessions of the General Assembly
IV. Adoption of the agenda
V. Allocation of items

I. Introduction

1. The Secretary-General has the honour to place before the General Committee, for its consideration, the following observations and proposals in connection with the report to be made to the General Assembly by the General Committee regarding the organization of the fifty-third regular session and future sessions of the Assembly, the adoption of the agenda and the allocation of items.

2. Over the years, the General Assembly has adopted a number of provisions aimed at rationalizing the procedures and organization of the Assembly. These provisions are reproduced in the annexes to the rules of procedure of the General Assembly (A/520/Rev.15 and Amend.1 and 2, annexes I, II and IV-VIII).

3. The General Committee may wish to draw the General Assembly's attention to the provisions in annexes V, VI, VII and VIII to its rules of procedure, in particular to those provisions reproduced below under the relevant headings.

4. The Secretary-General wishes to draw the attention of the General Committee to the following resolutions of the General Assembly, the provisions of which are reflected in the present document under the relevant headings:

(a) Annex I to resolution 48/264 of 29 July 1994, entitled "Guidelines on the rationalization of the agenda of the General Assembly";

(b) The annex to resolution 51/241 of 31 July 1997, entitled "Strengthening of the United Nations system", annex.

In this connection, the Committee may wish to draw the attention of the Assembly to the reports of the Secretary-General on the implementation of General Assembly resolution 48/264 (A/52/856) and resolution 51/241 (A/52/855).

II. Organization of the session

A. General Committee

5. The Secretary-General wishes to draw to the General Committee's attention rule 40 of the rules of procedure, as well as General Assembly decision 34/401 (A/520/Rev.15, annex VI, paras. 1 and 2), Assembly resolutions 39/88 B (ibid., annex VII, para. 4), the annex to resolution 45/45 (A/520/Rev.15 and Amend.1, annex VIII, para. 3) and the annex to resolution 51/241 (paras. 17, 18 and 33-35) pertaining to the functions of the Committee.

B. Rationalization of work

6. The Secretary-General wishes to draw the attention of the General Committee to General Assembly resolution 41/213 of 19 December 1986, whereby the Assembly decided that the recommendations as agreed upon and as contained in the report of the Group of High-level Intergovernmental Experts to Review the Efficiency of the Administrative and Financial Functioning of the United Nations⁽¹⁾ should be implemented by the Secretary-General and the relevant organs and bodies of the United Nations.

7. In this connection, the Secretary-General wishes to draw the attention of the General Committee to the measures undertaken in pursuance of the goal of renewal and reform, in particular to recommendations 2, 3 and 7 of the Group of High-level Intergovernmental Experts, as reflected in the progress reports of the Secretary-General on the implementation of General Assembly resolution 41/213, entitled "Review of the efficiency of the administrative and financial functioning of the United Nations". The Secretary-General also wishes to draw the Committee's attention to Assembly resolution 48/264 entitled "Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly" and annex I thereto and resolution 52/12 B of 19 December 1997, entitled "Renewing the United Nations: a programme for reform".

8. The General Committee may wish to draw the General Assembly's attention to paragraph 5 of the annex to resolution 45/45 (A/520/Rev.15 and Amend.1, annex VIII), which reads as follows:

"5. The General Committee should consider, at the beginning of each session of the General Assembly, recommending that certain Main Committees should meet in sequential order, taking into account such matters as the number of meetings required for the consideration of the questions with which they are charged at that session, the organization of the work of the whole session and the problem of participation of smaller delegations."

In this connection, the Committee may also wish to draw the Assembly's attention to paragraphs 30, 31 and 36 of the annex to resolution 51/241, which read as follows:

"30. All Main Committees shall hold brief organizational sessions once the General Assembly has taken decisions on the agenda, before the commencement of the general debate. Bureaux of the Main Committees shall meet earlier to draw up recommendations on the organization and programme of work.

"31. The Main Committees shall meet in substantive session only after the end of the general debate.

...

"36. The First Committee and the Fourth Committee shall not meet simultaneously and may consider meeting in a sequential manner during the regular session of the General Assembly. This arrangement shall not apply if it affects their respective identities, programmes of work and effective consideration of their agendas."

9. Furthermore, the Secretary-General wishes to draw the attention of the General Committee to the fact that measures introduced to reduce costs relating to overtime will be strictly enforced.

C. Closing date of the session

10. In accordance with the provisions of rule 2 of the rules of procedure, the General Assembly should fix a closing date for the fifty-third session. By its resolution 52/232 of 4 June 1998, the General Assembly decided, inter alia, on the opening date of the fifty-third session, namely, Wednesday, 9 September 1998. The practice of recommending an average duration of 13 weeks for the main part of the session would bring the Assembly to a recess on Wednesday, 9 December. However, as the Assembly is mandated to meet on 10 December for the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the General Committee may wish to recommend to the Assembly that the session should recess on Friday, 11 December 1998. The Committee may also wish to recommend to the Assembly that the First, Special Political and Decolonization (Fourth Committee), Third and Sixth Committees should complete their work by Friday, 20 November, the Second Committee by Friday, 27 November and the Fifth Committee by Friday, 4 December 1998.

D. Schedule of meetings

11. The General Committee may wish to recommend to the General Assembly that, in accordance with established practice, morning meetings should start at 10 a.m. promptly for all plenary meetings and meetings of the Main Committees during the fifty-third session. The Committee may also wish to recommend to the Assembly that, as a cost-saving measure, plenary meetings and meetings of the Main Committees, including informals, be adjourned by 6 p.m., and that no meetings should be held on weekends. The Committee may also wish to recommend to the Assembly that this cost-saving measure should also apply, for the remainder of 1998, to meetings on the calendar of conferences and meetings.

12. The General Committee may further wish to recommend that, in order to avoid the late start of meetings, the General Assembly should waive, in view of the practice at recent sessions, the requirement of the presence of at least one third of the members to declare a plenary meeting open and permit the debate to proceed and one quarter of the members to declare a meeting of a Main Committee open and permit the debate to proceed. This recommendation would be made on the understanding that such a waiver would not imply any permanent change in the provisions of rules 67 and 108 of the rules of procedure and that the requirement of the presence of a majority of the members for any decision to be taken would be maintained.

13. Furthermore, the General Committee may wish to recommend to the General Assembly that delegations should be reminded of the utmost importance of punctuality in the interest of ensuring an effective and orderly organization of work and achieving economies for the United Nations.

E. General debate

14. The general debate will begin on Monday, 21 September, and end on Friday, 2 October 1998, in accordance with recent practice and the relevant provisions of the annex to resolution 51/241 (paras. 19 and 20 (a) and (e)), which read as follows:

"19. There shall continue to be only one general debate each year, beginning in the third week of September.

