5 June 2001

The President today made remarks at the symposium on Children in Armed Conflict. In his remarks Mr. Holkeri spoke about the active role of the General Assembly in ensuring the rights, protection and well-being of children. He noted that there are signs of progress in meeting the goals concerning war-affected children, but that teamwork and coherent policy will be needed from the United Nations system as well as from the world leaders. The full text of his remarks is available on the Statements and Messages page.

Mr. Holkeri also opened and closed the meeting of Mayors and Local Authorities which was held in connection with the Local Government Day.

Later in the day Mr. Holkeri attended the opening of an exhibition hosted by the Executive Director of UNCHS (Habitat) Mrs. Tibaijuka. In his remarks Mr. Holkeri noted that: "this whole afternoon, the panel and now this exhibition demonstrate the importance of local governance in the development of urban settlements". His remarks are available at the Statements and Messages page.

The President today signed the Books of Condolences at the Permanent Mission of Nepal. Yesterday, he had issued a short statement regarding the recent tragic events within the royal family of Nepal. The statement is available on the Statements and Messages page

The President today met with H.E. Mr. Anwaru Karim Chowdhury, Permanent Representative of Bangladesh, which holds the rotating Presidency of the Security Council during the month of June. They discussed issues related to the upcoming work of the Council.

In another meeting, Ambassador Olhaye of Djibouti and Ambassador Mbanefo of Nigeria discussed the upcoming work of the General Assembly with the President.

The President also met with Mr. Martti Lujanen, Director-General for Housing at the Finland's Ministry of Environment to discuss this week's special session on Habitat .

H.E. Honourable Professor George Saitoti, Vice President of Kenya paid a courtesy call to the President. A wide range of issues, including the special session on Habitat as well as the work of the UN offices in Nairobi was discussed.

The recently concluded second resumed session of the Fifth Committee was discussed between the President and H. E. Mr. Gert Rosenthal, Permanent Representative of Guatemala and Chairman of the Fifth Committee.

In a meeting with H.E. Ms. Patricia Durrant, Permanent Representative of Jamaica and Chairman of the Preparatory Committee for the special session on children, and Ms. Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of UNICEF, next week's meeting of the prepcom was discussed.

The President also issued a message in connection to World Environment Day, which was observed today. The message is available on the Statements and Messages page.