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22 September 1999

Day three of the General Assembly’s general debate, presided over by President Theo-Ben Gurirab, began this morning with addresses by Presidents Carlos Roberto Flores Facusse of Honduras, Luis Angel Gonzalez Macchi of Paraguay and Vaira Vike-Freiberga of Latvia. The Foreign Ministers of Germany, China, Italy and San Marino will also speak.

This afternoon, the Assembly will hear addresses by Presidents Ismail Omar Guelleh of Djibouti, Miguel Angel Rodriguez Echeverria of Costa Rica, Jules Albert Widjenbosch of Suriname, Leo Falcam of the Federated States of Micronesia and Frederick Chiluba of Zambia. Also expected to speak are the Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Denzil Douglas, and the Foreign Ministers of Pakistan, Greece, Denmark, India, Turkmenistan and the Czech Republic.

At the start of Tuesday afternoon’s meeting, the President said he had learned with shock and sadness of the earthquake that struck near Taipei on Monday. On behalf of the members of the Assembly and on his own behalf, he extended to the people of the Taiwan Province of China heartfelt sympathy at this time of trial.

Copies of the Assembly President’s appointments for today are available in room 378 and on the Internet. He met this morning with the Foreign Ministers of Brazil and Japan. Foreign Minister Luiz Felipe Lampreia of Brazil, referring to Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s proposal on humanitarian intervention, suggested that a meeting be held this year to discuss the subject. He also criticized the slow pace at which the Assembly tackles its agenda. The President responded that UN reform should include a review of the methods of work of the Assembly and of the Economic and Social Council.

In his meeting with the President, Foreign Minister Masahiko Koumara of Japan expressed concern that the Assembly had been seized of the issue of Security Council reform for six years and that there had been no progress. If no progress was made on substance, he said, the UN might lose its credibility. He also spoke about Japan’s involvement in disarmament activities. Responding, the President said that discussions on Security Council reform had advanced and that it was possible to make significant progress. At this stage, it was a question of encouraging Member States to think about taking decisions on reform of the Council.

The Assembly President will attend a luncheon with President Yasser Arafat of Palestine, hosted by the Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine. This evening, he will attend a reception in honour of Mr. Arafat, hosted by the Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.

On other meetings, the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee) met at 10 a.m. today to elect the remaining officers of its bureau and to organize its work. The related documents are available on the racks. The Disarmament and International Security Committee (First Committee) will meet at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow, 23 September, also to organize its work.

At 10:30 a.m. tomorrow, 23 September, there will be a press briefing, here in room 226, on prospects for the Special Session on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States. Present will be Ambassador Tuiloma Neroni Slade of Samoa, Chair of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS); and JoAnne DiSano, Director of the Division for Sustainable Development in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).