"20. The preparation of the list of speakers for the general debate shall be based on the following principles:

"(a) The general debate shall be organized over a period of two weeks so as to maximize possibilities for interministerial contacts;

...

"(e) The list of speakers for each day shall be completed and no speakers will be rolled over to the next day, notwithstanding the implications for hours of work."

15. The General Committee may wish to draw the attention of the General Assembly to paragraph 21 of the annex to resolution 51/241, which reads as follows:

"21. There shall be no time limits or specified themes for the general debate but the General Assembly will indicate a voluntary guideline of up to twenty minutes for each statement."

16. The Secretary-General suggests that the list of speakers in the general debate should be closed on Wednesday, 23 September, at 6 p.m., in accordance with the recommendation of the Special Committee on the Rationalization of the Procedures and Organization of the General Assembly (A/520/Rev.15, annex V, para. 46).

17. The General Committee may also wish to draw the General Assembly's attention to the decision taken by the Assembly at previous sessions, namely, that the practice of expressing congratulations inside the General Assembly Hall after a speech has been delivered is prohibited. In this connection, the Committee may wish to recommend to the Assembly that speakers in the general debate, after delivering their statements, should leave the General Assembly Hall through room GA-200 located behind the podium before returning to their seats.

F. Explanations of vote, right of reply, points of order and length of statements

18. The General Committee may wish to draw the General Assembly's attention to paragraphs 6, 7 and 8 of its decision 34/401 (A/520/Rev.15, annex VI), which read as follows:

"6. Explanations of vote should be limited to ten minutes.

"7. When the same draft resolution is considered in a Main Committee and in plenary meeting, a delegation should, as far as possible, explain its vote only once, i.e., either in the Committee or in plenary meeting, unless that delegation's vote in plenary meeting is different from its vote in the Committee.

"8. Delegations should exercise their right of reply at the end of the day whenever two meetings have been scheduled for that day and whenever such meetings are devoted to the consideration of the same item."

19. The Secretary-General wishes to suggest that, in line with time limits for explanations of vote and the right of reply, the General Committee recommend to the General Assembly limiting points of order to five minutes.

20. With a view to streamlining the procedures of the General Assembly and as another cost-saving measure, the General Committee, in connection with the length of statements, may wish to draw the attention of the Assembly to paragraph 22 of the annex to resolution 51/241, which reads as follows:

"22. Outside the general debate there shall be a fifteen-minute time limit in plenary meetings and in the Main Committees."

In this connection, the Committee may also wish to draw the attention of the Assembly to the report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of resolution 51/241 (A/52/855), in particular to paragraph 23, which reads as follows:

"23. Paragraph 22. Since in plenary meetings the length of statements in debates other than the general debate averages eight minutes, the General Assembly may wish to review the recommendation contained in paragraph 22."

The Committee may further wish to draw the attention of the Assembly, as it did at recent sessions, to rules 72 and 114 of the rules of procedure and paragraph 22 of annex VI thereto for appropriate action in plenary meeting and the Main Committees.

G. Records of meetings

21. As at past sessions, verbatim records will continue to be provided, during the fifty-third session, for the plenary meetings of the General Assembly and meetings of the First Committee and summary records will be provided to the General Committee and the other Main Committees of the Assembly. In accordance with the recommendation of the Special Committee on the Rationalization of the Procedures and Organization of the General Assembly (A/520/Rev.15, annex V, para. 108 (b)), the General Committee may wish to recommend that the Assembly should maintain for the fifty-third session the practice whereby the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee) may obtain, on specific request, transcriptions of the debates of some of its meetings, or portions thereof. These transcriptions, which would not be part of the official records of the Committee, would be provided as the required services became available. Furthermore, the General Committee may wish to draw the General Assembly's attention to paragraphs 8 and 9 of its resolution 38/32 E of 25 November 1983, which read as follows:

"8. Decides that the practice of reproducing statements in extenso as separate documents shall be discontinued for all its subsidiary organs that are entitled to summary records;

"9. Decides further that any exceptions to this rule may be made by the body concerned only if the statements are to serve as bases for discussion and if, after hearing a statement of the relevant financial implications, the body decides that one or more statements in extenso may be included in the summary record, or reproduced as separate documents or as annexes to authorized documents".

In this connection, the General Committee may also wish to recommend to the Assembly that the practice not to reproduce in extenso statements made in a Main Committee should be maintained for the fifty-third session.

H. Seating arrangements

22. In accordance with established practice, the Secretary-General has drawn lots for the purpose of choosing the Member State to occupy the first desk on the General Assembly floor from which the alphabetical seating order will begin. The name drawn was Mali. Consequently, the delegation of that country will sit at the first desk at the right of the President and the other countries will follow in the English alphabetical order. The same order will be observed in the Main Committees.

I. Concluding statements

23. The General Committee may wish to draw the General Assembly's attention to paragraph 17 of its decision 34/401 (ibid., annex VI), which reads as follows:

"17. To save time at the end of the session, the practice of making concluding statements in the General Assembly and its Main Committees should be dispensed with except for statements by the presiding officers."

J. Resolutions

24. The General Committee may wish to draw the General Assembly's attention to paragraph 32 of its decision 34/401 (ibid.), which reads as follows:

"32. Whenever possible, resolutions requesting the discussion of a question at a subsequent session should not call for the inclusion of a separate new item and such discussion should be held under the item under which the resolution was adopted."

25. The General Committee may also wish to draw the attention of the General Assembly to recommendation 3 (f) of the Group of High-level Intergovernmental Experts, which reads as follows:

"(f) Efforts should be made to reduce the number of resolutions adopted by the General Assembly. Resolutions should request reports of the Secretary-General only in cases where that would be indispensable for facilitating the implementation of these resolutions or the continued examination of the question."

26. In this connection, the General Committee may wish to draw the attention of the General Assembly to paragraph 5 of its resolution 48/264, which reads as follows:

"5. Encourages Member States to exercise restraint in making proposals requesting new reports of the Secretary-General, bearing in mind the desirability of reducing the number of such reports".

27. The General Committee may further wish to draw the attention of the General Assembly to paragraphs 1 and 10 of the annex to resolution 45/45 (A/520/Rev.15/Amend.1, annex VIII).

K. Documentation

28. The General Committee may wish to draw the General Assembly's attention to paragraph 28 of its decision 34/401 (A/520/Rev.15, annex VI), which reads as follows:

"28. The General Assembly, including its Main Committees, should merely take note of those reports of the Secretary-General or subsidiary organs which do not require a decision by the Assembly and should neither debate nor adopt resolutions on them, unless specifically requested to do so by the Secretary-General or the organ concerned."

