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20 October 1998

At this time, the President of the fifty-third session is presiding over the observance of World Food Day 1998. His statement will be available shortly as a press release in both English and Spanish; some copies of the Spanish version are on the side table.

No plenary meetings are scheduled for today. Tomorrow, the plenary will consider the report of the Security Council, contained in document A/53/2, both in the morning and in the afternoon. The report will be introduced by the President of the Council for October, the Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom. So far, 27 additional speakers have been inscribed to address the plenary on this issue.

The Credentials Committee is holding its first meeting this afternoon in conference room 8. It is a closed meeting.

The main committees are continuing their work today. The First Committee is continuing its general debate, with 10 speakers in the morning and nine this afternoon. The Second Committee took action this morning on two drafts under the item of Sectoral policy questions -- on business and development and on industrial development cooperation; as well as on operational activities for development of the UN system, before opening the debate of item 93 -- Sustainable development and international economic cooperation. It will continue the discussion of this issue in the afternoon. The Third Committee will begin this morning the consideration of item 106 -- Promotion and protection of the rights of children. The Fifth Committee is holding informal consultations the whole day on programme planning and on the issue of the scale of assessments for the apportionment of expenses of the United Nations. The Sixth Committee is meeting both in the morning and in the afternoon to consider the report of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the role of the Organization. The Working Group of the Sixth Committee on the UN Decade of International Law will also meet today.

On the side table are copies of the list of all afficers of the main committees at the fifty-third session.