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18 February 1999

The plenary will meet this afternoon to take up several outstanding items. Among those are the fourth report of the General Committee, which recommended last week the inclusion of an additional item in the agenda for the session, on the Observer status for the Custom Cooperation Council in the General Assembly. In addition, the Assembly is to decide on the remaining vacancy for African States in the Committee on Programme and Coordination -- Comoros is the candidate nominated by the Economic and Social Council to fill this position; a vacancy in the Joint Inspection Unit -- the President of the Assembly, following consultations, is submitting the candidacy of Mr. Sumihiro Kuyama of Japan to fill the vacancy for a five-year term; the confirmation of the appointment of the Secretary-General of UNCTAD -- the Secretary-General is recommending that the appointment of Mr. Rubens Ricupero of Brazil be extended for another four-year term. The President will also announce the appointment of four additional members to the Committee on Relations with the Host Country in accordance with resolution 53/104 of 18 December 1998. The Assembly will also take up this afternoon the issue of the closing date of the current session and opening of the fifty-fourth session. Since I last mentioned it, Madagascar and Djibouti paid up its arrears under article 19 of the Charter, but 40 Member States are still unable to vote in the General Assembly due to arrears. On a related subject, you will recall that last week the Committee on Contributions held a special session to consider several requests for exemptions from the application of article 19 -- the Committee's report should be available tomorrow.

Following the adjournment of the plenary meeting, the Open-ended Informal Consultations of the Plenary on Agenda Item 30 (UN reform: measures and proposals) will be convened in a closed session to discuss the preparations for the Millennium Assembly.

The Open-Ended Working Group on Security Council reform will conclude its current session tomorrow and will reconvene later in March.

Finally, I would like to remind you that the Fifth Committee will hold its first resumed session from 8 to 26 March. A note on the proposed programme of work and the status of the required documentation will come out in the next few days.