29. The General Committee may wish to draw the attention of the General Assembly to paragraph 6 of its resolution 48/264, which reads as follows:

"6. Emphasizes that reports requested of the Secretary-General should be made available in all official languages in a timely manner in accordance with the rules of procedure of the General Assembly and the annexes thereto with a view to enabling delegations to consider the substance of such reports more thoroughly in advance of meetings".

The Committee may also wish to draw the attention of the Assembly to paragraph 4 of resolution 50/206 C, in which the Assembly once again requested the Secretary-General "to ensure that documentation is available in accordance with the six-week rule for the distribution of documents, simultaneously in each of the six official languages of the United Nations".

30. The General Committee may further wish to draw the attention of the General Assembly to paragraph 32 of resolution 51/241, which reads as follows:

"32. The number of reports requested shall be rationalized where possible so as to permit more focused consideration of issues. All bodies shall exercise restraint in making proposals containing requests for new reports and should consider integrating, biennializing or triennializing the presentation of reports, bearing in mind paragraphs 6 and 7 of General Assembly resolution 50/206 C of 23 December 1995."

L. Questions related to the programme budget

31. The Secretary-General would like to draw the attention of the General Committee to rule 153 of the rules of procedure, which reads as follows:

"No resolution involving expenditure shall be recommended by a committee for approval by the General Assembly unless it is accompanied by an estimate of expenditures prepared by the Secretary-General. No resolution in respect of which expenditures are anticipated by the Secretary-General shall be voted by the General Assembly until the Administrative and Budgetary Committee (Fifth Committee) has had an opportunity of stating the effect of the proposal upon the budget estimates of the United Nations."

In this connection, the General Committee may wish to draw the Assembly's attention to paragraph 12 of its decision 34/401 (ibid.), which reads as follows:

"12. It is imperative that Main Committees should allow sufficient time for the preparation of the estimate of expenditures by the Secretariat and for its consideration by the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions and the Fifth Committee and that they should take this requirement into account when they adopt their programme of work."

Furthermore, the General Committee may wish to draw the attention of the Assembly to paragraph 6 of its resolution 35/10 A of 3 November 1980, which reads as follows:

"6. Decides that all proposals affecting the schedule of conferences and meetings made at sessions of the General Assembly shall be reviewed by the Committee on Conferences when administrative implications are being considered under the requirements of rule 153 of the rules of procedure of the Assembly".

The General Committee may also wish to draw the Assembly's attention to regulation 4.9 of the Regulations Governing Programme Planning, the Programme Aspects of the Budget, the Monitoring of Implementation and the Methods of Evaluation (resolution 37/234, annex), which reads as follows:

"Regulation 4.9. No Council, Commission or other competent body shall take a decision involving either a change in the programme budget approved by the General Assembly or the possible requirement of expenditure unless it has received and taken account of a report from the Secretary-General on the programme budget implications of the proposal."

32. The General Committee may also wish to recall paragraph 13 of decision 34/401 (A/520/Rev.15, annex VI), which reads as follows:

"13. Furthermore:

"(a) A mandatory deadline, not later than 1 December, should be established for the submission to the Fifth Committee of all draft resolutions with financial implications;

"(b) The Fifth Committee should, as a general practice, consider accepting without debate the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions on the financial implications of draft resolutions up to a prescribed limit, namely, $25,000 on any one item;

"(c) Firm deadlines should be set for the early submission of the reports of subsidiary bodies which require consideration by the Fifth Committee;

"(d) A minimum period of forty-eight hours should be allowed between the submission and the voting of a proposal involving expenditure in order to allow the Secretary-General to prepare and present the related statement of administrative and financial implications."

In this connection, see also paragraph 41.

33. In connection with subparagraph 13 (d) of decision 34/401 quoted above, experience has shown that, depending on the type and complexity of the proposals involving changes in the work programme and additional expenditures, the preparation of a statement of programme budget implications by the Secretary-General may take a few days. In addition, the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions and the Fifth Committee need adequate time to review the programme budget implications of a draft resolution before the latter can be acted on by the Assembly.

34. It is thus desirable that Member States submit proposals involving statements of programme budget implications sufficiently in advance to avoid the cancellation of meetings and the postponement of consideration of items.

M. Observances and commemorative meetings

35. Observances and commemorative meetings held in plenary meeting have for the most part followed a well-defined pattern. Considering past practice and allowing for the necessary flexibility, the General Committee may wish to recommend that, with the exception of the anniversary of the United Nations, the General Assembly should adopt the following format for commemorative meetings: statements by the President of the General Assembly and the Secretary-General, statements by the chairmen of the five regional groups and by the representative of the host country. The Committee may also wish to recommend to the Assembly that, according to established practice, each statement should be limited to 15 minutes.

36. It is further suggested that observances and commemorative meetings take place, as far as possible, immediately following the general debate. The advantage of such a procedure is that it may facilitate the participation of dignitaries attending the general debate. This procedure would also allow advance planning of the work of the General Assembly.

N. Special conferences

37. The General Committee may wish to draw the General Assembly's attention to recommendation 6 of the Committee on Conferences, adopted by the Assembly in paragraph (b) of its decision 34/405, which reads as follows:

"(b) The Committee, taking into account difficulties encountered in ensuring adequate preparation of meetings, including timely distribution of documentation, as well as the ability of Member States to participate fully, recommends that the General Assembly should instruct the Main Committees to review the number of special conferences of the United Nations already proposed and scheduled in their respective fields of activity prior to deciding upon the scheduling of new and additional special conferences, thus bearing in mind the relevant portions of General Assembly resolution 33/55."

The General Committee may also wish to draw the Assembly's attention to recommendation 2 (d) of the Group of High-level Intergovernmental Experts, which reads as follows:

"(d) Until 1978, a number of resolutions had requested that only one major conference be scheduled annually. The decision of the General Assembly that no more than five special conferences should take place in a given year and that no more than one special conference should be convened at the same time should be strictly implemented."

38. In this connection, the General Committee may further wish to draw the General Assembly's attention to the relevant provisions of recommendation 4 of the Group of High-level Intergovernmental Experts, which reads as follows:

"The existing principle that United Nations bodies should meet at their respective established headquarters, as provided for in General Assembly resolution 40/243 of 18 December 1985, should be strictly enforced. Whenever the Assembly accepts an invitation from the Government of a Member State to hold a conference or meeting away from established headquarters, the additional cost should be borne in full by that Government. The methods of budgeting these costs should be improved so as to ensure that all additional costs are accounted for."

