Back to Home Page

Back to General Assembly

22 NOVEMBER 1999

Only the plenary is meeting formally today. This morning, the General Assembly heard the introduction of three draft resolutions as it began considering the item on oceans and the law of the sea. The Assembly is expected to take action of the texts after hearing 26 speakers, including up the President of the Law of the Sea Tribunal, Chandrasekhara Rao, and the Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority, Satya Nandan. This means an afternoon meeting.

Finland, on behalf of the European Union, introduced a draft text on oceans and the law of the sea (A/54/L.31). Among its provisions, the Assembly would call upon all States that have not done so, in order to achieve the goal of universal participation, to become parties to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the related Agreement; appeal to all States parties to the Convention to pay their assessed contributions to the Authority and to the Tribunal; urge States to take practical steps to prevent the pollution of the sea by dumping radioactive materials and other industrial wastes; and call upon States to cooperate fully with the International Maritime Organization to combat piracy and armed robbery against ships.

The United States introduced a draft resolution relating to the Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks (A/54/L.28). By that text, the Assembly would call upon all States and other entities that have not done to ratify or accede to the Agreement, while emphasizing the importance of its early entry into force and effective implementation; and would urge all States to participate in efforts of the Food and Agriculture Organization to develop an international plan of action to address illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing.

And New Zealand introduced the third draft, on the results of the review by the Commission on Sustainable Development of the sectoral theme of "oceans and seas" (A/54/L.32). The Assembly would decide to establish an open-ended informal consultative process in order to facilitate the annual review by the Assembly, in an effective and constructive manner, of developments in ocean affairs by considering the Secretary-General’s report on oceans and the law of the sea and by suggesting particular issues to be considered by it. Those meetings would take place for one week each year and, in 2000, would be held from 30 May to 2 June. The Assembly would review the effectiveness of the consultative process at its fifty-seventh session. The document referred to in the draft is the annual comprehensive report of the Secretary-General (A/54/429).

Before taking up agenda item 40, on oceans and the law of the sea, the Assembly concluded its discussion on strengthening of the coordination of humanitarian and disaster relief assistance of the United Nations, including special economic assistance. It then adopted a consensus resolution on emergency response to disasters (A/54/L.17/Rev.1), expressing solidarity with the Governments and peoples of Greece and Turkey, as they cope with the consequences of earthquake disasters, and noting with satisfaction their decision to establish a joint Standby Disaster Response Unit to reinforce and expand existing standby arrangements of the United Nations system.

Action on other draft resolutions under agenda item 20 will be taken at a later date.

Regarding the tentative programme of work of the plenary, I wish to draw your attention to document A/INF/54/3/Add.3, covering the period from today, 22 November, to 13 December.

There is no plenary meeting tomorrow, but on Wednesday the Assembly takes up three items: building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal; zone of peace and cooperation of the South Atlantic; and cooperation between the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity.

Also on Wednesday, the General Committee will hold its fourth meeting at 9 a.m. in Conference Room 4 to take up a request for the inclusion in the agenda of the current session of an additional item entitled "International recognition of the Day of Vesak (A/54/235). The explanatory memorandum, submitted by 16 countries states that Vesak, the day of the full moon in May, is the most sacred day to millions of Buddhists around the world. A draft resolution would have the Assembly resolve that, without cost to the United Nations, appropriate arrangements shall be made for international observances of Vesak at Headquarters and other United Nations Offices.

Last Saturday, the death was announced of Senator Amintore Fanfani of Italy. He had served as President of the twentieth session of the General Assembly in 1965. The Secretary-General sent his heartfelt condolences to the Italian Government, the people of Italy and the family of Senator Fanfani. A statement is available in the Spokesman’s Office.

Copies of the appointments of Assembly President Theo-Ben Gurirab are available in room 378 and also from the Internet. This afternoon, he will be interviewed for the "World Chronicle" television programme. He will also participate in the panel discussion on "Dialogue among Civilizations: A Call for Common Grounds", organized by the Permanent Mission of Iran. The discussion is being held in the framework of Assembly resolution 53/22, designating the year 2001 as the United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations. This evening, the President will attend a dinner in his honour, hosted by the Permanent Observer of the Holy See.

Over the weekend, in Chicago, the President delivered the keynote address at the Tenth American Model United Nations International Conference. He told the participants that the United Nations was a human creation; it was not a perfect institution run by angels and prophets. Rather, it was a mirror image of the real world we live in, with all its vagaries and exigencies. Nevertheless, he said, "the UN is the best there is as a universal oasis where different cultures, hopes and loyalties of millions and millions of peoples converge into the same big tent that represents brotherhood, justice and solidarity." The UN, he added, "remains the only true universal and representative international organization capable of ensuring international peace and security and the cooperative co-existence and mutually beneficial development of all the nations and peoples of the world. It has the potential to promote the economic productivity and social advancement of all peoples. But the United Nations’ success or failure is directly dependent upon the action or inaction of its Member States. When there is agreement, the Organization is effective; when they disagree, it is immobilized". Copies of his statement are available in room 378.