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11 NOVEMBER 1999

The General Assembly this morning commemorated the tenth anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, hearing statements by the President of the Assembly, the Deputy Secretary-General, the Chairmen of the five regional groups and the United States as host country.

Addressing the commemorative meeting, Assembly President Theo-Ben Gurirab said that since the adoption of the Convention, children’s interest was now placed higher on public and developmental agendas than ever before – and significant recognition of their rights was reflected in the initiatives that Member States had undertaken in fields such as public policy, law reform and enforcement as well as social security. He called on States to do more, including support of UNICEF’s Peace and Security Agenda for Children. He also called on this and future Assemblies to ensure that the rights and well-being of children remained an ever-present responsibility and were placed on the front burner for action.

Deputy Secretary-General Louise Frechette observed that in a few days, the Convention would be 10 years old. A child itself, it had already become the most widely ratified human rights instrument. "All children are now recognized by a near-universal, legally binding instrument, as individuals with special needs who are entitled to special protection. Maybe more importantly, they are recognized as individuals with dignity who have the rights of full human beings…. To achieve truly universal ratification of the Convention would be a fitting way to enter the new century, a century that will belong to the children of today", she said. Copies of the two statements are available in room 378.

Immediately following the commemoration, the President chaired a special event in connection with the anniversary of the Convention, which was still going on at the time of the briefing. His introductory remarks are also available in room 378. The other participants in the event are: the Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund, Ms. Carol Bellamy; the Director of the New York Office of the High Commissioner for Human rights, Mr. Bacre Waly Ndiaye; the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Mr. Olara Otunnu; the Acting Chair of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, Ms. Marilia Sardenberg; and the President of the Economic and Social Council, Mr. Paolo Fulci.

The First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) will consider, this afternoon, the question of Antarctica. The related report (A/54/339) states that the Antarctic Treaty system continues to provide a unique example of international cooperation. Designated as a natural reserve, devoted to peace and science, Antarctica is the scene of successful cooperation in research, in particular in connection with the study of global changes. According to the report, some issues of concern and possible challenges will have to be addressed by the States concerned. These include unreported, unregulated and illegal fishing for toothfish in the Southern Ocean which also threatens other dependent and related species; the need for a consensus among the Treaty’s Consultative Parties on a liability regime for environmental damage; and the need for continuing efforts to mitigate the environmental impacts of the tourism industry, which present risk to the Antarctic marine and terrestrial environments. A draft resolution on the subject (A/C.1/54/L.58) is available.

This morning, the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) took up the item on trade and development, and heard introductory statements by the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the President-elect of the Trade and Development Board, as well as a briefing by the Deputy Foreign Minister of Thailand on UNCTAD X, which will be held in Bangkok from 12 to 19 February 2000. This afternoon, the Committee will discuss implementation of the Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries in the 1990s.

There are two reports on this item -- on preparations for the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, to be convened in 2001 (A/54/271 and Add.1), and on progress in the implementation of the Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries (A/54/269). The latter report states that although the international community committed itself to urgent action, based on the principle of shared responsibility and strengthened partnership, to arrest and reverse the deterioration in the socio-economic situation in the LDCs and to revitalize their growth and development, the requisite progress had not been made in most of those countries during the 1990s. Their precarious socio-economic situation and the structural weaknesses inherent in their economies continued unabated and relegated them to a weak competitive position in the current global economic setting. The challenges facing the LDCs were beyond their capacity to overcome on their own. They required international support measures, including increased official development assistance and decisive and early debt relief.

Today, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) will conclude its consideration of human rights questions and situations, and turn its attention tomorrow to the item on refugees, commencing with a dialogue with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Mrs. Sadako Ogata.

I wish to draw attention to a revised draft resolution on the question of the death penalty (A/C.3/54/L.8/Rev.1), which is available on the racks. The text now has 72 co-sponsors. Action on this draft won’t take place until next week. The Committee will vote on all human rights draft resolutions by 19 November. This afternoon, the Committee will take action on three draft resolutions – on the girl child (A/C.3/54/L.46), the rights of the child (A/C.3/54/L.49) and the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (A/C.3/54/L.53).

The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) continued its discussion of the effects of atomic radiation (A/54/46). A related draft resolution (A/C.4/54/L.20) would have the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation continue its review of the important problems in the field of radiation and report thereon next year.

At two meetings today, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) is continuing its section-by-section discussion of the proposed programme budget for 2000-2001, taking up the remaining sections.

The Sixth Committee (Legal) heard a statement this morning by the President of the United Nations Administrative Tribunal, Hubert Thierry, as it began its review of the Tribunal’s Statute. A related draft resolution (A/C.6/54/L.13) would have the Assembly amend the Statute to lengthen to four years the terms of the judges and limit service to two terms.

The Committee will take action on two draft resolutions. A text on the report of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) (A/C.6/54/L.4) would have the Assembly reaffirm the mandate of the Commission, as the core legal body within the United Nations system in the field of international trade law, to coordinate legal activities in this field, and would call on all bodies of the UN system and other international organizations to bear in mind the mandate of the Commission and the need to avoid duplication of effort and to promote efficiency, consistency and coherence in the unification and harmonization of international trade law. The draft on strengthening of the International Court of Justice (A/C.6/54/L.5) would invite the Court to adopt measures aimed at expediting its proceedings, while also inviting States that appear before the Court to consider favourably the guidance offered by the Court on expediting the proceedings.

Regarding the other appointments of the Assembly President, he is holding separate meetings today with the Chairmen of the Latin American and Caribbean States and the African States, in the ongoing discussions of the Millennium Assembly/Summit and Security Council reform. He received a courtesy call this morning from the new Permanent Representative of Nigeria, Chief Arthur Mbanefo, and will attend a luncheon in his honour, hosted by the Permanent Representative of Brazil.

Asked if correspondents could be informed as to the release of the Srebrenica report, the two spokespersons assured them that they would be.