O. Meetings of subsidiary organs

39. In accordance with section 1, paragraph 7, of General Assembly resolution 40/243, no subsidiary organ of the Assembly should be permitted to meet at United Nations Headquarters during a regular session of the Assembly, unless explicitly authorized by the Assembly. In this connection, the Secretary-General wishes to draw the attention of the General Committee to a letter dated 19 August 1998 (A/53/298) in which the Chairman of the Committee on Conferences informed the President of the General Assembly that the Committee had recommended, on the strict understanding that meetings would have to be accommodated within available facilities and services, that the following subsidiary organs should be authorized to meet during the main part of the fifty-third session:

(a) Committee on Relations with the Host Country;

(b) Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People;

(d) Working Group on the Financing of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

III. Observations on the organization of future sessions of the General Assembly

40. The Secretary-General wishes to draw the attention of the General Committee to paragraph 17 of the annex to resolution 51/241 which states, inter alia, that the "plenary meetings of the General Assembly shall be formally opened every year on the first Tuesday following 1 September". In this connection, the Committee may wish to draw the attention of the Assembly to the report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of resolution 51/241 (A/52/855), in particular to paragraphs 16 and 17 thereof, which read:

"16. Rule 1 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly states that the General Assembly shall meet every year in regular session commencing on the third Tuesday in September. Paragraph 17 of the annex to the resolution calls, inter alia, for the regular sessions of the General Assembly to now commence on the first Tuesday following 1 September. Rule 1 of the rules of procedure would need to be amended.

"17. In addition, in accordance with rule 2 of the rules of procedure, the General Assembly has, at the beginning of each session, fixed a closing date for the session. In recent years, the closing date has been the Monday before the opening of the next session. Were the General Assembly to retain this practice, the closing date would consistently fall on an official holiday of the Organization, for which financial and other implications may need to be considered. The General Assembly may wish to decide on a closing date ... and for future sessions, that will fall on a working day ..."

41. On 4 June 1998, the General Assembly adopted resolution 52/232 on the strengthening of the United Nations system. In paragraph 1, the Assembly decided, as an interim measure, "that the fifty-second session of the General Assembly shall close on Tuesday, 8 September 1998, and that the fifty-third session of the General Assembly shall open on Wednesday, 9 September 1998". The General Committee may wish to recommend that the Assembly address the question of the opening and closing dates of future regular sessions. In this connection, taking into account the opening date of the regular sessions, the Committee may also wish to recommend to the Assembly a review of the question of the mandatory deadline for the submission to the Fifth Committee of all draft resolutions with programme budget implications.

IV. Adoption of the agenda

42. All proposals for the inclusion of items in the agenda of the fifty-third session have been communicated to Member States in the following documents:

(a) Provisional agenda of the fifty-third session (A/53/150);

(b) Supplementary list (A/53/200);

The items proposed for inclusion are listed in the draft agenda, which appears in paragraph 47 below.

43. Bearing in mind the need to rationalize the General Assembly's procedures, and in view of the large number of items on the draft agenda, the Secretary-General wishes to recall the recommendation of the Special Committee on the Rationalization of the Procedures and Organization of the General Assembly that Member States should examine the agenda with a view to eliminating items that have lost their urgency or relevance, are not ripe for consideration or could be dealt with and even disposed of equally well by subsidiary organs of the General Assembly, and to referring specific items to other United Nations organs or to specialized agencies, taking into account the nature of the question (A/520/Rev.15, annex V, paras. 19 and 22; see also ibid., annex VII, paras. 1 and 2). The Secretary-General wishes also to recall paragraphs 4 and 5 (a) and (c) of annex I to resolution 48/264, which read as follows:

"4. There shall be periodic reviews of the agenda, taking into account the views of concerned Member States, in order to ascertain whether it is possible to delete any item on which no resolution or decision has been adopted for a period of time.

"5. The Main Committees should be encouraged to continue with the review of their respective agendas, taking into account, inter alia, the following:

"(a) Agenda items concerning issues of closely related substance could be merged within a single agenda title or be incorporated as sub-items where this is possible without loss of focus on the items/sub-items concerned;

...

"(c) Biennialization and triennialization of items on the agenda of the Main Committees could be considered in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly".

In this connection, the General Committee may wish to draw the attention of the General Assembly to paragraphs 23 to 26 of the annex to resolution 51/241. In addition, bearing in mind the extremely heavy workload of the Assembly and the need to make the most effective use of scarce resources, the Committee may wish to consider deferring to a later session items for which decisions or action are not required at the present session.

44. Concerning item 62 of the draft agenda (The situation in Burundi), the Secretary-General wishes to draw the attention of the General Committee to a communication dated 24 August 1998 from Burundi, in which the deletion of the item is requested (A/53/290).

45. With regard to item 89 of the draft agenda (Activities of foreign economic and other interests which impede the implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples in Territories under colonial domination), the Secretary-General wishes to draw to the attention of the General Committee a communication dated 12 August 1998 from the Acting 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 (A/53/261), in which a change in the wording of the item was requested to reflect recent resolutions of the Special Committee. The item would then read: "Economic and other activities which affect the interests of the peoples of the Non-Self-Governing Territories".

46. Concerning item 168 of the draft agenda (Fiftieth anniversary of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide), the sponsors have requested the inclusion of this item as a sub-item under item 46 (Fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights) (A/52/192).

47. Subject to the recommendations of the General Committee regarding paragraphs 42 to 46 above, the draft agenda of the fifty-third session would consist of the following items:⁽²⁾

1. Opening of the session by the Chairman of the delegation of Ukraine (P.1)

2. Minute of silent prayer or meditation (P.2).

3. Credentials of representatives to the fifty-third session of the General Assembly (P.3):

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

(b) Report of the Credentials Committee.

4. Election of the President of the General Assembly (P.4).

5. Election of the officers of the Main Committees (P.5).

6. Election of the Vice-Presidents of the General Assembly (P.6).

7. Notification by the Secretary-General under Article 12, paragraph 2, of the Charter of the United Nations (P.7).

8. Adoption of the agenda and organization of work: reports of the General Committee (P.8).

9. General debate (P.9).

10. Report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization (P.10).⁽³⁾

11. Report of the Security Council (P.11).³

12. Report of the Economic and Social Council (P.12).

13. Report of the International Court of Justice (P.13).

14. Report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (P.14).

15. Elections to fill vacancies in principal organs (P.15):

(a) Election of five non-permanent members of the Security Council;

(b) Election of eighteen members of the Economic and Social Council.

