Announcement by
H.E. MR. HARRI HOLKERI
President of the General Assembly
Appointements of two
facilitators
of the preparatory process of the HIV/AIDS Special Session
6 December 2000
Before we take up the next
items on the agenda, I should like to make an announcement concerning the special
session on HIV/AIDS.
Members will recall that the General Assembly, by its resolution 55/13 of 3
November 2000, decided to convene a special session on HIV/AIDS from 25 to 27
June 2001. The resolution also invited me, in the capacity of the President
of the General Assembly, to appoint, in consultation with Member States, two
facilitators to assist in carrying out the preparatory process to ensure effective
participation of all countries.
In this regard, I have conducted extensive consultations, both through the chairs
of regional groups and with a significant number of individual delegations,
representing all regions.
It is my great pleasure to announce my decision to appoint Her Excellency, Ambassador
Penny Wensley, Permanent Representative of Australia and His Excellency, Ambassador
Ibra Degučne Ka, Permanent Representative of Senegal to the United Nations,
as the two facilitators of the preparatory process of the special session on
HIV/AIDS. Both are highly praised for their excellence as mediators and consensus
builders. Both are also persons with exceptional skills to seek and find solutions
to difficult and sensitive issues.