8 December 2000

The General Assembly observed the fortieth Anniversary of its adoption of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples. In his remarks the President announced that he will be visiting East Timor early next year. East Timor is one of the 17 non-self-governing territories to which the Declaration applies. The full text of his remarks is available on the "Statements and Messages" page. The Assembly adopted a resolution to hold the Second International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism 2001-2010. The Assembly also adopted a resolution on the Implementation of the declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples and another resolution on dissemination of information on decolonization. The General Assembly also adopted 16 resolutions on the recommendation of its Fourth Committee, which deals with Special Political and Decolonization issues.

The President continued his visits to the Main Committees by visiting the Second Committee, dealing with economic and financial issues, as it was concluding its work for the fifty-fifth session.

The President hosted a working luncheon for the President of the Security Council, H.E. Mr. Sergey Lavrov, Ambassador of the Russian Federation. They discussed the Assembly's and Security Council's work programmes, including consideration of the Brahimi Report by both bodies and the question of Palestine.

Mr. Holkeri gave the closing speech at the Student Conference on Human Rights, which was organized at the United Nations Headquarters 7-8 December 2000. Explaining the various ways the United Nations works for the human rights, Mr. Holkeri said that the student conference is an excellent example of much needed awareness building regarding human rights issues. The full text of his speech is available on the "Statements and Messages" page.

The President met with the Personal Representative of the Secretary-General for the United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations, Mr. Giandomenico Picco to discuss coming activities for the Year.

Mr. and Mrs. Holkeri attended a Christmas Party with the Permanent Mission and the Consulate General of Finland.

Later in the day Mr. and Mrs. Holkeri were the guests of honor at a dinner, hosted by the Permanent Representative of India, H.E. Mr. Kamalesh Sharma.