16. Elections to fill vacancies in subsidiary organs and other elections (P.16):

(a) Election of seven members of the Committee for Programme and Coordination;³

(b) Election of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

17. Appointments to fill vacancies in subsidiary organs and other appointments (P.17):

(a) Appointment of members of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions;

(b) Appointment of members of the Committee on Contributions;

(d) Confirmation of the appointment of members of the Investments Committee;

(e) Appointment of members of the United Nations Administrative Tribunal;

(f) International Civil Service Commission:

(i) Appointment of members of the Commission;

(ii) Designation of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Commission;

(g) Appointment of members of the Committee on Conferences;

(h) Appointment of a member of the Joint Inspection Unit;

(i) Confirmation of the appointment of the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development;

(j) Appointment of the Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services.

18. Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (P.18).

19. Admission of new Members to the United Nations (P.19).

20. Strengthening of the coordination of humanitarian and disaster relief assistance of the United Nations, including special economic assistance (P.20):

(a) Strengthening of the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance of the United Nations;

(b) Special economic assistance to individual countries or regions;³

(d) Assistance to the Palestinian people.

21. Cooperation between the United Nations and the Organization of American States (P.21).

22. Cooperation between the United Nations and the Asian-African Legal Consultative Committee (P.22).

23. Cooperation between the United Nations and the Caribbean Community (P.23).

24. Implementation of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s, including measures and recommendations agreed upon at its mid-term review (P.24).

25. Cooperation between the United Nations and the Latin American Economic System (P.25).

26. Cooperation between the United Nations and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (P.26).

27. Cooperation between the United Nations and the League of Arab States (P.27).

28. Cooperation between the United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (P.28).

29. Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba (P.29).

30. United Nations reform: measures and proposals (P.30).⁽⁴⁾

31. Culture of peace (P.31).

32. Zone of peace and cooperation of the South Atlantic (P.32).

33. Support by the United Nations system of the efforts of Governments to promote and consolidate new or restored democracies (P.33).

34. Cooperation between the United Nations and the Economic Cooperation Organization (P.34).

35. Cooperation between the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity (P.35).

36. Cooperation between the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (P.36).

37. Implementation of the outcome of the World Summit for Social Development (P.37).

38. Oceans and the law of the sea (P.38):³

(a) Law of the sea;

(b) Large-scale pelagic drift-net fishing, unauthorized fishing in zones of national jurisdiction and on the high seas, fisheries by-catch and discards, and other developments.

39. Question of Palestine (P.39).⁽⁵⁾

40. The situation in the Middle East (P.40).³

41. The situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina (P.41).³

42. Assistance in mine clearance (P.42).

43. The situation of democracy and human rights in Haiti (P.43).³

44. The situation in Central America: procedures for the establishment of a firm and lasting peace and progress in fashioning a region of peace, freedom, democracy and development (P.44).³

45. The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security (P.45).³

46. Fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (P.46).⁽⁶⁾

47. Election of the judges of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Genocide and Other Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of Rwanda and Rwandan Citizens Responsible for Genocide and Other Such Violations Committed in the Territory of Neighbouring States between 1 January and 31 December 1994 (P.47).⁽⁷⁾

48. Report of the International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991 (P.48).

49. Question of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) (P.49).

50. Report of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Genocide and Other Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of Rwanda and Rwandan Citizens Responsible for Genocide and Other Such Violations Committed in the Territory of Neighbouring States between 1 January and 31 December 1994 (P.50).

51. Elimination of coercive economic measures as a means of political and economic compulsion (P.51).

52. Declaration of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity on the aerial and naval military attack against the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya by the present United States Administration in April 1986 (P.52).

53. Armed Israeli aggression against the Iraqi nuclear installations and its grave consequences for the established international system concerning the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and international peace and security (P.53).

54. Consequences of the Iraqi occupation of and aggression against Kuwait (P.54).

55. Implementation of the resolutions of the United Nations (P.55).

56. Launching of global negotiations on international economic cooperation for development (P.56).

57. Question of the Comorian island of Mayotte (P.57).

58. Strengthening of the United Nations system (P.58).

59. Question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council and related matters (P.59).

60. Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly (P.60).

61. Restructuring and revitalization of the United Nations in the economic, social and related fields (P.61).⁽⁸⁾

62. The situation in Burundi (P.62).⁽⁹⁾

63. Question of Cyprus (P.63).⁸

64. Role of science and technology in the context of international security, disarmament and other related fields (P.64).

65. Maintenance of international security - prevention of the violent disintegration of States (P.65).

66. Reduction of military budgets (P.66):

(a) Reduction of military budgets;

(b) Objective information on military matters, including transparency of military expenditures.

67. Role of science and technology in the context of international security and disarmament (P.67).

68. Establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the region of the Middle East (P.68).

69. Establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in South Asia (P.69).

70. Conclusion of effective international arrangements to assure non-nuclear-weapon States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons (P.70).

71. Prevention of an arms race in outer space (P.71).

72. General and complete disarmament (P.72):

(a) Notification of nuclear tests;

(b) Further measures in the field of disarmament for the prevention of an arms race on the seabed and the ocean floor and in the subsoil thereof: report of the Secretary-General;

(d) Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on Their Destruction;

(e) Transparency in armaments;

(f) Assistance to States for curbing the illicit traffic in small arms and collecting them;

(g) Relationship between disarmament and development;

(h) Observance of environmental norms in the drafting and implementation of agreements on disarmament and arms control;

(i) Convening of the fourth special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament;

(j) Consolidation of peace through practical disarmament measures;

(k) Contributions towards banning anti-personnel landmines;

(l) Prohibition of the dumping of radioactive wastes;

(m) Small arms;

(n) Nuclear disarmament;

(o) Nuclear-weapon-free southern hemisphere and adjacent areas;

(p) Follow-up to the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons;

(q) Regional disarmament;

(r) Conventional arms control at the regional and subregional levels;

(s) Establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Central Asia;

(t) Implementation of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction.

73. Review and implementation of the Concluding Document of the Twelfth Special Session of the General Assembly (P.73):

(a) United Nations Disarmament Information Programme;

(b) United Nations disarmament fellowship training and advisory services;

(d) Regional confidence-building measures: activities of the United Nations Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa;

(e) Convention on the Prohibition of the Use of Nuclear Weapons.

74. Review of the implementation of the recommendations and decisions adopted by the General Assembly at its tenth special session (P.74):³

(a) Report of the Disarmament Commission;

(b) Report of the Conference on Disarmament;

(d) United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research.

75. The risk of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East (P.75).

76. Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects (P.76).

