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24 NOVEMBER 1999

At the time of the briefing, the General Assembly was hearing the final speakers on the item on oceans and the law of the sea. It was then expected to take action on three related draft resolutions. In them, the Assembly calls upon all States to become parties to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, calls upon States and other entities that have not done to ratify or accede to the Agreement relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, and also decides to establish an open-ended informal consultative process to review developments in ocean affairs by considering the Secretary-General’s annual comprehensive report on the subject.

A recorded vote is expected on the first draft,on oceans and the law of the sea (A/54/L.31). Last year, the Assembly adopted the other texts, L.28 and L.32, by consensus.

Among the speakers this morning was the President of the Law of the Sea Tribunal, Chandrasekhara Rao, who said that the Tribunal is a world court designed by the Convention to play a central role in the resolution of law of the sea disputes. Within the three years of its existence, he said the court had been able to prepare efficient, cost-effective and user-friendly rules, guidelines and procedures for promoting settlement of disputes without unnecessary delay or expense. He hoped that States and other entities would continue to make full use of the Tribunal for achieving rapid settlement of the law of the sea disputes and ensuring uniform and consistent application of the Convention. The President of the International Seabed Authority, Satya Nandan, also spoke.

As I announced over the loudspeaker, His Serene Highness Crown Prince Albert of Monaco is at Headquarters today. He will chair the plenary meeting as the Assembly considers the item on building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal. After hearing speakers, the Assembly is expected to adopt a resolution (A/54/L.26), to be introduced by Australia, which has 168 sponsors. In it, the Assembly urges Member States to observe the Olympic Truce during the games of the XXVII Olympiad, to be held at Sydney, Australia, from 15 September to 1 October 2000, the vision of which, at the dawn of the new millennium, is to be a highly harmonious athlete-oriented and environmentally committed Olympic Games. The Assembly calls on all Sates to cooperate with the International Olympic Committee in its efforts to use the Olympic Truce as an instrument to promote peace, dialogue and reconciliation in areas of conflict, beyond the Olympic Games period. The Secretary-General is requested to promote the observance of the Olympic Truce among Member States by drawing the attention of world public opinion to the contribution such a truce would make to the promotion of international understanding and the preservation of peace and goodwill, and to cooperate with the IOC in the realization of this objective.

The Assembly is also expected to adopt a resolution on the zone of peace and cooperation of the South Atlantic (A/54/L.35), to be introduced by Argentina. In it, the Assembly welcomes decisions taken by two African organizations – the OAU and SADC -- regarding illicit trafficking in small arms; welcomes the restoration of democracy in Nigeria, the signing of the peace agreement in Sierra Leone, Liberia’s decision to destroy arms and ammunition, the Ceasefire Agreement on the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and calls for its full implementation; reaffirms the importance for Member States to contribute to an effective and lasting peace in Angola and reiterates that the primary cause of the present situation was the failure of UNITA to comply with its obligations; notes the commitment of the provisional Government of Guinea-Bissau to hold legislative and presidential elections on 28 November this year; views with concern the increase in drug trafficking and related crimes and calls upon the international community and the States members of the zone to promote regional and international cooperation to combat all aspects of the problem of drug and related offences. The related report of the Secretary-General (A/54/447) contains the replies received from Argentina and Brazil, and from five United Nations bodies, indicating their views on the implementation of the declaration of the zone of peace and cooperation of the South Atlantic.

At the outset of this morning’s meeting, the Assembly paid tribute to the memory of Senator Amintore Fanfani of Italy, President of the twentieth session of the General Assembly in 1965, who died last Saturday. The Acting President said Mr. Fanfani played a prominent role in this Organization and made a major contribution towards the achievement of the objectives set out in the Charter. On behalf of the Assembly, he conveyed to the members of the family of Mr. Fanfani and to the Government and the people of Italy deepest and most heartfelt condolences. The Assembly then observed a minute of silence in tribute to his memory. The representative of Italy responded.

At a meeting earlier today, the General Committee decided to recommend that the Assembly include in the agenda of the current session, an additional item entitled "International recognition of the Day of Vesak" (A/54/235), and that the item be considered directly in plenary. The representative of Sri Lanka made a statement on behalf of the 16 sponsors, who are seeking the international observance of the Day -- which is the most sacred day to over 150 million Buddhists worldwide -- at Headquarters and other United Nations Offices. The representatives of India, Spain, Bangladesh, Thailand, Pakistan, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Bhutan and Cyprus also spoke in favour of the request. The Assembly will consider the report of the General Committee at a date to be announced.

This morning, the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) has before it 16 draft text for action, seven of which are alternative texts. They deal with the report of the Economic and Social Council (A/C.2/54/L.31 and L.41); renewal of the dialogue on strengthening international economic cooperation for development through partnership (A/C.2/54/L.9 and L.45); international cooperation to reduce the impact of the El Nino phenomenon (A/C.2/54/L.29 and L.43); the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction: successor arrangements (A/C.2/54/L.28 and L.44); economic and technical cooperation among developing countries (A/C.2/54/L.5 and L.47); the United Nations Staff College in Turin, Italy (A/C.2/54/L.26 and L.42); the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (A/C.2/54/L.30 and L.46); unilateral economic measures as a means of political and economic coercion against developing countries (A/C.2/54/L.40); and permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, and of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources (A/C.2/54/L.32).

Copies of the appointments of Assembly President Theo-Ben Gurirab are available in room 378 and also from the Internet. After chairing the General Committee meeting, he met with Crown Prince Albert of Monaco. At 1:15 p.m., the President hosts his monthly luncheon for the Chairmen of the Main Committees and senior Secretariat officials. At 3 p.m., he is scheduled to meet with the Permanent Representative of Japan, Ambassador Yukio Satoh, regarding the President’s visit to Japan, Security Council reform and the Millennium Summit.