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19 November 1998

This morning, the President of the fifty-third session delivered an opening statement at the Third World Television Forum. In his statement, he says: "The audiovisual media have a moral duty to provide their services, guided not only by material considerations but with a view to furthering the social good, by providing the audience with the material, the content and form which can help to develop the audiences' intellect and enhance its spirit. For that reason, television must not confine itself to satisfying the demands of the market, but should steer the market towards the achievement of certain social and ethical values, on the basis of which our societies are organized and function". The full text of the statement is available on the racks in both English and Spanish.

This morning, the plenary is considering the report of the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, contained in document A/53/219. The report was introduced by the President of the Tribunal, Gabrielle Kirk McDonald, and there were 11 additional speakers on this item. As a second item of business, the plenary is expected to take action on draft resolution A/53/L.34, on the Implementation of the Outcome of the World Summit for Social Development, which is to be introduced by Chile. The Assembly held a debate on this item in early October. The Assembly was then expected to continue the debate on the situation in South America. There are still 11 speakers inscribed to address the Assembly before it takes action on the two draft resolutions before it.

This afternoon, the Assembly will take up the issue of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council and related matters. Draft resolution A/53/L.16 on this item is before the Assembly; it is co-sponsored by 27 Member States. It will be introduced by the representative of Egypt. There are so far 67 speakers inscribed under this item, and the Assembly will continue the consideration of this issue tomorrow morning and afternoon. The first item of business tomorrow morning will be the issue of Financing of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone.

As for the work of the main committees, the Special Political and Decolonization Committee is continuing the whole day its consideration of the report of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories. In the afternoon, it will take action on seven draft resolution on the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Middle East. The Second Committee is holding informal consultations this morning on several draft resolutions before it. The Third Committee will continue this afternoon with the introduction of draft resolutions on human rights issues, some of them postponed from yesterday (among those will be two drafts on human rights in Rwanda), and also with action on a draft resolution on the work of UNHCR and a series of items on human rights issues (among those, drafts on human rights in Cambodia; extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions; human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Myanmar; and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The Fifth Committee began this morning the formal consideration of the item entitled Pattern of conferences, and of the reports on UN sales publications. It is also scheduled to hold informal consultations late this morning on the pattern of conferences. This afternoon, the Fifth Committee will hold informal consultations on the UN pension system. This morning, the Sixth Committee is holding informal consultations on draft resolutions regarding Measures to eliminate international terrorism. Those consultations will resume in the late afternoon. This afternoon, the Sixth Committee is expected to take action on a series of draft resolutions, on the Report of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and Strengthening of the Role of the Organization; Establishment of an international criminal court; Report of the International Law Commission on the work of its fiftieth session; Status of Protocols Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 relating to the protection of victims of armed conflicts; and finally, on the Convention on jurisdictional immunities of States and their property.