77. Strengthening of security and cooperation in the Mediterranean region (P.77).

78. Consolidation of the regime established by the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (Treaty of Tlatelolco) (P.78).

79. Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction (P.79).

80. Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (P.80).

81. Rationalization of the work and reform of the agenda of the First Committee (P.81).³

82. Effects of atomic radiation (P.82).

83. International cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space (P.83).

84. United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (P.84).

85. Report of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories (P.85).

86. Comprehensive review of the whole question of peacekeeping operations in all their aspects (P.86).

87. Questions relating to information (P.87).

88. Information from Non-Self-Governing Territories transmitted under Article 73 e of the Charter of the United Nations (P.88).

89. Activities of foreign economic and other interests which impede the implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples in Territories under colonial domination (P.89).⁽¹⁰⁾

90. 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 (P.90).

91. Offers by Member States of study and training facilities for inhabitants of Non-Self-Governing Territories (P.91).

92. Question of the Malagasy islands of Glorieuses, Juan de Nova, Europa and Bassas da India (P.92).

93. Question of East Timor (P.93).

94. Macroeconomic policy questions (P.94):

(a) Trade and development;

(b) Financing of development, including net transfer of resources between developing and developed countries;

(d) External debt crisis and development.

95. Sectoral policy questions (P.95):

(a) Business and development;

(b) Industrial development cooperation.

96. Sustainable development and international economic cooperation (P.96):

(a) Implementation of and follow-up to major consensus agreements on development:

(i) Implementation of the commitments and policies agreed upon in the Declaration on International Economic Cooperation, in particular the Revitalization of the Economic Growth and Development of the Developing Countries;

(ii) Implementation of the International Development Strategy for the Fourth United Nations Development Decade;

(b) Integration of the economies in transition into the world economy;

(d) Renewal of the dialogue on strengthening international economic cooperation for development through partnership;

(e) Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the 1990s;

(f) Implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development;

(g) Cultural development.

97. Environment and sustainable development (P.97):

(a) Implementation of and follow-up to the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, including the outcome of the nineteenth special session of the General Assembly for the purpose of an overall review and appraisal of the implementation of Agenda 21;

(b) Protection of global climate for present and future generations of mankind;

(c) Implementation of the outcome of the Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States;

(d) Convention on Biological Diversity;

(e) Implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa.

98. Operational activities for development (P.98).

99. Training and research (P.99):

(a) United Nations University;

(b) United Nations Institute for Training and Research.

100. 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 (P.100).

101. Implementation of the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997-2006) (P.101).

102. Commemorative meeting of the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action for Promoting and Implementing Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries (P.102).

103. Social development, including questions relating to the world social situation and to youth, ageing, disabled persons and the family (P.103).

104. Crime prevention and criminal justice (P.104).

105. International drug control (P.105).³

106. Advancement of women (P.106).

107. Implementation of the outcome of the Fourth World Conference on Women (P.107).

108. Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: questions relating to refugees and displaced persons and humanitarian questions (P.108).

109. Promotion and protection of the rights of children (P.109).

110. Programme of activities of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People (P.110).

111. Elimination of racism and racial discrimination (P.111).

112. Right of peoples to self-determination (P.112).

113. Human rights questions (P.113):

(a) Implementation of human rights instruments;

(b) Human rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms;

(d) Comprehensive implementation of and follow-up to the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action;⁽¹¹⁾

(e) Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

114. Financial reports and audited financial statements, and reports of the Board of Auditors (P.114):⁽¹²⁾

(a) United Nations;

(b) United Nations Development Programme;

(d) United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East;

(e) United Nations Institute for Training and Research;

(f) Voluntary funds administered by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees;

(g) Fund of the United Nations Environment Programme;

(h) United Nations Population Fund;

(i) United Nations Habitat and Human Settlements Foundation;

(j) Fund of the United Nations International Drug Control Programme;

(k) United Nations Office for Project Services.

115. Review of the efficiency of the administrative and financial functioning of the United Nations (P.115).⁴

116. Programme budget for the biennium 1998-1999 (P.116).⁴

117. Programme planning (P.117).

118. Improving the financial situation of the United Nations (P.118).⁸

119. Administrative and budgetary coordination of the United Nations with the specialized agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency (P.119).

120. Pattern of conferences (P.120).¹²

121. Scale of assessments for the apportionment of the expenses of the United Nations (P.121).³

122. Human resources management (P.122).⁴

123. United Nations common system (P.123).³

124. United Nations pension system (P.124).

125. Financing of the United Nations peacekeeping forces in the Middle East (P.125):⁴

(a) United Nations Disengagement Observer Force;

(b) United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.

126. Financing of the United Nations Angola Verification Mission and the United Nations Observer Mission in Angola (P.126).⁴

127. Financing of the activities arising from Security Council resolution 687 (1991) (P.127):

(a) United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission;⁴

(b) Other activities.

128. Financing of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (P.128).⁴

129. Financing and liquidation of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (P.129).⁴

130. Financing of the United Nations Protection Force, the United Nations Confidence Restoration Operation in Croatia, the United Nations Preventive Deployment Force and the United Nations Peace Forces headquarters (P.130).⁴

131. Financing of the United Nations Operation in Somalia II (P.131).⁸

132. Financing of the United Nations Operation in Mozambique (P.132).⁴

133. Financing of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (P.133).⁴

134. Financing of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (P.134).⁴

135. Financing of the United Nations Mission in Haiti (P.135).⁴

136. Financing of the United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia (P.136).³

137. Financing of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (P.137).⁸

138. Financing of the International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991 (P.138).³

139. Financing of the United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan (P.139).⁴

140. Financing of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Genocide and Other Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of Rwanda and Rwandan Citizens Responsible for Genocide and Other Such Violations Committed in the Territory of Neighbouring States between 1 January and 31 December 1994 (P.140).⁴

141. Financing of the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (P.141).⁴

142. Financing of the United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium and the Civilian Police Support Group (P.142).⁴

143. Financing of the United Nations Preventive Deployment Force (P.143).⁴

144. Financing of the United Nations Support Mission in Haiti, the United Nations Transition Mission in Haiti and the United Nations Civilian Police Mission in Haiti (P.144).⁴

145. Financing of the Military Observer Group of the United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala (P.145).⁸

146. Administrative and budgetary aspects of the financing of the United Nations peacekeeping operations (P.146):⁴

(a) Financing of the United Nations peacekeeping operations;

(b) Relocation of Ukraine to the group of Member States set out in paragraph 3 (c) of General Assembly resolution 43/232.

