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12 November 1998

This morning, the plenary is holding elections for the Economic and Social Council. Of the 54 members of the Council, the term of one-third of the membership expires at the end of 1998. The elections are held by secret ballot, requiring a two-third majority of Member States present and voting. Four members from the African Group, four from Asian Group, three from Eastern European States Group, three from the Latin American and Caribbean States Group and four from the Western European and Other States Group should be elected. From the African Group (Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Morocco and Rwanda) and the Western European and Other States Group (Canada, Denmark, Norway and UK) the number of candidates matches the number of vacant seats. From Asian Group, there are five candidates for four seats (China, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, the Syrian Arab Republic and Turkmenistan). From the Eastern European States Group, there are five candidates for three seats (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, the Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia). For the three seats from the Latin American and Caribbean States Group there are four candidates (Bolivia, Ecuador, Honduras and Venezuela).

No plenary meetings are scheduled for tomorrow.

As for the work of the Committees, the First Committee is meeting the whole day and continuing to take action on all draft resolutions before it. At the meeting of the Second Committee this morning, several draft resolutions will be introduced, including the drafts on the proclamation of international years, on the proclamation of the year 2002 as the International Year of Ecotourism, as well as on the renewal of the dialogue on strengthening international economic cooperation for development through partnership, and finally, a draft on cultural development. The Third Committee is meeting in the morning and in the afternoon and it is scheduled to complete the general discussion of the report of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The Fifth Committee is expected to complete this morning the informal consulations on the scale of assessments and begin general discussion this afternoon of the office accomodations and conference facilities in Geneva, the Hague and Addis Ababa. It will also begin general discussion of the financing of the UN Observer Mission in Sierra Leone and continue discussion of the report of the Secretary-General on the activities of the Office of Internal Oversight Services. Following the adjournment of the formal meeting, it will hold informal consultations on the pattern of conferences. The Sixth Committee is meeting the whole day to discuss measures to eliminate international terrorism and in the afternoon it is also scheduled to hold informal consultations on jurisdictional immunities.