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5 October 1999

The General Assembly is today concluding a series of meetings devoted to the follow-up to the 1999 International Year of Older Persons. Twenty-eight speakers are inscribed. At two meetings yesterday, the Assembly heard 34 speakers. Assembly President Theo-Ben Gurirab is presiding.

The Assembly has before it a report of the Secretary-General entitled "International Year of Older Persons, 1999: activities and legacies" (A/54/268), and a draft resolution, A/54/L.6, which now has 28 co-sponsors. The draft resolution will be introduced by the Dominican Republic, but will not be acted upon today.

This morning, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) heard a sobering assessment of the Organization’s financial situation from Joseph Connor, the Under-Secretary-General for Management. "We are running a globally important Organization without the predictable and assured financial support of its Members", Mr. Connor said. The Organization’s record for collecting assessments was not good, and that unpaid assessments as at 30 September stood at $2,510 million for the regular budget, peacekeeping operations and the Tribunals. He concluded by saying, "In a word, our situation is this: The United Nations is running on empty.… With many miles yet to travel". Mr. Connor will brief correspondents in this room at 1 p.m.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan then addressed the Committee on the same subject. Fred Eckhard will tell you what he said.

For the Committee’s discussion on improving the financial situation of the United Nations, 26 speakers are inscribed, all of them Permanent Representatives.

The Committee was scheduled, time permitting, to continue general discussions on reports of the Secretary-General on the financing of two peacekeeping missions: the United Nations Angola Verification Mission (UNAVEM) and the United Nations Observer Mission in Angola (MONUA); and the United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observer Mission (UNIKOM). Yesterday, the Committee also began considering the financing of the United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET).

In other Committee action, the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) this morning is continuing its debate, begun yesterday, on all decolonization items. It also heard a statement by a representative, and a petitioner, from the Non-Self-Governing Territory of Gibraltar.

Tomorrow morning, 6 October, the Assembly will take up the Secretary-General’s report on the work of the Organization (A/54/1). So far, 24 speakers are inscribed, but I’m told that the list is growing.

In the afternoon, the Assembly is scheduled to consider two items: 109, on the advancement of women, solely to take action on a draft resolution (A/54/L.4) entitled "Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women", which was recommended for adoption by the Economic and Social Council; and item 37, on implementation of the outcome of the World Summit for Social Development. Documents on this item are: the report of the Secretary-General (A/54/220); the report of the Preparatory Committee for the Special Session of the General Assembly on the Implementation of the Outcome of the World Summit for Social Development and Further Initiatives (A/54/45 and Corr.1 and Add.1); and draft decisions (A/54/45 and Corr.1, par. 71, and A/54/45/Add.1, par. 6). As you know, the special session to review and appraise the implementation of the recommendations of the 1994 Social Summit will be held in Geneva next June.

Also tomorrow, the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) and Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) begin their substantive work.

Copies of the President’s appointments for today are available in room 378 and on the Internet.