147. Report of the Secretary-General on the activities of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (P.147 (a)).⁴

148. Review of the implementation of General Assembly resolution 48/218 B (P.147 (b)).

149. Status of the Protocols Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and relating to the protection of victims of armed conflicts (P.148).

150. Consideration of effective measures to enhance the protection, security and safety of diplomatic and consular missions and representatives (P.149).

151. Convention on jurisdictional immunities of States and their property (P.150).

152. United Nations Decade of International Law (P.151):

(a) United Nations Decade of International Law;

(b) Progress in the action dedicated to the 1999 centennial of the first International Peace Conference and to the closing of the United Nations Decade of International Law;

153. Report of the International Law Commission on the work of its fiftieth session (P.152).

154. Report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law on the work of its thirty-first session (P.153).

155. Report of the Committee on Relations with the Host Country (P.154).

156. Establishment of an international criminal court (P.155).

157. Report of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization (P.156).

158. Measures to eliminate international terrorism (P.157).

159. Review of the Statute of the Administrative Tribunal of the United Nations (P.158).

160. Bethlehem 2000 (P.159).

161. World Solar Programme 1996-2005 (P.160).

162. Observer status for the Association of Caribbean States in the General Assembly (P.161).

163. Global implications of the year 2000 date conversion problem of computers (P.162).

164. Financing of the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic (P.163).⁴

165. Observer status for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development in the General Assembly (P.164).

166. Need to review General Assembly resolution 2758 (XXVI) of 25 October 1971 owing to the fundamental change in the international situation and to the coexistence of two Governments across the Taiwan Strait (P.165).

167. Financing of the United Nations Observer Mission in Sierra Leone (S.1).

168. Fiftieth anniversary of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (S.2).⁽¹³⁾

169. Causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa (A.1).

V. Allocation of items

48. The allocation of items described in paragraph 61 below is based on the pattern adopted by the General Assembly for those items in previous years. The Secretary-General trusts that delegations will consider allotting items in a manner which will best enhance the effectiveness and the impact of the Assembly's work. In this connection, the General Committee may wish to draw the General Assembly's attention to paragraph 4 of its decision 34/401 (A/520/Rev.15, annex VI), which reads as follows:

"4. Substantive items should normally be discussed initially in a Main Committee and, therefore, items previously allocated to plenary meetings should henceforth be referred to a Main Committee unless there are compelling circumstances requiring their continued consideration in plenary meeting."

The General Committee may also wish to draw the Assembly's attention to paragraph 3 of annex I to resolution 48/264. The Secretary-General wishes to draw the General Committee's attention to the relevant paragraphs of resolution 39/88 B and resolution 45/45 (A/520/Rev.15 and Amend.1, annexes VII and VIII). Paragraph 5 of the annex to resolution 39/88 B reads as follows:

"5. The Chairmen of the Main Committees should take the initiative, in the light of past experience, to propose the grouping of similar or related items and the holding of a single general debate on them."

Paragraph 6 of the annex to resolution 45/45 reads as follows:

"6. In making recommendations as to how agenda items should be allocated to the Main Committees and the plenary of the General Assembly, the General Committee should ensure the best use of the expertise of the Committees."

In this connection, the Secretary-General also wishes to draw the General Committee's attention to paragraphs 2 and 5 (b) and (d) of annex I to resolution 48/264, which read as follows:

"2. Agenda items which are of a nature that relates to more than one Main Committee or which do not come within the purview of any Main Committee should be considered by the General Assembly in plenary meeting, taking into account the recommendations of the General Committee.

...

"5. The Main Committees should be encouraged to continue with the review of their respective agendas, taking into account, inter alia, the following:

...

"(b) Items that cover related matters or issues could be considered in agreed clusters;

...

"(d) The existing broad division of work among the Main Committees should be maintained."

The Secretary-General also wishes to draw the attention of the General Committee to paragraph 24 of the annex to resolution 51/241, which reads as follows:

"24. The General Assembly shall take further steps to rationalize and streamline the agenda ... and in particular shall make greater use of clustering, biennialization or triennialization of agenda items. Items that could be considered at a later session shall be identified, taking into account the priorities set by the medium-term plan."

49. The following items of the draft agenda have not been considered previously by the General Assembly:

160. Bethlehem 2000 (P.159).

161. World Solar Programme 1996-2005 (P.160).

162. Observer status for the Association of Caribbean States in the General Assembly (P.161).

165. Observer status for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in the General Assembly (P.164).

167. Financing of the United Nations Observer Mission in Sierra Leone (S.1).

168. Fiftieth anniversary of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (S.2).⁽¹⁴⁾

169. Causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa (A.1).

The sponsors of the requests for the inclusion of the following items have suggested that they should be allocated as follows:

Item 160 Plenary meetings

Item 161 Plenary meetings

Item 162 Plenary meetings

Item 165 Plenary meetings

Item 166 Plenary meetings

Item 167 Fifth Committee

Item 168 Plenary meetings

Item 169 Plenary meetings

50. With regard to item 10 of the draft agenda (Report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization), as at the last session, the Secretary-General wishes to make a brief presentation of his annual report (A/53/1) as the first item in the morning prior to the opening of the general debate on Monday, 21 September.

51. In connection with item 12 of the draft agenda (Report of the Economic and Social Council), the Secretary-General proposes that, as in previous years, the various parts of the report should be assigned to the Main Committees in accordance with their respective fields of competence or to plenary meetings, on the understanding that the administrative, programme and budgetary aspects should be dealt with by the Fifth Committee. Bearing that consideration in mind, the Secretary-General recommends the following allocation for the various parts of the report:⁽¹⁵⁾

Chapter I

Matters calling for action by the General Assembly or brought to its attention

Plenary meetings, Second, Third and Fifth Committees

Chapter II

Special high-level meeting with the Bretton Woods institutions

Plenary meetings and Second Committee

Chapter III

Session of the Council on integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the major United Nations conferences and summits

Plenary meetings and Second and Third Committees

Chapter IV

High-level segment of the Council

Plenary meetings and Second Committee

Chapter V

Operational activities of the United Nations for international development cooperation

Plenary meetings and Second and Third Committees

Chapter VI

Coordination of the policies and activities of the specialized agencies and other bodies of the United Nations system

Plenary meetings and Third Committee

Chapter VII

Humanitarian affairs segment

Plenary meetings

Chapter VIII

General segment

Section A

Integrated and coordinated implementation and follow-up to the major international United Nations conferences and summits

Plenary meetings, Second and Third Committees

Section B

Coordination questions

Plenary meetings, Second and Fifth Committees

Section C

Implementation of General Assembly resolutions 50/227 and 52/12 B

Plenary meetings, Second, Third and Fifth Committees

Section D

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

Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee)

Section E

Regional cooperation

Second Committee

Section F

Economic and social repercussions of the Israeli occupation on the living conditions of the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, and the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan

Second Committee

Section G

Non-governmental organizations

Second Committee

Section H

Economic and environmental questions

Second Committee

Section I

Social and human rights questions

Third Committee

Chapter IX

Elections, nominations and confirmations

Plenary meetings

Chapter X

Organizational matters

Plenary meetings, Second, Third and Fifth Committees

52. With regard to item 18 of the draft agenda (Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples), the General Committee may wish to consider referring to the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee) chapters of the report of the Special Committee (A/53/23) relating to specific Territories; this would again enable the General Assembly to deal in plenary meeting with the question of the implementation of the Declaration as a whole.

53. In connection with item 46 of the draft agenda (Fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights) and item 113 (b) (Human rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms), the Secretary-General wishes to recall decision 52/424 of 12 December 1997 entitled "Award of human rights prizes in 1998", whereby the General Assembly decided to request the Secretary-General to make the necessary arrangements for the awarding of human rights prizes in 1998 as envisaged in recommendation C of the annex to Assembly resolution 2217 A (XXI). The General Committee may wish to recommend that the award ceremony should be held on Thursday, 10 December 1998, on the occasion of the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

54. With regard to item 49 of the draft agenda (Question of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas)), the Secretary-General wishes to remind the General Committee that at previous sessions the General Assembly decided to consider this item directly in plenary meeting, on the understanding that bodies and individuals having an interest in the question would be heard in the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee) in conjunction with the consideration of the item in plenary meeting.

55. With regard to item 63 of the draft agenda (Question of Cyprus), the General Committee will recall that at its forty-second session⁽¹⁶⁾ the General Assembly decided to consider this item directly in plenary meeting, on the understanding that it would, when considering the item, invite the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee) to meet for the purpose of affording representatives of the Cypriot communities an opportunity to take the floor in the Committee in order to express their views, and that the Assembly would then resume its consideration of the item, taking into account the report of the Committee.

56. In connection with item 72 of the draft agenda (General and complete disarmament), the Secretary-General wishes to draw the attention of the General Committee to the fact that some portions of the annual report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (A/53/286), which is to be considered directly in plenary meeting under item 14, deal with the subject matter of this item. The General Committee may therefore wish to recommend that the relevant paragraphs of the report should be drawn to the attention of the First Committee in connection with its consideration of item 72.

57. With regard to item 86 of the draft agenda (Comprehensive review of the whole question of peacekeeping operations in all their aspects), the Secretary-General wishes to recall paragraph 2 of resolution 52/69 of 10 December 1997, in which the General Assembly endorsed a recommendation made by the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations, recognizing that 1998 marks the fiftieth anniversary of peacekeeping, to dedicate a commemorative meeting to pay tribute to all who have served in peacekeeping operations, especially those who have lost their lives under the United Nations flag during the past 50 years. The General Committee may wish to recommend to the Assembly that the commemorative meeting should be held on Tuesday, 6 October 1998, in the morning.

58. In connection with item 96 (d) of the draft agenda (Renewal of the dialogue on strengthening international economic cooperation for development through partnership), the Secretary-General wishes to recall resolution 50/122 of 20 December 1995 and decision 52/480 of 4 June 1998 whereby the General Assembly decided to hold a high-level dialogue on the social and economic impact of globalization and interdependence and their policy implications for a period of two days before the commencement of the general debate at the fifty-third session, that is, on Thursday, 17, and Friday, 18 September 1998.

59. With regard to item 102 of the draft agenda (Commemorative meeting of the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action for Promoting and Implementing Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries), the Secretary-General wishes to recall paragraph 9 of resolution 52/205 of 18 December 1997 whereby the General Assembly decided to hold a one-day commemorative meeting at the beginning of the fifty-third session of the General Assembly to mark the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of Buenos Aires Plan of Action for Promoting and Implementing Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries. The General Committee may wish to recommend to the Assembly that the commemorative meeting should be held on Wednesday, 7 October 1998, in the morning.

60. In connection with item 106 of the draft agenda (Advancement of women), the Secretary-General wishes to recall paragraph 16 of the annex to resolution 39/125 of 14 December 1984 concerning the United Nations Development Fund for Women, which reads as follows:

"16. Taking into account the advice of the Consultative Committee, the Administrator shall submit to the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme an annual report on the operations, management and budget of the Fund. He shall submit a similar report to the General Assembly, to be referred to the Second Committee for consideration of its technical cooperation aspects and also to the Third Committee."

The General Committee may therefore wish to recommend that the report be referred to the Second Committee for consideration under item 98 of the draft agenda (Operational activities for development).

61. Subject to changes that may be made by the General Committee in the light of paragraphs 48 to 60 above, the allocation of the items of the draft agenda, as based on previous practice, would be the following:⁽¹⁷⁾

Plenary meetings

1. Opening of the session by the Chairman of the delegation of Ukraine (P.1).

2. Minute of silent prayer or meditation (P.2).

3. Credentials of representatives to the fifty-third session of the General Assembly (P.3):

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

(b) Report of the Credentials Committee.

4. Election of the President of the General Assembly (P.4).

5. Election of the officers of the Main Committees (P.5).

6. Election of the Vice-Presidents of the General Assembly (P.6).

7. Notification by the Secretary-General under Article 12, paragraph 2, of the Charter of the United Nations (P.7).

8. Adoption of the agenda and organization of work: reports of the General Committee (P.8).

9. General debate (P.9).

10. Report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization (P.10).⁽¹⁸⁾

11. Report of the Security Council (P.11).³

12. Report of the Economic and Social Council [chapters I to VII and VIII (sections A to C), IX and X] (P.12).⁽¹⁹⁾

13. Report of the International Court of Justice (P.13).

14. Report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (P.14).⁽²⁰⁾

15. Elections to fill vacancies in principal organs (P.15):

(a) Election of five non-permanent members of the Security Council;

(b) Election of eighteen members of the Economic and Social Council.

16. Elections to fill vacancies in subsidiary organs and other elections (P.16):

(a) Election of seven members of the Committee for Programme and Coordination;³

(b) Election of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

17. Appointments to fill vacancies in subsidiary organs and other appointments (P.17):⁽²¹⁾

(g) Appointment of members of the Committee on Conferences;

(h) Appointment of a member of the Joint Inspection Unit;

(i) Confirmation of the appointment of the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development;

(j) Appointment of the Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services.

18. Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (P.18).⁽²²⁾